For me the scariest thing about sending out marketing material is what to actually say when a lead calls. When I was sending out pre-foreclosure mailings last year, there were many times I would hear my phone ringing and just freeze when I saw the number wasn’t one I recognized. It pissed me off to no end that I was wasting my money and time by not answering the damn phone!
This is a huge step for me, as I’m not a talkative person and probably not the quickest person when it comes to speaking off the cuff. You can get me to fall over my words and sometimes I won’t make any sense. It’s unnerving to hear a “whaaaatt???” after trying to explain what you do.
I have been working on this over the past 6 months, forcing myself to pick up the phone and talk to people. You’d be amazed at how networking and just talking through scenarios with fellow investors will help you relax when talking with motivated sellers.
Top Questions You’ll be asked by the Seller
From my experiences here are a few of the most common questions a seller will ask when they call you…
Q: Tell me about your service?
A: 9 out of 10 callers will ask you this right off the bat. The simplest way to answer is to summarize what you had told them in the letter.
I buy property As-Is and I can close the sale very quickly.
There is no need to say much more then that. The caller most likely understands what you do from reading your letter, they just are nervous and need an ice breaker.
You don’t want to talk to much or confuse them by explaining wholesaling or get too detailed. Just say it and move on. A confused mind says no.
Q: How does this work?
This is just another way of asking “tell me about your service” and you should respond the same way.
Q: How much will you pay for the property?
A: Even if you have scoped out the house from the outside, it’s important not to show your hand first and throw out a number. You want to get out to the house and see it. Say something like this…
Until I can look inside the house, I really can’t tell you what the property is worth
This statement has two purposes…
- To find out if there is any interest in selling
- If there is interest, making an appointment to see the property
There is a 100% chance that the caller will ask you this question and you can’t possibly answer it unless you go see the house.
To be honest there isn’t much more you should cover on this phone call until you can get out there and see the house. I do like to ask them “Why they want to sell the house?” which helps me gauge their motivation.
For Newbie Investors: 20 Seller Goal
It’s important to get comfortable talking with sellers, so make it your goal to set appointments to see the first 20 properties that call in. Don’t worry about whether they are motivated or not. If they will have you out to the house, then go and talk to them. You’ll thank me later, and this is my Goal!
My Updates
As you read in my post last week, I got my list. Unfortunately Thanksgiving, family and putting up Crown Molding in my condo prevented me from going to the court house and checking the leads. I will do this, but my focus for this week is to get my first mailers out the door.
Tonight I’m going to figure out how many letters I will be sending out, and then go to local office supply store and purchase the needed materials. (I was also thinking about using click2mail.com but will do the letter thing first in order to follow what Ron Mead does exactly).
Let me know how you all are making out. Jason, how are things going for you?
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I used to do the same thing, Scott. I would spend a bunch of money on marketing, and then I was too chicken to answer the phone. Then I would get pissed off at myself, and swear the next time I wasn't going to let it happen.
I finally just said screw it, and started taking the calls, and it got easier and easier. The fear never goes away until you face it and just act in spite of it.
I'm right about the same step as you. I mailed off my first letters and I'm busy trying to find more leads. Not everyone posts in the paper here, so I have to find a way to find those non listed folks. I haven't had much luck at the one courthouse yet, their computer system has been down for 3 weeks now.
I'm preparing my talking points as well. The goal is to see the house, get lots of pictures and have lots of notes. I need to find a checklist when going through the house. I also have not received any leads from USprobate. They should be to me by the 7th. Unfortunately, that is for Nov. I'm not sure how well this is going to work with them. I'm having my doubts.
Great progress, Scott! I really like this goal of going to see 20 houses regardless of how motivated the seller seems to be. It will be great practice getting face to face with sellers. Way to go!
HA HA HA HA HA, I remember back then, my palms would get sweaty and I would choke up and stut…stut……stut .t.t.t.t.t.t er
One day I grab my eggplants and took control of the conversation. I never realized how easy it really was. Now, I can talk to people I don't know about things for hours on end.
From everything I've read, getting the November list in the first week of December isn't that big of a deal. I'm not going to mail to the executor's until a few weeks after the file date to make sure I'm far enough from death where the initial heavy hearts will subside a bit and people are moving on. I'll do this for the first few batches to see how it works out.
Keep my update Jason, it's very motivating to hear other people progressing. Heck if you ever want to do a guest post on my blog about your experience just give me a shout!
Congrats Shae! You are the 600th comment on my blog. For that I will give you a choice of one of the following products that I have….
Scotty's Shaky Hand Techniques for Answering the Phone
Scotty's Guide to Sending out Mailers and Getting No Responses <—- excellent read by the way
Mo' Better Blogs by Scotty
Your choice! hehehe
I'm about at the point of grabbing the marbles as well. I'll know when I'm truly comfortable when I'm not wearing a path around my condo as I'm talking on the phone, it's like I'm running a race. hahaha
HAAAAAAAAA! Scotty, you're hilarious! I think I'll take Mo' Better Blogs! LOL!
Great choice Shae, you will never get less for you money
Great choice Shae, you will never get less for you money