Does Cold Calling Really Work?

Question

I went Driving For Dollars and was able to get a list of 994 addresses for distressed properties. I was able to look up the names for 95% of these properties. I finished adding the names yesterday.

Today, I started to look up the phone numbers for these addresses/names. I started with Whitepages.com. I was only able to get 1 free name. The rest of the inquires required a paid subscription. I then went to Facebook to no avail. It seems to be nearly impossible to match names to properties with Facebook let alone getting phone numbers. Then, I went to thatsthem.com. Eureka-it worked... briefly. I was able to get 10 free phone numbers before creating an account. Then, I noticed that you only get 30 free phone numbers per month before a subscription is required. Just to test the data, I looked up myself as well as a relative's phone numbers to discover that the information that it was giving me is 10 years old (Not to mention the fact that it gives you multiple phone numbers for one listing). I can only assume that Whitepages.com works the same way.

Has anyone used Whitepages.com to cold call? Does it work?

I'm open to other low cost strategies that offer low competition. You need a license to door knock in my area so that's most likely out of the question.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Cold calling is hands down the best way to find a deal in real estate. It’s not sexy, but it gets the job done

Braden Smith · Answer

Cold calling works at scale, meaning you will need to call hundreds and hundreds of numbers to get a deal. In order to do this, you need a large list and you will need to have it skip traced. Much like many other things, you get what you pay for with skip traced data. If you go with the cheapest option the data will be garbage.Just FYI, there are some new rules a regulations you need to abide by when it comes to cold calling if you want to keep yourself out of trouble. The government is cracking down more and more on cold calling, SMS marketing, RVMs, etc.See here for the most up to date info: https://www.reiblackbook.com/g...Take notice of the following section that reads as follows:What You Need to Know About the National Do Not Call Registry In order to understand how this impacts your real estate investing business, let’s take a closer look at the National Do No Call Registry. Within the DNC, there are 3 types of organizations or functions; seller, telemarketer/service provider or exempt organizations. A seller may also be a telemarketer if it is calling on its own behalf or if it retails one or more telemarketers to place calls for it. You, as an investor, will want to register as a “seller”. Every seller should subscribe to specific area codes, pay appropriate fees and agree to certification requirements in order to receive a Subscription Account Number (SAN). The DNC Registry requirements are as follows: • Annual subscription by area code• You must maintain an in-house DNC list and sync it with the nation registry at least once every 31 days. (The national DNC is updated daily at 8AM)• Data for up to five area codes is free. Beginning October 1st, 2020, the annual fee is $66 per area code of data (after 5) for up to a maximum annual fee of $18,044• Companies that have provided the required identification and certification and paid the appropriate fees will be allowed to check a small number of telephone numbers (10 or less) at a time via interactive internet pages. This will permit small volume callers to comply with DNC requirements of TSR (Telemarketing Sales Rules) without having to download potentially large lists of all registered telephone numbers within a particular area. What happens to companies that don’t pay for access to the registry? Any company that is a seller and/or telemarketer could be liable for placing any telemarketing calls (even to numbers NOT on the registry) unless the seller has accessed the registry and paid any required fees. Violators may be subject to fines of up to $43,792 per violation. (Each call may be considered a separate violation.)

