We are always asked to provide “scripts” for calling on commercial real estate users and investors.  Is there a better way to position yourself on the phone?  Absolutely.  Can you differentiate yourself from your competition?  Yes.  But even with the most creative and articulate scripts, many brokers believe there is always one problem… you still have to pick up the telephone and make the call.

Recently I read a blog from Dave Braun of Growing Beyond the Lightbulb.  He was contributing to one of several LinkedIn groups I follow.  I thought his comments were valuable and worth sharing and Dave has given us permission to do so:

“One of the most frequent on-line discussions today is ‘Cold Calling’. Does It Work? Why we’re afraid of it! What Mistakes Are We Making? We justify (valid or not valid) whether to step out of our comfort zone, contact people and share our message. What we want is ‘magic words’ that will convince 99 out of 100 people to see us and buy from us. They love us so much there are ‘no objections’. We want appointment confirmations, approval of our recommendations, a signed check and of course removal of this ill feeling in our gut when we must pick up the phone and start cold calling. The majority realize – it’s not easy (excuse 1), it’s uncomfortable for us (excuse 2), so we feel justified in retreating (mistake 1), slowing down the process of how much pain (how many calls) we are willing to make during the week (mistake 2). We rationalize if it’s really needed in the sales profession. WANT AD: Sales people not actively telling people what they do and asking if there’s an interest. How’s that for a job description?

So . . . just a few things to remember:
1. It’s in our mind and we control our mind, don’t we? So, let’s just do it. . . Pick up the phone and start talking. We have no problem talking in non-cold calling situations, right? The more we ‘think about it’, the more we procrastinate and talk our activity levels to new ‘lows’ or not at all!

2. Rest assured, whatever we say/don’t say on the phone, the sun will come up tomorrow! Basically, ‘it’s not going to kill us’. So let’s just do it!

3. We should realize that not everybody has a need TODAY to buy my vacuum cleaner, my encyclopedias, my aspirins (whatever). ‘NO’ is an okay response. We shouldn’t let our hesitation in hearing ‘NO’ keep us from finding those who are actually willing to buy! If we’re lucky, our prospects will continue to sit at home and just wait for our call and ‘god forbid’ someone else (more strong willed) is calling them and selling our product/service.

4. We should tell our contact briefly and in a sincere voice what we provide and why we do it. Nothing to be afraid of there. “I sell encyclopedias (whatever), and help parents provide a way for their children to get a better start in school”. “If you’d have an interest in learning more, when might we get together?” Something simple. We don’t need to be flashy or something we re-write a gazillion times to get every word perfect to avoid those rejections.

5. When they say ‘NO’ (and many will), we should thank them for letting us take a minute of their time. We planted the seed, watered it, now move on.  Couldn’t we make at least 10, 15, 20 calls in one hour this way if we tell ourselves it’s just that simple to do?

‘Paradoxical Therapy’ says the more we do it – the easier it becomes. (Thanks, Hank Trisler, ‘No Bull Selling’).

Do a call right now.
If it doesn’t kill us – let’s do another.
Still here? Wow,
Maybe we should do another.
When we call – can we focus on what ‘we get’ by helping other people get what they want and not how ‘we feel’ doing the process. How do you see it?”

Thanks Dave for providing such clarity.