Cold Calling to Generate Leads

Cold calling to generate interest in your commercial property is one of those ubiquitous activities that every broker, agent or associate must go through when first starting out.

Although there is an air of telemarketing that so many people loath, it provides valuable experience, as well as helps build a network of invaluable colleagues and clients that you can build your practice upon.

Do not be fooled, however. Cold calling is not relegated to those new to the industry. It is a good practice to continue throughout your career, whether to keep your sales repertoire sharp or to generate further leads.

Danny Sutton, a retail sales associate with Anchor Associates, a Cincinnati-based property brokerage that connects retailers with property owners, has been at Anchor since June 2007, and cold calling is part of his job. “It’s really helpful and important for those just getting started,” he says. “It helps you get contacts that you can come back to later on in your career.”

The usual process for Sutton is to assess the current available properties, thumb through the Retail Tenant Directory to determine a suitable tenant (whether by size, product, location, etc.), and then call the “decision maker” at the company. Sometimes it is “pop” from a mom-and-pop store, and other times it is a high-ranking executive with a large retail corporation, Sutton says. When he is lucky enough to get on the line with one of the decision makers, he makes his pitch quick.

“It’s just a call to see if the company is looking to expand or open a new location,” he says. “If they are, I tell them a little about the property, and then send them the marketing kit for the space.”

You should also consider sending a letter of introduction with information about yourself, the company and the property, says Bill Collins, N.J. state president for the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB). This sets the stage for any further communications and any face-to-face meetings; you have something to refer to on first meeting, as well.

Your business card should be attached to everything you send out of the office door, he adds. “You never know where a client will come from,” he says, adding that he recently heard from a potential tenant who saw his card attached to a letter of introduction. “Besides, you should have them at your desk or in a box under your desk.”

Calls Vary
Sutton says he could not estimate, on average, how many cold calls he makes in a day. “There are days where I don’t even get to pick up the phone,” he says. “There are days when that is all I do.”

Depending on the property, your cold call may be good for only one sale. If you have a small unit that only a mom-and-pop store will fit in, then you may not want to put too much effort into developing a rapport with the tenant; it may not generate any further leads. Other times, there are larger corporations with company departments designated to handle real estate and physical expansion. “These are the ones you want to establish a relationship with,” Sutton says.

E-mail vs. Cold Calling
Cold calling is still preferred. “E-mail doesn’t allow for that personal connection,” Sutton says. “With e-mail you can’t tell if someone is really interested in the space.”

There are times and places for e-mails, however. Sutton gets the company’s decision maker on the phone, hocks his wares, and then e-mails afterward. E-mail has lent itself to more instant gratification, and sending a kit with the specifications on the unit is a great way to do it in a few minutes, while a face-to-face meeting could take an hour or more. And you may not even be in the same town or state as the company you called, so e-mail communication is beneficial in this case, as well.

E-newsletters also come in handy if you want to show several existing clients your latest available properties.

Experience Cold Calling
The further you go with your career, the more influence you are bound to have, as well as name and brand recognition. So why would an experienced veteran get back on the phones and start cold calling?

You should because of the uncertainty in the current market. “The market should dictate your actions, and if you want to stay in business, you’ve got to do things differently,” he says.

Regardless of the economic situation, however, you should not preclude cold calling from your personal arsenal of marketing and selling techniques. “There’s always another opportunity to attract another client or tenant, and you should take full advantage of it in any way,” Collins says.