Mike Gunther · Answer

@Mike Schorah @Braden SmithAll of us men and women, we've got to have something we're doing in life. We've got to have something we're pursuing. It's like most of the people in this world, they're working jobs, careers or businesses that don't excite them. You've got to do something with your life. Half of my clients... I'm helping them figure out the purpose of their life. In other words, what they really want to do with their lives. And the biggest reason why most people don't go for what they really want is fear. They think "I'm not smart enough. I'm not good-looking enough. I don't have enough connections. I don't have enough education. I could never do that. I'd probably fail at it." So they don't even try. So instead of going for what they really want, they choose to do something that's mediocre. I remember a girl years ago... this is back when I was waiting tables and sleeping on my dad's couch when I was trying to figure out my business model. I worked with this girl who was one of the most beautiful women I've ever met in my life. She had a lot of confidence. She really got men. And she was very charming. But she had no self-confidence. She had no belief in herself. And I remember... I think she said that she talked to her dad. She jumped around. She's had 5 or 6 jobs since then. And she's not doing what she really wants which is to be a writer. She loves writing. She loves English. Like I said, one of the most beautiful and charming women that I've ever met in my life. And she's just like the rest of the people. She's just shooting for a life that is totally less than what she's capable of living. And it's sad for me knowing what I know and seeing somebody do that and just give up on themselves. Cause I know how that's going to affect her 10, 15, 20 years down the road. She'll have gray hair. She'll have circles under her eyes. She'll marry some dude that's not the kind of guy that knocks her socks off and just live an average mediocre life and die many years before she should have. That to me is sad. That is a tragedy. And the majority of the people in the world are like that. They've already given up before they even try because they think "That's not in the cards for me. I've got to be realistic after all." A strategic planner taught me many years ago. He said "There is no such thing as a bad idea. Only bad plans." And since most people don't know how to put a plan like that together, they just try to go for what's easy. And you're never going to make yourself happy. Why settle? I've tried that when I was younger. Settling never made me happy. It made me absolutely miserable whether it was jobs, the company I was working at, or relationships I was in. Settling was what caused me to get married the first time around because everybody talked me into it and I talked myself into it and eventually I realized I felt like I was dying a slow death by living that life I was living and being in a relationship that really wasn't all that it could have been.Braden is right. The feds are cracking down on major cold calling operations. Take a look at this following article:https://www.cbsnews.com/news/r...They were fined $1.6 million for making 45 million illegal robocalls. 1.6/45 = .0356They were fined $.0356 per call. I'm not advising doing something illegal here. In fact, I'm advising to DO THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE. But, I sympathize with someone like yourself who want to follow their passion but doesn't have the funds to do so. Let's say it took you 1,000 phone calls to get a deal...1000*.0356 = $35$35 is a pretty small fine to get started with your dream business. Hell, I just got a ticket in the mail for a damn red light that I don't believe I ran and it was $150. With a deal, you can make $10k off of it and use that to do direct mail. If you can't afford to do direct mail with $10k then bless your heart.Once again, DO NOT DO ANYTHING ILLEGAL HERE!

Scott Wolf · Answer

@Mike Schorah truepeoplesearch.com has been a goldmine for me. You can search by name or address, and it's free.

Colby Burt · Answer

Good strategy. And, I agree $66/year per area code is fine. But, what do you do when you pull a list by region or zip code, and you get many different area codes? (Or if you get different area codes from a list where the owners don’t live in the area?)

Colby Burt · Answer

@Doug Pretorius Sorry, forgot to tag you in my reply

Doug Pretorius · Answer

Here in Canada for small lists we can pull up to 100 numbers for $0.50 each. That would be fine for something like calling expireds although I'd rather just go knock on their door. Otherwise we'd need to pay for additional area codes. Or you can buy them all for $48,000 a year LOL! I think I'd rather do mailers or PPC at that point.

Chris Seveney · Answer

@Mike SchorahI just recorded a podcast where the individual had a niche business and did cold calling for nine months at 20+ calls a day before he got his first deal. He is a private lender who now originates over $200M a year in loans to a specific market.So yep it can work but it won’t be easy and will take a while

Wale Lawal · Answer

@Mike SchorahCold calling is one of the best prospecting method.You can also try Prospecting letters/direct mail, Open houses etc.While prospecting can be difficult, the end value is well worth the time and effort. It is important to remain consistent in your outreach.Good luck!

Paul De Luca · Answer

Cold calling CAN work but like other strategies it takes a lot of volume and consistency to see results. If you want good data, you're going to have to pay for it. I pay for a service and even then I get a lot of bad phone numbers, DNC numbers, and tons of people that never answer the phone. You have to be process focused, not results focused. Meaning, focus on the daily action and not the result in the short term. Ex: make 50 calls a day, 5 days per week. You will start making contacts with leads over time but still keep your expectations low and understand that the majority of the people that even answer will not be interested. It's just like dieting and exercising. Nobody gets in good shape by lifting a dumbbell or eating a healthy meal one time, ten times, or a hundred times. It takes thousands of consistent reps and meals to see results.