Canvassing and Rejection

September 3, 2019
Bethazor

A lot of people don’t go out canvassing and prospecting because they don’t like rejection.

You cannot walk into a Starbucks and say, “I have shopping centers!”. To get Nationals, you have to contact them through email (no MeMail blasts) and find out who their broker is. It’s a different type of strategy.

Canvassing is all about “mom and pop” shops.

Usually, you get rejected because you walk into their store and waste their time. You’re interrupting them and they think you’re the cable selling guy. They see you coming. Don’t say, “Oh, you have such a nice store,” Don’t BS them because then they will start getting aggravated.

The quickest you can get to the fact that you’re in real estate, the better. You’re in sales, just get to the point.

If the owner is busy with a customer, I head to the register to grab a business card. I want to flip it around to see how many locations they have listed on the back of the business card. Multiple locations give me goosebumps, and the owner is definitely going to want to talk to me.

If I see they’re not busy, I’m already walking over to them before the door closes, saying, “I have shopping centers, what are your expansion plans?” It begins the dialogue.

I try to get the card even when I’m talking, so I can discover how many locations they have.

I say, “I own shopping centers and I see you have three locations. Are you looking to expand?” The owner will say yes and we’ll start talking. If the gatekeeper says they have no idea, I ask if I can leave my flyer with them, and ask who I can follow up with.

I would then get the name and phone number of the owner, without directly asking for him or her.

So next time you’re canvassing, remember these 3 things: