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Posted almost 10 years ago

The phone is ringing... Now what?

Congrats on making the telephone ring. If you're like most investors you have a day job and can't answer the telephone as often as you should so you've probably going to set up a voicemail system.

If you're setting up a voicemail this is how I like handling that function.

Your ability to speak to others, and for them to reach you, is vital. It is the foundation for which all of your other efforts will be based on. Establishing a reliable, professional communication line that is solely dedicated to your business is the first thing you need to do.

You may already have a cell phone but you need one that is strictly for your REI business. It is not for your spouse, friends, kids… just the inbound calls from your advertising efforts. A dedicated home line won’t cut it because the key here is to always answer the telephone when it rings. This is your MONEY line. And you must be willing to answer calls starting as early as 8:00 am to as late as 9:00 pm.

Make sure that the cell phone service you purchase offers voicemail for taking messages when you’re unable to answer calls.

On your dedicated cell phone, a recorded message should be to-the-point and request the necessary information for being able to get back to them. Record the following:

“Thank you for calling. This is <Your Name> and I buy houses. I’m sorry that I could not take your call, but your call is very important to me so please leave a message. Leave me your name and number along with the address of the property and I will call you back shortly. Thank you again. I look forward to speaking with you about buying your a house”.

This should be recorded in your professional voice; don’t make the mistake of trying to sound like “a regular guy” or even worse, funny. What not to do: “Hey! This is Bob. You know what to do,” BEEP! Don’t start out with music either - nothing but professionalism. Also, don’t say that you have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home for x dollars for sale either.

I personally go a little farther when setting out my voicemail. I want to use embedded commands and build within my voicemail the objection handlers callers may have.

My view is why waste my valuable time talking to a seller who doesn't want to sell. So I filter very heavy with my professionally created voicemails.

I have two voicemails; one for equity and one for shorts and pre-foreclosures.

You can listen to them here. Equity Pre-Foreclosure

The shortened script to record the Voicemails is:

Hello and thank you for calling _____________, the fastest and easy way to get your property sold and cash in your pocket.

We’re not available at the moment to receive your call. However, it is extremely important to us.

If you received a note in the mail from ________, regarding SELLING YOUR HOUSE, and you would like to, please leave us your name, your CELL phone number, along with the property address of the house you’re hoping to sell, and one of uswill call you back just as soon as possible.

We are not real estate agents wanting to list your house for sale, we want to BUY it. We buy houses for cash, in any condition and price range.

We buy “as is”, no repairs required. There are never any commissions, fees or closing costs when you sell your house to ______________, and we can close on the day of your choice.

So if you like the idea of selling your house for cash, without having to pay commissions or fees, and selling “as is”, on the day of your choice, then go ahead and leave us your name, your cell phone number, and the property address of the house you’re wanting to sell, and we will call you back just as soon as possible.

Thank you so much for calling, and we look forward to speaking with you soon.

So what do you do when the calls start coming in?

As your cell phone starts ringing, and it will, there are going to be two types of people who will respond to your mail:

  • people who hate you and ask to be taken off the list

Actually, they wont ask you they will tell you so you will need some think skin.

  • people who will want you to come buy their house

For the first group, honor their request; take them off your list and discontinue any further mailings to them.

For the second group, become very excited because you have begun to find prospects that are very interested in you and your services.

When you receive or call back the call be prepared. I like having my seller questionnaire in front of me to fill out.

In the old days I would go through the entire questionnaire however nowadays I have limited it to just a few questions and if they answer these questions correct then I continue.

Here are the two questionnaires;

The 5 Must Ask Questions

The first five questions tell the story. Unless your using multiple marketing media sources. If so, then your first question should be:

1. How did you happen to hear about us? Otherwise just ask the following.

2. Do you have a house you're wanting to sell? - Must be a Yes answer...

3. Is the house currently Listed with a Real Estate Professional? - Must be a No answer...

4. What do you think the house will be worth in today's market? - Must give a number...

5. What is your "Rock Bottom" price, the lowest amount you'll sell for FAST and FOR CASH? - Must be a number equal to or less than the worth value...

6. What is the address of the house?

Without the right answers to these five or Six questions I don't continue with the questions on the following seller questionnaire.

The Following is a script we have used with great success.

Call Date __________________________

Owner first and last name. (confirm spelling)______________________________________________

In case we get disconnected what is a good number to call you back on?_______________________________

Do you happen to have a cell number? _________________________

What is the best time to call you back? _________________________

How did you happen to hear about us? __________________________

Are you calling about a note you received regarding selling your house? Yes No Maybe

Do you have a house you're hoping to sell? Yes No Maybe

Is the house listed with a real estate agent? Yes No

What's the address of the house you're hoping to sell? __________________________________________

Property City?___________________ Property State? ___________ Property County?_______________

Out of curiosity, why are you selling? __________________________________________________________

When do you want the house sold? _____________________________

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being highly motivated, how would you rank your motivation to sell? ___________

How did you happen to own the home? ____________________________________________________________

Is the Home Vacant or Occupied? Vacant Occupied

Occupants Name? ________________________________

Do You Know the Year Built? __________________

What is the approximate square footage? __________________

How Many Bedrooms? __________________ How Many Bathrooms? ______________ Size of the Garage? ___________

Knowing I buy "As Is" tell me a little about the condition of the property, does it need any repairs? Things like paint, carpet, roof repairs and such?

What do you think the repair costs are going to be? _______________________

What do you think your house will appraise for in today's market? ____________________

What are you asking for the house? _______________________ Pause

Is that price "As Is" or fixed up? ___________________

How did you happen to come up with that price?____________________________________________________

Are your payments current or behind? Yes No A little In Foreclosure

If in foreclosure; You may owe more on your home than it is worth, would you agree?

Do you have an interest in NOT having a foreclosure on your record right?

Have you heard of a short sale? Yes No

Notes _________________________________________________________

If the caller answered the questions correctly then make an appointment to meet them and see their property. When making appointments you must understand the urgency of your opportunity. If you don’t respond fast enough, someone else will and you’ll miss out on the deal.

It is essential that you make your REI career a priority if you want to succeed. These prospects are calling for dollars, and they will stop calling when they have what they feel is a fish on their hook. So if you’re quick to respond with an appointment, and you make that appointment within the next 24 hours, preferably within 12, you will increase the odds of locking in the deal for yourself

Good House Hunting.




Comments (7)

  1. Great info. Thanks for sharing!


  2. If you do not get the answers you are looking for do you simply tell them you do not think you can help them?


  3. @Michael Quarles 

    What is your response if the answers to these questions are $220k and "As-Is" and you know that with typical repairs and typical ARV, MAO will be in the neighborhood of $150k?

    What are you asking for the house? _______________________ Pause

    Is that price "As Is" or fixed up? ___________________


  4. Great read! You always have such great posts, comments and insight. Thank you for sharing your wisdom!


  5. Great post @Michael Q. Now What was definitely my question of the day!!! just finished checking out your site , great stuff


  6. I'm not sure I agree with the post about asking what the sellers rock bottom price is. However, this is a great post and I never thought about implementing different messages for different types of sellers and it makes total sense.


  7. Great stuff, @Michael Q.