conversations - or as many as you can - and then study them later that day. Listen to the words and the tone of voice of both you and your prospect. Listen to where you could say something in a better way or in a more impactful tone of voice or avoid saying something completely. Look for common threads in your conversations that get the prospects excited and also the ones that put offOne of the greatest challenges to real estate investors - both beginners and more experienced investors - is knowing what to say when talking to a prospective seller or buyer. Many investors go for years with no special phone sales training and just sort of wing it. And in doing so, they leave a lot of money on the table.

The simple reason for this is that most of us do not know when to stop being an active talker and switch to being an active listener. By recording phone conversations with prospects and later listening to them, you can see the exact moment the phone conversation went south. You can actually tell the exact second when you lost that bond with the prospect. And by knowing what you are doing wrong, you can take corrective steps.

So how do you get started?

Some people start their phone sales career by writing out a script of an imaginary phone conversation so they can "read" off the script when talking to prospects. I think a well thought out opening paragraph is good but beyond that, I resommend using a checklist of items I would want to talk about. I don't recommend dedicated use of a formal script as it can get you thinking more about what to say next on the script rather than listening to the prospect and moving the conversation where it needs to go. By listening to the prospect and working your checklist, you can have a much more free flowing, natural, rapport building conversation.

So whether you are working a script right now or just winging it, start recording all your prospect conversations - or as many as you can - and then study them later that day. Listen to the words and the tone of voice of both you and your prospect. Listen to where you could say something in a better way or in a more impactful tone of voice or avoid saying something completely. Look for common threads in your conversations that get the prospects excited and also the ones that put off

when to stop being an active talker and switch to being an active listener. By recording phone conversations with prospects and later listening to them, you can see the exact moment the phone conversation went south. You can actually tell the exact second when you lost that bond with the prospect. And by knowing what you are doing wrong, you can take corrective steps.

So how do you get started?

Some people start their phone sales career by writing out a script of an imaginary phone conversation so they can "read" off the script when talking to prospects. I think a well thought out opening paragraph is good but beyond that, I resommend using a checklist of items I would want to talk about. I don't recommend dedicated use of a formal script as it can get you thinking more about what to say next on the script rather than listening to the prospect and moving the conversation where it needs to go. By listening to the prospect and working your checklist, you can have a much more free flowing, natural, rapport building conversation.

So whether you are working a script right now or just winging it, start recording all your prospect conversations - or as many as you can - and then study them later that day. Listen to the words and the tone of voice of both you and your prospect. Listen to where you could say something in a better way or in a more impactful tone of voice or avoid saying something completely. Look for common threads in your conversations that get the prospects excited and also the ones that put off

you get started?

Some people start their phone sales career by writing out a script of an imaginary phone conversation so they can "read" off the script when talking to prospects. I think a well thought out opening paragraph is good but beyond that, I resommend using a checklist of items I would want to talk about. I don't recommend dedicated use of a formal script as it can get you thinking more about what to say next on the script rather than listening to the prospect and moving the conversation where it needs to go. By listening to the prospect and working your checklist, you can have a much more free flowing, natural, rapport building conversation.

So whether you are working a script right now or just winging it, start recording all your prospect conversations - or as many as you can - and then study them later that day. Listen to the words and the tone of voice of both you and your prospect. Listen to where you could say something in a better way or in a more impactful tone of voice or avoid saying something completely. Look for common threads in your conversations that get the prospects excited and also the ones that put off

t you thinking more about what to say next on the script rather than listening to the prospect and moving the conversation where it needs to go. By listening to the prospect and working your checklist, you can have a much more free flowing, natural, rapport building conversation.

So whether you are working a script right now or just winging it, start recording all your prospect conversations - or as many as you can - and then study them later that day. Listen to the words and the tone of voice of both you and your prospect. Listen to where you could say something in a better way or in a more impactful tone of voice or avoid saying something completely. Look for common threads in your conversations that get the prospects excited and also the ones that put off

conversations - or as many as you can - and then study them later that day. Listen to the words and the tone of voice of both you and your prospect. Listen to where you could say something in a better way or in a more impactful tone of voice or avoid saying something completely. Look for common threads in your conversations that get the prospects excited and also the ones that put off the prospect.

Basically, your goal when you are studying the conversations is to totally break apart the phone call and analyze what aspects of the conversation consistently work well for you and where your weaknesses are. With that information at your disposal, you can begin to make improvements that will add dollars to your real estate bottom line.

Take the data you gather every day and work on the phrasing and intonation of your presentation so that you can use a modified, more rapport building style on your next day's set of conversations. Keep doing this for a few weeks and you will soon see a dramatic difference in how your conversations with prospects turn out. People who practice the technique of recording conversations, studying and applying what is learned, see closing rates jump dramatically. Many times improvements of over 100% can be achieved by this simple technique. What would doubling the activity of your real estate investing business do for your bottom line?

One word of caution is necessary before recording phone conversations. State laws differ on what is legal in terms of recording a phone conversation. Many allow the recording to occur as long as one party (i.e. yourself) agrees to the taping. Some states require consent of both parties. If you record a phone conversation in a state where consent is required by both parties without informing the other party, you are violating the state law. So before taking any steps to record phone conversations, be sure to understand the laws in you