When do you quit contacting seller?

Question

I have collected leads on my CRM and have them scheduled to call back at certain intervals. For example, I have one that I know will need to sell eventually since they have a leak in the back which is basically running through the walls in the garage and out the front. It's a small leak, but a leak going on for months now. I know this because it's a vacant house next to my mother-in-law's and I have jumped the fence since I "accidentally" dropped my tree cutting tells over the fence while trimming my MIL's trees.

Anyway, I have her contact info, called her and the daughter answered the first time and she said her mom would be interested in selling it. But never answered my calls again. Do I keep calling or do consider this lead dead?

Other leads are the ones that I made an offer and they said it was too low of an offer. These are vacant homes, which I pass by on my way to work and check to see if they have been sold, but they have not. Do I keep calling these guys even though they said it was too low of an offer? I CAN come up on my numbers, but I've heard many times just to stick with your numbers. If I come up it'll narrow my exit strategies, but still make a nice rental.

Then I have the ones that, after showing them my offer and running through my numbers, they looked at me straight in the eye and said, "Get the F*** out of my house before I punch you in your f******* face." I'm assuming this kind of lead is DEAD right? Unless I am the one who ends up dead. But in my defense, the numbers made sense to me.

Jim Pellerin · Answer

@Ron Herrera I try to pre-qualify as much as possible so I don't waste my time outside of the office. I have a 3 step process I follow:

1. Finding Sellers: I find my sellers by searching the classified ads and the FSBO sites. I will also do FB and Adword paid advertising. I will either communicate through emails or let my site provide the information. My sites are tuned to convert (fill out a form) like crazy. I have a VA that can do most of this but sometimes I jump in to see how the process is working. I log everything in a spreadsheet so we aren't spamming the seller for the same property.

2. Qualifying: Next we do a follow-up with a phone call to anyone who has expressed an interest, which I said is usually only about 10 out of 100. I will have my sales person call them and explain the program and answer any questions they might have. We discuss numbers at a high level, subject to me confirming the detailed financials later.

3. Contract Signing: Finally we meet with the seller. They have already been pre-sold on the phone call so when we meet there is a pretty high probability they will sign. I usually get about 80% to sign.

I realize this post was for finding sellers to wholesale with. My business is finding sellers for my Lease Option business. But a motivated seller is the same no matter which strategy you are using. Your assessment may just be a bit different.

Eric H. · Answer

@Aroldo Villarreal I only stop following up with those people that say "Take me off of your mailing list" After a person has sold their house I will still send that individual a tear off calendar every year with a personal note. To that person that told you to get out of their house, you may not want to call them again but keep them on your 'regular' mailing list and your first follow up after that awkward encounter should be something personal. A handwritten note or short letter highlighting something you guys did connect on. Follow up, follow up, follow up is the name of the game. Keep it to monthly at the most to prevent becoming a pest but persistence makes you stand out against the competition.

Hope this helps!

Sincerely,

E. Harris

Doug N. · Answer

You are an instant contender for my First Annual Weekly Funny Funny Comments Award Show™.

Jim Pellerin · Answer

The key to finding the right seller is motivation.

Your goal should be to try and disqualify the unmotivated sellers as quickly as possible. If they aren't calling you back, they aren't motivated. If they are kicking you out of their house, they aren't motivated. It's also a numbers game.

I will contact 100 sellers (no exaggeration) on a weekend. 80 of them won't respond. 10 will say no right away. 10 will say they are interested. I work those ten, usually meet with about 5 and get 1 to 3 that will go forward.

Now, motivation does increase with time.

So what I might do is go back to someone I contacted a month or 2 ago and ask them how their sale is going and if they might now be interested.

You aren't trying to "sell" someone on your opportunity. You are trying to find the right person that wants what you are selling.

I spend more time looking then selling.

Ron H. · Answer

@Jim Pellerin - Could you share what method(s) you are using to establish contact with leads on weekends?  Door knocking, phone calls, etc?

Andrew Syrios · Answer

Yeah, generally when they threaten to punch you in the face, the deal is basically dead. It all depends on how close I was to deal with them and how good a deal it could be on how long I continue to try and reach out for them. If the deal was mediocre or the seller wasn't really motivated, if they aren't going to call me back the first or second time, I'm done. But sometimes seller's just go dark after being just inches away from a signed contract. Then I will usually continue to try for a while. Rarely to they come back after going dark though.

When do you quit contacting seller?

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