All Forum Posts by: Johnny Kang

Great info @Cornelius Garland.

Question I had was; I see all the dates and the # of letters you sent... Are you sending your direct mail pieces (a mix of branded/yellow letter/post cards, etc) on all those dates to the same list? Maybe I'm misinterpreting your spreadsheet. Would appreciate your clarification. 

@Jonathan C.

Thank you for posting this. Knowing where your results are coming from, are you reallocating your budget to send more letters to those categories, or are you still sending letters to all the lead categories since the count is much smaller, compared to Land Record or 60/90 Day Late?

Also, are you customizing the message to each of those categories, or keeping it all the same?

Thanks @Juan Barreneche for putting this together for all the real estate buffs out there, and I know the best way to show support is to be there, so I'll see you on the 28th!

@Francois D.

We have this one investor my partner and I work with from time to time who buys non-performing notes, so he gave us a list of delinquent properties, to see if something can be worked out the owners (cash for keys, short sale, short pay, etc.)

We were driving on this block in Long Island, trying to find a particular property on the list, but it was one of those streets where the house # didn't ascend or descend in the usual orderly manner, and a lot of houses didn't have any visible house # either, which is why we had a hard time locating it. Then my partner spotted one with a U-Haul truck parked in the driveway with boxes all over the place, so we immediately knew we had finally located it. 

As we were approaching the front door, the owner happened to come out to get his mail, so I introduced myself letting him know we work with so-and-so who bought his mortgage note, which is in default, and asked him if he had recently contacted the bank to do a short sale, since he started packing. (for those not familiar with short sales, the owner might've told the bank they want to do it, but it may take some time for the note holder to get notified). 

He asked "why would I do that?" I replied "because your mortgage is in default." 

Owner seemed really perplexed. "But I just paid my mortgage last week." To clarify, I repeated his address to him, at which point he let a sigh of relief and said "that's next door."

Needless to say we apologized and knocked on the correct door.  :)

@Brian Stieler

Yes, you will get a much lower response rate when you do the printing job yourself, even if you use handwritten font. IMO, it's better to outsource that.  

No need to worry if you ruined your credibility from the initial batch. As long as the letters going forward is consistently done, to the right list, you're fine. The key phrase being "the right list." Everybody, especially now with BP being so big, knows what an absentee list is and where to get it. Since you're in LA (I'm guessing that's where you're marketing to), not only do you have stiff competition like I do here in NY, but new people trying this out are also sending direct mail to that list. So the return on your effort is already diluted; not to mention that since we're in a seller's market, the calls you do get, are from owners who just want to find out what you're willing to pay them. 

So you have to get creative and compile your own list to mail to. As an example, I mail properties with specific zoning; vacant lots with specific zoning and lot size; properties with severe violations; properties in litigation, etc. (I just make sure these properties were bought pre-2003 so there's equity) 

Also, when you get letters returned, don't throw them out. Learn how to skip trace and contact the owners because most people won't do this extra step.  

@Jeff G.

Yeah, I already sensed it when you asked if there was another way. lol. I was like "oh boy, here we go." hahaha.

Yeah, all those links are fine, but the only way you're going to come off sounding natural enough to make people feel comfortable to meet you is to internalize it; and the only way to get there is by doing it, over and over again. And don't drag it out, making 2~3 calls a day thinking you "worked" hard. Do 15~20/day at least; you'll sharpen your skills fast (I used to make 100~150/day). But the real kicker is, when you get really good, you won't need scripts, like Morpheus telling Neo that when he's ready, he won't have to dodge bullets. lol. 

Take what Steven Babiak posted and apply it in real life. 

@Jeff G.

First off, I do want to say I can relate, because I had a fear of making calls. Hence, which is why I suggested PT, since I figured you had a FT job, and or calling FSBOs on Craig's List. 

There's nothing like learning from doing, especially sales. Remember, Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad" told him to go get a sales job. He didn't tell him to go find sales courses. Right now your engineering background is trying to find an easier way. When I was in finance, we had a group of people with similar personality trait (engineers and technical people), and it was really hard for them to see that the only way to get over the fear making calls, was to make calls. They can tell you all the books, CDs they listened to, but wouldn't make the necessary amount of calls to bring business.  

Like I stated above, sales courses usually are done by people who's methods might've worked when they were selling (I've been to Tom Hopkins' boot camp 3 times, as it was required by my former company, among other seminars and I can't say I learned a whole lot.) Sales is 95% learning how to interact with people. Am I saying books/courses are bad? No. But the only way to overcome the fear of making calls is to do it. And I'm speaking from having assigned contracts, short sales, notes, rehabs and property management, all of which required me to speak to sellers in one form or another. It comes down to, do you let your fear hinder you, or are you willing to conquer it? 

@Jeff G.

Instead of paying to learn, see if you can get a PT job doing some type of outbound telemarketing sales. Most sales training courses are outdated material, and I've been to many when I was in finance. No matter what the product is, the basic principals of making the sale is the same, and even if you're looking to have sellers call you, you're still selling yourself on why they should do business with you versus someone else. 

If you can't find a PT sales telemarketing job, start calling FSBO listings on Craig's List and start talking to sellers so you get used to talking to sellers on the phone.

@Dave McEvoy

The only thing you can do is a short sale. Hopefully she realizes this, but if she has some notion that she's going to somehow keep the house when she's 18 months behind, then just move on to other deals for now, and follow up in a few months. So this is the 1st thing you need to find out; whether she's open to doing a short sale. (Make sure she doesn't do a deed-in-lieu, because some banks send out letters to homeowners who are in default, and if she does a deed-in-lieu, you've just lost a possible short sale.) If she is open to doing a short sale, keep in touch with her consistently and build rapport. Find out what the ARV is, what condition her property is in now, cost to renovate, what she owes, who the bank is.

Most banks won't allow "and/or" assigns in their purchase agreement, so you'd have to partner up with an investor and get a finder's fee, but tell them you'd like to learn the process. Some people sell the LLC, but most buyers, unless you've already done several deals with them don't like to do that. If you've been wholesaling, you should have some investors you can bring this deal to. Deed restriction period and the rules on not being able to profit X amount applies only to the buyer, which won't be you.

Hope that helped.  

@John Horner

Can you share how you scaled from 0 to 80 deals in 3 years? How your marketing shifted from when you initially started out to what it looks like now; the relationships you had to build intentionally and organically; major lessons learned in each of the strategy you utilized and where you see your business in the next 2~3 yrs. Thank you!