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Numbers don’t lie, and when it comes to cold calling, they are disheartening at best. Some agents love it, but the vast majority would say that if they never had to again, they wouldn’t. Percentage-wise, cold calling converts roughly 2 percent, and only 28 percent of cold calls even result in a conversation. So how can you work smarter and not harder?
Insert social media and Instagram. In the current market environment, building relationships at scale is key. Can you have more conversations and do so in a higher-quality way? The answer is yes, and what Instagram affords you should not be cast aside.
So, how can you can use Instagram to build relationships at scale and lead the way in your market?
1. Find connective pieces before the first message
When it comes to cold calling, wouldn’t it be great if you had a short paragraph or bullet points about the person you were about to call? It would certainly make it less of a “dial and pray” type of conversation, right?
The unfortunate side of cold calling is that you don’t have that luxury. They don’t know you are about to call them, and you know nothing about them.
Now, why does Instagram make that aspect of relationship building better? Because thanks to the way the platform was designed, you get to see into the person’s life. Before you send them a message, you get to review their content and can use a piece of it as the icebreaker in the initial point of contact.
How much different would a message feel to send and receive if you were able to do that?
Example: Let’s say someone posted that they just ordered their Tesla, and you have been an owner yourself for a few years. Couldn’t you address this as the opener to your conversation before you ever talk business?
Some say this is the “like, know, trust” factor, but it is simply better business.
2. Focus on how you start the conversation
Now that you have taken the time to learn more about the person so you can create a warmer opening, you might be wondering, “What do I actually say in my first message?”
The first step to this is to give them something of value. This can be in the form of something nostalgic, a piece of advice or a tip, something related to the person or a post they put up, or referencing all of the above alongside a past client example.
In every initial message, the final piece ends with an open-ended question beginning with what, why or how.
If you cannot think of an open-ended question, it’s better to ask something than end on a statement.
Here is an example of conversation flow:
Their story is about something related to the Dallas Cowboys, so you say:
“This just made me so excited for football season this year. Nothing like cool weather, tailgating, football parties, and watching the game with friends and family! How do you think the Cowboys will do this year?”
They respond:
“Yes, for real! I have been a fan since I was born. My dad raised me right, lol! I think they have a shot at having a good year, but either way, I am so excited to go to my first in-person game this year.”
You respond back:
“I am excited, too and hope to make it to a game this season. It would be my first game, as well. I got to experience the stadium as a high school football fan. Have you been to any of the other events there?”
Your job now is to move into Step 3 of building relationships at scale on Instagram.
3. Move the meeting
Knowing what your “ask” looks like is key to converting any business. A simple exercise here is role-playing what you would say to someone over the phone and recording yourself saying it. Then write that message out in a DM (direct message).
It won’t always read as well as it sounds out loud, so take the time you need to nurture your script accordingly.
Here is an example of the conversation being ready for the client to “move the meeting” and the action taken to do so.
The scale
Building relationships at scale simply means having high-quality conversations that are more likely to convert because of one main thing: your ability to connect with them on a personal level before ever talking business.
Back to the numbers for a second. Remember that cold calling converts roughly 2 percent, and only 28 percent of calls result in a conversation.
So, what would converting 1 percent to 2 percent more do for your business? If you could create 100 relationships daily through Instagram with a personal approach, would you?
Michelle Berman Mikel is a nationally sought-after Instagram Content Development coach, speaker, Owner of Berman Media PD and Creator of the Instagram Power Method Program. You can connect with her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
