Can I have 3 minutes of your time?

Why 3 minutes? Because I timed this email. That’s how long it will take you to read.

And I promise, if you read it to the end, you’ll walk away with one of the most effective (and respectful) cold call openers you’ll ever use.

Now here’s why I opened this week’s letter with that question.

Imagine you’re prospecting. You interrupt someone’s day, and you lead with: “Can I have a minute of your time?”

That sounds innocent, right?

But here’s the thing. “A minute” rarely means a minute. You know it. I know it. It’s vague. Most people hear it and assume: “This’ll take way longer than I want.”

Now try this instead: “Can I have 27 seconds of your time?” That one change makes a massive difference.

Why 27 Seconds Works

There are a few reasons this line works so well:

• It’s short
• It’s oddly specific
• It shows respect for their time
• It gets permission
• It sets a boundary for you to follow

The beauty of saying “27 seconds” is that you must honor it.
If you ramble for 2 minutes after asking for 27 seconds, you’ve broken your first promise. And there’s no faster way to lose trust when prospecting.

Here’s Exactly What to Say (Use This Script)

If they say yes, and many will, here’s a simple structure you can use:

“Hi [prospect’s name], this is [your name]  from [your company]. I recognize I’m interrupting you, but I was hoping for 27 seconds to share [high impact, applicable value proposition].”

Let’s break that down:

• [Your Name]
• [Your Company]
• Acknowledge the interruption (this disarms)
• Restate the 27 seconds
• Quick value statement (client result + who it applies to)

You can tailor this to match your market, niche, or ideal client.

“Isn’t this kind of sleazy?”

Not if you respect the time you’ve asked for. The tactic only feels manipulative when you stretch 27 seconds into 3 minutes of rambling.

Keep it short. Make it valuable. Then earn the next conversation.

“What do I say in those 27 seconds?”

27 seconds is a lot longer than you think!  But you need to make sure you don’t go over the 27 seconds, or you will lose your prospect’s trust. 

Share a high-impact issue that will be valuable to your prospect.  Maybe it’s how you just saved a neighboring tenant hundreds of thousands of dollars on their lease, or how a rival property owner just secured a national tenant, or why a property sold for a record price.

Prospecting Is a Science, Start Testing

Whether you like it or not, prospecting is a science more than anything. And scientists test. The best brokers in the country (many of whom we coach) aren’t afraid to try new methods, track their results, and iterate. In fact, they learn to LOVE that process of incremental improvements.

This one’s easy to test, and even easier to track.

You don’t need to overhaul your entire script. You just need 27 seconds (use them well).

Want help building an opening script that actually gets responses?

👉 Book a free 30-minute Broker Break-Through Strategy Session.

We’ll help you fine-tune your prospecting game, so your next 27 seconds lead to your next meeting.