Handling a "Buy" call from a Seller

[Stinson Bland]

I'm worried that I'm not doing a very good job on the phone when I get a caller from my direct marketing...

WOW, that was hard to type! I was a successful financial services phone salesman for many years in the past. The problem is that I am use to hard selling on the phone and that's not what I should be doing on these calls.

Most of the calls that I get in response to my direct marketing sound something like this:

"I got this letter from you... what will you offer me for my house?"

I tell them that every house and neighborhood is different and it would not be fair to either of us if I make up a number that has no real substance. They typically follow that with "how much is your discount?" I deflect that question in the same fashion and try to get the caller to talk about their home and why they called.

Here is a list of questions that I ask:

What made you decide to call today?
Tell me about you house....
Why are you looking to sell?
How long have you owned it?
Is there an existing mortgage? What's owed?
Does the home need repairs? What would that cost?
What do you think the house is worth? Is the repaired or as-is?
What are you asking for the house?
What if you couldn't get that price?
Have you listed it with an RE agent? Why not?

On the phone I give a discount home buyer statement:

"We are a discount home buyer but we offer you cash for your house, we'll buy it as-is... saving you from doing any repair, we cover all of the cost associated with selling a home and we can close as quickly or slowly as you need."

Again, that's typically followed by: How much of a discount? I normally tell the caller that every house and neighborhood is different but we typically buy at $.70 on the dollar.

Should I give in and give them a discount percentage?

I try to get an appointment set but my recent callers are from out of state absentee owners. They typically want to get a "ballpark" number before we decide to move forward. I tell them that I will do some research and I'll call back with a number. I hate the "ballpark" number game... I want to get out and sit in front of people to discuss their situation with their home.

I do my research and say the following when I call them back (I wait at least an hour):

"I looked into your neighborhood to determine your local RE market. It appears that similar homes in that area are selling for $XYZ. Those homes are completely remodeled and they took an average of XYZ days to sell. Without seeing your home and knowing what cost would be associated with preparing it for resale, it is hard to determine a real offer price . But I told you I'd give you a ballpark number and I believe we would be in $XYZ to $XYZ area. Does that work for you? Should I plan a time to come look at the home?"

My ballpark figure is 65% to 70% of ARV...

Would you give them this number? How would you handle the call?

I'm looking for input, help, criticism... anything to increase my conversion rate.

Here's a link to a question that I had in regard to my direct marketing and the quality (or lack there of) my response rate: (http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/87/topics/66398-high-response-rate-or-fewer-qualified-callers).

I feel like most of my callers are "tire kickers" that truly don't have any motivation but I'd like to make sure I'm making the most of these calls and not missing any opportunities.

Do you see any changes I could make to my marketing or call dialogue?

Thanks for any and all help!

[Ned Carey]

Stinson,

Wow, you do a great job of getting unmotivated sellers :cry:

Actually it sounds like you are doing and saying the right things. Most of my sellers respond in similar ways. I think you are working the leads about as well as you can.

The very best negotiating and selling skills won't make a seller motivated. It will help you discover who is motivated.

Misc comments and phrasing
I have never had someone ask "how much discount do you get?". But I guess if you start by saying I am a discount home buyer you almost asking for the question. As I said in the other thread I would not say "I buy at a discount".

I deflect "how much can you offer me?" by saying:
"you know your property better than I do, what do you think it's worth?" A good follow up question is "What would you take for it?" If the two numbers are the same they're probably not a motivated seller. If the second number is lower that is sign of motivation.

I often say "I send out a lot of post cards so I am not familiar with your particular house, tell me . . ."

I would not give a discount percentage. You cannot win that game. 70 % isn't that good of a deal but it's sounds like a tremendous discount to a seller.

A question I have been asking lately "when was the property last updated?" I have had people say the house was in great condition but when I asked about updating they admitted how old many of the systems and features were.

I have found myself giving a ballpark number much more lately, as a screening tool. Like you, I don't want to go out and look at a property if there is not at least a solid chance of a deal.

I give them as high as I can offer knowing that I will negotiate them down when I meet in person. I usually back this up with some low comps - almost always Bank REOs. I might let them know that some properties are selling for more, but "why would I pay you more than $X when I can buy a bank property for that?"

I hope some of my comments and wording will help but honestly I think you are probably doing fine now.

Good Luck,