Hey, What do I say? ...

[Jerome Harrod II]

Alright, I have committed one of the worst sins as a new wholesaler. I have deals under contract but no buyers. Interestingly enough, what makes me a special case is that I already have a list of 26 buyers that I could contact.

Now, I bet you guys reading this are thinking "You have Buyers and You have Deals! What's the matter? Make it happen!"

Well let me ask 2 questions that could lead you to understanding my problem. I only have one shot of a good first impression right? and Buyers are technically the money and soul of wholesaling correct?
You probably guessed right, I'm experiencing some phone fright, I have no idea on how or what to say to my buyers so that way they don't mind being on my list.

The best I can come up with is "Hi my name is Jerome, I'm a real estate wholesaler here in the baltimore area. I see that your buying houses in baltimore, Can I add you to my buyers list and let you know of any deals that I come across?"

That line of dialouge doesn't work or failed because the list I had was originally 30 buyers, 4 buyers said No right off the bat and we hung up. I can't afford to get 26 more No's, So now I come to you biggerpockets,

What do you say when speaking to a buyer on the phone that you want to add to your buyers list but you have never met before?

[Steve Babiak]

Originally posted by Jerome Harrod II:

... I have deals under contract but no buyers....
The best I can come up with is "Hi my name is Jerome, I'm a real estate wholesaler here in the baltimore area. I see that your buying houses in baltimore, Can I add you to my buyers list and let you know of any deals that I come across?"

...

The part in bold needs to be changed, since you earlier said that you already have something under contract. Just tell them what you have under contract, and what you are looking to get.

If they like your deals, you might find them asking for more ...

[Peter Giardini]

Jerome, I second Steve's advice and offer this...

Add me as a colleague and send me a private email with the particulars... I have many clients who are ready, willing and able to take down any "good" deals in the Baltimore area.

I am not looking for a fee of any kind... just the success of my clients.

Best of luck!

Pete

[Account Closed]

What a great offer Pete.

Jerome sounds like you might have some additional potential buyers.

[Andy J.]

If you have a deal start out by telling someone what you have to offer. And if you don't have a deal at the moment, tell a potential buyer what you've had in the recent past that way they know you're not just another seminar junkie wasting their time building a buyers list that will never be used.

"Hello Mr./Mrs. __________ my name is ___________, I have a house under contract that I'm willing to wholesale and I was told you buy houses like this. It's a ____________ (type of house) in __________ (part of town). I figure it needs $___________ in repairs and would sell for $__________ after its fixed up. Do you want to have a look at it?"

This is going to be the best way to add folks to your buyers list, by actually showing them you have value. If they say no to the above pitch then ask them if they want to know about other deals you have coming up.

Pay attention to the details, I said "other deals coming up" not "if I come across something" or "if in the future." Don't make it conditional, make it a statement. Have confidence, you're doing them a favor bringing a ripe deal on a silver platter.

If you have a true deal, and not some overpriced junker, it will not take you very long to find a buyer. Don't inflate ARV's and don't lowball repairs.

[Tadd Bennett]

First off, how/where did you get this "list of buyers"?

[Sean Terry]

Andy hit the nail on the head, good job Andy!

The formula I use to sell deal in hours is this:
ARV x .70 - Repairs = wholesale price

It is critical to nail the ARV down solid, here's the formula for that:
3 comparable sales within a one mile radius that closed within 90 days and are within 200 sqft of the subject Make sure they are LIKE property. Once you have a list of these homes look at the pictures to determine if they've been renovated. Narrow it down to 3 good properties and average them out and that's your ARV.

Now to determine repairs there's a formula for that too. square-footage x $10 to $15 = repair cost.
this is a quick and dirty way to determine repairs, the worse the condition use the higher number.

Now take the deals you've got, run the formulas on them. If you still got a deal you'll have no problem answering any question regarding value, repairs or pricing.

You'll gain credibility because you know what your talking about and you'll soon find that buyers will be calling you looking for deals.

Once you have an interested buyer, meet them for lunch or coffee and take the time to build rapport. I have thousands of buyers on my list but I do 99% of the business with about 10 guys and we're all friends.

Hope this helps,

Cheers:

Sean

[Jerome Harrod II]

Well Rian, I get the impression that either you don't believe me or you want to milk me for my buyer finding techniques. I assure you, it's nothing new you've haven't heard off, I collected buyer leads through the same ways everyone else does. From classic "We buy houses" signs to Internet marketing with Craigslist. I purchased many wholesaling courses but I learned the most from Ron Legrand and biggerpockets very own Eric Medemar and Chris Chico.

But my biggest secret and the only technique that I haven't seen in any course or even listed as a way to find buyers AND sellers is knowing how to use Google.com. Google has the power to legally access to EVERY webpage in EVERY website in the world by default unless intentionally blocked by the website owner.

Google is a very powerful tool that not many people know how to use effectively. Google is really my free version of the MLS. I can pull buyers, sellers and comps, with a simple yet advanced google search phrase. Google is how I found Biggerpockets! What I learn from google about real estate, I confirm here as either fact or fiction on biggerpockets.

Google is how I closed my first deal as an unlicensed note broker within my first 4 months of starting in the note business at age 17. I'm 18 now by the way and somewhat successful, but not Successful enough to get done what I need done.

Even though I don't feel comfortable sharing exactly what I do out of fear of competition and the fact that it took me very long to figure out, I feel this is my only way of giving back to biggerpockets for helping me so much. So I won't spoonfeed my strategy to you, but instead I can scratch the surface of it and tell you what to research. I will start spoonfeeding when I start making money lol, but It is up to you to take it seriously. Infact I you encourage to take action and research it. Or else I will just laugh as I beat you to every possible deal that is posted on the internet ad sites, not being rude but truthful.

