Don't waste your money when sending "Yellow Letters"

[Jacob G.]

If you are spending money sending yellow letters, make sure your answering service doesn't run out of space.

I probably get around one yellow letter a week for one of my rentals.  I am considering selling it, and am genuinely interested in how the pitch will go, so I always call the number.  There are a few turn offs for me, which I thought I would share to see if others agreed, and to hopefully help others to not waste their money sending yellow letters in vain.  What prompted me to write this is one I received today.  Typical yellow letter, well written, folded in half so the envelope was a little more eye catching than some I have seen.  I decided to give her a call.  The first call said "this call may be monitored"  (Utah is a single party state, and the phone number I was calling to is a Utah number).  Assuming that it isn't just a call center in another state, I personally wouldn't put that on the call, but worse than that, there was just silence, I waited a full minute before calling back.  This time there was the same recording advisory then it cut to the middle of a voice mail message of a man with a rather gruff voice: "name and number and we'll get back with you"  Followed by a message saying the mailbox was full.

• If you say your name is Jane in the letter, but Bob answers the phone, it throws me off. 
• a full mailbox means wasted letters.
• Don't answer the phone by just saying "hello"  This is just good manners than anything else.  If I am calling Jane, and I hear "Hi, this is Jane" I know I called the right number.
• If it is a company instead of an individual as the letter stated, stating early in the conversation that the person taking the call works with or for whoever sent the letter is probably wise.  
• I know you sent a few hundred of these letters, but others may not.  It's probably still wise to have a good transition practiced to connect my number with the address "Remind me the address of your property?"

Are there any other tips you would give?

[Michael Quarles]

we mention the call is being recorded automatically as a function of our call system.  We record everything.  Helps a ton when negotiating and training.  And frankly it's so commonplace its accepted in mass.  

In fact I even post the actual calls on my podcast.  It's great to hear what a deal sounds like.   

Here is the latest daily deal.