How I Make Cold Calls To Get Clients (Live Examples)

Summary

In this video, Akil shares his experience in real estate photography, offering tips for cold calling potential clients. He emphasizes the importance of calling after lunch for better responses, being open to working for free initially to build trust, and knowing when to let go if a prospect says no. Akil demonstrates how to pitch services effectively and suggests looking for listings with poor photos as potential clients. He also shares insights on handling rejection and leveraging it for referrals or future opportunities.

Takeaways

• 📹 Akil shares his experience in real estate photography and virtual tours as a side hustle, generating a thousand dollars a month.
• 🕰 He suggests calling after lunchtime for better responses, as people are generally more receptive post-meal.
• 🆓 Akil advises not to charge for the first project to build a relationship and trust with clients.
• 🚫 If a client says no, he emphasizes the importance of letting it go and not pushing further, as it's a numbers game.
• 🔍 He recommends looking for listings with subpar photos on platforms like Zillow, as it presents an opportunity to showcase the quality of his work.
• 📞 Akil demonstrates how to cold call potential clients, providing a script and tips for effective communication.
• 💬 He stresses the importance of being concise and to the point during calls, aiming for a 15-second pitch.
• 📝 When leaving voicemails, Akil advises to give your name, what you do, and an easy way for the client to contact you.
• 🤝 He highlights the potential for building connections even if the initial call doesn't result in business, which can lead to referrals or future opportunities.
• 💰 Akil mentions that if clients inquire about pricing, it's an indication of interest, and it's crucial to negotiate within their budget.
• 📈 The video script illustrates a real-life application of sales techniques, emphasizing persistence, adaptability, and relationship building in the freelance industry.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Akil's video?

The main topic of Akil's video is about his side hustle in real estate photography and creating virtual tours for real estate agents in New Jersey, and how he cold calls to gain clients.

What are some tips Akil suggests for cold calling to gain clients?

Akil suggests calling after lunchtime, not being afraid to work for free on the first project to build a relationship, letting go if the client says no, and looking for listings with poor photos to showcase the value of his service.

Why does Akil recommend calling after lunchtime?

Akil recommends calling after lunchtime because people are generally more relaxed and receptive after eating, and the day is almost over, making them more likely to give better feedback and reactions.

What is Akil's approach to pricing for the first project with a new client?

Akil suggests not asking for high fees for the first project, but rather focusing on building a relationship and trust with the client, potentially offering to do the first project for free.

How does Akil handle rejection when cold calling?

Akil handles rejection by letting it go and moving on to the next potential client, understanding that it's a numbers game and not taking rejection personally.

What strategy does Akil use to find potential clients?

Akil looks for listings on Zillow that have been on the market for a long time without selling, questioning why they haven't sold and suspecting it might be due to poor quality photos.

How does Akil introduce himself and his services in a voicemail?

Akil introduces himself by name, states that he does real estate photography and creates virtual tours, and asks if the client is interested in discussing how he could help with their listings.

What is Akil's approach when a potential client is not interested in his services?

Akil asks if the client knows any colleagues or other agents who might need his services, aiming to get referrals or at least send them a portfolio of his work.

How does Akil deal with the situation when a client already has a photographer?

Akil acknowledges the client's situation and offers to help with other photography needs, such as drone photography, or to be a resource for future projects.

What is Akil's attitude towards rejections?

Akil views rejections positively, as they are a challenge and an opportunity to improve his approach and come up with new strategies to succeed.

How does Akil ensure his calls are concise and effective?

Akil aims to keep his calls as short as possible, ideally around 15 seconds, to quickly convey his message and offer, making it easy for the client to respond.

Outlines

00:00

📹 Real Estate Photography Side Hustle Tips

Akil introduces his video on leveraging real estate photography and virtual tours as a side hustle to earn a thousand dollars a month. He shares tips for cold calling potential clients, emphasizing the importance of calling after lunchtime for better responses. Akil advises not to charge for the first project to build trust and relationship, and to let go if the prospect says no. He also suggests targeting listings with poor photos to highlight the value of his service.

05:01

🤝 Building Trust and Relationships in Real Estate Photography

In this paragraph, Akil engages in a conversation with Michael, a real estate agent, discussing the potential of Akil's photography services for Michael's listings. Akil inquires about the agent's experience with listing photos and offers to send a portfolio. They discuss the fast-paced market in South Jersey and the agent's openness to working with Akil in the future, highlighting the importance of trust and relationship building in business.

