Transcription
If you've ever made a cold call in your life, you understand how important the first 10 seconds is. Most of the time, here's what I hear: "Brandon, I'm making calls all the time and I can't even ask the first question in the script, let alone generate a lead or an appointment."
And so, what I have done is I've taken all of the different opening lines and opening scripts from cold calling for almost 20 years. And I did a study to really, really, really find out which cold call opening line is the best. And I'm going to share all those results with you guys in today's video.
All right, so here's how this case study worked. The first thing that I did was I said, "Okay, I'm going to make a thousand cold call contacts." A contact is simply when you get the right person on the phone, the decision maker. So if you call Bob Jones and you get in touch with Bob Jones over the phone, that is a contact.
All right, we're going to talk about the difference between a contact and a conversation, but a contact is when you get the decision maker, the person you attempted to call, on the phone. Then what I did was this: I used one cold call opener for a hundred contacts. So I'd use the same opener for a hundred contacts, document the result, and then use another opener for for another hundred contacts.
And here's what, here was the test. The test was to see which opening line, which opening cold calling script, had the highest success rate. And the success rate that we measured was getting, uh, past the first 10 seconds of the contact or the conversation. And I was able to at least ask the first question in the script. All right, and so that's what we deem a conversation.
So I would call a hundred people, get a hundred people on the phone, and we measured each code calling line to see which one had the highest success rate of actually leading us to a good conversation. A conversation, by definition, is where I was at least minimum able to have a, uh, ask the first question in my script, where the person didn't just pick up the phone, "Not interested," hang up on you. All right, so those are the some key, key, key definitions. Now let's get into these cold calling openers, and I'll share with you the results.
All right, first one coming in last place. We tried 10. In 10th place was, "Hey, this is Brandon with Brookstone Realtors. How are you today?" This is still a cold call opening line that is being taught, that's being used all the time. And the result here was a 37.2% success rate. So almost four out of 10 of the people that I talked to, did this opening Gambit actually work, meaning almost a little over, uh, 63% of the time, it did not work.
And so when we look at this for a second, and I won't go too deep on every single one, we just won't have time for that. When we look at this call opener, there's a couple of issues with this. Number one is it's inauthentic. And so what I mean by that is this: when I have been received cold calls, and and somebody were to use this opening line, a salesperson would use this on the opening line, I've messed with them from time to time, and I would say things like, "Well, uh, not very well. Uh, I just, um, I just lost a loved one." And it's, it's interesting to see how the person reacts. They kind of squirm a little bit. "Uh, uh, I'm really sorry." And then they jump right into the script. It's so inauthentic, and every prospect knows it, and you know it. That's number one.
Number two, the thing is, when you open your conversation with this, you elicit crazy amounts of psychological reactants. This is no longer theory, we tested it. This only works 37% of the time, meaning the, the, the, uh, vast majority of the time, people are met with, you know what, "I'm not interested," "Take me off your list," "Hang up," "Don't call me anymore," etc., etc. Because it releases so much reactant from the prospects. They know they've heard this time and time again, as have you. And you know the very moment you pick up a call and they say, "This is Nancy with XYZ company. How are you today?" You absolutely know it's a sales call, and you regret picking up that call immediately. You, in your own mind, say, "How can I get off this call as fast as I possibly can?" And so it was no surprise that this had a 37% success rate. Listen, still works. If you do enough of anything, it will still work. All right, that's number 10.
Now we're going to switch. Now we're going to get into what I call the permission-based openers. So the next nine are strategies, tactics, techniques that I teach every single real estate agent that I coach. We call them permission-based openers. Why? And again, I'm not going to make a whole training about this. A permission-based opener is the anti-psychological reactants technique. So if you make cold calls and you're met with a bunch of resistance, and people are giving you objections, and you're met with a bunch of, uh, uh, pushback, to to counteract that, you're actually going to get the person's permission. It's a psychological hack that works very, very, very well. Because when somebody has the perception that they are in control, and you're supporting their autonomy, where they make, where they have the perception that they are making their own decision, compliance for you, which is a good thing, goes up dramatically. Goes up.
