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I’ve done a lot of secret shopping of businesses and I can tell you honestly that when I call into a business and ask a question, 99.9% of the time no other questions are asked of me. If I ask for hours of operation, they just tell me and would sooner hang up than try to find out what I am looking for.

In the real estate business especially it is very common to call a model home and ask a quick question and have only that question answered with no other inquiry. By not asking questions, you are losing out on getting to know your prospect, you miss finding out if they are qualified to purchase your product, and you miss the opportunity to set up an appointment rather than have them walk in the door randomly.

Here is an example of a call to a builder’s office or site agent. This is how most conversations go:

Prospect: “Hello, I wanted to find out when the model is open so I can come in and take a look.”

Agent: “The model is open from noon to 5 7 days a week.”

Prospect: “Great I’ll stop by.”

Agent: “Great see you there.”

Click

You’ve gotten absolutely nothing out of the interaction! You don’t even know if they will show up, and if they did you have no idea who they are! This is how a conversation like that should go.

Prospect: “Hello, I wanted to find out when the model is open so I can come in and take a look.”

Agent: “Oh great, I can get that information for you, my name is So and so, and you are?”

Prospect: “Mr. Smith”

Agent: “Great Mr. Smith, while our sales office is open during the day, the best bet is to set an appointment to make sure our site agent, insert site agent’s name here, can see you. The site has been very busy and without an appointment I’m not sure if they will be out showing houses when you arrive or have the time to give you the attention that you deserve. Are you coming in from out of town?

Prospect: “Yes, we come in this weekend.”

Agent: “Then I definitely want to make sure we set up a time so that we don’t have you running around during your limited time in town. Do you have a specific house or options you are looking for in your home?

Prospect: “Yes as a matter of fact, I really like ranch style homes.”

Agent: “Well, since we have a limited number of models that fit those parameters, do you have a time frame in mind for you move? This way I can let you know what inventory we may have to match your needs.”

Prospect: “Actually, we are moving in about 3 months.”

Agent: “Well, we happen to have 3 different ranch models that might fit your needs, do you have a price range in mind? This way I can help you narrow it down, and let our site agent know which homes to show you.”

Prospect: “Yes actually we want to stay around the $250,000 mark.”

Agent: “Great, now is that a ballpark figure, or have you already talked with a loan officer to run numbers.”

Prospect: “Well its a ballpark number.”

Agent: “Well what I can do is put you in touch with our loan officer so you can run some numbers based on your needs before your visit You may find that your range is more flexible than you thought, or this can help you narrow it down so you are only looking at homes that will really fit your budget. I’d hate to show you something that will exceed what will work for you.”

Prospect: “That would be great!”

Agent: “Great let me get your email so I can send that information out to you.”

Prospect: Gives email address

Agent: “So how about I set up an appointment for you to meet with our site manger, at noon on Saturday, I’ll let them know that you are only interested in the ranches that can close in the next 3 months, and in the mean time you can talk with our loan officer.”

Prospect: “I have to talk with my significant other and see if that time will work.”

Agent: “I understand that but how about if we sent this tentatively and if that time turns out not to work for you, you can email me back and we can set up another time. In the mean time why don’t you give me the best number to reach you and I we can check back in with you as well.”

Prospect: Gives phone number “Okay that sounds good.”

Agent: “Great! Thank you so much and I will make sure to get that information out for you and let our site agent know to expect you.  Please let me know if anything changes!”

And that’s how you turn a simple call for hours, into a qualified appointment with valuable information that can be used by the site manager in order to sell a home. This type of script can be adapted to many different businesses and models.