Your first call to an absentee owner

[Jason Pachomski]

Hey everyone,

I've started a yellow letter campaign mailing to a list of absentee owners in my area. I've started to get some responses and I wanted to ask anyone who's gotten deals or has at least dealt with absentee owners as it pertains to that first call. 

I'm not looking for a script, but maybe some pointers... I'm guessing that a lot of these people are going to be investors themselves and as such are a little more savvy than the common homeowner. I can get on the phone and tell them I was looking at properties in their area and that I was wondering if they're interested in selling. Then what? Do I come right out at some natural point in the conversation and let them know I too am an investor? My goal is to collect the right information so that I can go do my research and then (with the help of my mentor) decide if there's a deal there at all. 

Pretty broad, I know. Guess I'm just looking for some general insight. If you hadn't already guessed, I'm fairly new to the game and I can already tell that my BIGGEST hurdle is going to be dealing with people on the phone and handling objections. A pretty commonplace hurdle, I'm sure, but I gotta get over it if I'm gonna make any money.

Thanks in advance!