All right, so here's the, uh, the Ninth Place opener. Ring, ring, ring. "Hello? Hi John. Yes, John. This is Brandon. If I told you I was a realtor, would you hang up, or would you give me 30 seconds to tell you why I called?" This had a 68.8% success rate. So just under 70% of the time, just, just under seven of the 10 contacts that I made, did this end in a favorable response, where when I use this permission-based opener, the prospect says, "Uh, yeah, sure. Go ahead." Almost 70% of the time, it worked. Again, why? Because we're giving the person the autonomy to make their own decision. And if you just Google psychological reactants, you'll learn a lot. Psychological reactants, which is what we do not want when we're cold calling, is when somebody feels as though their freedom to choose, their freedom to make their own decision, is, is, uh, is at threat. They will defend that. They will resist at all costs. But when you relinquish the perceived control and you give it all to the prospect, compliance goes up.
All right, so that was the ninth place winner. And again, you can test all of these yourself, the same way I have agents that I coach do all the time. Let's go to number eight. Number eight. Ring, ring, ring. "John? Yes, John. This is Brandon. I'm a realtor, and listen, I'm sure you hate getting calls like this as much as I hate making them, but I was hoping to ask you something really quick. Would that be okay?" Now, why does this? Here's, we had a, a 70.1% success rate. When I use this, a hundred times, I use this opener a hundred times. A lot more than that, but in the case study that I just recently did, I used it a hundred times with a hundred contacts, and that led to 70 conversations. Why? Because now I'm eliciting some empathy from the prospect. I'm calling out the fact that people don't like getting cold calls, and I'm doing what we call laying on that grenade. I'm saying, "Listen, I know I'm calling and interrupting you, and I know you probably don't like it, and guess what? I don't like doing it." Which buys me some, some empathy from the prospect, buys me some goodwill from the prospect. And so the prospect says, "Okay, I can appreciate that." In their mind, in their mind, emotionally, and they say, "Sure, go ahead. What's up?" Works 70% of the time. Works really, really well.
All right, in seventh place. Ring, ring, ring. "Hello? Hi John. Yes, John. This is Brandon. Look, I'll be up front. I'm a realtor, and this is a cold call. Do you want to hang up, or will you give me 30 seconds and then decide?" This worked 72.8% of the time. And again, has all the same core principles that we've been talking about in this video. This comes right out there again. We're being fully upfront. We even say it in the script, "I'll be upfront, I'll be transparent. I'm a realtor. This is a cold call." And we give them the option, "Do you want to hang up, or will you give me 30 seconds and then decide?" This gives the prospect so much autonomy to make their own decision. When you do that, when you do that, you're buying so much goodwill instantaneously that people almost, well, again, uh, 72% of the time said, "Uh, sure, go ahead. Tell me what's on your mind."
All right, sixth place. Ring, ring, ring. "John? John, this is Brandon. I'm a realtor. I know this calls out of the blue, but I was hoping to ask you something really quick. Would that be okay?" Again, doing all the same things that we know that work with permission-based openers. This worked 74.8% of the time. Out of 100 contacts, 75 people said, "Sure, go ahead." And so it works really, really, really well.
All right, let's keep going. Let's go to fifth place because at the, what I'm going to show you guys here in just a second is some really, uh, what I believe to be information that will inspire you to try some of these openers that will, that will, uh, explode your real estate sales business. All right, I'm going to show that to you guys in just a second.
All right, in fifth place. Ring, ring, ring. "John? Yes, John. This is Brandon. I'm a realtor. I don't think we've spoken before. Do you want to hang up, or can I tell you why I called?" We are opening a massive curiosity loop. We're getting their permission. We're respecting their autonomy. All of the same principles, uh, apply here. 76.5% of the time, this opener worked. In fifth place, "I don't think we've spoke before. Do you want to hang up, or can I tell you why I called?" This, in the mind of John, says, "Huh, I wonder what this is about. Sure, go ahead." Well, we know it worked 76% of the time.
