18 min readAI gets all the attention today but let’s not forget the ultimate sales tool: the telephone. Tech is essential for lead generation but people like buying from people, especially when making big purchases. And it doesn’t get much bigger than buying property.
The phone call is still a powerful tool for winning new business:
- 78% of people prefer to speak with a real person when they contact a company.
- 57.7% of real estate agents claim that telemarketing is the most effective way to generate leads.
41.1% of respondents say the phone is their most effective sales tool.
Why cold calling is still worth real estate agents’ time.
There are many ways to secure leads but nothing compares to speaking to someone 1:1. It helps you learn about prospects and their needs within seconds. What prospects share with you can help you adjust your approach to provide a more personalized service.
Real estate cold-calling scripts can generate leads and make connections fast. Your company has a big advantage if you’re comfortable picking up the phone as a lot of companies aren’t…
The challenge of real estate cold calling.
You might have heard that “cold calling doesn’t work.” Well, it absolutely does when you’re good at it. There’s an art and science to real estate cold-calling scripts.
People often lack confidence in speaking on the phone. Plus, knowing that plenty of rejection is expected doesn’t help. Teams often dislike cold calling, which hinders results.
Real estate cold calling script mistakes to avoid:
- Poor research: Don’t waste your time. Cold calling is a marketing strategy that needs laser focus on your audience. Use public records, listings, and leverage online databases and real estate platforms For Sale By Owner (FSBO), etc. to find prospects.
- Boring scripts: Convincing prospects is hard if your script sounds like… a script. You may need to adjust your real estate cold-calling scripts to find hooks and structures that perform.
- Poor rapport building: A great script will fall flat if it’s delivered poorly. Keeping momentum and enthusiasm high can be hard if you’re not comfortable on the phone.
- No follow-up: Follow-up is criminally neglected across all marketing channels. 42% of prospects say they would be more likely to make purchase decisions if reps kept their promises and called back in a timely fashion. So make sure to follow up after prospects have had time to consider your offer.
Stamp out these mistakes and cold calling could start to play a bigger part in your lead-generation strategy.
The 10 best real estate cold calling scripts.
1. Elevator pitch script.
Introducing ourselves should open the doors for the conversation to flow. But a basic intro does the opposite. The momentum drops when all you do is share your job title. A good elevator pitch script explains what you do and how you help others, which gets the conversation off to a good start.
You: “Hi, I’m [your name] – a real estate agent at [company]. I’m calling as I help luxury home buyers and sellers find their dream homes in Los Angeles. And I’m currently taking bookings to view the new homes at [property location] – have you heard of them?
Prospect responds.
You: [Share the highlights of the property and offer them a viewing. Ask them to email you with more information about their needs if they reject your invitation.]
2. For Sale By Owner (FSBO) script.
It’s common for homeowners to have sold a property under its asking price before. And they don’t want to do it again! The FSBO script quickly taps into their pain point, showcases your experience, builds trust, and gets the wheels in motion to sell their house at the right price.
You: “Hi, is this [prospect name]?”
Prospect: “It is, yes – who’s calling?”
You: “I’m [your name] and I’m a real estate agent at [company]. I’m calling as I saw you’re selling your property and I wondered if you’re open to the possibility of working together as I’ve sold many properties in your area. I help homeowners sell their houses at prices that make it well worth their time. As honestly speaking, lots of people undersell and regret it. I’d like to tell you more about how I achieve this if you have a few minutes today?
Prospect replies.
You: “Great! Well, firstly I’d like to let you know that I know your neighborhood well. I recently [share success story with specific numbers] and they’re just a stone’s throw away from your front door. I’m confident we can achieve a similar or even greater price for your property. [Brief process overview] and it starts with a complimentary market analysis. This will help me see what we can do to attract buyers who will pay a higher price. So how does that sound [prospect name] – would you like me to book you in for your market analysis.”
