As a lifelong student of business (and someone who’s worn the hats of author, broker, owner, consultant, and founder), I’ve seen this truth hold across every industry I’ve touched:
Persuasion is a fundamental skill.
In advertising, it shows up in your copy.
In retail, it’s the layout of the store and how you guide a customer to buy.
And in Commercial Real Estate, persuasion shows up in one of the most important places:
Your prospecting calls.
Because no matter how skilled you are, if you can’t get a prospect to say yes to a meeting…
You never get to show them what you can do.
Researchers have been studying persuasion for over 60 years.
What gets people to say “yes”?
What makes someone take a meeting, return a call, or respond to a message?
It turns out, there’s a science to it (and you want to go much deeper on this, read Influence by Robert Cialdini.
And for CRE Brokers, that science should shape how you approach your calls, your emails, and your entire prospecting strategy.
Because as much as we’d like to believe our prospects weigh every decision carefully and logically…
They don’t.
We’re all overloaded. We rely on mental shortcuts.
And when you understand those shortcuts, you can start speaking directly to the way people make decisions.
There are four persuasion levers that every CRE Broker can use.
Today, I’ll walk you through the first two: Community and Social Proof.
- Community
Humans are wired to follow the crowd, especially when that crowd feels familiar. We just are. Whether you like it or not.
But your prospects may not care what’s happening across the country.
But they absolutely care about what’s happening in their town…
On their own block…
Or among people in their same industry.
That’s where the power of community lives. Leverage this in your prospecting.
When you reference relevant activity nearby, whether geographically or professionally, the proximity immediately creates curiosity.
It’s the “Why didn’t anyone tell me this?” effect.
How to use it on a call or email:
- Reference similar tenants in the same area
- Mention peer companies in their industry that are relocating, expanding, or renegotiating
- Highlight movement in their immediate micro-market
Example:
“I’m reaching out because we recently helped two other tenants in your building renegotiate leases with more favorable terms. Thought you’d want to be aware of what’s happening just down the hall.”
Coaching Tip:
Community language is strongest when it feels hyper-local or role-specific.
Use street names, building names, job titles, or industries. The more personal it feels, the more effective it becomes.
- Social Proof
When people feel uncertain, they look to others for direction.
Your prospects might hesitate not because they’re uninterested, but because they’re unsure what to do.
Social proof cuts through that hesitation by saying:
“People like you have already done this—and here’s how it worked out.”
But here’s the key: vague proof falls flat.
Don’t just say, “We’ve helped other clients.”
Say: “We helped 3 other boutique law firms within a mile of your office reduce their costs by 18%.”
That specificity creates trust.
How to use it on a call or email:
- Reference the exact number of clients you’ve helped in their situation
- Share quantifiable outcomes (e.g. occupancy cost reductions, NOI increases)
- Name the street, asset class, or business type involved
Example:
“We recently worked with three boutique law firms in Midtown. Each reduced their occupancy costs by an average of 18%. I’d love to share how they did it.”
Coaching Tip:
Numbers matter. If you can’t say “3 clients,” say “several.” If you can’t say “18%,” say “nearly 20%.” It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to feel real and measurable.
You’ve now got two of the four persuasion levers in your toolkit.
Next week, we’ll break down the other two:
Scarcity (how to create urgency without pressure) and
Data (how to win over the logic-driven decision maker).
These next two are what move deals faster, and close them.
If you want us to personally help you apply these persuasion techniques…
👉 Book a free 30-minute Broker Break-Through Strategy Session.
We’ll take a look at your current messaging, identify the gaps, and help you build an opening approach that actually gets results.
