Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2021 · 29 posts · 70 votes
I’ve been cold calling for years and it was a main piece of my company’s marketing plan. We usually saw a contact rate of 10-12% using the Mojo dialer and it produced a deal every month or so, sometimes multiple deals per month.
As of recent, we’ve seen a drop down to 2-3% contact rates using the same data source and the same cold caller. It’s definitely not a personnel issue from looking into the problem.
I did some research online and it seems that new legislation allows and somewhat requires phone companies to actively block phone numbers that it suspects of being SPAM which could be any number that calls the same phone number 3 or more times.
I have used XenCall in the past but their customer service was terrible so we decided to stop using them and go back to Mojo Dialer but I’m thinking that was a mistake...
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
For some context, I do wholesaling in Indianapolis so there are a lot of deep discount deals out there, we’re just struggling to get in touch with these people now.
I'd be glad if there re laws to stop spam calling including wholesalers who won't stop calling me even though I continually tell them that I'm not selling. Sounds like you need a new approach.
I'd be glad if there re laws to stop spam calling including wholesalers who won't stop calling me even though I continually tell them that I'm not selling. Sounds like you need a new approach.
Cold calling is dead indeed. We are in the information age and a different approach is needed. Do you like answering the phone when the display says "scam likely"? Where do you go when you need something? Online of course.
There are a lot of things you can do instead. I turned to YouTube and produce videos about the Milwaukee market. People find me when they have questions about real estate in the area, they watch some of my videos and get to "know me", it works well for me because I it plays to my strenght, I know a bit more than the average agent.
I am not sure if that exact approach would help you, but it can be part of a sales funnel. You can target people on FB and then bring them to your videos for example.
My brother is a wholesaler in northern Indiana and has a lot of success with direct mail. I know it's quite old fashioned, but in his experience it resonates with people more so than what is perceived as a spam call. He leverages other channels as well but direct mail seems to work in his area.
I've been doing cold calls and I haven't had a problem. However I didn't use a dialer. My contact rate was around 6%. My friend had one of 17%.
Stephen, are you hand dialing a list? how many calls are you putting in? That seems pretty time consuming!
Also to all the other people on here, I understand that some people see cold calling as a nuisance and maybe even unethical but I'd challenge that by citing the clients I've worked with who cry out of happiness when we help get rid of their real estate problem. People who for one reason or another are not able to be contacted through direct mail, who don't use FB and who rarely use the internet. There are still people out there who need help that aren't searching on google and can only be reached through cold calling. I want to find those people and help them out.
I have to say that I block as many as I can. I am now getting over 60 each week from call centers asking if I want to sell. With new technology many now show a number that belongs to other person or companies. If you are going to use a auto dialer or a call center at the very least have a process to eliminate calls to those who ask to be removed from the SPAM. At least I can throw away the hundreds of postcards and letters which doesn't waste as much of my time.
I thought cold calling was dead... until I had someone who is dang good at it show me. Now I believe in it. You just need to be more creative with your resources and approach.
I've been doing cold calls and I haven't had a problem. However I didn't use a dialer. My contact rate was around 6%. My friend had one of 17%.
Stephen, are you hand dialing a list? how many calls are you putting in? That seems pretty time consuming!
Also to all the other people on here, I understand that some people see cold calling as a nuisance and maybe even unethical but I'd challenge that by citing the clients I've worked with who cry out of happiness when we help get rid of their real estate problem. People who for one reason or another are not able to be contacted through direct mail, who don't use FB and who rarely use the internet. There are still people out there who need help that aren't searching on google and can only be reached through cold calling. I want to find those people and help them out.
I put barely any time into it. Like 1 hour a day. However I stopped doing it because I'm focusing on getting my license and renovating my first rental that I found through cold calling.
True cold calling is deader than dead, but if you modify and add advanced skip tracing and then data collection and cull your lists to the best prospects of the group, success rate will go up. I find it valueless in today's world. You should create marketing (whether print, tv, radio, Internet, FB) that creates inbound leads instead of spending time calling people who don't have their hands up in my opinion.
Unfortunately cold calling is alive and well. I get them every day. Cold calling has always been part of modern day life, no sense getting upset about it. At least they aren't selling encyclopedias anymore.
It makes sense that your contact rate was better years ago. I think most old school forms of marketing are feeling the pinch now, with the glut of buyers and lack of inventory.
Not dead at all. I'm in escrow representing a client here on BP on a property I found for him while cold-calling a specific neighborhood he knew he wanted to target. It took me about two hours total of cold calling that neighborhood and I came out with a second lead as well. Just closed escrow on another one for good friends of mine in August from cold calling a specific neighborhood. Came out with about 4 other solid leads from that as well in about another 2 hours of cold calling. I'm reminding myself as I'm typing this that I need to get back at it!
Honestly, I feel cold calling is still a great option. We have seen a dip in our conversions with auto dialer campaigns as of Q4 2020 and this month. We have made a push to become more creative on social media advertising. Specifically, FB.
@Chris Gould my company makes us cold call for digital marketing leads to help businesses get (B2B) customers. But cold calling to get customers (B2C), I think is dead. Customers prefer passive contacts.