10:01

🔍 Exploring Opportunities and Networking in Real Estate Photography

Akil calls Kenneth, another real estate agent, to offer his photography services. The conversation reveals that Kenneth is also a photographer, but he is open to referrals and drone photography services that Akil can provide. They exchange contact information, and Akil offers to send information about his drone photography capabilities, showcasing the value of networking and exploring opportunities even when the initial offer isn't a direct fit.

15:01

❌ Handling Rejections and Seeking Referrals in Business

Akil demonstrates how to handle rejection gracefully by calling Catherine, whose listing has been on the market without selling. Despite her rejection, Akil asks if she knows any other agents who might need his services, and he offers to send her a portfolio. The paragraph illustrates the importance of maintaining a positive attitude towards rejections and leveraging them as opportunities to seek referrals or showcase one's work.

📞 The Art of Cold Calling and Overcoming Rejections

In the final paragraph, Akil reflects on his cold calling experience, emphasizing the importance of making multiple calls and not being disheartened by rejections. He encourages viewers to learn from his approach, be persistent, and use rejections as a stepping stone to improve. Akil wraps up the video by inviting viewers to like, subscribe, and watch his previous videos for more insights.

Keywords

💡Side Hustle

A side hustle refers to a part-time job or business that one does in addition to their regular job to earn extra money. In the video, the speaker discusses their side hustle of doing real estate photography and creating virtual tours, which generates a thousand dollars a month. This is central to the video's theme of entrepreneurial income generation.

💡Real Estate Photography

Real estate photography is a specialized type of photography that focuses on capturing images of properties for sale or rent. It is crucial for marketing purposes, as it helps potential buyers or renters visualize the space. The speaker's side hustle revolves around this concept, and they use their skills to create attractive visuals for real estate agents, as illustrated in the script.

💡Virtual Tours

Virtual tours are digital representations of a physical space that allow users to explore a location virtually. In the context of real estate, they provide an immersive experience for potential buyers or renters who cannot visit the property in person. The speaker mentions creating virtual tours as part of their services, emphasizing the importance of technology in modern real estate marketing.

💡Cold Calling

Cold calling is the act of making unsolicited phone calls to potential clients or customers, typically to sell a product or service. The speaker demonstrates cold calling as a method to gain clients for their real estate photography and virtual tour services, highlighting it as a key strategy in their business approach.

💡Networking

Networking refers to the process of building and maintaining professional relationships. The speaker implies the importance of networking by suggesting that if a potential client does not need their services, they might know someone who does, thus opening up opportunities for referrals.

💡Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of an individual's work that showcases their skills and expertise. In the script, the speaker offers to send their portfolio to potential clients to demonstrate the quality of their real estate photography and virtual tours, using it as a tool to secure business.

💡Referral

A referral is an instance where one person recommends a product, service, or professional contact to another. The speaker seeks referrals from clients who may not need their services at the moment, leveraging existing contacts to expand their client base.

💡Zillow

Zillow is an online real estate marketplace that provides a platform for buyers, sellers, and renters to find and share data about properties. The speaker uses Zillow to find potential clients by looking at listings that may benefit from professional photography and virtual tours.

💡Pricing Strategy

Pricing strategy refers to the method or approach used to set the price of a product or service. The speaker discusses the importance of not starting with high prices for new clients, suggesting a more flexible approach where they negotiate based on the client's budget.

💡Rejection

Rejection is the act of refusing to accept, consider, or approve something. The speaker addresses the inevitability of rejection in sales and emphasizes the importance of handling it positively, using it as a learning experience and an opportunity to move on to the next potential client.

💡Trust

Trust is the confidence in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something. In the context of the video, the speaker aims to establish trust with potential clients through their communication style and the quality of their work, which is essential for building professional relationships.

Highlights

Akil shares his experience with a side hustle in real estate photography and virtual tours, generating a thousand dollars a month.

Provides tips for cold calling real estate agents to gain clients, emphasizing the importance of calling after lunchtime for better responses.

Advises not to be afraid to work for free on the first project to build a relationship and trust with clients.

Suggests letting go if a potential client says no, as persistence can be counterproductive and it's a numbers game.

Recommends targeting listings with poor photos to showcase the value of high-quality photography services.

Demonstrates a cold call approach, including leaving a voicemail with a concise introduction and contact information.

Stresses the importance of keeping calls brief to respect the listener's time and attention span.

Shares a conversation with a client who initially seems uninterested but eventually shows interest in the portfolio.

