6 Winning Tips to Perfect Your Cold Call

Phone communication is one of the most important ways you can reach your clients and build your real estate network. However, engaging with clients over the phone can be a challenging experience if you don’t know how to communicate your intentions well.

Here are six winning strategies on how how can get more clients through phone calls:

1. Call back immediately.

Keep in mind that out of all your inquiries, approximately 60% are made via mobile. And according to a study, around 30 to 50 percent of sales go to the first salesperson that responds first. The chances of reaching a customer is 100 times higher when called within five minutes of inquiry rather than calling after 30 minutes later.

When you don’t call the client back immediately, other competitors are a click away from you. As such, your new client should always be your priority.

Tip: If the client does not answer your call on your first attempt, send a quick message via SMS then follow-up with an e-mail to acknowledge their inquiry. Then, make them your top priority to call within the next few days by setting up a call alarm on your phone or any organizer app (ex. Evernote).

2. Time your call properly.

Based on ZipMatch’s year-long data, we collected several information that would help you identify when is the best time to call a client.

• Most people are more amenable to answering your call around 11:00 to 11:30 in the morning. This is either because they are just off from meeting or is probably prepping for lunch. People are generally more relaxed and can focus on entertaining calls as opposed to before or after work hours.


• Your call will most likely be answered on within the middle of the week, between Tuesday to Thursday. This is because people are already settled in their work rhythm. Calls made either close to the weekend (Friday to Saturday) is possible, as long as you if your client agreed to call you at these times.


• Avoid calling any time between Sunday to Monday. For Sunday, majority of the people consider this as a sacred day to catch up some much-needed rest to prepare for the new workweek. Calls made during this time could be answered, but you may come off as intrusive. As for Monday, this is considered as the first day of any working person’s week. Naturally, people are more focused on getting back to work rather than entertaining anything else.

Note: These data may not be applicable at all times. Make sure to ask them if “now” is a good time to talk to them to ensure they are not preoccupied and you are not disturbing them. If they say no, suggest a time within the day or ask when would be the client’s most convenient time to entertain your call.

3. Establish your credibility.

The first thing you should do once the client picks up your call is to introduce yourself and your credentials properly. This is so you can set their expectations as to who they are speaking with. You can either mention a brief background about yourself or which developer are you affiliated with.

Examples:

• Hi! I’m Zip from ABC Development Corp., the country’s longest standing real estate developer established on 1970.
• Hi! I’m Zip, a licensed real estate broker since 2002 and an expert in Makati investment condos.

4. Discuss your reason for calling.

This is the part where you acknowledge the homebuyer’s inquiry and state your desire to help them find what they are looking for. If he or she expressed interest in a specific property, you can provide the basic information he or she might be interested to know.

Sample Spiel:

If the homebuyer is amenable to staying on the phone, you can delve deeper and ask qualifying questions: “What is your reason for buying?” or “What is your budget?” Their answers will give you further insights on what suitable properties you can offer the homebuyer. This is also the time to ask permission to send follow-up emails regarding the properties they are looking for.

4. Make your clients feel comfortable.

A phone call is also one way to break the ice and be on friendly terms before you schedule a personal meeting with a client. This is a great time to create rapport and get to know the homebuyer more.

For example, some Pinoys from outside of the country are more comfortable conversing in Filipino with their fellow kababayans. You can also associate yourself with your client’s native provinces or cities to make them feel more at home.

In order to be effective with this, ask leading questions and pick word cues from your client.

Sample:

• Taga-Manila po ba kayo (name of client) o meron po kayong probinsyang inuuwian?
• Gaano katagal na po kayong hindi umuuwi sa Pilipinas?

5. Build a relationship first.

This is the most important real estate professionals like yourselves should take heed: the first phone call is never about the sale. It is about building a relationship with your client and creating a good, credible impression of yourself. While you are also acknowledging their inquiry, you don’t want to bombarded them with information enough for them to be turned off.

Ideally, you should keep the conversation short and sweet. Although you are excited to promote your property, wait for the time when you meet them personally or when you send a follow-up email to discuss the properties in-depth and discuss his or her judgement.

Are your calls being ignored by your clients? Sign up with ZipMatch Pro so you can sit back, relax and wait for hot leads to come to you.