Recently I had the pleasure to speak with a few seasoned real estate coaches who also sell real estate, Martin Verdi (Beverly Hills, CA), Ken Price (Atlanta, GA) , Julie Kaczor (Chicago, IL), Eddy Delgado (San Diego, CA), manager of one of the largest brokerages in the midwest, coach Tom Myers (Indianapolis, IN) and an up an coming superstar agent Rebekah Harding Gilbert (Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX).
As I talked to them I realized their challenges and their client’s challenges are the same as mine and likely yours.
What are yours and your coaching clients’ biggest challenges in prospecting?
Tom: For my agents and clients, it’s understanding and strengthening the link between prospecting and the return from the goals they set. It’s important to amass enough calls to do the math to understand what each “no” is worth in dollars. Recently I divided the number of hours of prospecting to commissions for each client and discovered some agents earned $50 for a “no” some as high as $1500. Now the link is strengthened, and they find the time to prospect.
Martin: The biggest challenge is to set presentations; to get in front of people. With my clients, I think many give up if they have incorrect contact information. Nobody wants to just sit there and dial the phone.
Rebekah: To be prepared for prospecting and to eliminate distractions. Sometimes it’s tough to get back to my schedule say after a Monday’s with Mike call or I might get distracted returning texts.
Ken: My biggest challenge was trying to connect to the seller, to get the right phone and email so I can have the conversation. With my clients I think their biggest challenge is having them set aside time to call; and of course, getting good information.
Julie: Making prospecting a priority is my biggest challenge. I prospect 4 days a week, 2 hours a day. My clients biggest challenge is accurate phone numbers and connecting the dots between what we are doing now and the paychecks that will come later.
Eddy: First, it is staying on top of all the leads that we are provided. It can get unsettling knowing I have new leads and not always enough time to get to all of them. I need to make more time for evening prospecting, but that is difficult because of energy. Having accurate data is key. For my clients they will say they run out of people to call.
How important are the scripts?
Tom: Critically important. Just yesterday I had an agent who joined coaching six weeks ago and has been avoiding the very last question on the FSBO script “what would be the best time to show you today at 4 or tomorrow at 2”? which is the close. Once she adopted it she started to set four times as many appointments and realized how the scripts work. We use all the script not just selected parts.
Martin: It’s the only way. Let me put it this way, scripts lead to a presentation about price and motivation. If you don’t use them, you’re just having a conversation not presentations.
Rebekah: It’s the only way. You must have them internalized so you can listen to what people are saying so you can dig deeper instead of letting their natural “no’s” make you quit. Express curiosity to them; it helps.
Ken: Scripts are very important. If you master them, then you know what to say and they are more likely to set an appointment and get the listing. If you don’t know your scripts, they think you’re not serious about your profession.
Julie: Scripts are extremely important. They alleviate going off on tangents that the customer doesn’t care about. It makes me appear intelligent.
Eddy: The scripts are crucial. They are just as important as performing your prospecting. The scripts you can get to the “yes” or “no” faster. Knowing them is huge.
What are the best tools you are using to prospect?
Tom: Telephone and the doorbell. For prospecting lists my company only buys ArchAgent. And we love it.
Martin: The ArchAgent services. I use them all. I call Expired, For Sale By Owner, Just Listed Just Sold and certain high end For Rent By Owner. The only prospecting services I use are ArchAgent. People have told me I should use a triple line dialer and I tell them if the numbers are correct then you want to have each presentation, one at a time.
Rebekah: Well the ArchAgent services. ArchAgent has helped me tremendously. It has more accurate contact info than my previous provider, so I reach more people. The dialer helps me work more efficiently.
Ken: I just use ArchAgent. My previous provider gave me accurate numbers 1-2 out of 10 times; with ArchAgent I get 7-8 out of 10.
Eddy: We use ArchAgent leads and Powerdialer. We also have a prospecting station with stand-up desk and headset. Sometimes is what you don’t use that helps. Keeping it simple makes you money. Headset, lists and desk
What do you find is the biggest advantage of the ArchAgent system for your productivity?
Tom: We like that you get full contact info for both owners for each property. The predictive analytics on geographic calls have kicked our listing appointments way up. I was standing next to an agent that made four calls, three of the four were already scheduled to meet with agents. My agent got appointments with two of the three and listed and sold both. I was standing right there.
Martin: Let me put it to you this way. There are two types of people. People I know, people I don’t know. The people I don’t know all come from ArchAgent. It’s efficient, very accurate and information I can’t get anywhere else. I have found many great listings, some of my wealthy neighbors that I was only able to contact using your system.
Rebekah: Since I recently relocated, and I don’t have a big COI so all of my business comes from the numbers ArchAgent provides. I’ve gotten significantly more listings from ArchAgent than my previous provider.
Ken: I like that it updates the information right in front of me. I dial a lot by hand, so I can see it update and insert new information. It gives me the confidence that I know the information is right. Quality of contact is the best. It saves me a lot of time. I’m new to the predictive analytics but starting to master those calls too.
Julie: For me, it’s ease of use. And the information is good, very good. I’ve used others in the past and I find ArchAgent to be the most accurate.
Eddy: for us it’s ease of use and accuracy. There’s not a lot of setup. With ArchAgent, once you’re in you can start rolling. For Just Listed/Just Sold I like the map view. It gives you a bird’s eye view of the neighborhood while we’re calling so we can actually see exactly where they live.
There you have it. Solutions from the best: prioritize your time, learn your scripts and keep it simple. Like this post? Download a PDF version now.
ArchAgent brings together the tools and resources the country’s top real estate agents rely on in a single package for a low cost. Our suite of new listing and marketing services are proven to work and help agents set the standard for success in their market based on extensive research with hundreds of agents around the country. To be the best, become an ArchAgent.
Steve Cortez is a seasoned real estate professional with decades of experience and owner of ArchAgent. ArchAgent brings together the tools and resources the country’s top real estate agents rely on in a single package for a low cost.