Getting calls do not know how to handle

[Tzvi Balsam]

Hello,

I just sent out my first mailer using @Jerry Puckett In NJ somwhere.

I started getting calls yesterday and it is a disaster, I will try discribe all the issues one by one.

1. Someone calls while I am in the car I answer and I am flustered and it ends up being a mess.
2. Someone calls me about a property and starts giving me attitude when I start asking him basic questions ... (You sent me a letter and do not know what it is...)
3. people call me expecting to get top dollar how do i say this deal is not for me, when I make them an offer they are like you are crazy and get insulted..

I was thinking of using a call center to screen the calls and I will only work with qualified leads, did anybody do such a thing? 

Any advice would be great I really need help ASAP.

[Kim Younkin]

Hi, @Tzvi Balsam. Some thoughts for you..

On the call center question, I've been to two or three presentations on yellow letters in the past year and all of the presenters said they use someone to answer their phone. However, those are people who've been doing this for 20+ years and have a system for that in place. I don't know Google Voice, but I wonder if it or any service will allow you to leave a recorded script with brief qualifying questions? Then you can wade through and see which ones are worth calling back to talk to more at length? There are also Virtual Assistants you can hire cheaply to work part time for you, but I have not done that personally (I know a real estate agent who uses one for calls and marketing, with success).

If you ARE going to answer calls yourself, here are my other thoughts: 

As to your #1, I wouldn't answer a call like that in the car, either. Let it go to voicemail. And if they don't want to leave a voicemail, then they're not a very motivated seller. Finding motivated sellers is the goal so don't spend a second of your time worrying about who's not leaving a message. 

#2: Totally awesome that Jerry sent your letter and has been getting you so many calls so quickly! Just make sure you've read the letter, and that it has what you want in it; if doesn't, tailor your questions better for what you need. Get to know it well, then you can talk generically to everyone you want to talk to, and tell them you'll get back to them after you review things.

#3: Like a poster said above, I'm not sure how you can make an offer over the phone on a first call. That takes a few calls, and lots of analysis by you until you have so much experience you can do it in your sleep. My two cents, if a motivated seller wants top dollar, then they must not be as motivated (or educated about the process) as they think they are! 

No, you do not have to call someone back with a deal that doesn't sound good. Let it fly.

Good luck!