Real estate agents need to master a wide range of different skills in order to be successful. Particularly, when it comes to having effective phone calls with leads. You have to hone in on the ability to have difficult conversations, negotiate successfully, push back without making the person you’re speaking with feel defensive, overcome objections, convince someone to commit to sitting down with you, and much more. In this article, we look at some of the most important real estate skills that agents need to development in order to book more appointments and convert more leads.
Value Based Questioning
Success on calls comes from asking high impact questions that uncover true motivations and create emotional connections. Rather than generic queries like “Are you looking to buy a home?” use more targeted questions that reveal deeper needs: “What made you start looking at homes in this area?” or “If you could design your perfect moving timeline, what would that look like?” Follow up questions should build on their answers: “You mentioned wanting more space for your growing family – what specific features would make the biggest difference in your daily life?” The key to effective questioning, and all effective real estate skills, is not sounding like you’re reading from a script. Listen attentively and respond to what the lead is actually telling you.
Objection Prevention and Handling
Experienced agents know that objections often follow predictable patterns. Instead of waiting for objections to arise, address them proactively within your conversation flow. For example, before they can say they’re “just looking,” weave in success stories: “Many of my current clients started out just exploring the market too – what they found valuable was getting an early understanding of upcoming inventory and price trends, which helped them make better decisions when they were ready. Would you find that kind of insight helpful?”
Despite being proactive on your calls, you’re going to be hit with objections. It’s just a fact of the job. And arguably the most important of the real estate skills when it comes to sales is being able to successfully overcome and move past them. Here’s a checklist of what you need to do to handle real estate objections:
- Get the lead’s perspective
- Get the lead’s experience
- Acknowledge that you understand their perspective and experience
- Tell the lead the benefit of moving forward now
- Educate the lead after understanding their perspective
- Identify motivation and ability
Appointment Setting Psychology
The key to setting appointments lies in creating urgency without pressure. Instead of asking “Would you like to meet?” use assumptive closes tied to specific value: “Based on what you’ve shared about your timeline and preferences, I’d like to show you two properties that match your criteria perfectly. I have availability tomorrow at 2 PM or Saturday at 10 AM – which works better for your schedule?” This approach assumes the appointment while giving them control over the timing.
Follow Up Strategy
Most leads require multiple contact attempts before converting. Developing a systematic follow up approach that adds value at each touch point is one of the crucial real estate skills you need to cultivate. Each subsequent call should reference previous conversations and introduce new information: “Last time we spoke, you mentioned being interested in [Neighborhood]. I just learned about three new listings coming up there next month that fit your criteria. I’d love to share the details – do you have a few minutes?” This demonstrates both attentiveness and provides fresh value.
Building Rapport through Voice Control
Your voice is your primary tool on calls. Practice modulating your tone, pace, and volume to build connection and trust. Speak slightly slower than your natural pace when explaining important points, use upward inflection to convey enthusiasm, and mirror your prospect’s speaking pattern to create rapport.
Active Listening and Response Techniques
Effective real estate sales requires mastering the art of active listening. Use confirming statements that demonstrate understanding: “So what I’m hearing is…” or “That makes perfect sense because…” When prospects share concerns or objectives, validate their perspective before offering solutions: “I completely understand why you’d feel that way about the market right now. Many of my clients had similar concerns until they learned about…”. How well you can listen and respond will make or break your calls, and so these are key real estate skills to master.
Call Control and Pacing
Maintain control of the conversation while allowing prospects to feel heard. Use “bridge” phrases to redirect conversations back to your objective: “That’s a great point about [their topic], and it relates to what I wanted to share about…” When prospects start to rampage or go off track, politely interrupt with a relevant question that brings focus back to their home search or selling needs. This keeps the conversation productive while respecting their time.
Closing for Next Steps
Every call should end with a clear next step, even if it’s not an immediate appointment. Instead of vague endings like “I’ll keep you updated,” secure a specific commitment: “Since you’re interested in [Neighborhood], I’ll send you my latest market report for that area. Let’s reconnect on Thursday at 4 PM to review it together and discuss how these trends might impact your search. Does that work for your schedule?” Providing clear next steps creates accountability and maintains momentum in the relationship.
Want to Master these Real Estate Skills? We Have Training that Can Help!
The most important real estate skills ultimately come down to convincing someone that you are the agent who can help them achieve their goals. For that, you need to have excellent conversation and sales capabilities.
At Smart Sales Coaching, we’ve found that all the real estate skills you need for sales boil down to four areas:
- Introductions – How well you enter the conversation
- Objection handling – How you handle objections
- Value proposition – Why a buyer or seller should work with you
- Logical close – How likely a buyer or seller will actually meet with you
Do you know how well you’re doing with each of these areas? If you’re having trouble on your calls, it can be difficult to pinpoint where exactly you are falling short. That’s why we’ve created the Core 4 assessment. Completed over Zoom with one of our professional sales trainers, this assessment tests where you’re at for each of these four real estate agent skills and is completely FREE.
In addition to showing you how well you’re hitting each of the four areas of real estate skills, you’ll also receive actionable tips to work on and improve each one, so you can start converting more leads, no matter where they come from.