Specialist · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2014 · 122 posts · 11 votes
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?
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.
I would have the answering service only get basic information about the property. Gathering information on the seller's situation will give you a chance to build rapport and try to find their motivation for selling. You don't want the seller getting annoyed having to answer the same questions twice.
Neither your answering service nor a VA are going to care about building rapport. They are going to input whatever information they're instructed to, and that should be the extent of their contribution to the transaction.
I have been think about answering services also. Can anyone who uses them chime in with if they consider it good value for money? I feel an answering service will look more professional and catch more leads than having sellers call and get voicemail all the time. I would guess 50% won't bother to leave a voicemail, meaning they could be a lead that is forever lost.
@Stephen Nicholson - Actually, I set mine up this morning since I had dropped off a batch of mailings on Friday and I already got a call and the answering service performed. If you go to the Real Estate Investing Mastery podcast with Joe Mccall, listen to #116, Rick Ginn goes in depth about how many less hang-ups there are since tons of people don't leave voicemails. This has increased his number of deals since they get to speak to a person live. Also, you can have the answering agent present themselves as your receptionist, over-flow call center, or whatever you'd like, so the callers think that your company employee answered.
I barely started my service so I don't speak from personal experience. I got a ton of great ideas from that podcast.
@Nick C. - Thanks for the insight. You're right, I'd rather build rapport with them since I know I am the one directly benefitting from making a deal. As soon as I saw your post I called the answering service removing like a ton of questions and just with the basic info. 15 minutes later the call came in and it worked great without wasting those expensive minutes!
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.