Does your answering company go through your script?

[Aroldo Villarreal]

I am getting ready to send about 3,000 letters a month for the next 6 months but still work a full time job, meaning I will miss calls. So my solution is to hire an answering service. They seem to charge anywhere between $.80-1 per minute. My question is, should I have them run through all my script, thus taking up more minutes, or just collect contact/property info and I call them back? 

Also, I am thinking of going with AnswerConnect since they offered me 2 months free with freedom to change after 90 days. I wanted to find a VA that worked in the Phillipines or something, but couldn't find out if there was a way to forward my calls to them and also they be able to call back. Any thoughts? I just don't know if they'll build good rapport as I usually do. But then again, you can't possibly do everything yourself and expect to grow a business.

I'm going to be using www.yellowletters.com and have heard of others like click2mail, any preference in your end?

[Joe McCall]

Just a couple thoughts... (That was a great podcast with Rick Ginn. I just did a new one where we talked about probates. It should come out in a few weeks.)

Make sure your questions are few and brief. 

A few favorite questions for a call center to ask sellers... after you get their name and address...

1) We're investors who buy discounted properties quickly and for cash. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions to see if your property fits our criteria? (Or maybe better yet... "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions about your property to see if this is something we'd even be interested in?"  It's all about positioning.)

2) Is the house currently listed with a realtor? (If yes, thank them and end the call. It is very rare in my experience to do a deal with a property that is listed with a realtor. You're spending too much money with these call centers to deal with these leads.)

3) What's your situation? Why do you want to sell this property?

4) What's your ultimate goal with this property... To sell it quickly or for the highest price possible? (Or, "Are you looking to sell in the next 30 days, or are you just testing the waters to see what kind of offer you can get?")

4) What's an email where we can send an offer to?

Finally, keep it all really simple. Each lead falls into one of two categories. They're either a Suspect or a Prospect. You make appointments with the Prospects, send blind offers and follow up monthly with the Suspects.