Closing Short Sale Leads

By: Nick J.
Submitted: 06:15PM on Monday 15 June 2009

In short sales, closing leads and keeping your pipeline full is a major key to being successful. You'll find that the most successful short sale investors have an overflowing pipeline full of deals. Not all deals will close successfully so if you're depending on a handful at a time there is a good chance that you'll have minimal success.

In previous articles I discussed some very effective ways to generate warm leads. What I want to discuss with you here applies to not only warm leads but also cold leads. Using this method in your closing will assure you not only a smoother process but also generate more warm leads.

Effectively creating a relationship with the seller or client is very important. Doing so will increase your success simply because if you ever need something from the seller they will go out of their way to do it for you. There have been times I've had sellers cancel their weekend plans to clean the house up for me to make sure it showed to potential buyers much better than if they left it a mess.

Creating that effective relationship starts from the moment they hear your voice and the way you present yourself either in person or on the phone. Here are some key points to remember in effectively creating that relationship:

· Connect with them and their situation

· Compliment them on making a difficult decision

· Make them feel you're on their side

Understand that not all sellers are as knowledgeable as you are whether you’re new or experienced in shorts sales. Connecting with them by understanding their situation and assuring them that working with you will benefit them and discuss those things with them and how it will benefit them and their situation. Don't spend the whole time talking about yourself! Spend the time you have explaining how you can help them. This time is not the time to show your narcissism, it's time to show you understand what they're going through and explaining the process in a way they understand related to their situation.

It is usually very hard for homeowners to make a decision like this. They're not all bad and even though a lot of homeowners made bad decisions recently by buying or re-financing when they did, that doesn't make them a bad person and having to uproot your family and worry and stress over where you're going to go to live, how are you going to afford this and that anymore are hard things to deal with.

Compliment them on being brave to make the decision to move forward and doing what is probably the best thing for them at the time. Explain to them that it'll be ok and the sun will rise tomorrow and the same great opportunities that are here today will be here tomorrow. If they have children compliment them on doing the right thing and what's probably best for their children. Understand that it is hard for a parent to move their kids away from their friends and their school. Be sincere in your compliments and you will have created not only an opportunity to make a great payday with their short sale but also generate many more leads from the friendship you and the seller now have.

At all times when speaking to the seller/client you need to make sure they feel you're on their side, it's not enough to say you're on their side, they must feel that you're on their side! When discussing how the process works and what the bank will generally require, assure them it's the banks requirements not yours. This usually is of importance when the need to acquire the deed from the seller is necessary because without it you cannot market the property for re-sell which may be fine if you're purchasing it and not looking to re-sell it or "flip" it.

Use phrases like, " the bank/lender requires " "this is not for me". Speak to them as you're on the same team and have the same goal in mind. Don't ever let them feel like they can't trust you or give them any reason to have doubts about you, it will only complicate things and very easily you can lose the deal.

Whenever you're face to face with the seller/client whether you're standing up or sitting down always and I mean always stand to their side! Especially when having them fill out and sign documents. Remember you're on their side, subconsciously when you sit across from someone you feel you're negotiating with that person across the table or standing in front of you. Standing or sitting to their side will give them the mentality that you are their friend and they won't have mental guards up and will probably sign anything you put in front of them.

Taking that a step further, as men we never really want to admit but our wives usually are the toughest critics and as much as we'd like to think we're the king of the castle we're really not. That being said you'll usually be a lot better off sitting to the wife's side and not the husband. Now as a man I think I may speak for many others that when in situations like this it is completely obvious that our wives are in control however we need to feel like we're important as well, by directing your conversation toward the wife and making eye contact with the husband on a regular basis (usually while you're shaking your head yes) will keep the husband feeling like you're not taking advantage of his wife and will easily get and keep him to be on your side.

Remember those three techniques and apply them accordingly and you will have created not only a strong pipeline of great deals but also generate an army of referrers because they feel you treated them as human beings and not just another deal or another paycheck.