Building your real estate portfolio starts with finding motivated sellers. But how do you reach them when your contact list is a blank slate? Cold calling can feel daunting, but it’s a powerful tool for new investors. In this blog, we’ll break down the process, helping you craft a clear, concise script that gets conversations started, qualifies leads, and secures appointments. We’ll ditch the high-pressure tactics and focus on genuine communication to build trust with potential sellers. Remember that cold calling is not about closing the deal, it is about qualifying a lead and setting the appointment. That is it, pretty simple! Get ready to transform your cold calls into hot leads!
We are going to be focusing on helping you uncover several key bits of info. Although you may not like to use a script when calling it is important to think through the flow of the call you want to have and write down a structure to help you uncover a few critical pieces of information.
- Do they want to sell?
- Is the price reasonable?
- Are they motivated to work with an investor?
- How to Handle common rebuttals you will face.
Call Script Structure
In the beginning of the call you need to jump straight to the point. Don’t waste time being creative or you will just make your seller’s really angry as you interrupted their day with a cold call. Your first sentences might go something like:
You: “hello Robert?”
Seller: “yes”
You: “I was calling about your property at 123 Main street and wanted to know if you’d be interested in a cash offer?”
If they are interested you will want to work towards getting the following information
- Contact info: Name, Phone, e-mail and confirm the property address they live in now.
- Listed? Is the property already listed with an agent?
- When Do you want to sell and when do you want to move?
- Why are you selling? You might need to be more tactful in asking this question. You can comment on their time frame to get to this or ask them what repairs they need and why they might want to sell a house that is in good shape. Use your creativity to uncover their WHY and write this down.
- Is the property vacant or occupied?
- When you sell, where will you go?
- Who will be involved in the decision to sell? Make sure to find who is legally required to sign and if they get the offer they want who else would they need to discuss it with?
Rebuttals
You are going to get push back so planning a head on how you can handle a lot of the common ones will help you keep your cool and roll the intense nature of the question. Here are the common ones we get:
Wrong Number: Sometimes the skip trace gives you bad data and it’s legit. Other times it might give you a family members’s number. Try this next time “oh, sorry, I was calling about 123 Main street and saw this number tied to the record, do you own that property?”
Where did you find my number? “I was looking through city/ county records regarding the property at 123 Main st and found this number is connected to it. I believe you are the owner of the property at 123 Main St?”
How Much is your offer? “That is why I’m calling you, to learn a little bit more about the property and see if it would be a good fit for what I am looking for. Could you tell me more about the property?”
Why are you asking so many questions? Our offer depends on the condition of the property and time we have to purchase it so I wanted to make sure I get the complete picture and make sure I don’t miss anything.
Work The Price
Kick off the price conversation by just asking “What do you need to walk away with selling the home?” Then once they give you a number ask them a follow up question like this: “If I buy As-Is with no repairs, and I pay all of the closing costs for the buyer and the seller side, title search, transfer fee, attorney fee, title insurance what would be the least you consider? If you are still not getting to the number you need to book the appointment then ask them if they have another property they might consider selling, then come back to this one and ask if they may be able to lower if you are able to close faster or put a higher earnest money deposit down?
Book The Appointment
Set yourself a criteria that qualifies for an appointment. Maybe you need the property to be priced at 85% ARV in order to go see it. If the number meets your criteria then you get to go see the house. It is critical that you know all of the owners that need to sign and also any family members that might influence the decision. That might look like this: “I see in the county record that Bob and Sue are the only owners is that correct? Great! If I come see the house and I give you the price you are looking for is there anyone else you are going to need to run this by before you agree to sell?” Make sure all of your influencers and decision makers are out there so you can get a clear green light on your appointment.