Quick EQ Based Call Tips for 2024

Producing agents know how critical consistent outreach to prospects and sphere contacts is for their production. The tips below are designed to lower the barrier of difficulty and make it easier to not just consistently pick up the phone and dial, but also to have greater success on phone calls and feel good about your effort and outreach.

Here’s some tips to take the edge off and make it easy to pick up the phone:

1. Building rapport and relationships with sphere contacts and lead prospects are key tactics for real estate professionals to generate business, and using the phone is a critical part of that process. Use low pressure and focus on trust-building for best results when calling.

2. The goal of each call should be to just further build the relationship; with meetings, referral opportunities, direct business opportunities, etc. as potential outcomes from that relationship. I.e. If you are working your process correctly, the results will follow. 

3. Take the pressure off yourself and make it easy to call. Keys to success are consistency and persistence, and it can be difficult to keep up with your calls if you are creating extra anxiety and stress around the process. 

4. Let the other side talk during the phone call. There are certain things you will want to communicate (e.g. introduction, why you are calling), but the more you talk beyond that the less likely you are to get the desired result.

5. Don’t sound too “Salesy” in tone. You want to sound comfortable, like you are talking to a friend, but just a little bit more professional in demeanor. Letting your voice drop into that “salesy” inflection is a quick way to erode trust with whomever you are speaking to.

6. Use any phone scripts as a guide. Don’t read verbatim. Find your own voice and make it your own so you can communicate the information smoothly, professionally and be in the moment with the prospect.

7. You can only "ask" in proportion to the value established in their eyes, otherwise you end up breaking the relationship before it's even had a chance to start. You must build the relationship and value from the perspective of the lead or sphere contact first; and can then ask for a meeting, to be a referral source for them, or get their contact information, etc. in return.

8. All sphere and lead contacts should go into a CRM (Contact Resource Management tool), with an automated ‘top of mind marketing’ sequence applied. Agents should be following prompts to go into the CRM daily/regularly to reach out to prospects via phone, text, etc.  

9. For prospects that have an imminent need, agents should try to get a meeting. Getting a prospect to commit to meeting with you, spending time discussing a potential upcoming real estate transaction opportunity, is a key step in the conversion process. The more of these types of face-to-face events you can manufacture, the more transactions to follow.

10. Send information that adds value. One of the primary reasons you will be sending information, besides the added value you can provide to a lead or sphere contact, is that sending something out is always a convenient reason to check in with someone under the guise of: "Just wanted to follow up and make sure you received the information that was sent over to you." Half of success from calling comes from having a good enough reason to reach out and interrupt someone’s day. 

11. For sphere calls: Check in once per quarter / every 6 months. Add to drip or Newsletter campaigns for ‘Top of Mind Marketing’. Goal is to capture sphere business should they have a need, but also routinely remind them that you want to be a source for their referrals, should any friends, family, co-workers or acquaintances have a need for the services of a real estate professional. 

12. The more pressure applied and the more you try to push someone into doing something, the less likely you will be to get the desired result. 

Calling is critical, yet agents often struggle with consistency. These tips, properly employed, should make calling easier and set you up for better results. The key is to think differently - make it easy for yourself and focus on the other person's needs and how you can best help them. With this mindset of service and consistency, your calling efforts will become easier and more fruitfully over time.