In fourth place. Ring, ring, ring. "Hello? John? John, this is Brandon. I'm a real. And I know you weren't expecting my call. Do you have 30 seconds, or would you rather hang up now?" Again, we're fighting for no here. We're actually doing the gentle push away here. Uh, we're telling the prospect, we're asking, "Hey, do you have 30 seconds, or would you rather hang up now?" We're using psychological reactants to our advantage. For some of you that are a little bit more advanced, you say, "Wow, that makes a lot of sense. We're telling them to hang up on us. You're not going to tell me what to do." Now we're using it to your advantage. Do you get it? There's no surprise. This worked even better. 78.1% of the time, did this end up where I was able to have a good conversation with the prospect.
All right, we're in the top three. Stick with me on this, and then we're going to break down, uh, something that I think you're going to find a lot of value in. In third place, permission base opener. Ring, ring, ring. "John? John, this is Brandon. I'm a real. And I didn't know if I should even call you, but would you hate me if I asked you something really quick?" All right, very, very, very strong language here on purpose. Because if you think about the question, it's a, it's, it has no orientation. If you're a coaching client, you know exactly what that means. "Would you hate me if I asked you something really quick?" It is very difficult for someone to say, "Yes, I would hate you if you asked me a question." Very difficult for someone to say, "Yes, I would hate you if you did that." And as a result, 81.4% of the time, this cold call opening script worked. So only less than 20% of the time did this not work. So out of 100 contacts, 81 people allowed me to get into a conversation.
In second place. Ring, ring, ring. "Hello? John? John, this is Brandon. I'm a realtor. And listen, before you hang up, I was hoping to ask you something really quick. Would that be okay?" All right, now this is probably, uh, in talking with agents that I coach, this is one of the most common ones that that, uh, they use that they like the most. It's the easiest to get out. Because as soon as someone picks up the phone and you say, "This is so-and-so, I'm a realtor," what do they want to do? They have the urge to just hit the end button. And so you're getting in front of that. "Hey, listen, before you hang up, I was hoping to ask you something really quick." Opens up a curiosity loop. "Would that be okay?" Getting their permission. When you ask someone for help, compliance goes up.
All right, now in first place. Well, I'm sorry, that had a just under 85% success rate. So it works really, really well. Okay. Now, in the number one spot, which is what you guys all been waiting for, this was the opener that worked the best. Ring, ring, ring. "Hello? Hey John. Yes, who's this?" "John, this is Brandon. Look, you're going to hate me. I'm a realtor. Do you want to hang up, or will you give me 30 seconds to tell you why I called?" This had an 88.6% of, uh, success. Now, if you listen to how I delivered that, okay? I did it in a way where I brought a little, I, I, I lightened it up. You almost heard a chuckle when I delivered that. That was on purpose. Most of the time, when you deliver this the right way, the exact same thing is going to happen where the prospect laughs a little bit and they say, "No, that's fine. Uh, go ahead. You can have your 30 seconds. What's on your mind?" And so you're telling somebody, again, you're using psychological reactants to your advantage here. You say, "Listen, this is Brandon. Uh, I'm a realtor. Listen, you're going to hate me. I'm not going to hate you. Go ahead, ask me a question." That's why this works so well.
All right, so those are the top 10. Now let me show you something. All right, that I think you're going to really find a lot of value in. We talk a lot about on this channel how much your sales skills matter as a real estate agent. And the problem is, and I did a poll on my Instagram recently, there's a large portion of real estate agents that don't think they're in sales. So it's crazy, but your sales skills matter. Let me show it, let me prove this to you. Check this out.
