Commercial brokers make two different cold calls and should not use one script for both. To a tenant, the call is "when does your lease end, and have you started looking?" To an owner, it is "what would make you consider selling or re-leasing the building?" The first has a date for an answer. The second is a long game. Below is a script for each, with the same voicemail and follow-up structure, and the legal catch that applies to owner calls.

The caller is made up. Elias Marchetti is a broker at Ironbridge Commercial, a four-broker firm that represents tenants looking for office and light-industrial space and sells small investment buildings. He calls office managers and owners of businesses in the 3,000 to 20,000 square foot range for the first, and building owners for the second.

Script one: the tenant with a lease coming up

Where does Elias get the lease date? Sometimes from a listing or a sign, sometimes from a landlord who shares it, mostly by asking. So the call asks.

Hi, is this Odalys? Elias Marchetti at Ironbridge Commercial. I'm a broker who represents tenants, so I'm calling about a lease question. Roughly when does your lease at Dunmore Park end?

That is the opener, the reason and the question in one breath. If she says "about 14 months," the follow-up is: "Do you plan to stay, or move?" If she says "next spring," say, "That's close enough that you should know your options now, before the landlord names a renewal number." Then the ask:

I do a free review of the lease and the market for tenants. I'd look at your current rent per square foot, what similar space nearby is going for, and when you would need to give notice. It takes 20 minutes. Can we do Thursday at 11 or Friday at 2?

Free work has to be real. Elias brings a one-page summary: her rent, comparable listings, the notice date. Whether she hires him or not, she keeps the page, and he becomes the broker she thinks of.

Script two: the building owner

An owner call is different because the owner may not want anything today. Elias treats it as relationship building, with two questions.

Hi, is this Barnaby? Elias Marchetti at Ironbridge Commercial. I'm a commercial broker, and I'm calling owners of small office buildings on Calloway Street. I'm not here to list anything today. Do you plan to keep the building long term, or have you thought about what it might sell for?

If he says keep it, ask, "Any vacancies you're working on, or leases coming up in the next year?" That is the opening for leasing work. If he says "I've wondered," offer: "I can send you a one-page market note: what buildings like yours have sold or leased for nearby, and nothing else. Would you like that, and can I call you in two weeks to see if it was useful?" The note should come from public records and listing data you can show. An owner who asks "what is mine worth?" deserves a range with a reason and a clear statement that it is not an appraisal.

Four objections and answers

  • "I already have a broker." "Good. Is it for this building? If you ever want a second view, I'd be glad to give one." Ask for permission to send the market note.
  • "We're not moving." "That's useful to know. Is it that you like the space, or that moving costs too much? If rent is going up, we can show you what else is out there, and use it to negotiate."
  • "How did you get my number?" Answer honestly: "From the public listing for the building" or "from the company's website." If you do not know, say so, and offer to take them off the list. Then do it.
  • "Don't call me again." "Understood, I will remove you." Say nothing more. Record it the same day and do not call that number again.

Where to find owners and what public records to check is in how to find commercial property owners, and a broader plan for clients is in how to get clients as a commercial real estate broker.

Voicemail and the follow-up email

Odalys, Elias Marchetti at Ironbridge Commercial, 555-0138. I represent tenants and wanted to ask when your lease at Dunmore Park ends. I'll send a short email with a one-page summary of what space is going for nearby. I'll try you again Wednesday.

Subject: Your lease at Dunmore Park

Hi Odalys, I left you a voicemail. I represent tenants, and I'd like to do a free 20-minute review of your lease and the nearby market, including your notice date. Thursday at 11 or Friday at 2? Elias Marchetti, Ironbridge Commercial, 400 Front St, Albany. Reply "stop" and I won't write again.

For the call that follows, discovery call questions has a list that fits a lease review.

When to call

Tenants who run an office are easy to reach during business hours, with mid-morning the usual choice. Owners are harder. Many are individuals or small companies with mixed days, so Elias tries late morning and just after the close of business, and sends the market note by email if he does not reach them after three tries. Timing for other buyers is in best time to cold call.

The law, and the owner catch

A call to a tenant at a company is a business call, and the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule exempts most of those (16 CFR 310.6(b)(7)). The exceptions: no false or misleading statements about the cost, nature or performance of what you offer (16 CFR 310.3(a)(2) and (a)(4)), and calls selling nondurable office or cleaning supplies. The rule's calling hours are 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the called person's location (16 CFR 310.4(c)), written about residences but the right limit for business calls. The owner call carries a catch. Public records often list an individual, or an LLC with a home or personal mobile number, and an owner holding a building in their own name may not be a business buyer at all. Treat a home line or personal cell as a consumer number: check it against the National Do Not Call Registry before you dial, and keep your own do-not-call list, which both the FTC's rule and the FCC's rules expect of sellers calling consumers. In February 2024 the Federal Communications Commission ruled that AI-generated voices are artificial under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, so a call that uses one needs consent in the cases the law covers, such as mobile phones. Check your state's rules, and ask a lawyer how they apply to your owner list. This is general information, not legal advice.

If you would rather spend your hours on tours and lease reviews, Rocketship's Launch plan and up has AI phone calls that say they are an AI assistant and can book the review on the call, with a follow-up email from your own Gmail. See the pricing page for plans.