I hate Cold Calling

[Jonathan Rexford]

Cold Calling

As much as I HATE cold calling I was wondering if anyone has paid someone to call and fill out a Property Info Sheet?
If so what was the rate you paid?
How did you pay?

Here are my thoughts:
Give my caller a special link to cold call sellers and FRBO’s
Pay $3.00 per entry to website
Pay via Paypal
Am I too cheap?
Am I too expensive?

[Michael Quarles]

Originally posted by P NW:

Just a slight change of subject. Make sure you understand the telemarketing laws and how the no call list works.

The fines are really substantial if someone complains.

I have done plenty of research on the DNC... As investors looking to purchase property we are neither selling a product or service....

Which is specifically outlined in the regulations... Naturally please have your attorney confirm...

As far s telemarketing... When I started I was so poor that was the thing I did to get leads... SO poor I wouldn't answer the telephone myself because I knew it was a bill collector on the other end..

I eventually hired 16 women to all 8 hours a day... they had a 3 strike rule.. If they went 3 days without an appointment they got the right to work somewhere else...

Here is a little thing I wrote about cold calling.

Okay, now let’s talk cold calling… Yuck! Don’t be so hasty here. It’s an acquired taste that you begin to enjoy more and more, especially once you begin to see the money you can make from it.

Cold calling is an outstanding resource, especially for those with a limited advertising budget. It allows you to do three things:
• First, it puts you in front of prospects on a daily basis. Without prospects, you have no one to sell your services to.

• Secondly, it will tell you if prospects have sold, listed, or, in the case of foreclosure, stopped the process so you can remove them from your mailing campaign.

• Thirdly, it will give you more confidence than you can imagine. This type of confidence is important, as you will be negotiating to buy properties at $50,000 less than value.

Cold calling is the most important task you can do to create wealth as you begin your career. Therefore, it’s important to treat it as your most important promotional activity when scheduling your day. There are two optimum windows of opportunity for cold calling: from 9:00 am to 11:00 am and 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday.

Two hours a day is sufficient for cold calling when you’re doing everything yourself in your business. So, you could set a religious schedule that looks something like this:
Monday - 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Tuesday - 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Wednesday - 9:00 am – 11:00 am
Thursday - 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Friday - 9:00 am – 11:00 am
The reason you mix your days up is to reach those people who may not be home in the morning but will be home in the evening, and visa versa.

On a side note, I understand that you may have a full time job and that cold calling during these times may interfere with your work schedule. If this is the case, the two days a week that you are not working at your full time job should be the two days you will call between 9:00 am and 11:00 am and use the early evening of three other days in place of the afternoon schedule. The most important thing is to put in the time necessary to meet your prospective goals.

As you cold call, call prospects in the following prospect-type order:
1. Hot Leads
2. Expired
3. NOD
4. FSBO
5. For Rent
6. COI
Probate, Farm, and Absentee Owners are not prospects for cold calling.

Use the following schedule for calling these prospects:
• Hot leads – until they sell, list or die.
• Expired – daily until they list, sell or decide not to sell
• NOD â€" daily until they list, sell or stop foreclosure
• FSBO â€" daily until they list, sell or decide not to sell
• For Rent – day 1 and day 5, then monthly
• COI – One time each month

Scripts are paramount. The following is my “generic†script and can be used successfully for all prospect groups although a script written specifically for the prospect you’re calling may give you better results.

Hi, my name is __________with I Buy Houses… We are looking for 3 and 4 bedroom homes in your neighborhood…And I was wondering…who do you know that is looking to move out of your area? (No one) Fantastic!

Thank you for taking the time to think about it.. By the way

1. Have you thought about selling? (Never) Terrific!

2. If you were to sell…where would you go next? (Back to LA) That’s Exciting!

3. And when would that be? (3 months) Fantastic!

If they do not want to sell say thank you and hang up
or
If they want to sell

4. Are you planning on selling this house? (Yes) That’s exciting!

5. Do you have your next home picked out already? (You do) Ouch!

6. What do you think it will take to get the houses sold? (The right offer) Really!

7. I buy houses… just like yours… all of the time, and I have found that if the seller is willing… we can come up with a solution that works best for both of us, is that okay with you? (Yes) outstanding

8. Sometimes the only way we can buy the houses we look at is to take over the debt and pay you your equity, That means the loan will stay the house until its sold, assumed or paid off.

9. Sometimes even buy the house under a lease option… Is that a problem? ⯠Yes ⯠No

10. So if we can pay you your equity, guarantee and make your payments and be responsible for all repairs you will sell the home to us, right? ⯠Yes ⯠No

11. What time today would be better for me to come out and buy your house ___________ or ______________? (___) Terrific

12. Before I come out… there are just a few more questions… I need to ask about your house, is that okay? (It is) outstanding

13. Is the home ⯠Vacant or ⯠Occupied? Occupant Name?

14. _____ Bedrooms ______ Baths

15. How many Square Feet? ________________

16. Size of the Garage? ____________________

17. How did you happen to own the home?

18. What Kind of repairs does it need?

19. ⯠Carpet ⯠Paint ⯠Roof ⯠Cabinets ⯠Electrical ⯠Plumbing ⯠Plaster ⯠Sheet Rock ⯠Cooler ⯠Heater ⯠Air Conditioner â¯Window ⯠landscaping ⯠Clean-up
20. What do you think the repair cost will be?___________

