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You’re in real estate sales, so you’re probably pounding the pavement (metaphorically) day in a day out in order to keep a steady stream of closings in your pipeline. The truth is that often getting warm and cold leads to answer your calls can be extremely challenging. Here are 5 tips to help you do just that.

Dial at the Right Time

Believe it or not, it’s easier to connect with prospects during certain times of the day. The early morning is often a good time to reach prospects, before things get too hectic. In the late morning through the early afternoon, decision-makers are likely too busy to take calls. You might have much better luck later in the day—between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm. So do as much dialing as you can during these windows. Researchers report that the best times to dial prospects are between 8:00 am and 9:00 am and between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm; and, the best day to dial is Wednesday.

Accelerate Productivity

Topo reports that it takes an average of 18 dials to have a single conversation with a sales prospect. It’s true that if you use the tips in this post you’ll be connecting with more prospects than the average real estate agent. Explore tools that can help you increase dialing velocity, research leads faster, and reduce the time you spend logging data in CRM; this will enable you to dial and connect with more of your prospects.

Dial from Local Area Codes

Prospects are picking up their phones less because they’re using caller ID more. Let’s face it… most people don’t want to answer calls from numbers they don’t recognize.

According to a recent survey, prospects are up to 400% more likely to answer calls from numbers with local area codes.

I don’t know about you, but I’d be way more likely to answer a call from a local number than some toll-free number or a city whose name I don’t even recognize.

Convince More Prospects to Call You Back

You already know that you are going to voicemail. A lot. It’s true that some real estate agents don’t even bother leaving voicemails; they see it as a waste of time. However, a compelling voicemail message can definitely inspire prospects to call you back. 

Here are some tips for leaving voicemails that help to get prospects to call you back.

• Keep it brief: No voicemail should ever be longer than 30 seconds. 
• Be easy to call back: Leave your phone number clearly (don’t rush). And say your name, and phone number twice if possible.
• Say their name: Say the prospects’ first name twice during voicemail messages. People tend to like hearing the sound of their own names.
• Sound excited: This is more important than anything. If you sound bored, tired, angry or nervous no one is going to want to call you back. Stand up when leaving messages to increase the energy in your voice.
• Lead with the benefit: Do not leave a voicemail with a sales pitch. Suggest an enticing benefit that gets the prospect to return your call. Here’s an example: “Hi Jose, It’s Melissa from Transaction 911. I think I found a way that I can save you $200 a month. If you have time, can you please give me a call at…”

Use a Multi-Channel Contact Strategy

This post is about how to get your prospects to pick up their phones. But the truth is that there are some people who will never take calls from people they’ve never heard of and companies they do not recognize. The best prospectors don’t just call prospects. They send emails and connect on social media. The more you can familiarize prospects with your brand, the more likely they’re going to be to take a call with you.

Real estate sales will always be a challenge, but, with the right approach, it’s a challenge well worth undertaking. Test out some of the tactics provided here, and see which ones work for you. And, when you are ready to open your next escrow with a new client, feel free to contact the transaction coordinating team at Transaction 911.