Sellers are calling! Now what???

Question

I am appealing to the wealth of experience here in the BP community for some advice!!

I am a brand new wholesaler in Mpls., still waiting for my first deal.  I sent out 110 yellow letters to non-occupying owners on Tuesday and got 11 people leaving me voice mails in response! Fantastic! I called them all back within 24 hours and fumbled through an introduction. I managed to get one appt. to go look at a prop, but I don't think there is much of a deal there (but I am happy to go through the exercise at this point just for the experience).

Here is my question. What do you say to these people when you get them on the phone?? I realize that experience plays a big factor here, and that the more I do it, the better I will get, but I'm just not sure of what to say to get them interested in what I have to offer.

My current spiel goes something like this (after pleasantries): Just to let you know a little bit about what I do, I am a local investor here in Rosemount (local suburb close to where the props are located). I buy properties for cash and a quick close or I can buy on terms depending on what your needs are. Then I either fix them up and resell them to new owners, or keep them as rentals. Does this sound like something that you might be interested in?"

In actuality, I am only wholesaling them. But do you tell them that? I want to be as honest and forthright as possible without turning them off or making them feel like they are being hustled.

Also, I am a licensed agent so I need to disclose that at some point in the conversation as well. So far, I have been able to work it in to the discussion about different purchase options (i.e. I can either pay in cash with a quick close, on terms, or I am also a licensed agent so we can list the house on the MLS if you want to go a more traditional route) if the conversation goes that far.

Any advice and words of wisdom to help me polish my presentation would be so much appreciated!

Thank you!

John Jackson · Answer

Here's the bottom line...
Be you...
Be human...
Be yourself...
You have a seller that needs help.
You talk to them, and figure out what their situation is. 
Sellers are human and they need help. 
It's not so difficult.

John Jackson · Answer

Here's the deal
#1: you have a service
#2: Sellers are inquiring about your service
#3: you need to get their information to see if your service will help them

That's it...  
I'm the kind of person that makes a friend with a brick wall, but still...talking to sellers is not a big deal.
I have done a lot of research...and it turns out....they are of the human race. 
So you just talk.  
I have a habit of "pulling up to a meeting" whenever a seller calls, so I can just get their info and call them back.
What's your best call back number?
What is your address?
IS the house listed, and if so, for how much?
Do you know approx. how much is owed?
"I do have to run, but let me grab you e-mail address while I have you on the phone."

With the above info, you can now start doing your research to see what the prelim. info looks like and follow up.

Shane Woods · Answer

Hey Carol Ann Reed!  Congrats on the mailings and response.

There's lots of good opinions on how to do it out there.  You have a great start.  One thing I would 2nd from the others posting in here...start of with the simple hi how are you, and let them know who you are, and immediately ask them this question "do you have a house (or property, your choice here) that you NEED to sell?"  The word NEED here is extremely important.  It's your FIRST and fastest gauge of motivation.  If they hemm and haw at that question with things like:

I don't have to sell, but I wouldn't mind selling

Not really I just called to see what you're all about

Only if the offer is good enough

What will  you pay for my house?

Anything but yes, all these answers mean one thing, they don't NEED to sell.   you can't make a person be motivated, and if they're not motivated, they're probably going to want retail or some other stupid number that doesn't make it a deal.

Be nice, but get off the phone quickly.  don't waste their time or yours.  Next.

Now then, once you've got past that part, and they're motivated, and you still have them on the phone, you can do it a couple different ways.

I like to get the "infomation" part before the "why are you selling" but others do it the opposite.  the key here, is make sure you ALWAYS reference "the property", NOT "your house".  it helps them detach from the sad emotional reasons they have to sell.  Pay close attention to the why they need to sell, because sometimes a little empathy goes a long way.  if they like you, trust you, and think you're really trying to help, they'll be less likely to go fishing for more offers...if you set them up to get more offers....someone will offer more than you.

It's alot to take in, and there are tons of resources.  One i REALLY like is here in Danny Johnson's blog:

15 Essential Questions You Should Be Asking Sellers

Have fun, be nice & get a deal :)

Bill Gulley · Answer

Hmmm, I didn't mean to imply scripts were bad, but to use them for content as a tool. I agree Steve.

