Success With Cold-Calling Probate Leads Requires Turning Your Script into a Conversational Framework That Moves WITH A Prospective Client’s Needs.
If you’re a regular on our Mastermind Calls or follow our Probate Mastermind Podcast, you’ve probably heard it dozens of times – It takes some adjustment to jump on the phone and call probate leads when you’ve built up hard-sell habits from years of calling FSBOs and Expired leads. With Probate, you’re dealing with someone who might have a lot more on their plate, who likely could use your help much more than a traditional home-seller, but has no idea right now what their roadmap looks like.
When Donna jumped on our 44th Role Play call last week, she bravely jumped in the hot seat with Chad. Though she has years of experience in real estate, she is new to calling probate leads and wanted to go over her script. Below, we re-cap the live role play, break it down, and offer valuable critique, so read on!
Chad Gave Donna Some Straight-To-The-Point Critique on her Cold-Calling Script.
Donna opened her call with the same structure so many other agents use:
“My name is ______ and I’m an agent with _______. Is there any real estate?”
Does this sound like you or someone on your team?
After Donna’s first few statements, Chad said “Let’s break here.” Then he gave her some critical advice anyone making cold-calls should use to improve their cold-calling introduction fast.
Use these 3 Tips Next Time You Cold-Call Leads (Even leads that aren’t probate leads) and Your Conversations Will Go Much Further.
1. Be Donna. Be Jim. Be Jessica. Don’t title yourself as a Realtor/Investor/Wholesaler.
On one hand, and especially if you’re working in a competitive market, your prospective clients are being contacted by other realtors and investors, and have probably built up a wall from hearing the same thing over and over. Throwing your title out there so soon allows this wall to go right up and it’s hard to get over.
On the other hand, you aren’t just a Realtor, an investor, etc… Are you? You have skill sets, specialties, hobbies, things you’re naturally good at – You have value and solutions you can provide beyond a one-word title. Do not pigeonhole yourself. You don’t even know what a client’s specific needs are when you are making your introduction, and they might assume by your title alone you won’t be able to help them at this point in time.
Bonus: Check out David Pannell and Chad Corbett’s discussion on the Good Cop/Bad Cop approach for winning every listing appointment as a realtor/investor pair:
2. Don’t offer condolences to someone you did not know.
This can be a trigger for a lot of people who may still be hurting emotionally. Oftentimes, sympathizing with someone -especially someone who has no idea who you are- seems not just inauthentic, but also like it’s coming from a place of pity.
Sympathy is also different from empathy – Empathy involves an understanding of the situation someone is dealing with, and conveying that understanding will go a long way in positioning yourself as the person who can offer a relevant and compassionate solution.
I want to emphasize that this approach is something that can make you much more successful in any niche. In my years working as a real estate ISA, I think of the countless times an empathetic approach (i.e. listening) got me through the typical expired and FSBO objections that a bullish approach would not have. Maybe you reach an expired lead whose motivation was not just to sell and buy another house, but had added pressure from notice of default and pre-foreclosure.
“Do you have a plan for where you are going next?“
“Has anyone given you a framework for what your options are if you need to sell fast vs. if you have time to get the most equity back in your pocket, and what those numbers might look like for you?“
In a way, you’re still asking for the client’s business with questions like these, but unlike the dozens of other agents and investors who might be reaching out, you’re asking for this business as part of a two-way dialogue. You will also have much more knowledge on the situation, which means can better prepare your roadmap for the steps and processes necessary to reach the desired result.
I used to get off these calls feeling like I was really making a difference for so many people! Feeling like a human and not a telemarketer also had the added benefit of keeping my motivation to keep dialing high. Selling with empathy has obvious extrinsic benefits like increased conversion and stellar testimonials, but it also brings invaluable intrinsic benefits that make this work much more rewarding.
3. Don’t go straight for the jugular on Real Estate.
Above, I mentioned how you as the caller don’t even know the seller’s specific situation when you are first making your introduction.
The truth is, it’s extremely common for personal representatives and the related family members who might be answering your calls to not fully understand the situation they’re in, either. When you lead into a conversation by asking a question they don’t even have an answer to, they won’t have anything valuable to offer you in response.
Get creative and use discovery questions to lead into the real estate conversation, instead of leading with it.
Chad and Jim go on to share some anecdotes of how they’ve evolved their approach over the years to change these three habits. Watch the role play and breakdown in full below:
