Open a conversation in each channel in a way that shows you are competent and that you respect the buyer's time.
Find the last message you sent, or the last call you made, to someone who didn't know you yet. Check whether your first few words said who you were and why you were getting in touch, because the other person will have formed a view of you before they reached the part about what you wanted.
Think about how you respond to strangers. Your phone rings at 12.40 on a Tuesday from a number you don't recognise (an invented example), an unknown contact sends only "hi", a two-minute voice note arrives from someone you can't identify (also invented), or a cheerful caller asks about your day before giving a name. In each case you have usually judged the person before you know what they want.
Buyers make the same quick judgment about you. Lesson 2.1, What trust is made of, showed that reliability is built from small promises kept, and a first contact is the first of those promises. It is also the moment when self-orientation is easiest to spot, and each channel, whether in person, by phone or on WhatsApp, has its own way to get it right.
Arrive about ten minutes early for an in-person meeting. That gives you time to find the table, buy your own coffee and settle before the buyer walks in. At a busy venue, such as a food court in Raffles Place at lunch, it also gives you time to find a seat where you can both hear each other.
Put your phone away where the buyer can't see it. A phone lying face down on the table still signals that something else might matter more than they do. Take notes in a notebook, or if you prefer to type notes on your phone, say so at the start and explain why you are doing it.
Before you begin, confirm how much time the buyer has. A line such as "We said we'd finish at one o'clock, does that still work for you?" takes about five seconds. It shows respect for their schedule and tells you whether to skip the small talk, for instance if they now need to leave at 12.45. Keep to whatever end time you agree, because running over breaks a promise in your very first meeting with the buyer.
A call interrupts whatever the buyer was doing. Before you ask anything, your opening seconds need to answer three questions: who you are, why you are calling and how long it will take.
Priya is a mortgage broker. Mr Tan filled in her team's form on Sunday about refinancing his HDB loan, and she phones him:
"Hello Mr Tan, this is Priya from the mortgage team. You filled in our form on Sunday about refinancing your HDB loan, and I'm calling to understand what you're looking for. It'll take about five minutes. Is now a good time?"
She uses both names and gives a reason Mr Tan will recognise, so he has no cause to suspect a scam. She names a time limit he can agree to, and she ends with a real choice, which makes it easier for him to say yes.
Compare a stranger who opens with "How are you doing today?" The buyer spends perhaps ten seconds working out who is calling, and suspicion builds the whole time they are trying to place the voice.
In Singapore, WhatsApp is often where first contact happens, and it is where small mistakes show most. Three habits help:
Write in full sentences, since shorthand reads as casual between friends but careless from a seller. Give your name and company in the first message, before the buyer has to ask "who's this?". State your reason for writing in that same message, so the buyer can decide whether to reply without any back-and-forth.
Never send a voice note as a first message. A voice note from a stranger asks the buyer to stop, find earphones and listen to something they didn't ask for, and many people won't play it. Once the buyer has replied and seems comfortable with voice notes, you can follow their lead.
If Priya wrote to Mr Tan instead of calling, four sentences would do it:
"Hi Mr Tan, I'm Priya, a mortgage broker with the mortgage team. I'm following up on your website enquiry about refinancing your HDB loan. Could I call you for about five minutes to understand what you're looking for? Would tomorrow at 10am or 3pm suit you better?"
A good first message like this needs no explaining, and it ends with a question Mr Tan can answer by picking one of the two times.
Across all three channels, two things count most: being on time, which includes replying when you said you would, and giving a clear reason for getting in touch. Both are about the buyer's time and attention rather than about you, which is why they lower self-orientation.
Charm is fine, but it does not make up for lateness or vagueness. A warm, funny seller who arrives fifteen minutes late has already told the buyer something about how they will handle the account. A plain, punctual seller who explains exactly why they are there gives the buyer far fewer reasons for doubt.
Pick one lead you could realistically contact this week, a real name if you have one, and keep that person in mind as you start the activity below.
Write the first WhatsApp message you would send a new lead. Then write the first 20 seconds of a phone call to the same person.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).