That's why digital marketing has become popular for business owners and entrepreneurs.
Not dead! I still get them just like I get the IRS calling me from India or Bangladesh! No disrespect but a spam is a spam is a spam. They are the ultimate nuisance and best to ignore those.
Whether it's dead or not (which it is), using an auto dialer can land you in hot water. The link below is the website to an attorney I heard on the radio this week. He specifically mentioned real estate investors multiple times as a culprit to heavy spam calls using auto dialers. He (and other attorneys) like to target them because unlike the auto-warranty spam calls, it's highly likely that you'll be able to identify the real estate investor because they will eventually reveal their identity.
I've been investing for over a decade and mainly do flips and wholesale the properties I don't want to mess with, but my main focus is finding deals. Right now cold calling and mass texting is the "in" thing, so I'd suggest doing something completely different. When your competition zigs, you've got to zag.
I worked as the marketing director for an investment company based in Charlotte, NC from OCT 2019 to SEP 2020, and we crushed it with cold calling. When I started with them in October, they already made $478k doing it. Their next profitable marketing channel was text messaging with $93k in assignment fees. While I was on board, they pulled in $1.5M in assignments while being in 3 markets. The majority of their revenue came from cold calling.
There is a way to abuse any marketing channel. I think the issue with cold calling is that investors are not targeting their right avatar. You must eliminate zip codes and neighborhoods where the primary demographic will never be interested in your offer. You must go to distressed zips and areas where people can actually use your help. I'm sure many commenting on this thread would not be against cold calling if they weren't personally affected by the number of spam calls they receive. I can see parallels between cold calling and Facebook and Instagram these days. I'm not nearly as frustrated when I see an IG ad when viewing my stories as I was back in 2015. I would get ads for really random stuff, and it annoyed me. They've really tightened up their targeting and as a result, when I get served ads now, I usually download the app recommend or bookmark the ad's website. When it comes to marketing to sellers, we have to make sure we're only going after those that may likely be interested in our message within the year. You're still going to get a lot of "nos"; however, the majority of the ones that say "no" to you won't be as bothered because they understand why you're calling.
Outbound marketing is needed. Even though someone may want to get rid of their property, they may not be prompted into action until someone reaches out to them. There is a portion of the population that genuinely thinks nobody would even be interested in their house, so they don't try selling it. They assume it's not worth anything, almost like a junk car. These people require an investor to reach out to them and help them with their situation
I do not disagree with those that say cold calling is "outdated" or "old fashioned". This is precisely why it is so effective when optimized properly: The type of seller we target is in their 60's or older. This demographic is used to doing business over the phone, and they actually would prefer it. Additionally, a motivated seller will really appreciate the call especially if they need to get rid of their house quickly. I was amazed when listening to a call recording of one of my Filipino cold callers with a thick accent talking to this really southern guy with a country accent. The gentleman expressed great gratitude that we called and he had back taxes on it and was going to file bankruptcy. I encounter situations like this often because my list targeting is very precise. I, as much as them, do not want to be dialing the wrong demographic that will be annoyed when I call. This is what I'd consider spam.
As long as you're scrubbing your numbers against the DNC, taking people off your lists when they tell you, and maintaining proper list hygiene, I do not see an issue with cold calling. Honestly, if we take the approach of "sitting back and waiting for the sellers to contact us", how can we run a predictable business. Outbound sales, regardless of how uncomfortable it is to do, is necessary to scale an investment company today. I do think building brand authority is important, but relying on that, especially as a beginner will have you going nowhere fast.
I guess if your goal is to buy a few houses a year, then this isn't for you. The investors I see doing this are the ones bringing in over $100k+ per month in assignments or net profits from rehabs. One guy I know purchased a house in a very nice suburb of Charleston for $310k. He put about $7k into it and listed it on the MLS. Within the first week, he got an offer of $475k, which was $30k above his listing price. After all the fees were taken out (commissions, marketing, etc.), he said he netted $117k. This deal came from cold calling.
You must drill down your avatar. Too many people start cold calling with no idea what they're doing it. They're making it difficult for us that are following TCPA laws and best practices for marketing.
@Cornelius Garland Preach! I wish you could teach some of these other guys how to do it. I'm on DNC lists and I still get blast on a weekly basis. My number is all over the internet, so I get tons of calls from health care people and marketing services. That is what it is, but I tell these wholesalers to remove me from their lists every other day. The crazy thing is I know most of them personally, but they're so removed from their marketing that they don't even know what's going on with their outbound calls. That kind of behavior makes sellers apprehensive to work with any investor. It's frustrating. People in my neighborhood groups complain about the constant onslaught of marketing to their homes and phones all the time. Hope you're well, man!
@Chris Gould the spammers are destroying cold calling. Telephone companies are blocking numbers and people are no longer answering their phones. They are sick of "your car warranty expired" and "can I buy your house" type phone calls. The people abusing this are not following the law by scrubbing their lists against do not call lists. As a result, there is increasing pressure for the government to take action. You just have to decide when the cost to your business outlives the usefulness.
