How to Get an Appointment in Three Minutes Flat!

Joseph Bridges: During our early days, my brother and I made literally thousands of calls - we estimate we made 20,000 calls - to buying prospects. We were very frustrated  at how much time each call took and the lack of ROI.

The problem is that a  typical call generally revolves around wasted time. A call that should take three minutes ends up taking 15, 20, even 30 minutes - and at the end, you have a hot lead if you're lucky - but most likely a "warm" lead that doesn't pan out.

Calls take longer than they should because we like to be helpful and end up giving people too much information. We work hard to get people to call us and then either inadvertently send them to someone else or we give them so much info that they think they solve their problems on their own. People are chit chatty - either you or your prospect will waste your valuable time talking about the weather, the market, the latest sporting event, etc.

We realized that all this chit chat was resulting in a lack of appointments - and the sole reason was because we were letting prospects control the conversation instead of us controlling the conversation.

FMM: So how did you train yourselves to overcome this challenge?

JB: We started keeping track of calls, recording them, listening to ourselves and fine-tuning. We kept getting better and better - but then someone told us we could do the calls faster. So, we started analyzing the calls - our goal was to get an appointment in three minutes. It was then we realized the "secret": You have to be the one to ask all the questions. You cannot answer any of your prospects' questions. I know that sounds crazy and counter-intuitive, but it works.

FMM: That does sound crazy. Do you get kickback on this strategy?

JB: We do. When people hear us in our training seminars, they can't get past the idea that not answering questions is rude. That's because we've been trained to believe that when someone asks you a question, you have to answer it. What we've done is taken that "social training" and flipped it. Instead of letting your prospects ask questions - you have to be the one to ask them. People will answer them.

I know it's a cliché to say "time is money," but it's the truth. If you let a prospect control the call and he or she agrees to meet you at a property you're trying to sell or rent  and then doesn't show up, how much time - and money - have you lost? You've lost the 15, 20, 30 minutes on the phone, the drive to the property, then the hanging around to see if the person is going to show up. All of this could have been prevented with a simple three minute call where you asked all the questions.

FMM: So, you're saying that real estate professionals should use calls to pre-qualify people - fast.

JB: Exactly. You don't want to show your property to every single yahoo. But, the second piece to making this work is that when you set an appointment, set it at your office, not at the property. You want them to come to you so that you can make them jump through hoops in order to further qualify them - before they view the property.

If the prospect doesn't show up at the office meeting, it doesn't matter. You're still at work - and you haven't wasted your time, your gas, etc. driving to an appointment at the property. And, you haven't shown the property to someone who really isn't a qualified prospect.

The point of the scripted phone call and the face-to-face meeting at your office is to eliminate looky-loos. You want to show your property only to qualified prospects who are serious about buying / renting.

If you use this process with every single call you make or receive, you'll end up doubling and tripling your productivity - which of course leads to greater revenues. And, the more you qualify someone, the better your process.
 
FMM: What exactly is a phone script and how does it help a real estate investor take a prospect to the next step in the sales process?

JB: A phone script has but one goal: it should lead the prospect down a path where they have to come to one conclusion - which is meeting with you at your office. If the person is serious about buying or renting, this "choice" makes sense. For a looky-loo, the "choice" doesn't make sense - hence, you weed these people out early on and can then focus on serious prospects.

Once you have the prospect in front of you, you can do anything you want. For real estate investors or landlords, the face-to-face meeting is another interview, but a longer one. Again, you control it by using a questionnaire in order to determine that the prospect is indeed a qualified one.

FMM: What are the top three mistakes real estate investors make when talking on the phone without a script?
 
JB: This is an excellent question - my brother and I love this one.

One, people talk too much. They talk about themselves, about the property, about the weather, about the market. To make the scripted call work - and to get an appointment in three minutes - you have to cut the chit chat. I know this is hard, but it's crucial.

Two, real estate investors don't control the conversation. Instead of letting prospects ask about the property, about you, about how long you've been in business, etc. you must immediately begin asking the questions: What are you looking for? Is this your first rental or first home purchase? How much are you looking to spend? Why are you moving here?

Three, investors don't guide prospects to a logical conclusion. Instead, they let the prospect dictate the next step - i.e. "Shall we meet at the property on Tuesday at 3:00?" or "Can you send me information about the property?" Instead, you want to script your calls so that the only choice people have is to meet with you at your office. That's it - don't give them any other option.

FMM: The phrase "phone scripts" sounds like people need to memorize those phony scripts that telemarketers use to run over you on the phone.  

JB: We tell people that there is a huge difference between a telemarketing script and a buyer's script. You definitely do not want to sound phony. Asking people questions is not a bad thing - and in fact, when you go to a party, don't you love talking to people who ask you lots of questions?  

A well thought out phone script is sincere and based on you and your business - it's not based on memorizing something that doesn't appeal to you.

The other thing about phone scripts is that once you become the interviewer, you'll never face rejection again. Think about that - interviewers never face rejection - only interviewees do. Viewing yourself from this perspective puts you in total control of the situation.

FMM: How can a phone script help real estate investors in today's brutal market?

JB: That's an easy one. You will make more appointments and more money and you'll reduce by half - or more - the time you spend meeting people. More money, less time - what's not to love?