So here's what we know, okay? I've coached over 6,000 agents. We track all of their business, and I have full visibility into all of their prospecting. All right, here's what we know: that the average conversation to lead is 10%. So remember, we have contacts and we have conversation. Out of 10 conversations, where you're able to get past the intro, past that opener, and you're able to ask at least one question on your script, 10% of those conversations turn into a lead. Now, a lead is a prospect, a homeowner who has motivation to sell their home. They've verbalized that they'd be willing to meet with you, to interview you, to list their house. They've given you specific timelines, and they've given you a valid email address. So that's what we mean by lead, okay? We know that 30% of contacts to conversation ratio. All right, so if you, if you see this, you say, "Okay, let's look at this."
If you have, let's just say, a 30% conversion from your contacts now into a conversation, meaning you might be using a cold call opener that's only working 30% of the time, like the "Hey, how are you today?" or "Hey," any of those openers. If you use a non-permission opener, and right now you feel like you're on the hamster wheel, and you're like, "Man, I'm just not getting that much out of this. Every time I cold call somebody, I just get, I just get reamed out." And you have a 30% contact to conversation ratio, it's going to take you 33 contacts to generate just one lead. It's going to take you five leads to set one listing appointment. Okay?
Now, stick with me. You can pause this, you can write this down. These are all the averages. I want to show you the difference between having high skill, low skill. So it takes you 165 people to pick up the phone for you to set a listing appointment. It takes you two of those appointments being set to actually meet with somebody on average, about 50%. Which means if you're only converting 30% of your contacts into conversations, it takes you 330 people to pick up the phone for you to meet with somebody. It's a lot of work. It takes you two listing appointments set just to get one listing. So again, if your skills are low, it takes you 660 people just to say hello for you to get a listing. And here's the thing: two listings equals one sale for most agents on average, which then means, if you're tracking the math, 1,320 people to say hello for you to get a deal. If you're prospecting, uh, it's going to take you about 188 hours, my friend, to get one deal. That is a lot, a lot of work.
This means that if you're prospecting two hours a day, you're only going to be closing a deal every about 94 days. Well, there's no surprise that most agents are only selling four to five houses a year. Look at the math. With a with a bad sales, with a bad, with bad sales skills, using a bad opener, with a 30% contact to conversion ratio, it means that you're going to sell about four to five homes if you're are prospecting two hours per day. That's the math. That's how it works. I've seen it thousands of times.
Now let's look at if you change that and you start to use a different opener with your cold calling and your prospecting, what that would look like. Now, again, it's still the same averages. It's still 10% from conversation to lead. However, if you now have an 80% contact to conversation, meaning eight out of every 10 people you talk to, you're having a good conversation, unlike the first example with a 30% success rate. If you just changed how you're opening your call, and you have an 80% contacted conversion ratio, which most of the agents I coach are seeing 85 to 90%, but let's just say it's 80% here's what it looks like.
Now it only takes you 12 contacts to get one lead. You still need five leads to set an appointment, but now it's only 60 contacts for to to set a listing appointment. Still takes you two appointments set to go on one, but now it's only about 120 contacts or people saying hello for you to actually go on a listing appointment. Think about that. If you're having 25 conversations a day, you could find yourself on a listing appointment every single week. It still takes you two met to take one, but now it only takes you 240 contacts to get a listing. So it takes you two listings to get one sold, but now only takes you 480 conversations to get one deal. Only takes you 68 hours to get a deal. And now you have a closing. If you're prospecting for, if you're prospecting just two hours a day, let alone three, four, five hours a day. If you're prospecting only two hours a day, this is how you can get a closing every month. It's simple, not easy, I understand it, but it's straightforward, is it not?
If you want a closing every month, for most of you that are getting a $7,000 or $10,000 paycheck, that is a $100,000 income prospecting for only two hours a day by changing one thing: how you are opening up your conversation when you make an outbound prospecting phone call. It is that simple. And so I will, here's how I leave you today: change. If what you're doing is not working, you know the definition of insanity. So stop. Change it. Track it. Here's what I recommend. So I tell every agent that I coach, do your own case study. Take 10 different cold calling openers and just track your success rate. Where your success rate is, okay, when somebody picks up the phone and says hello, using these five different openers, what percentage of the time am I able to get past that initial resistance? And do your own work and tell me which code call opener is working the best for you.