3. Recent sale script.
Making a sale in the neighborhood for a great price opens the door to starting new conversations with homeowners in the area. You can open people’s minds to the possibility of selling as you’ve demonstrated you can do it.
You: “Hi, “I’m [your name] – a real estate agent at [company]. Are you the homeowner of this property?”
Prospect confirms.
You: “Great, thanks for confirming. I’m calling as I recently sold a property on [street name]. It’s one of many I’ve sold recently at a fantastic price – with some selling way over the asking price. So I wanted to ask, have you considered selling your home?
4. Re-engager script.
The re-engager script is your friend when a new opportunity comes up and old contact comes to mind. Check your contact’s notes in your CRM as you can reference them in your script to make it more personalized.
You: “Hi [prospect’s name]. It’s [your name]. I showed you a few properties in Beverly Hills earlier this year. How have you been?”
Prospect responds.
You: “I thought of you today as [opportunity that you want to share with them] just came up. I remember [mention an old conversation or note] and I thought you’d love to hear about it. Does that sound good to you?”
Proceed to call to action if prospects are interested.
5. New listings script.
Sometimes a new listing comes through and an old lead comes to mind as it’s a great match.
You: Hi [prospect name]. It’s [your name] from [company]. I showed you around a few properties in Beverly Hills earlier this year. How have you been?
Prospect responds.
You: That’s great to hear [first name]. You came to mind today as I remember you saying [reason why last properties weren’t suitable]. And today I’ve been handed some new listings that look like a perfect fit for you. State the reason why they’re a good fit and give them the rundown of the properties and why they should be excited].
Prospect responds.
You: “I feel you’re going to love these properties, [prospect name]. So how’s your schedule looking – do you have time for a viewing this week?”
6. Expired listings script.
Those who have failed to sell their house may be feeling deflated. The expired listings script can persuade them to try again with your help.
You: Hi [prospect’s name] – I’m [your name] from [company name]. I’m calling regarding the property on [address] – can I ask if you’re the legal property owner?
Prospect confirms.
You: Thanks for confirming, [prospect’s name]. I saw you listed your property around a year ago but the listing’s now expired. Do you have a few minutes to talk about that? As [share a very short story of why you feel that you can help them].
Prospect confirms.
You: Thanks, [prospect name]. [Ask about their highest offer and if there were any recurring themes/issues that caused concerns.]
Prospect answers.
You: Thanks for sharing that with me, [prospect name]. That’s interesting. Based on what you’ve told me, I believe there’s lots of room for improvement here. I’m confident we can get some better offers with some adjustments. [Share a short story of a recent success story that’s relatable.] So with that in mind, would you like to meet up this week and we can look at what we can do to get some better offers for your property?
7. The referral/review script.
There’s no shying away from the fact that real estate agents have a trust problem. A recent study reported that only 20% of people had a high level of trust in real estate agents. While that’s bleak reading, the good news is happy clients will refer you to their friends and family if you’ve done a great job.
You: “Hi [prospect’s name]. It’s [your name] from [company]. [Remind them what you did for them.] How are you doing?”
Prospect responds.
You: “I’m doing great, thank you. So glad to hear you’re doing well too. I thought I’d get in touch as it was a pleasure working with you and I wondered if you have a few minutes to leave us a review that we can feature on our website? Reviews help us out, so we’d really appreciate it if you have a spare 5 minutes?”
Prospect responds with a yes or no.
(If yes) you: “Thanks [first name], that’s so good to hear. I have this email address down for you [read out their email address] – is that correct? Fantastic. I’ll send you a link, which will take you to a page to leave a short review.”
Prospect confirms.
You: “[Read out any additional info about referring friends.] Thanks again, [prospect name]. I really appreciate it. All the best. It was great talking to you. Take care.”
8. Hot property script.
Prospects may be surprised to learn how much nearby properties are selling for. This script opens their eyes to the value of their property, which could tempt them to put it up for sale.
