How to Use Cold Calling for Real Estate Investing Success

In many cases, a lot of people would opt out of making cold calls due to their lack of love for it. However, it is well known that cold calling is a very important component in expanding one’s real estate investing business. With COVID still being alive and present, roadblocks have been set in place thus making cold calling a great starting point to locate buyers and sellers.

As a mentor, I love helping my students look for new and innovative ways to invest and market themselves. Although cold calling is an outdated strategy, it is still extremely relevant in the process of growing your business. When you combine the application of different marketing tools, you will find that more doorways to income opening up in front of you.

What is Cold Calling in Real Estate Investing?

Cold calling is a strategy used to introduce you and your business to your potential buyers and sellers. You would use this method ideally to locate properties for your real estate investing business. By cold calling, you’re really putting your best foot forward because you are going the extra mile and making a personal connection with your potential seller. Ironically, cold calling is a great way to locate buyers while you’re actively building that list. You’re opening up more opportunities for both ends.

The Importance of Cold Calling in Real Estate Investing

Most of the time, the repetitive rejection can make one feel like they’re attacking this process all wrong. Although the no to yes ratio may feel unbalanced, it is important to remind yourself that cold calling definitely works. It all makes sense when you hear that ‘Yes, I am looking to sell!’. I’ve personally seen so much success in my real estate investment business and have even asked around in the community I participate in if it works for others and many investors can attest to it.

In terms of numbers, cold calling delivers a high return on investment (ROI), too! If you draw up a comparison table and place all of the different marketing tools on it, you can conclude the positive ROI from cold calling is a smart and vital portion of building a successful real estate investing business. You will see that there is not a lot of investment being placed in cold calling (phone fees, your time, dialer expenses, and outsourced labor fees) compared to most other costly marketing tools.

When Is Cold Calling Most Effective?

As with all marketing tools and efforts, cold calling could be referred to as the most effective in terms of getting results. All that is needed is a thorough approach to who and why you are making your calls. It won’t work if you just pull out a phone book and start dialing. Honestly, it’s a silly tactic and won’t get you very far. However, if you were to break down your target audience and focus on one group you will surely see better results.

In order to find these sellers, you want to start off by developing a list of certain motivated sellers. To do this, research properties that are in foreclosure, probate or have a tax delinquent status. This information is easily obtainable online and will be your best best when you start doing the research. County records in local areas or local courthouses will keep records of the information you need and will be a great place for you to start looking. You may also want to think about targeting homeowners in the areas that are on the brink of gentrification (the homeowner wants to sell instead of paying for the property tax increases).

Nevertheless, the ultimate goal is to locate properties to purchase as an investment. Once you find the motivated sellers you will find that owners usually sell outside of the traditional real estate process and oftentimes at a price that is below the market value. Even if through cold calling you find yourself only connecting with one seller, you will find that when that seller moves forward with your deal your efforts with cold calling will pay off.

Remember to include commercial real estate owners in your cold call list as they may want to buy properties even if they don’t plan on selling any of their currently owned properties. When connecting with a commercial investor that is interested, you can add that client to your buyer’s and seller’s list. It also helps that these owners tend to be more understanding and welcoming when you give them a cold call.

How To Make Cold Calls Work

With there being many different approaches on how to make cold calling work, I want to stress the importance of not having to dial an endless list of potential leads in order for it to be effective. Ironically, using today’s advanced technology (dialers) makes cold calling affordable, easily accessible, and a more efficient route for real estate investing businesses of any size.

1. Dialers

How dialers operate is by taking each number from your list and calling them one at a time. All you have to do is program the dialer to leave a pre-recorded voice message if the call ends up going straight to voicemail. Another option you have is to set up the dialer to send the call to a live person if the call is answered. You never want to waste precious time leaving bulk messages to someone’s voicemail box and miss the chance to connect with someone live and make a good impression.

1. Outsource

You could even hire a company or individual to call the numbers on your list on your behalf. That way, you won’t have to spend extra time on the phone and focus your time on other tasks needed to help your business run while still receiving the benefits of cold calling. Although this route saves time, it is a little more costly than cold calling yourself. However, the benefits may outweigh the costs if you have a well-developed list to cold call from.

1. DIY

If you’re not intimidated by rejection and enjoy talking to people then by all means you can definitely do the cold calling yourself. This is a great option if you find yourself on a tight budgeting scheduled and especially if you are just starting out in the real estate investing field. Working through your list would be the best option if you’re looking to save money. In fact, a good way to maximize your time is to do your cold calling after you’ve reached out through an alternative communication route (texting, mailing, etc). This way when someone answers or when you leave a message you can say you’re following up with only qualified leads.

Use A Script To Stay On Track

A well developed and creative script for the calls is a great way to keep you organized and focus. It’s always good to have on hand when you are using a dialer or an outsourced caller. When creating the script it is important to stay consistent in your message and to represent your business/brand whether you are just leaving a message or connecting with someone live.

Keep it simple and straightforward. Many people will hang up on you once they realize it is a solicitation call. However, if you researched your list before hand and are calling your targeted audience with your strong script it is more likely you will have longer conversations with people that will want to hear what you have to say.

Learn More Effective Real Estate Investing Business Strategies

I’d love to help you understand the details of how to build a real estate investing business. I understand already that cold calling is one of the many effective ways to really scale your business. If you’re interested in joining me and the community, I can share with you the online resources, on-site events, mentoring and training you’ll need to really succeed in this field and watch your business grow. Contact us to schedule a consultation call to discuss how we can help you learn and grow!