Appreciation post: That senior lawyer who told me to stop chasing big billboards and just call every real estate agent in Edmonton

I was dead set on dumping our whole budget into a flashy billboard near the downtown core. A retired lawyer named Bob at a networking event told me it was a waste. He said instead call every real estate agency in the city and offer to do a free lunch and learn on wills and probate. I thought he was crazy. First call I made got me a meeting with a team of 12 agents. That turned into 4 referrals in the first month for way less than the billboard cost. Has anyone else found old-school cold calling beats flashy ads in Edmonton?

3 comments

3 Comments

parkerbrown1d agoMost Upvoted

Respectfully, I see it a little different, @ray356. That first call landing a team of 12 isn't a magic trick, it's about who you're calling. A single real estate agency office usually has a broker, three or four senior agents, and a handful of junior ones all sharing the same building. If Bob's old school approach was to ask for the office manager and offer up that free lunch and learn, the manager might just round up everybody who is free that afternoon. I've seen it work with a friend who does home inspections in Saskatoon. One call to the right office, and you get the whole team instead of chasing everyone one by one. The trick is to stop thinking about individual names and start targeting the whole office at once, which changes the game completely.

the_anthony1d agoOG Member

12 agents from one call. That's wild. Billboards are for dating sites and car washes, not getting people to write their wills. Bob knew what was up.

ray3561d ago

Wait hold on. Twelve agents from one call? That sounds like a dream scenario. I've been doing cold calls for years and the most I ever got from a single call was maybe two people who actually showed up to a meeting. That retired lawyer Bob must have some kind of magic touch or he's just that good at networking. I honestly struggle to believe one call can land you that many agents unless you were calling the main office and got the owner on the line.