Best approach foreclosure? Cold Calling? Knock on Door? send Mail
Hi, What is the best way to approaching home owner in foreclosure situation?? Wondering what most people here have the best success with? would you send a letter? cold call them? go to the house and knock on door? I have tried cold calling and sending letters not with much luck, wondering what others here do.
@Isaac El How long have you been trying it for? How many prospects have you been targetting? Whichever route you wish to take, for whatever type of property, you will have to be consistent in your efforts. Marketing is a numbers game, in a sense that the more people you market to the better your chances of success. Let's take direct mail for example. It takes around 3-5 touches to generate a response. We send mail for at least 6months before refreshing our list. Most people give up on direct mail within their first 3 months. Therein lies the problem, "CONSISTENCY". BE CONSISTENT!!
Foreclosures tend to have the most distressed sellers. So, the situation needs to handled delicately for better chances of success. Direct mail is my go-to for marketing. However, I utilize the time between mailers by cold calling, sending SMS, leaving RVM, working on SEO and setting up Facebook and Google ads.
Good Luck!
@Ehsan Rishat your right I need to be more consistent, stupid question whats "RVM?" also when I cold call my pitch is like "Hey I am trying to help you, your house is in foreclosure, would you want to sell before the bank foreclosures?" I think my pitch is very weak, like when you approach them on the phone, how do you open the conversation?
What should I say and what should I not say?
@Isaac El I have been marketing my list for 6 months. I’m getting my systems in place but I’m planning on postcard (clean up address generic meaning I don’t market with anything about foreclosure), first letter intro & state I got their information from public records about pre-foreclosure & offer for cash as is sale, second letter benefits of short sale, third letter negative impacts of foreclosure. You want to build rapport and establish yourself as knowledgeable resources. You may need to find out more about their situation so you can show them how you are able to solve their problem. Help them explore their options. This is also a numbers game not everyone you come across will be a good fit, but you should also be seeking referrals.
@Elizabeth Miller thank you Elizabeth that makes a lot of sense, I think part of my problem and what I need to fix is that I am looking for the immediate yes, or to immediately put in an offer like when your agent brings you a deal. So looks like with these, the best approach is patience and to slowly cook the deals. Patience is something I am really going to have to work on, and a good CRM software so I manage my funnel correctly.
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Originally posted by @Elizabeth Miller:
@Isaac El I have been marketing my list for 6 months. I’m getting my systems in place but I’m planning on postcard (clean up address generic meaning I don’t market with anything about foreclosure), first letter intro & state I got their information from public records about pre-foreclosure & offer for cash as is sale, second letter benefits of short sale, third letter negative impacts of foreclosure. You want to build rapport and establish yourself as knowledgeable resources. You may need to find out more about their situation so you can show them how you are able to solve their problem. Help them explore their options. This is also a numbers game not everyone you come across will be a good fit, but you should also be seeking referrals.
how many deals of pre foreclosures have you done.. ?? keep in mind much of what your talking about wont have an impact on folks in foreclosure they already know the negative consequences.. these leads are one of the toughest to convert.. for a few reasons they are easy to target so someone in foreclosure will get no less than 100 to 200 direct mail pieces .. with the exact same system you have and then they all say the exact same thing at the same time.. as the same guru's has taught them there system.
I cant tell you how many homes I have bought and there they are hundreds of letters and post cards some people just stack them on the counter some throw them in a draw..
I would be looking to do something different.. that's what I did .. and once I did we closed 3 to 5 a month.. but we closed on everything I am not talking about assignment stuff.. that becomes a complete waste of time generally speaking.. deals are too complicated.
I'm new and negotiating on a two family, three family, and single family. All responded on the first letter. The feedback I have gotten is the fact that I'm local to the area. Are you saying assignments are too complicated?
@Jay Hinrichs what approach might you recommend to differentiate yourself? Maybe the more personal approach of going door-to-door? or even just being friendly with and chatting up random strangers on the street ....?
@Amil D. Going to town hall meetings or PTA meetings or somewhere where a lot of parents are. And just becoming friendly with them. ONLY if they ask what you do (which they usually will), tell them you're an investor and looking to buy some property and change the subject as if it's not a big deal. Maybe they will say they're selling...
Originally posted by @Amil D.:
@Jay Hinrichs what approach might you recommend to differentiate yourself? Maybe the more personal approach of going door-to-door? or even just being friendly with and chatting up random strangers on the street ....?
Door knocking is a good strategy, with most marketing channels, you have to be consistent and be prepared, offer them something of value and if’s not a fit for them see if anyone they know is interested in selling.
@Elizabeth Miller That's very helpful, thank you! Now I'm having trouble taking the next step though...how do I offer something of value?
@Amil D. I take the approach of being helpful/connector - I try and have an open and honest conversation with owners or anyone I'm networking with and let them know that I do a lot of networking with other industry professionals (attorneys, landlord associations, realtors, contractors, credit repair, junk haulers, whatever they might need) if I can't help them then I can connect them with someone that can. I also let them know that I like to solve problems and I always treat them with respect. I'm not pushy, but I do follow up. I also let them know about me and my personal background, it can be very intimidating if someone is drilling or probing (why do you want to sell, is that the best price you can do, oh, original condition or missing kitchen - pointing out faults in the property). My goal is to establish rapport and credibility, people do business with people they know, like, and trust. I try to align myself with their goals for the property and if they are hesitant, I try to ask questions to get a next step commitment and explore with them what would it look like if.... I hope that helps, good luck!