Discusses the strategy of asking about the client's budget instead of providing a fixed price to better accommodate their needs.

Illustrates handling a call with an agent who takes their own photos, showing adaptability and offering drone photography services.

Emphasizes the value of trust in business relationships and how it can lead to referrals or collaborations.

Akil narrates a call with a potential client who is not immediately interested but remains open to receiving a portfolio.

Mentions the importance of handling rejection positively and using it as an opportunity to offer referrals or additional services.

Encourages persistence in cold calling, aiming for a certain number of rejections as a measure of effort.

Concludes with a reminder to like and subscribe for more content on real estate photography and business strategies.

Transcripts

what's going on guys my name is akil um

i want to make this quick video

as a continuation off of my last video

where i talked about my side hustle

of creating a thousand dollars a month

doing real estate photography and

creating virtual tours for

various real estate agents across new

jersey now this video is all about

live examples me giving you guys or

showing you guys

how i cold call to gain these particular

clients before we actually get started

though before i

actually jump into making these calls

please please bear with me i just want

to show you guys

or give you guys some quick tips that

i've learned number one is

calling after lunch time that is so

important i used to call at like 9 00

a.m

or like 10 a.m and people are grumpy man

you know i'm not a morning person and i

don't expect a lot of people to be

trying to call after lunch time because

after lunchtime people have eaten

you know they're a little bit more

euphoric they feel better they'll give

you better

feedback and and a better reaction the

day is almost about to be done they got

about four hours left so call after

lunch time that's what i've learned

don't be afraid to work for free

for the first project focus on building

a relationship rather than chasing the

money

this is so important you do not have to

ask and tell them hey

you know pay me 300 400 for the first

project

for a lot of people that's a turn off

especially because they don't really

trust you they don't

they never work with you before they

don't know if they're going to get high

quality material right so it's okay

to do it for free and then and then

after you do it for them and they're

satisfied then you can start charging

them some sort of price a third is if

they say no

let it go that's a big one all right if

they if you if you try to push for it

and they say no the first time and they

just clearly are not interested

let them go it's all a numbers game

you're gonna find somebody else it's not

in your favor it's gonna waste your time

alright and last one is i'm looking for

listings that don't have the best photos

all right

because this way when i do sell my

service my photos will look a lot more

attractive

for the client and it'll give them a

reason to go with me there's no reason

for me to call somebody and say hey go

with my photography if they already have

an

a plus you know first class photographer

another one is look for photos on zillow

or look for listings that have been on

zillow for a while 60 days 70 days

which makes you question why is it still

on there why hasn't it sold

okay maybe it might be the photos you

look at the photos you're like okay

that's what it is

it's the photos let's get started

alright so there's one here

in my town so we're gonna give this lady

a call now just

kind of pay attention to what it is that

i'm saying and how i'm selling it and

if if it ends up having to be a

voicemail leave a voicemail

give them your name what it is that you

do and uh obviously an easy to reach

contact number that they can

get back to you or email whatever see if

hopefully she picks up all right

you can leave me a message or feel free

hey michelle

hope all is well uh my name is akeel i

just came across your uh

zillow listing for the uh michelle i'm

mainly making this call

because i do real estate photography and

create virtual tours for real estate

agents

not sure if this is something you'd be

interested in but if you are i'd love

for you to give me a call so we could

talk about how i could help you for your

this current listing or any future

listings that you have coming up

um again my name is akil you can reach

me at 738

i'm also based out in two so this house

is pretty close by um and i'd love to

help you out michelle let's talk soon

bye-bye

boom so try to make it as quick as

possible that was a little longer than

expected

um a lot of people's attention span is

just not up there anymore

you want to make it like man make it

like 15 seconds if you can

you know hey my name is akil i do real

estate photography and real estate

and virtual tours is this something

you'd be interested in if so

give me a call here i work out of this

area so it's pretty close

boom done you know what i mean all right

we're gonna call number two

uh client number two client number one

didn't pick up left a voicemail

so hopefully uh he or she calls me back

and um

we're gonna call the second person now

and always address my name man don't say

hey what's up man hey

hey hey uh may speak to michael

hey michael how's it going buddy my name

is akil i came across a zillow listing

for that

yes hey michael uh i'm not sure if this

is for you man but i actually

create virtual tours and do a real

estate photography would you be

interested in this

um you can send me an email if you want

um

i think i have that property sold but um

properties all around and everything

what do you do just um

up and

i'm more than open to driving anywhere i

mean i've helped agents

in passaic and hudson county and you

know even down in like salem county

like just it really doesn't matter i i i

enjoy driving around

yeah i have done one in salem

south jersey cumberland gloucester

burlington salem

okay mostly south jersey

now if you don't mind me asking michael

are you do you live in south jersey are

you also in the surrounding area as i am

i live in south jersey but i i i sell

mostly in like seven counties

that's it got it got it okay cool i'd

love to help out man and

so this house already sold did you have

photos up for this place i didn't see

anything

um no i um i put a couple so i think i

put in the outside i need to take it

inside so that the market was pretty

good there yeah

nice things are selling like hot cakes

[Music]

without even negotiating you listed it

for 295 and it sold for 315.