21. What are you asking for the house? ________________

22. Is that ⯠Fixed–Up or ⯠‘As Is’

23. How did you come up with that Price?

24. How soon would you like to be sold? __Days ____Date

25. Is there a Mortgage on the house? ⯠Yes ⯠No

26. What is/are the balance? 1st ________ 2nd ________3rd________

27. Are you in Foreclosure? ⯠Yes ⯠No ⯠Notice of Default or ⯠Trustee Sale...Sale Date _______ Arrearage Amount __________

28. One last thing…. When I come out… it is important…that all of the decision makers be there…. so I can come to an agreement to buy your house… Will all of the decision makers be there for the appointment? (If all of them are not there don’t go)

29. Well, ______ I look forward in meeting you at ________

Figure 49: Generic Cold Call Script.

A couple notes; you should always repeat what the prospect says to you and follow that up with a negative or positive reinforcement word.

Read the following sentence to you and you’ll see what I mean.

You ask: How soon would you like to be sold?

Prospect replies: I would like to be sold in two weeks.

You say: You would like to be sold in two weeks, Ouch!
Or
You would like to be sold in two weeks, fantastic!

Each statement sets a tone for how you want the prospect to feel. Imagine that they had told you that they wanted 100,000.00 dollars for a house worth 200,000.00 would not that be fantastic? But what if they wanted 300,000.00 for that same house, Ouch! Ouch creates doubt and you want to put doubt into the mind of a prospect when they are in fantasy land.

Always have a script in front of you when you do your calling. Rehearse your script aloud before you begin calling each and every time. Do the same for the objection responses. The goal is to become comfortable with what you are saying and to make it your own, meaning that you should sound natural, not like you’re reading from a script. The scripts should serve as a guide for remembering what to say and not leaving out something important; a guideline to follow while you speak with passion from your heart.

This brings up a very important point that can make the difference between success and failure. You have to really believe in what you’re doing. The way someone feels about something is revealed in their voice. If you truly believe that you have something of value, something that your prospects need - whether it’s finding them a financially qualified buyer, helping them out of a foreclosure, and so on – it will come across the telephone. And you will close a lot more sales this way.

It is important that you only let the telephone ring three times before hanging up. Letting it ring more than three times will frustrate the receiver of the call—they may be running to get the telephone just to learn that a telemarketer is calling. And yes, you are now a telemarketer. Letting it ring more than three times will also slow the process for you. If an answering machine picks up do not waste valuable time leaving a message to return your call.

In addition, stand up when making your calls. Standing up will give you much more energy, which will be conveyed through your voice over the telephone. Get a tall desk to work from and use a quality headset.
Track the outcome of your calls next to your prospect’s name/phone number. Record the time and date you called. If no one answers, write, “no answer;†if you speak to someone, briefly note what was said/happened; and so forth.

A secret to cold calling that improves results is to learn to “mirror†(mimic) the person you’re speaking to on the other end of the line. If they speak softly, you should too. If they speak quickly, adjust your speech pattern accordingly. If they have an accent, develop a similar one. You will be more successful if you use this technique. You want people to feel like they know you, and a surprisingly simple way to accomplish this goal, in just a few seconds, is to mirror their speech patterns.

Never speak in a passive voice, such as: “If you were to choose me to buy your house,†and “I would…†or “I could…â€). This sets a negative tone and allows the prospect to be in control of your destiny. You must speak in a commanding, “This is mine†sort of voice. This has nothing to do with speaking forcefully and everything to do with setting the right tone and influencing the prospect. Use statements like "When I buy your house" or “When you sell me your house," and “Then I’m going to…†and so on. These types of statements are called embedded commands. They’re statements that cause the seller to believe in an outcome – your outcome. Use them to much success. In my opinion you should leave the prospect with the thought that you are going to BUY their house. If you say it eight times they actually start believing it.

Understand what "NO" means. Realize that being hung up on or told “no,†is a good thing. Every “no,†“not interested†and “no thanks†brings you that much closer to a qualified lead and qualified appointment and a definitive “YES!â€

Do not stop calling before your calling schedule time has expired, even to go on an appointment. Pre-set your appointment time around your telemarketing; never deviate from your promotional schedule.
Don’t ever consider giving up on cold calling. This is, by far, the least expensive form of advertising and you should take advantage of it.

BTW if you are going to cold call set up your Caller I.D.

I know what you’re thinking right now. “Michael you’re crazy, caller ID isn’t an advertising method†To that I would have a differing opinion. Caller ID is an advertising method and it is free. Think back to the time someone called you and you didn’t know their telephone number so you searched your telephones’ display pad for the recent callers looking for their telephone and then you hit the call button and called them back, right?

If I had called you then my name and number would be on your key pad. It would read “I Buy Houses and my telephone number. Every time you searched your telephone display pad you would see my telephone number. Folks it is all about touches, and if I can touch you two to eight times then I win. I have then branded my name and placed it into your memory bank for retrieval when you need it.

To get your name to show up on caller ID you have to call the local telephone provider and ask them to list your number under information. It is as simple as that.

Happy house hunting

Michael