BiggerPockets

Here is how you tell if a seller is motivated:

You have a question form you ask every seller (bedrooms, baths, mortgage balance, etc.) and if they won't answer the questions then they are not motivated.

If someone won't tell me how much they owe on the property, then I know they are not motivated, because motivated people will tell you anything and everything you want to know.

Quite simply if they are truly motivated to sell, then they will want to sell it to you.

One of the best ways to find out if a seller is motivated or not is to get them to call you. I never, ever, ever call a potential seller...they always call me. How do I do this? Killer marketing skills!

Since I can't advertise an sites or anything on here, feel free to contact me privately and I will be happy to give you some info on where you can get amazing info on marketing to potential sellers.

This goes for anybody on the forum...I'll be happy to share...just don't want to get in any trouble for doing so. :lol:

Now, I am in no way experienced, but I've been doing some serious learning. One way that I've heard to weed out motivated sellers from no so motivated sellers is to ask them WHY they're selling. If they're like " well, I'm moving down the street" or some matter-of-fact reason then they're not motivated. If they give you a more indefinate answer like " I'm moving out of state and selling this house is the last thing I need to do...I just want to get rid of it" , then you know they're a little more motivated than the average seller. I think the biggest key is listening.

First, I don't have any exact script I could type out.

I have been to a number of guru pitches (i.e., the one hour talks they give where they talk about their product), where the speaker says " buy my course, it has a script of what to say on the phone." If that's what you're looking for, you might just have to break down and buy someone's home study course.

But, do you really think this works? I mean, you're talking to a real person. They're going to wander all over the place. Who knows what they will say or ask. Plus, I'm sure you've had a phone call from some telemarketer who's working off a script. Its pretty obvious they're just following an outline, and asking you very specific questions so you don't wander off the rails and get them confused. They sound like idiots. Would you sell you house to someone who sounded like this?

I also am looking for an exact script

When talking to prospects I too am looking for motivation. The way to find motivation is to find a problem. If the problem is big enough, then you know you have opportunity.

I agree with Wheatie that scripts sound scripted. However, there is nothing wrong with continuously rehearsing a conversation that you are bound to have hundreds of times throughout your investing career. Call it a script or call it preparation, but I see it as essential preparation for communicating with prospects.

Here is an old realtor " for sale by owner" script that has done me very well over the years. It definitely is not set in stone and is only effective when it is a natural conversation. If you think about it, a FSBO is really the same as an investor script. The purpose of both is to seek truly motivated parties. Tweak to fit your circumstance. The structure gives a brief intro that serves only as a lead in to ask questions. The sole purpose of the questions is to find problems. All potential problems are questioned to gauge severity.

____________________________________________________________

Agent: Mr. Seller, I call all for sale by owners knowing that when they fail to sell their homes, they will interview real estate agents for the job of selling their home...and I was wondering, when do you plan on interviewing agents....?

FSBO: I'm not interested.

Agent: I understand, other than the fees, is there any other reason why decided to sell on your own?

FSBO: nope, it's just the fees.

Agent: Well let me ask you this, why did you decide to sell the home?

How long have you lived there?

Did you enjoy living there?

How did you select that neighborhood?

etc...

____________________________________________________________

I could go on for hours with the question asking and that is where the motivation question will get answered. At some point the seller will say something that is " painful" to them. Divorce, illness, financial trouble, loneliness, job transfer, spousal dispute, empty-nesters, house too small, house to big, etc... OR, they will find a way to get off the phone. If they aren't motivated it's no big deal, just talk to someone else.

In addition, you will know the problem that needs to be solved in order for your deal to work. Obviously, you will not be able to solve the actual problem, you can only potentially solve the real estate portion of the problem. The real estate portion of the problem is quite often a major hurdle to the ultimate problem getting solved. Master the art of asking questions and opportunity will present itself.

hope this helps.

Rod,

They will only loosen up through trust.

Those are great rebuttals

Not to be picky, but you don't want rebuttals, you want an understanding of their problem.

The greatest sales lesson I ever learned is the most simple. It is a commitments that I will never propose a solution to someone's problem until I fully understand the problem.

As an investor, you can make money by solving problems. As a salesperson, you can make money by solving problems. I make a living helping people sell their houses through short sales. At every appt I go on, I have to remind myself that this is the first time that the prospect has gone through this, even though I have been through this same meeting hundreds of times.

Be patient. Be understanding. Solve problems.

Get paid.

I truly respect your apparent desire to learn the sales process, that's what it all really boils down to.

Being a good listener is a key point I think and from there if you pick up on a little motivation factor, just repeat what they said, and then ask 'why' 'when' and 'where' questions to get them to open up. The point of reiterating by repeating just sets in stone that they are calling for a reason. Cementing that they are indeed motivated. For instance.. Seller: "I'm moving to take care of my mom". you: "So, its very important for you to move closer to her to help her?' Seller: "I have been wanting to do that for awhile" you: "You have been thinking about it for a long time then, huh?' It makes it seem like YOU are listening and are on the same wave length, and you are letting them hear that and stiring up those emotions they are going though a little.