2.99 i think i listed it and it sold for

315. and i didn't even

never countered it didn't do anything

just just they offered 315

so we took it how many offers did you

have

well i only showed it i think two or

three times because

wow agreeable wow

how's everything if uh how's everything

going down in south jersey though

because i know everything is selling

off the shelves right now central and

north yeah we get we get people to come

down from new york and

north jersey because the prices are a

little bit cheaper here

yeah yeah yeah let me you want me to

get my email or you want me to give it

to you uh you so

this number i just called you out you

could text me at this number anytime

what is your email by the way so i could

just type it down

awesome send me whatever you have yeah

and i'll get back to you

you got it man you got it i'll send you

photos i'll send you a little portfolio

and then um

give me a call anytime i'll even follow

up with you maybe in a couple of days

and then

let's let's work on something thank you

you got it thank you michael have a

great day

bye bye-bye all right so

that is typically how it usually goes

right i call somebody um they're not

gung-ho where they're just like yeah

yeah i need you right now let me work

with you no

no it's not always like that it's

usually okay

it's one it's usually one or two things

if they're interested they'll say

all right uh look i don't know you like

that but send me an email send me your

portfolio i want to look at some stuff

that you've worked on

if i'm interested i'm calling you for a

listing right or

if they're really interested they're

going to say how much are you charging

what are your prices if they ask you

about the pricing

they are interested you're basically in

you're inside you're in the door if they

ask you what the pricing is

from there on the only way for you to

really up

and and lose that opportunity is

if you throw them an outrageous price

that they just don't want to work with

right so in that scenario if they ask

you what the pricing is

ask them what's in your budget what do

you want me to give you to work with you

i want to work with you

okay i'm not gonna throw you an

outrageous 500 price all right give me

what you could work with

and i'll make it work that's what they

want to hear all right

anyways uh let's keep going

hi uh may i speak to kenneth

speaking hey kenneth how's it going

buddy my name is akil i came across your

zillow listing for the

uh yes that's not actually my listing i

put it

absolutely are you a real estate agent

yourself kenneth

yes okay uh well actually this could

pertain to you as well maybe even your

co-worker

um so i actually do real estate

photography and virtual tours

not sure if this is for you but would

you be interested in something like this

for any future listings you might have

coming up uh

probably not the kill because i actually

just voted for

the agent myself i actually photo houses

for other agents oh you do it yourself

yeah when i don't do my own my stuff i

photo for other agents on the side

but you have your own uh photographer

for yourself though

yeah i do my own stuff oh you do your

own stuff too

okay okay got it got it oh man you're

saving a lot of money

doing it yourself that's awesome

i started out doing photos for another

age and somehow later i became a realtor

so i

still love the following so i do that on

the side got it got it awesome all right

that's amazing man i love the hustle

and uh it's really cool that it's a

small world out there i'm doing the

exact same thing

no it is it's a lot of fun i have many

bad days in real estate i normally don't

have bad days in photography

that's what i'm saying exactly it's it's

beautiful and it's fun question for you

yes absolutely because one thing that i

do not do

by choice because again you do drone

photography

uh so i personally do not have the

license for but i have a friend

so anytime an agent needs it i call him

and he comes and tags along with me

to do the drone shots while i do the

photography inside

yeah so if you ever need one yes i could

always call him

um and we'll get that done for you yeah

um

where are you so i live in

so i'm i'm open to driving honestly

anywhere in new jersey

to help people out

um i'll tell you what just so i have

your info

if you can text me that little bit about

the drone because

um like a guy on my own

there could be a possibility of a nice

house

a listing maybe in another month or two

and i

i know i would need to do drone

absolutely i could help you with that

all right all right thank you just feel

free to shoot me a text with your info

when you get a chance like i say thank

you so much for calling i appreciate you

calling

your time absolutely absolutely can i

text you at this number by the way

yes okay you got it i'll text you with

this number and uh

we'll we'll get it going i'll send you

some info

you got it thank you kenneth you have a

great day okay

awesome bye-bye all right so

this is great because that's not often

that you find an agent

doing it himself he was taking photos