You: “Hi [prospect name]. This is [your name] from [company]. Can I ask, are you the legal homeowner of this property?
Prospect confirms.
You: Fantastic, thanks for confirming. The reason I’m calling [prospect name] is because I recently sold [property address near them] at [price]. Properties in your neighborhood are in high demand. [Share a recent success story]. I wanted to ask if you’ve thought about selling your home?
Prospect confirms.
You: Thanks, [prospect name]. That’s great to hear. Do you have time to meet up to discuss the steps we can look at to increase interest in your home and get some great offers?
9. Voicemail script.
Out of all of your scripts, the voicemail script will probably be the one you use the most. There’s no avoiding it: you’re going to reach a lot of voicemail machines. Your message may be one of many, so it’s best to keep it brief.
“Hi [prospect name]. This is [your name] from [company]. I’m getting in touch as [reason] and I thought you might be interested because [reason]. If that sounds of interest, I’d love five minutes of your time to tell you more about it. My phone number is [your phone number]. Thanks for listening [prospect name] and have a great day!”
10. Rejection script.
If your prospects don’t seem interested or you sense you’ve caught them at a bad time, you can use the rejection script.
You: “I hear you [prospect name]. Well, thanks for taking my call. I know it’s a lot to think about on the spot as you weren’t expecting this call. So how about I call you in a few days after you’ve had some space to consider [offer] – how does that sound?”
How to make real estate cold calling scripts more persuasive.
- Make friends with rejection: Going into calls fearing rejection will keep you stuck in your head. Nothing has a 100% conversion rate, especially cold calling. The cold call just stings a little more than the rest as it feels personal. But it’s not. It helps to be realistic and make friends with rejection before you dial so it doesn’t sabotage your call.
- Be positive and energetic: “It’s not what you say—it’s how you say it.” Tonality is a major factor in every real estate cold-calling script. Make an effort to start every call with good energy and a warm greeting, as this sets the pace for the call. It’s hard to improve if you start slow and robotic. Include words in your script that make an emotional connection: you, money, save, dream home, etc.
- Open with a strong hook: Grab prospects’ attention with a hook that resonates – just like your blog posts, emails, and social media hooks. Give them a reason to stay on the line to hear what you have to say.
- Share (short) stories: Humans are hardwired for storytelling. Stories release oxytocin, “the bonding hormone”, in our brains. So include short stories relevant to the reason you’re calling.
- Personalize the call: Use the prospect’s name, share relevant information, and use open-ended questions to build a stronger connection.
- Present your call to action and next steps: You might reach people when they’re busy at work, so be wary of waiting too long to get to your call to action. Lay out the next steps to create momentum and finish on a high.
- Follow-up: 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up attempt. Schedule two to three follow-ups after giving leads room to think about your offer. You can switch to a text or email follow-up after the first one.
How SignMore helps real estate secure new business.
It hurts losing a high-interest lead. But it happens all the time. A study from 411 Locals revealed that small businesses miss 6 out of 10 calls. Real estate agents miss calls daily as they’re busy and can’t take calls when meeting clients.
AI tools and voicemail machines can help but they frustrate leads when they want to speak to a realtor. And they create a backlog of work for real estate agents. It’s often too late by the time you reach them. They’ve either found help elsewhere or they’ve given up.
A 24/7 real estate answering service can manage calls, appointments, and leads on your behalf. A property-focused service works with you to create protocols for different call types. So after-hours support and emergency calls are no longer a concern.
You can turn your phone off without fear of upsetting clients. A team of friendly receptionists will take the appropriate actions when you’re not free.
Cold calling may not be the easiest skill to master but refining your real estate cold-calling scripts can help turn prospects into clients fast. A live answering service guarantees a friendly human is always available to help callers. After all, prospects answer your cold calls – an answering service guarantees you won’t miss theirs.
See how SignMore can help your property management company capture and qualify leads 24/7. Book your free 15-minute consultation.
