WASHINGTON, DC—“No one likes to cold call, and if you say youdo, you’re lying.” That was Sean Moynihan’s frankassessment of the intimidating practice. Moynihan joined a group ofother up-and-coming pros—Young Guns in the parlance ofAvison Young—at the firm’s annual general meetinghere to discuss some of the challenges they face. All of them haveyet to log more than a decade in the business.

He reported that 92% of his business comes from cold calls—andcold emails, all with the intent of getting “one to two meetings aweek. And you feel like a rock star when you get those meetings,even though it’ll be 12 to 18 months before I get paid.”

Broker Martin McDermott said a little creativechat helps him get passed the gatekeeper, the receptionist. Herecommended you tell them it’s about anything but real estate, justto get to the next level.