- To ensure your prospect is receptive, you must use the right language and avoid being a “sales person” hack.
As a real estate agent, you know you have to pick up the phone and call people to generate leads and respond to referrals and inquiries, right?
The first words that come out of your mouth are crucial to your success with that call.
Do you have the right language that opens doors or a script that gets the door slammed in your face?
If you don’t have the right language, I am going to give you the absolute best prospecting language to use with people you don’t know. It can be used for prospecting, calling a referral or following up with a prospect who responded to your marketing.
I’m going to give it to you and then explain why it is so devastatingly effective. Remember, this is just the conversation opener. Here it goes:
Prospect: Hello?
You: John Smith please.
Prospect: Yes, this is John.
You: John, my name is Derrick Ruiz. We have never me before, but I am hoping you could help me for a moment.
Prospect: Sure, I guess. It depends on what it is. (This is the usual response.)
That’s it!
Why is this opening is so effective?
There are three reasons:
1. You are not identifying yourself as a ‘sales person’
Identifying yourself as a sales person automatically triggers a prospect’s anti-salesperson radar.
Sales are lost at “Hello.” If you tell them you are a salesperson right off the bat, you’re toast!
For example, if I say, “Hi my name is Derrick Ruiz, and I am with eXp Realty,” boom — I’m done. The prospect knows this is a sales call and just wants to hang up.
2. You are politely telling them that you’ve never met
This is the complete opposite of the hack sales person who pretends he knows the prospect. Do you ever get calls from a salesperson who pretends he or she knows you? I get those a lot, and it annoys the heck out of me.
For example: “Hello Steve, this is Derrick. How are you?” (I’m pretending like I know Steve but I don’t.) Then Steve is wondering, Do I know a Derrick?
Please don’t do this.
3. You are asking the prospect for help
Asking for help “opens” the prospect’s mind because most people are helpful and will respond positively when politely asked for help. And you need a prospect with an open mind, not a closed one.
After you have used this language and have opened the prospect’s mind, it’s time to segue into the second part of the conversation.
I’ll cover what you say after the opening in the next article whether you are prospecting for listings, responding to a referral that was given to you or following up with a prospect who left you a message from your marketing.
Derrick Ruiz is the author of Unlock The Real Estate Game though trust and integrity in Los Angeles. Follow him on Instagram or connect with him on LinkedIn.
