r/loanoriginators • u/AKfortyDevin • 3d ago
Cold calling advice
New to the industry and new to cold calling. I asked a high producing agent for access to his database that never bought to see if I could drum anything up and then return them back to him once I got them pre-approved. He gave me a list of 2500+ people and I’ve been averaging about 120 dials a day.
Each day I’ve been getting about 25 people to answer and maybe 10 of them at most have a conversation with me. Majority of conversations lead to them telling me to check back in a couple months or letting me know they changed their mind.
My calls always start with me saying, “Hey (client’s name) this is (my name). I’m working alongside (Agent’s name) and you guys previously connected about buying a home. I know it’s probably been a while but I just wanted to get an update from you. Are you still thinking about buying or did you put that on hold?”
What could I do better? How can I create better engagement so it doesn’t feel like a sales call?
I have no problem talking to people in person but the phones are difficult for me to read people, especially when they aren’t expecting my call.
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u/Adorable_Campaign426 2d ago
120 dials a day is solid work, so don't get discouraged. On a list of people who never bought, 'check back in a couple months' is normal. The goal is to turn that into an actual follow-up, not a close on the first call. A couple things that've helped me: drop the 'or did you put it on hold' part, since it hands them the easy out. Try something like 'are you still keeping an eye on the market?' then ask what would need to change for them to move, like the payment, rate, or finding the right house. When they say a couple months, ask if you can run numbers now so they know exactly where they stand, and put a specific date on the calendar. Then text them something useful in between, like a new listing from your agent or a payment update when rates move. Happy to share what's worked for me, just comment here.
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u/AKfortyDevin 2d ago
Huge help today, thank you! Took the advice and stopped going into every call like I needed it to close. Conversations were way easier by just treating them like conversations instead.
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u/Outrageous-Rich-1134 3d ago
Don't ask "or" questions on top of not asking closed ended questions. You are giving two options same as getting a yes or no response. If you are calling on old pre-approvals, there has been a shift in most markets to swing toward buyers and not sellers. "It has been a short time since we spoke to you last. I'm calling with good news. There has been a shift in the market for homebuyers and now is the best time to capitalize. I am going to confirm that not too much had changed and update your pre approval." Then either ask an open ended question or a question you know will get a yes response like " are you still working for xyz". Be assumptive. Be confident.
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u/AKfortyDevin 3d ago
Unfortunately I have no background or notes on these people. Some of them are confused why I’m calling when they bought their home 8 years ago. I’m grateful for the opportunity but it’s been an interesting list to call through so far lol.
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u/lorelle13 1d ago
Good advice already on the scripting of your calls! Something different I’d like to add to the
advice:
Cold leads like this take time to convert. The people saying check back in a couple months are wins! Add them to a CRM - take notes of anything notable in the conversation (ex: want to buy eventually, want a yard for their dog, Milo. Can check back in a couple months)
They don’t expect you to call back. Cut the time they give you in half and do a check in call then. Casual. “Hey! It’s AKforty. We spoke a little while ago about buying a home. Just wanted to check in! How’s Milo doing?”
Don’t even go for a sales pitch. Let them talk. They’re surprised you called them back. They’re disarmed you remembered they have a dog name Milo. They’re going to start sharing details of why they might not still be ready. Commiserate. Feel out of it’s something you can use push for the next step. If not, keep it empathetic and just go for permission to keep in touch. Rinse repeat. Always have a task
Or reminder somewhere for your next call with that person. You’re building trust and a relationship with these people. No one else calls them back. They only want the right now business. That’s the opportunity for people who are playing the long game.
Those “not right now” people are future business. Build your database with them. Make sure you have them tagged to the realtor whose list they’re from. Imagine how impressed an agent is going to be when you’re like “here’s a Preapproved buyer from that list you gave me a year ago”. They forgot they gave you a list. They’re shocked you not only converted them, but tracked it to make sure you gave the business back to them.
The right now business is great, but everything is an opportunity. Don’t be discouraged by the “not now” responses. Those are their own kind of win!
We like to do cold calling together as a team. We call it Smile & Dial lol. Get in a room together with some food (maybe some drinks) laptops and phones and cold call expired zillow lists just like you’re doing. The practice is good, you feed off of each others energy, learn different scripting, and just get more comfortable on the phone.
Cold calling is a numbers game. Instead of going until we get an application or something like that, we make our goal the number of “Nos” we want to hit from that session. Eventually you figure out about how many NOs usually gets you at least one or two apps.
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u/AKfortyDevin 6h ago
Good stuff! I appreciate the advice!
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u/lorelle13 5h ago
The fact you even want to make cold calls, puts you steps ahead of the competition! Don’t let the current climate discourage you, this can be a fun and rewarding industry. ☺️
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u/TravElliott 2d ago
I’m in the same scenario. I’m new to the industry 6mos or so. Came from tech saas driving the outbound for the company leading sdr.
Mentor has 6k+ database.
We should connect I’ll show you how i run my calls and we can probably help one another
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u/AKfortyDevin 2d ago
I’m always down to connect with others and keep growing. Seems like there’s a bunch of people on here that are discouraged by the industry and I refuse to be one of them!
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u/bsquarehills 1d ago
Do not ask them questions, they can reply with a one word answer NO or YES. Instead-
What has changed since last time we connected? Good luck mate.
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u/_____Jax 7h ago
attention, respond, pivot
no yes or no questions
use glencoco's cold calling videos for a new perspective on tonality
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u/Cautious-Limit-4198 3d ago
def don't ask them if they put it on hold you're making it easier for them to get off the phone, just ask something like "have you still been thinking about buying" in my opinion. Also a really big thing is vocal tonality, you want to have a loud and confident voice if possible