Here is the typical scenario - especially for beginning real estate investors. The phone rings and you pick it up. It is a prospect with a house he wants to sell. You start giving him your pitch as to why he should do business with you. Unfortunately somewhere along the way the conversation just doesn’t work out like you planned.
This scenario is repeated time and time again by both beginners and more experienced investors. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
The problem is simple. Whether we are initiating the phone call or receiving a call, we get nervous. This nervousness shows both in the phone call and in your ability to move on the data the prospect is sharing with you. Your analytical part of the brain shuts down. What should have been a smooth conversation falls flat on its face.
Scripts can be quite powerful. They give you time to ponder questions to ask before you are on the telephone. They also allow you to organize your questions into sensible groups so you can move through a phone conversation quickly and professionally.
And scripts are great when you are just getting started out. They help keep you more calm because you never have to think if you forgot to ask anything. And you always know where you are in your information gathering process.
The problem with scripts though is that if you are just reading from the script, the conversation is very mechanical. You never make that personal connection because you are too busy running down your checklist. And without building that connection, it can be hard to get cooperation for the more sensitive questions you may need to ask.
The solution is to evolve beyond the script. I’m not saying to throw the script away. I’m saying that at some point, you should know what you need to do without that script in front of you. In fact, your entire job on that initial phone call really boils down to two things. The first is building a relationship with the prospect. The second is getting the information you need to make a yes/no decision on the property. This will let you know if you should end the conversation nicely or move to the next step with this prospect.
So how do you get from being a mechanical script reader to a polished relationship builder?
First, you need to be ready to make a lot of phone calls because this is a situation where practice really pays off.
Second, you need a way to review the conversation. The best way to do this is to record the conversation and play it back later. Listen to the whole call several times.
(Note: Check your state laws before recording phone conversations. Many states allow phone recording as long as one party - you - agree to it. But some states may require that both parties agree to it. In that case, recording a conversation may not be a desirable action.)
The first time just listen to the whole thing from start to finish with no judgment.
The second time, listen to the buyer and notice where the tone changes from positive to negative.
The third time, listen to you and see what you were saying AND how you were saying it just before the tone went negative.
The fourth time, listen to the whole conversation again but stop the tape at trouble points. When you stop the tape, figure out what happened to change the tone and write down steps you could take in the future to eliminate this problem. Writing down possible solutions will help you imprint them on your memory so they will be there for future conversations.
Generally, you will discover it is just one or two habits that you have which cause the phone conversation to go bad. Write these issues and solutions on a sticky note that you keep by the phone and review it quickly before every phone call to reinforce building a better habit.
If you follow this method for just a few phone calls, you will find remarkable improvement. If you do it for several dozens of phone calls, you will find that you are becoming a very competent and natural relationship builder. And once you get to that point, you will have mastered an essential skill for real estate investing.
Once you do this analysis for several phone conversations and apply what you discovered, you will find your success rate at phone sales and relationship building will jump dramatically.
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