Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2017 · 46 posts · 26 votes
9y
Before I was an Agent, I was an ISA for a year meaning that I was on the phone making cold calls full-time, 8 hours a day looking for motivated sellers. On average I was making about 400-1000 calls a day, circle prospecting in zip codes within 20 miles of our office. We pulled all of our data from Cole Realty. I didn't really use a script but I had one as a guide.
The phone call goes as follows: "Hi, my name is Ciera and I was just reaching out today to see if you have any plans to sell your home anytime soon?" (Note, I didn't mention the address because even if the information is wrong, they could still be a homeowner that might be selling.)
Usually you will get a no at this point. Trust me, even some of my best leads said no at this point, it's a knee jerk reaction to a cold call. Keep going.
Acknowledge the no, by saying something like "oh OK, not a problem" or my favorite "No? OK, well in that case would you happen to know anyone that might be selling?"
The only reason I ask is we just have some families interested in your area...." (I like to use "families" because it attaches an emotion to the question. Also, hopefully by saying "families" instead of "buyer" they won't be confused and think we have someone wanting to make an offer)
This is where you might be surprised that they might say that they have in fact been thinking about selling at some point in the future. Either that or they will actually try to think of someone they know that might be selling.
If they do say yes, ask them to "tell you more" and let them speak.
You should ask them "What is causing you to want to sell your home in....." or "Why are you selling this property" and then chat a bit about why that's important. It's important to determine a time frame for actually selling the home and a time frame for when they want to start the selling process. It is also important to ask them if they are going to be considering any other agents.
Another awesome question is "on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, where would you rate your motivation?" I also like to ask where they are going next and if they would need the proceeds from the sale of the home in order to buy their next one, whether or not they owe any money on the home, and who all is on the title other than the person on the line.
If they said No to both of the first questions 1. Are you selling & 2. Do you know anyone selling? I always, always ask "Just out of curiosity, have you thought about investing in any additional real estate for your self?" Sort of a hail-Mary-pass. I'd rather generate a buyer lead than nothing at all.
Just have fun with it, laugh at yourself, commit to providing the best service possible and make sure and go above and beyond to get the your clients homes sold for the most money in the least amount of time, then you can go into the cold calls with the mindset that you are just trying to save them from finding a bad agent-they are out there!
Specialist · Bothell, WA · Member since 2014 · 268 posts · 80 votes
9y
Let me chime in. I do this every day. There are several ways to approach this:
1) Neighborhood target. You don't have specific sellers identified, but you know a certain neighborhood is hot. Get a neighborhood list and call around. Script is a simple as "I have buyers/cash/whatever and am looking for folks that want to move in the next 6 months". Brute force, dial 100 numbers, talk to 15-20 people and get one solid lead.
2) Expired/FSBO. You can buy these lists all over the place. You will get specific data on sellers that tried to sell their home but couldn't/haven't. Scripts get more complex here but youtube is your friend. Highest conversion rate you can get with these folks.
3) Pre-foreclosure/tax isues, etc. These are similar to the above but you have no clue if they're motivated to sell, want to try to alleviate their distressed situation, etc. Be careful contacting them since several States have adopted regulations around what you can say if you're not a realtor or other licensed professional.
Those are the main ones we focus on. If you're already doing this please share your experiences.
I found the most important thing to do right off the bat is to make it clear that you are NOT a telemarketer. If you sound anything like one, the other person is ready to hang up immediately.
Talk to them in a friendly manner and not too professional. This is how my conversations start:
Seller: "Hello"
Me: "Hi! Can I speak to John Doe please"
Seller: "This is he..."
Me: "Hey John, my name is Pratik, I'm a RE investor in the Sacramento area and was calling to see if you're at all interested in selling your property at 123 Main street?"
So the person on the phone immediately goes "oh this guy isn't selling me something, it's about my property"
That's what's been working for me, but maybe I'll try out other conversation starters.
Specialist · Bothell, WA · Member since 2014 · 268 posts · 80 votes
9y
@Pratik P., love that script. Yep, folks will definitely hang up if it sounds too scripted. Love talking to a fellow practitioner. Where do you get your calling lists? I always struggle with getting enough numbers to dial for given area.
Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 223 posts · 185 votes
9y
Gustavo Munoz Castro my business partner and I skip trace our entire direct mail list for phone numbers so we always have ample amounts of potential sellers to dial and gauge motivation. This has saved us thousands in direct mail and we'd love to help You be able to employ this technique in your market as well. If you'd like more info feel free to message me!
Yep you have to sound natural and genuine. I don't have a script. Having a genuine conversation about the person's situation is much more effective.