Here's the power tip: Learn how to use google advanced search operators and Learn how those operators can be manipulated to have google search every webpage of any website for whatever you want for you.

With advanced google search operators, I can use google and have it show me very specific things like every We buy Houses ad only in the baltimore area in craigslist or Be general enough and have google show me every Seller Financed Note for sale posted on backpage and criagslist all over the United States. Heck, you can even make google email you whenever a person puts a for rent ad up on craigslist on a daily basis. Constant landlord leads coming everyday free. That's just priceless.

Wow, I feel like a guru lol. I encourage you to take the time to research this and you'll no longer be at a lost for deals or buyers in this information age. This one strategy alone is how I built my 30 person buyer list in as little as 1 week of effort. All that is left to do is to screen them to see if they are serious buyers or "seminar junkies" lol.

Another tactic is to simply use Listsource.com. The site is self explanatory, pay for targeted leads. Easy, if you know how to look and what to look for.

It's not hard for me to find wholesale deals or buyers, it's just hard for me to get up the nerve to talk to them.

Just so you know a little about me, I've been self-training to get my Certified Ethical Hacker Degree from UMBC since 9th grade and now getting official training at ITT-Tech Institute. In layman's terms,I'm a young Specialized Computer Cop in training with above average knowledge in computer security and internet manipulation. So, I have learned many of internet based strategies that I can use to build my buyers list as well as my seller lead list easily.

I hope that answers your question and gives you some quality advice at the same time.

[Don Konipol]

Forget the pyscho babble. You simply have fear of rejection. The only way to overcome it is by calling and being rejected! Start calling potential buyers, say what comes naturally, and if they're interested they will tell you no matter what words you use!

[Jerome Harrod II]

Talking face to face and on the phone with people has always been a nervous fear for me. Which is why I always stick to email for business related topics, and that is why I'm not exactly booming in this business like I could be.

So Thank you very much Peter! I very much look forward to working with you and your clients.

Also, thank you Andy for the script. I really can start using that line of dialog to help me talk to my buyers.

[Jerome Harrod II]

I understand where your coming from Don, and I'm sure that "No pain, No Gain" strategy would be a very hard to do but a very effective approach to getting over the fear of rejection. However, My fear is not simple rejection. I handle and take many No's all the time cold calling noteholders as a note broker.

My fear is having lack of knowledge and the fear of not knowing how. I don't like looking/sounding stupid or being misunderstood to the point of not being taken seriously and losing deals. I can handle a No when I know I'm doing something the right way, because since it's the right way I'll eventually succeed. Not when I'm just blindly running my lip and hoping for the best, that's how I nearly failed in the note business when I started cold calling noteholders. I just said whatever and lost more business than I did when I used a script as a foundation to start from. Not to use and abuse but to guide me.

I believe there is a system for talking to people and everything else in between. To have a foundation to first start from and then build your own style around that made foundation. Less pain, More gain in my opinion.

[Tracey B.]

Jerome,
Many wholesalers send out emails. I prefer that method of communication because then I can do my own research without having someone trying to force a commitment over the phone. I recommend you do email blasts to your buyers with the specs on the deal: address, type of home, beds/baths, asking price, arv, best strategy like "good rental" with area rent or good fix and flip with some recently sold comps. This I think will be the best way to non verbally communicate with potential buyers.

[Patrick Karbon]

I agree that Andy hit the phone call perfectly! Practice the pitch over and over untill you know it by heart using a home that is within your buyers criteria (and appropriate homes for different buyers) Phone interaction is VERY scary for people not comfortable/ experienced in it but I assure you that if you can develop your confidence, you will overcome the largest hurdle in any business and that's saavy communication. You don't want to be slick but comfortable, knowledgable and balance the control of the conversation. But to Don's point the fastest and best way (guaranteed) is to jump right in. Fear of making a bad impression can be conqoured by making sure your ARV's make sense for someone to buy (I use 65% instead of Sean's 70% Thank you for sharing that formula!) and rehearsing and re-rehearsing that pitch Andy gratiously supplied. Don't NOT make calls because you're afraid of presenting a deal no one's interested in. If they say no, ask if they are still buying property and what THEY want in a home. I'm a communications major and we learned that basically the only way to overcome the fear of the phone or communication in general is to have a solid product you believe in. Arm yourself with truth and value then go into battle.

[Kim Anderson]

Also realize that when you start talking to some of these leads, they may in fact be wholesalers like yourself. This isn't the ideal (you want to definitely have your own buyers), but don't rule out the possibility of doing joint ventures with them. They may have the buyer you're looking for.

[Brian P.]

Jerome

Don't be so touchy. This is not something that requires a PHD. Just call the suspect buyer and ask a simple third grade question. Hi, did I dial the right number is this 123-4567? Great is this Bill? (with your great computer skills you should have the name, if not skip the name game) Bill, I'm Jerome and I understand that you rehab or buy and hold real estate is that true? Yes, I..blah blah blah. Great I have something that you may be interested in, it will only take me about 15 seconds to give you the details, would you like to hear them?

Sometimes the response is they are j wholesalers too, in which case you can go with the co-op assignment approach and partner up sort of with their buyers list.

[Brian P.]

Jerome

Sorry, was going to delete that j I hit by mistake and posted it instead. Anyway I was just going to add your really not losing anybody, your just cleaning you buyers list. If they are real players and your active you will run into them down the road and have another shot.

I keep a 3x5 card index of buyer list rejects that I follow up on in the future and many times turn them into bird dogs or re-spark their investing bug. if they are not currently active investors.

Plus with other wholesalers I always co-op , it is a policy that has paid off handsomely over the years.