5 Scary Cold Calling Mistakes

Cold calling can be a bone-chilling experience for your lead generation if it is not approached the right way. Some brokers may even feel cursed as they call contact after contact with no prevail. However, don't scream in terror (or frustration) just yet. We have the scary cold calling mistakes to avoid so that you don't end up in a prospecting nightmare:

Mistake 1: Not Preparing
Jumping into cold calling without work done on the front-end is as silly as going vampire hunting without a stake. The last thing you want to do when cold calling is waste the time of you and your prospect, which is why you should:

• Do your research
• Create a profile in your mind of a prospect who would find your property appealing or useful. 
• Ask yourself what kind of businesses and persons would be seeking the strengths and aspects of your building and seek them out. Make a targeted list and make sure you do your homework on their business needs so that you can propose your property as the solution. 
• Know what you're going to say
• Each contact could be a potential opportunity.
• A broker will want to capture the interest and attention of a target instantly. Prepare a script that spikes the interest of your prospect within the first two minutes of the conversation. Think of it as the elevator speech for your property. Be sure to also have the answers questions that a prospect may ask  about your property and company prepared. Practice this script until you feel comfortable and confident with your words. Review this briefly before each call. Not having what you're going to say prepared could mean a missed opportunity. 
• Make a plan
• Keep yourself on target while cold calling so that you can manage your time as efficiently as possible. Set a goal of how many calls you will make within a day, within a week. Keep detailed notes of your calls and dedicate time for follow-up. Approaching cold calling like a project with deadlines and a time frame will help make the efforts more beneficial. 

Mistake 2: Weak Introductions
One of the biggest mistakes made when calling prospects is making a weak introduction and centering the conversation on yourself and what you have to offer. Many prospects are more interested in how your offering could benefit their business, and crave personalization from the usual barrage of sales calls.When calling prospects, your opening statements should begin with introducing yourself and personalize their experience by adding value that will warm up your cold-call. Communicating clearly and effectively should be your second objective. Conversations that focus on them give you a greater opportunity to complete your target goal of possibly capturing the prospects engagement in your services.

Mistake 3: Asking the Wrong Questions
Once getting past the introductions, many cold callers find themselves asking yes or no questions that tend to lead towards quicker rejection. You’ve held the prospect's attention until now, its time to get them talking about their needs so that you can provide the solution (your property). Using open-ended questions allows the prospect to identify their problem and reveal information that helps the broker. Here are a few sample questions from this Bo Barron blog post:

• What problems are you having with your vacancy?
• Many owners are struggling with their management. What difficulties are you having?
• I see you own three properties in the area.  What are you continuing growth plans?
• How long do you feel like your current capacity can handle your growth?

Mistake 4: Adding  No Value to the Conversation
Many prospects want to engage in conversation that has something of value for them.  This “value” information could be anything from a report, trend, or news that potentially could affect something to do with their property. One of the best ways to engage customers is to share details of things happening in their neighborhoods. This added-value of conversation could possibly increase the chances of getting a meeting with this prospect.


Mistake 5: Not Asking for a Meeting
A meeting is the next step to making your connection with the prospect more concrete and leading them down the path to a deal closing. Not asking for a meeting is simply decreasing your chances of keeping the interest and attention of your potential client. You have already engaged the prospect's attention and have showed how you can offer a solution or benefit to the prospect. Ask and schedule a meeting with the options of a few times assuming that you’ll be able to meet with the prospect. Follow-up and remind the prospect of your meeting the week of to keep you and your property at the top-of-mind.

Avoiding these mistakes can help engage prospects in cold calling and will create more productive and beneficial cold-calling experiences.

Go knock 'em dead and Happy Halloween from Block Real Estate Services (BRES)!