I mainly cold call probate leads. I'll spend a few hours making a huge list of all the probate petitioner names and their mailing address from county records. Then I use intelius to find their phone number(s) and start dialing. After each attempt or successful contact, I make a little note in my spreadsheet next to their name.
Specialist · Bothell, WA · Member since 2014 · 268 posts · 80 votes
9y
@Pratik P. I totally understand not using a script, you're a natural and have it down. However, if you ever want to ad leverage and build a bigger team you're gonna need a script of some kind, even one to have folks ad-lib on.
Thanks for suggesting Intelius, I'll check it out.
Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
Here's a thought: why don't you invest in yourself by purchasing a few courses on salesmanship and attend some seminars that utilize practice sessions with others.
Join Toastmasters. Subscribe to Nightengale-Conant. Get on Dan Kennedy's mailing list. Anything that get you closer to achieving your goal with the required skill sets.
For some odd reason, the culture at BP focuses on what's free rather than what works best.
Don't let a little money, your pride, the discomfort of trying something new or a fear of failing prevent your success!
Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2017 · 46 posts · 26 votes
9y
Before I was an Agent, I was an ISA for a year meaning that I was on the phone making cold calls full-time, 8 hours a day looking for motivated sellers. On average I was making about 400-1000 calls a day, circle prospecting in zip codes within 20 miles of our office. We pulled all of our data from Cole Realty. I didn't really use a script but I had one as a guide.
The phone call goes as follows: "Hi, my name is Ciera and I was just reaching out today to see if you have any plans to sell your home anytime soon?" (Note, I didn't mention the address because even if the information is wrong, they could still be a homeowner that might be selling.)
Usually you will get a no at this point. Trust me, even some of my best leads said no at this point, it's a knee jerk reaction to a cold call. Keep going.
Acknowledge the no, by saying something like "oh OK, not a problem" or my favorite "No? OK, well in that case would you happen to know anyone that might be selling?"
The only reason I ask is we just have some families interested in your area...." (I like to use "families" because it attaches an emotion to the question. Also, hopefully by saying "families" instead of "buyer" they won't be confused and think we have someone wanting to make an offer)
This is where you might be surprised that they might say that they have in fact been thinking about selling at some point in the future. Either that or they will actually try to think of someone they know that might be selling.
If they do say yes, ask them to "tell you more" and let them speak.
You should ask them "What is causing you to want to sell your home in....." or "Why are you selling this property" and then chat a bit about why that's important. It's important to determine a time frame for actually selling the home and a time frame for when they want to start the selling process. It is also important to ask them if they are going to be considering any other agents.
Another awesome question is "on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, where would you rate your motivation?" I also like to ask where they are going next and if they would need the proceeds from the sale of the home in order to buy their next one, whether or not they owe any money on the home, and who all is on the title other than the person on the line.
If they said No to both of the first questions 1. Are you selling & 2. Do you know anyone selling? I always, always ask "Just out of curiosity, have you thought about investing in any additional real estate for your self?" Sort of a hail-Mary-pass. I'd rather generate a buyer lead than nothing at all.
Just have fun with it, laugh at yourself, commit to providing the best service possible and make sure and go above and beyond to get the your clients homes sold for the most money in the least amount of time, then you can go into the cold calls with the mindset that you are just trying to save them from finding a bad agent-they are out there!
Real Estate Broker · New York, NY · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 22 votes
9y
As Pratik P. mentioned, honesty and sincerity are key. When we hit expired's and FSBO's, I like to follow up with a handwritten note...then another call.
hey ethan, just read your comment on skip tracing your entire direct mail list for phone numbers, i'm just getting started in this venture and wanted to know more information. I am in the south florida market just north of miami
Starting off you can try to get TLO, however they have been cracking down on real estate professionals. Difficult to get a approved for an account these days.
Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2012 · 822 posts · 303 votes
5y
If anyone needs advice on good current skip tracers or list providers in 2020 please feel free to shoot me a DM. This year we are purchasing about 3,000 leads per month and skip tracing all of them so we have narrowed it down to a few companies we feel comfortable referring.
Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5y
So I target only 2+ unit buildings, mainly apartment buildings. I send a text after doing some research then follow up with call/text. When I reach out I first see if they'll sell then go from there. Weed out the serious vs non serious sellers. From there ask questions and build the relationship.
Rental Property Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2018 · 24 posts · 11 votes
5y
I have a team of cold callers from a company I found, it's only $6/hr and they have their own script, and then I also created a texting platform to be able to mass text people, seems to be working well.