When I got off active duty I went into the insurance business with Metropolitan. My manager gave me a script I had to memorize before they cut me loose. I had three dead appointments with him following the script, he couldn't sell them either. We talked in the car and he agreed to just let me talk. I took it off script, touched on topics that were relevant to the meeting and had my first sale. He cut me loose to work on my own. The next year we had P&C, another script, I was doing well so he didn't dog me as they do, I led the southeast quarter of the country in apps taken the first month and the largest P&C agency in my district the first year. Everyone was new to P&C with Met at that time, the difference was I used my own approach and they used scripts (office polotics kept me from mentioning what I really did, LOL)

So, I do suggest reading all the scripts you can and adapt those points to your own style. There are phrases that evoke an emotional response to negotiating any deal, know when to use them without it sounding like some life insurance salesman.  I know you love your family and want to take care of them.....  :)

Renee Carter · Answer

Sean Terry has great podcast on what to say to sellers and is free to download on iTunes. But in my experience. You build report by asking them simple yes questions like ...do you have a property at blah blah you wish to sell and they reply yes. Then you ask them one question and shut up and they will tell you all the info you need to know. The question is ask them "why are you selling". They will either tell you a one sentence answer or they will go into a story that reveals why, and how motivated they are. Either way you need to listen. Don't reveal all your business to the sellers you can either say your an investor in the area buying houses or you can say you buy and sell to local investors which is what wholesaling is really. Only disclose to the seller that your an agent when the time is right. If you disclose too fast they think that you are trying to get a listing. Too late and it becomes a problem at closing. But let them know your an agent but you are not acting in that way...you simply want more information for personal investment purposes. Also your final question should be "if I can pay cash and close quick what is the least you could take". Never give an offer first. After that you can request they send you a video of the house or pictures.... going out to every house is very time consuming if sellers are not motivated.  Exchange contact information and wait for the pictures before you make your offer.

Josh Farrer · Answer

Great feed back to a great question. Any chance we can get an update?

Account Closed · Answer

Great post! Thx everyone!

Takeya Hill · Answer

Great post everyone!  A good read.  I'm here in Philadelphia, looking to get experience in this field.  This was a good question and each and every answer was very helpful.  Thanks for sharing!

Gary Parker · Answer

I really like Renee Carter comments and I agree with Mr. Gulley that disclosure needs to take place right away.  In my state it does; although, sometimes I forget for a few minutes.   I actually had a caller lead me on for about 5 min before I disclosed, and he really let me have it.  Within the first minute or two I try and find a good place to disclose usually based on my conversation with them.   If they mention a concern; I will reply "well I am licensed therefore I must (must not)...".   Again I am suppose to disclose right away, so I am in the grey area.  I use this time to disclose and build trust.

I dont mind spending a little time on the phone with people so to expand on what Renee said, I like to build a trust with people.  Ask open ended questions and find common ground and run with it for a little while.  Sometimes this helps set you apart from the competition.

I use to talk to non motivated for a long time on the phone.  This was great practice, but I was also more desperate for a deal.  Now after four or five minutes I am done if it is not going to work.  I suppose as call volume increases I will progress to quicker screenings.

Chris Cox · Answer

Myself and my partner just completed this step. For us we drove around for 30 - 45 mins, in a area we were interested in. (Which 
was the wrong area for us.) during that time we just drove down every street. If we seen a for sale by owner or rental sign. We

called the number AFTER we had done a very basic walk-around peek in the window walk.

We asked what was the price they were asking?

We asked how many other properties in the area they had?

We asked how many of them were vacant?

Write it all down. (We have found that if we are studying or making phone calls, its better to write it down.)

Those questions allowed us to pry a little further. We asked Would you be interested in letting us fill your properties with renters or even sale some off since they had so many not producing?

During that drive we made 7 phone calls (+/-2 as it was two weeks ago.) From those call's we got 1 person to say yes. A single 
investor with a small portfolio (approx 27 properties, with some of them being a mobile home park.) Thanks to our marketing plan, we have completed 3 deals with this investor in 2 weeks.

A rent to own - we kept a majority of the down payment

Just moved a renter into a property he owned with a deposit (this was our first deal actually)

And one more rent to own - we kept %40 of the down payment.

Just like you we had planed to move slow for us that seemed the best may to make sure we stayed out of the red. But we were flexible enough to go with the flow. honestly we were using the drive by time as a excuse to get outta our house's. On one of those day's were you are bored but your wife says its to cold to go out.

As to letting them know that your a realtor, most of the types of people that you would be talking to are going to like cash. especially quick cold hard cash. if i was you i would not mention it intil they asked or you find out you cant do anything with the property but still want to keep good relations with the customer.

I hope this helped you.

Sellers are calling! Now what???

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