How did you get my address? yellow letters

Question

I recently put out a mailer for 950 yellow letters (gobigyellowletters.com) to homes with equity and absentee with equity.

Here are couple questions I've been getting:

1. How did you get my address?

2. Why do you think my house is for sale?

3. I get these letters all the time; my house is not for sale?

Does anyone have any objection handlers when talking to these folks?

Are there any other questions wholesalers get when talking on the phone with your mailing list?

Does anyone suggest including owner occupants and absentee owners in the same list?

This is not the first time I've been cussed out on the phone this week...was my response to one person.

My typical responses are:

Well, I am a local investor and I am looking for a house to buy. Do you have a house to sell?

I am working with @jerrypucket on a mailing also. I will you guys know how I like the two.

Jon Klaus · Answer

1. How did you get my address?

From public tax records.

2. Why do you think my house is for sale?

I don't know if it is, but I'd like to buy it if you are interested in selling.

3. I get these letters all the time; my house is not for sale.

Would you mind keeping my info in case things change in the future?

Richard C. · Answer

Have any of you thought that this sort of reaction is the predictable result of trying to make your marketing letters look like they are personal notes rather than typical direct mail pieces?  That the are the result, in other words, of the whole "yellow letter" thing?

The real answer is obvious.  You get your addresses the same places all junk mailers get their addresses.  What makes it different, and suspicious to some, is that most junk mailers don't hand-write letters.

Dev Horn · Answer

One of our guys in Phoenix uses STICKY NOTES that say something like "Hi! We buy houses in as-is condition for CASH.  If you're interested in selling, give me a call!"

Even with that language, angry people call and say, "What makes you think my house is for sale?".

One woman said, "I'm afraid to stay here now because I think someone might show up looking through the windows!".

Uh, yeah.  It's marketing people.  No need for alarm.

Michael Quarles · Answer

yellow letters should only be one of several direct mail pieces sent.   Speak to the masses by using multiple layers.   Custer marketing.

Jerry Puckett · Answer

Hi @Spencer Shadrach ,

You hit it on the head....3 of the four most common "objections". I get them all the time too, and have answered this question so much, I wrote a blog spot about it here on BP.

The 4 Most Common "Objections" and How to Handle Them

@Dev Horn was absolutely correct above. whatever type of marketing you use, someone will have an issues with it. But in my experience, if they're willing to talk, I can usually turn it around

Richard C. · Answer

Exactly.  And so the correct response to those who didn't want to get your piece and want to know where you got their name is simply to say that you bought a list, just like the people that send them catalogs in the mail, and you are sorry they are not interested.  That is truthful, addresses their concern (if not their irritation) and lets everyone move on.

If you start getting creative with your answers, as people sometimes advocate ("Our system has identified you as a property owner that may benefit, blah, blah" Nonsense, you bought a list from a list broker that sells that same list hundreds of time a week) you both waste your time and cause the person you mailed to wonder what the heck is going on.

Jeremy T. · Answer

@Richard C. that may be true, however the goal of any direct marketing piece is to get the prospect to engage...and it works quite well in that regard.  The problems arise either with the copy contained in the message or in the prospects targeted by the marketing.

John Horner · Answer

I think yellow letters produce both extremes.  Anger and fear for those who don't want to sell, but the personal feeling could look like compassion to the motivated seller.

Spencer Shadrach · Answer

@Larry T. Thanks for the help! These are great things to say. I've used this several times already as I've had about 50 phone calls in the past 2 days. I've been cussed out twice and been told I was being reported to the better business bureau by one individual.

@Jon Klaus These are great answers.

I've got one more question:

1. What are you willing to offer me? What do you want to pay for it?

my general response is: I am an investor looking to buy from someone who needs to sell quickly or someone who has lots of repairs that need to be done; is that you?

If not, I thank them for their time and tell them they need to pass my phone number along to one of their friends who needs to sell quickly.

Right now, I've got 2 appointments set up to look at a couple houses.

1. Will rent for $650. One needs repairs and he owes $2700 in taxes.He wants $14,000 but I think I can talk him down.

Option 1: Wholesale the deal and make $6k.

Option 2: One suggestion I had for him was paying half his taxes and giving him some moving money and then let him seller finance it to me.

2.  The other the lady wants to move within 30-45 days. She owes $11,000 on the property. She wants to walk with $15,000. Houses in that area rent for $650. She wants to walk with a couple grand in her pocket. Option 1: Wholesale the deal for $3k-$10k. Option 2: Give her a couple grand down payment. Do a subject to existing mortgage and place a tenant in the house.

Thanks for the critiques.

Newbie investor

Larry Turowski · Answer

@Spencer Shadrach only #3 is an objection and there really isn't a way to get over it. You can encourage them to keep your number in case they decide to sell in the future or give your number to anybody's in their neighborhood who is thinking about selling and you'd be happy to pay a referral fee.

As for the questions, I just tell people as you do that I am an investor and this is simply a form of advertising.  I don't know that they want to sell, I'm just letting them know I'm interested in buying.

I send to people based on various criteria like number of bedrooms, baths, location, the value of the house, etc.  All true.

How did you get my address? yellow letters

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