himself so he didn't need

a photographer or a virtual tour person

but

notice how you know you're asking

certain questions and then

you know you're coming off as somebody

that he could trust right and you are

somebody that he could trust right you

want to be someone he could trust

right and notice how he asked the

question and said listen look i don't

need you for the photos or the virtual

tour

but i might need you for the drone shots

what's the situation on that

every time you're not always going to

gain a client like that

but you might have an opportunity to

gain some referrals or you'll have an

opportunity to just help him out help

him or her out

in other areas in photography whatever

it may be so let's give this person a

call let's see what's going on

hopefully she answers and let's see what

her situation is that's the main thing

we're looking for we want to see what

her situation is

come on try to make it 15 seconds short

as hell hey this is a call for chris

uh my name is akil i came across the

zillow listing for the

uh chris i'm making this call because i

do real estate photography and virtual

tours for

real estate agents just want to know if

this is something you'd be interested in

i'd love to help out

if you are interested feel free to give

me a call at any time you can reach me

at 732. i'd love to help out christo

give me a call whenever thank you bud

bye-bye assuming crystal was a

guy um i don't normally say bud i don't

say bud or buddy to

to women um i don't know i just feel

like bud or buddies for like guys

i don't know uh cancel culture please

don't attack me

all right uh let's keep going this one i

found has been on zillow for about

26 days now a lot of people have seen it

79 people have saved it but it hasn't

sold

so what's going on the photos are okay

could be better could be more edited

could be brighter and even if this one's

sold or

she's not interested maybe she'll give

us her next listing

so let's see what's going on please

answer

hello hi um

hey catherine how's it going um my my

name is akil i came across a zillow

listing for this

yes uh catherine i'm making this call

because i do real estate photography and

virtual tours would you be interested in

this

um no it's quite okay we already have

offers thank you so much

no problem at all um just wanted to ask

catherine if you

perhaps know any colleagues or uh any

other agents out there that might need

this service just want to ask that's all

um not at this time but um you know if

you want to email me something go ahead

uh sure uh i'm not sure if i have the

email

uh what email would be perfect to reach

you at um you got it thank you so much

catherine okay

thank you you as well bye-bye

that was awesome yes that was a

rejection

all right i love rejections because i

don't know i'm weird i think i think

they're kind of fun

i really do i think they're fun um i

mean

i get i get a kick out of rejections

because it's a challenge

and i love challenges it kind of like

gets me on my toes and it scares me a

little bit

and that gives me the thrill and that

makes me have to come up with something

to say

to try to get around it now with her she

would flat out just said

no right so what is the point of me

saying yeah but my photos are a little

bit better

i want to help out i could do something

no it's not going to work she already

got photos she's good she doesn't want

the service

so that's why i try to go in and say

okay well kathryn how about do you have

any clients do you have anybody that

you know might be looking for this

service that i can help out she said

i don't know but maybe you can email me

so what i'm gonna do now is i'm gonna

email her and i'm gonna send her a

portfolio of my work

which is gonna do two things either it's

gonna intrigue her to the point where

she might be like wow like

this guy's actually pretty good he's

actually better than my own photographer

i might use him now

or it might do the other thing which is

all right like his photos are pretty

good

um i might just send them over to my

other person you know somebody i might

know

maybe you should do it so it's only a

win-win basis

to try to get a referral out of somebody

or just send them your portfolio through

an email or something like that it takes

15 seconds

doesn't hurt i made five calls today

just for the video to make the video

shorter

usually i make 10 calls you know i try

to call until i get 10 rejections

right that's more fun um anyways

i'm rambling on i hope you enjoyed this

video alright

and i hope you've got a kick out of this

i hope you've learned something and i

hope that it's getting you

it's giving you some confidence to call

notice that a lot of people will reject

you

um some people will just flat out say no

if you keep asking they'll just probably

get more and more frustrated

it's okay you move on to the next person

see you guys next time if you enjoyed

this video hit the like button

alright subscribe um i'll be making more

videos like this one

go check out my previous videos all

right and uh see you guys soon

peace