If you’re an estate agent, then you know that generating new leads is important for keeping your business afloat. But what about your old clients? It’s easy to forget about them after a deal has been closed, but staying in touch with past clients is crucial for maintaining a successful business. Warm calling is a great way to stay in touch with past clients, as well as generate new leads.
What is Warm Calling?
Warm calling is the process of reaching out to potential clients who have already expressed an interest in what you have to offer or have used your services in the past. This could be through an online form, having their property listed with you, attending an open house you arranged or contacting your office. The important thing is that you have their details, preferably stored within a CRM database.
Warm Calling vs. Cold Calling – What is the difference?
The main difference between warm calling and cold calling is that with warm calling, you have a pre-existing relationship with the person you’re contacting, whereas, with cold calling, you’re starting from scratch.
Warm calls are generally much more successful than cold calls because you already have some sort of connection with the person you’re reaching out to. This could be something as simple as them living in the same area as one of your past clients.
Warm Calling Tips
When making a warm call, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
- The goal of a warm call is to maintain relationships and build rapport, not to sell a product or service.
- Take your time and listen to what the other person has to say.
- Be genuine and authentic in your conversation.
- Offer helpful advice and information, even if they’re not interested in buying or selling at the moment.
The Pros and Cons of Warm Calling
Pros:
- You already have a relationship with the person you’re contacting, which makes it more likely they’ll be receptive to your call.
- Warm calls are less intrusive than cold calls, so the person you’re speaking to is more likely to be polite and listen to what you have to say.
- You can use warm calls as an opportunity to catch up with past clients and see how they’re doing, rather than just trying to sell them something.
Cons:
- If you don’t have a good reason for reaching out, the person you’re calling may see it as intrusive and be less likely to want to speak with you.
- If you don’t keep the conversation focused on the other person, they may feel like you’re just trying to sell them something and will tune you out.
Cold calls are calls made to people who have no prior connection to your business. This could be someone who’s never heard of you before or someone who’s listed their property with another agent.
The main difference between cold calling and warm calling is that with cold calling, you have no pre-existing relationship with the person you’re contacting, whereas, with warm calling, you do.
Cold Calling Tips
When making a cold call, it’s important to keep a few things in mind:
- The goal of a cold call is to generate new leads, not to sell a product or service.
- Keep your conversation short and to the point.
- Be polite and respectful, even if the other person is not interested in what you have to say.
- Don’t take it personally if the person you’re calling hangs up on you. It’s all part of the process.
The Pros and Cons of Cold Calling
Pros:
- Cold calling is a great way to generate new leads.
- It’s a numbers game, so the more calls you make, the more likely you are to succeed.
- Cold calling can be done from anywhere, so it’s a great way to reach people who might not otherwise see your marketing materials.
Cons:
- Cold calling can be time-consuming and frustrating.
- You will probably get hung up on a lot, which can be disheartening.
- There’s always the chance that you’ll call
Eight Reasons to warm call
1. You already have a relationship with the person you’re contacting.
By having a relationship with the person you’re contacting, they are more likely to be receptive to your call. This could be something as simple as them living in the same area as one of your past clients.
2. Warm calls are less intrusive than cold calls.
Warm calls are seen as less intrusive because you already have some sort of relationship with the person you’re reaching out to. This makes it more likely that they’ll be polite and listen to what you have to say.
3. You can use warm calls as an opportunity to catch up with past clients and see how they’re doing
Catching up with past clients is a great way to maintain relationships and build rapport. It shows that you care about them as a person and not just as a potential customers. Give them free advice that helps them, possibly tactics on how to sell their home faster.
4. If you don’t have a good reason for reaching out, the person you’re calling may see it as intrusive and be less likely to want to speak with you.
It’s important to have a good reason for making a warm call. Otherwise, the person you’re reaching out to may see it as intrusive and will be less likely to want to speak with you.
5. If you don’t keep the conversation focused on the other person, they may feel like you’re just trying to sell them something and will tune you out.
When making a warm call, it’s important to keep the conversation focused on the other person. This way, they’ll feel like you’re genuinely interested in them and not just trying to sell them something.
6. Warm calls are a great way to build relationships with potential clients.
Building relationships with potential clients is a key part of the sales process. By making warm calls, you’ll be able to get to know them better and build rapport.
7. Warm calls can be used as an opportunity to upsell clients.
Upselling is a great way to increase revenue from existing clients. By making warm calls, you’ll be able to identify opportunities to upsell a new listing you may have. Maybe you could push a potential property they could flip for a quick profit?
8. Warm calls can be used as an opportunity to introduce new products or services to potential clients.
If you have a new product or service that you think would be a good fit for a potential client, a warm call is a great way to introduce it to them. This can help you generate new leads and sales.
Finally, prepare a strategy
A good warm call strategy is important because it will help you to get your foot in the door with potential customers. It can be the difference between getting a meeting or not.
Considerations for a warm call strategy:
- Roles and responsibility – Who is going to be the person calling old leads? Assign each person clear roles and responsibilities.
- Outsourcing – calling old leads can be time-consuming. It may prove beneficial to outsource the work to a company that provides telemarketing services for estate agents.
- Script – have a script prepared so you know what to say when calling old leads. The script should be designed to engage the lead and book an appointment.
- Training – make sure the person making the calls is properly trained. They should know how to use the script and what to say if the lead is not interested
We hope you can take valuable information from this article to help you in your business journey to generate more leads for your business.
