Does the thought of spending an hour calling prospects send a chill down your spine? Does dialing that next number feel like a chore, knowing you might get hung up on?
Do you have fear of the phone?
I hear it all day long in coaching sessions, “Tom, I know I should prospect more, but I’m scared.” For many agents, the fear of cold calling a FSBO is so paralyzing, they simply give up. What a wasted opportunity!
After over 30 years of helping agents grow their businesses, here’s what I know: Agents who prospect consistently, earn more.
Imagine what it would mean to your business if you had full confidence to pick up the phone and book appointments consistently.
The key is to know your scripts! Knowing exactly what to say, how to say it, when to say it, and who to say it to — makes all the difference between remaining an average agent and becoming a top producer.
If you’re looking for proven scripts, download our free “Fearless Follow-Up” Bundle for killer follow-up dialogues and much more!
Below are my top four tips for overcoming fear of the phone.
Stop calling it ‘prospecting’
Labels are powerful triggers.
Instead of calling it “prospecting,” call it your “Hour of Power” or your “Money Making Calls” or even “My Kids’ Future is More Important than My Candy-Ass Fears.” This will immediately change your mindset.
Choose a name that gets you awake, excited and full of energy to attack those phone calls every day!
Create your space
Where you make your calls has just as big of an impact as what you call your hour. At my office, all of our consultants have stand-up desks. It’s proven that when you stand up, you have more energy and are more engaged and focused in conversations.
Get a headset, hang some inspirational signs and create a space that feeds your mind, energy and soul.
Get it on your calendar
It’s one of my strongest beliefs in business: “If it’s not on your schedule, it doesn’t exist.”
Your Hour of Power is just as important as an appointment with a client. If simply adding it to your calendar isn’t giving you the accountability you need, find a buddy, a mentor or a coach.
We have a rockstar agent in our coaching program who chooses to do his calls live inside our private, members-only Facebook group. This not only allows other members to learn from him, but also holds him accountable to completing the calls, following the scripts and not giving up.
Create a competition
Knowing that your calls dictate your income, you shouldn’t need any more incentive to inspire you to actually pick up the phone. But some people just don’t perform as well unless there’s an additional incentive on the line.
If that’s you, create a competition.
Our coaching community conducts an annual March Madness appointment-setting contest that creates a massive “sprint” of prospecting activity and propels our members through the remainder of the year.
Square off against one of your peers on a monthlong appointment-setting competition, or simply challenge yourself to set a big, bold number of appointments each month.
Whatever the terms of your competition, it needs to get under your skin and compel you to make those calls. It’s going to drive you to do the work.
Overcoming your fear of the phone starts by knowing what to say. We just launched a free Real Estate Script Bundle that includes a proven dialogue to combat commission-cutting requests, a script for contacting online leads, the exact language to maximize your listing presentation and more. Download it today!