Cold Calling Leads.

[Joshua Martin]

Hey Gang,

  So my on the cheap marketing campaign is under way. I've ordered 200 bandit signs (should have them in about a week or so), continue to compile my probate list and mail that the first week of September (August leads), but am also looking to incorporate cold calling possible sellers.

I've been at this today for like 6 hours, and have talked to one person on the phone. What I'm doing is going through expired listings on the MLS, finding the owners via the tax assessor's site, and then using spokeo to get numbers. Does spokeo suck? Or is the nature of cold calling that you get very few people on the phone.

  If I could just buy a list of numbers I'd pay happy to just continue calling. Any ideas?

And lastly, for finding FSBO owners do you basically have to pay one of the sites? If so, which one?

Thanks in advance.

Best,

JTM

[Brendan Harrison]

I have used Spokeo & it had been okay, but not amazing. Cross check it with PrivateEye / PeopleFinder.com and Intellius... you may get a couple more #'s.

I would also recommend calling neighbors if you want to ramp it up a bit. Pull their names from the county website & then run the same searches.

You'd be amazed at how many neighbors actually want to talk about the details of the abandoned property next to them. They want it rehabbed just as badly as you do - they just don't have the drive to figure out how to do it.

Fair warning - you'll get some haters too, but it builds character. Haha. You're clearly in it to win it because you've already spent 6 hours at it!

I would agree, set your expectations at 1/100.

Also, track who & when you're calling. The time of day will make a difference, so it's worth tracking & tweaking. Don't give up after one call. I've had luck around 7:30/8pm. Most people seem to be home during that timeframe & who knows, maybe they've had a glass of wine or a beer & are more willing to answer the call?

Keep after it!