By now, we would hope your first business letters of the year have been delivered and you have collected a list of homes from your MLS that you want to include in your target 'farm' market. This list will become your working list for the year. If your list is too small (less than 500 names) then you need to increase your list size. You can separate your list by street or by city block, depending on your market area. An average farm market list should consist of 500 to 1,500 names and addresses that you will regularly call, mail, email and drop off printed material. Anything larger than 1,500 addresses will need a personal assistant to help manage.

It is easy to forget in real estate that your productivity and success are all based on numbers. Maybe you've heard "for every 100 no's there is one yes"? That one yes could be the key to your survival in real estate. The more calls you make, the more letters you send, the more emails you deliver and the more doors you knock on, the better the chance that someone will say they are thinking of buying or selling.

It's also key to remember when cultivating your target market that it is what you say that could make or break the answer "yes". You may not be completely comfortable reading scripts over the phone, so practice! Read the scripts aloud to yourself, record your delivery on a portable tape recorder so you can hear what you sound like, or recite the script lines for your closest confidant. You could jump right in with your calls, but you need to make sure the message you are trying to convey is complete, sincere, and direct. If you miss any of the 3 key concepts of scripts, then you need more practice.
<SAMPLE CALL SCRIPT>

Now that you have your telephone script delivery strong, you can start scheduling time to make your calls...

HERE ARE SOME TIPS:

1.) Cross-reference your numbers with the National Do Not Call List Registry before you make your calls.

2.) Cross-reference your numbers by location. This will make it easier to follow-up with you call if you group all of your calls to a particular neighborhood.

3.) Make your calls twice a day 9-11 AM and 6-8 PM

4.) Always call from your business phone number and not your cell phone. If your audience has Caller ID, the business will show up identifying who you are before they answer.

5.) Follow your call plan: Schedule time 2-3 days a week to make your calls and select a weekly number to call.
<EXAMPLE: If your list is 500 households you need to contact every month, you need to make 125 calls every week>

Making "cold calls" is essential to building your business. If you do not make these calls, you are losing out on an essential part of your business building success. Fear is the largest deterrent that keeps agents from making the call! Just think, after only a few hundred calls you'll be so skilled you'll be able to do it in your sleep... and your business will thrive because of it!

SPECIAL BONUS:
Weekly Success Tracking Worksheet
Download this worksheet to keep track of your cold calls, sphere calls, expired listing calls, network contacts, emails sent, network contacts and more! See how you really are doing with your business and your goals every week!