All Forum Posts by: Jerry Puckett

Sorry @Kyle Weckesser, I forgot to @mention you in my earlier reply.

@Cody Evans, I'm not exactly sure where you are coming from....Any time you fail to perform...any time you default on a contract, you can find yourself in some trouble. Please do not sign any Real Estate contracts without understanding exactly what you are obligating yourself to. Have you considered getting licensed?

Thanks @Brie Schmidt,

Hi Kyle,

There are a number of details in your method that I disagree with, and trying to explain them all would just take more time than I have to type. So, salient points...

I understand that you are holding out hope, but seasonality is not going to impact this kind of mailing overly much. Your responses will come when the mail hits. It's POSSIBLE not all of your mail has hit (see below)

• I do not like Postcards. They are not effective. Most people, even those in distress, throw them in the trash without a second thought.
• If your postcards were not first class, they can take up to 30 days to be delivered
• I do not like the NOD list (more on that below)
• Your messaging was very specific. If the only thing you can do to "help" them is buy the house, then mentioning their financial situation does not work to your advantage. If you have a unique selling proposition, if you can offer help of some other kind, it can be worth mentioning.

The way the rules work in TEXAS gives us no time to do an effective marketing campaign for pre foreclosure. The folks who are having the most success with these are door knocking, and even at that, you have to be careful.

Seems like a no brainer, right? "Sell me your house for what you owe and avoid losing your credit". Sadly, most of these who find themselves in such a predicament (remember, you do not get on a NOD list by having a stellar reputation as a decision maker :-) )....most who find themselves there fall into 2 general camps:

• Those who are paranoid, and think EVERYONE knows their business, and believes anyone seeking them out to be a creditor. They HIDE. Hard to find. Do not answer the phone...Mentioning their predicament intensifies this reaction.
• And those who have managed to emotionally divorce themselves from the home...."oh.....I'm just going to let the bank have it" They have made up their minds, and have a small measure of peace. They do not want any HOPE dangled in their face.

That's been my experience.

Having said that, congratulations for getting out there and doing SOMETHING. Marketing is largely about trial and error, and one thing I love about @Brie Schmidt is that she is smart enough to bennefit from other's mistakes by leveraging their knowledge and experience on the front side of a campaign.

Hope that helps! 

I realize this thread is old, but you know what? Things change. 3 years ago it would have been okay to let a call go to voice mail, look up a record or two and call back armed with some information when you're good and ready. But not anymore....not in 2017. With so much money flying around the market and with the competition faced TODAY, if you are not using live answering, if you are not using any sort of answering service, you will likely get hosed.

Why? With the success of HGTV and DIY shows, EVERYONE thinks they can flip a house :-D. There are more people doing RE marketing and trying their hand than ever before. Most do it very badly, substituting guess work and cheap materials, hoping to wing it....fake it....till they make it.

As far as I'm concerned if you aren't getting to your leads quick enough, you are flushing your lead gen budget for no good reason. Tripping over pennies on the way to dollars is never a good idea. If you want cheap, sure, try one of the read a script check a box services. But if you want the best, then there are services like Call Porter.

I have been working with them since the start and they have made both me and my clients a ton of money. Their reps KNOW real estate. That's all they do, all day long. Within seconds of having your prospects on the phone, they have already looked up property info and started your due diligence. They sniff out motivation, overcome objections, and set appointments. You go make offers.

If the question is "who is the best", and "best" is defined by effectiveness and return, Then CallPorter.com is the best in the business.

[Disclosure: Extremely satisfied client]

@Mike feathers, sounds like Android rape....total spam.  Also sounds off topic and a bit like a solicitation. I would suggest starting a new thread to avoid confusion as this has nothing to do with direct mail.

@Isaac El,

No, it's not too long, but a few things I would caution you about..

Your call to action is split, and therefore weak "If you want to this or that" (Also "Call me to discuss", which I have seen frequently, not particularly strong). Stronger would be "If you've thought of selling for any reason call me today at 555-1212".  You need to tell them specifically what you want for them to do.

I would highly recommend staying away from offering anything that could be construed as an appraisal. "(if you're) wondering what your house is worth" It's asking for an argument. On the one hand I'm a proponent of the concept that a call for any reason is a good thing, but on the other, that line is almost inevitably going to set the stage for a conversation filled with expectations that you will fail to meet, and may have a hard time moving past.

The only number I ever give is what the house is worth TO ME. This should carry through to your appointment with the seller, negotiations, and offers also. 

Hope that helps.

@Isaac El 

This post and most of my replies to it are several years old now. Since the last time I posted here, I've sent more than a million pieces of mail to more than 90 different markets across the U.S. and my perspective has changed a bit.

I now use a series of 6 letters in most cases with most lists (excluding time sensitive lists), and yes, I write all the copy myself. Not fond of using templates that many others have access to. That said....this is NOT brain surgery. There is no secret sauce....no magic bullet. 

Put yourself in the Seller's shoes and speak to them the way you'd like to be spoken to. Every letter should be a new iteration of the benefits of working with you + your contact information + a strong call to action. 

If you do not have a unique selling proposition, if the only thing you can do to "help" is buying the house, avoid mentioning whatever particular distress you are targeting. For instance, if targeting bankruptcy and your only solution is to buy, DO NOT MENTION BANKRUPTCY. Don't even say "I help people in similar circumstances all the time". You will make them paranoid and scare them off.

If on the other hand you can help fix their credit or offer other solutions, then PERHAPS it would be meaningful to refer to the circumstance. Otherwise,.....just ask if they want to sell.

Be persistent and consistent with that, and you'll do fine.

Thanks for the heads up. Much appreciated.

Hey @Han Oo

I talked to a Contractor the other day who uses home advisor, and his experience with internet leads matches mine....when that lead came in, he had better pick up and call within the first 15 seconds or someone will beat him to it.

At one time, I used Direct mail to drive traffic to my websites....I got a fair number of leads that way, but like my friend the contractor, most, immediately after filling out my form, would search for someone else like me...I'd show up to appointments with 6 other Investors.

That's when I realized I was spending an awful lot of money driving traffic to my competitors sites.

Now I only give out my phone number and live answer my calls so I can have them exclusively, overcome objections and build rapport all at the same time. Bigger bang for the buck in my opinion....Just Sayin'

In today's market, you are going to want to live answer as many as possible....it will put you head and shoulders over your competition. But when you simply can't get to it and voice mail is a must, here are the two most common mistakes I've seen made with voice mail.

Too formal, business like. Long voice mails, lots of information.....Some think it's a "screen" for motivation and anyone willing to get through all of that will be the right kind of motivated. May have been true some years ago, but not any more. "Click!" there goes your caller, on to call the next guy.

Too personal. "Hi, this is Jerry, leave a message". Callers are confused wondering if they got the right number.

In my opinion @Peter Halliday, your suggested message is close to the former. I sent you a sample voicemail that is one of the best I ever heard, riding the fence between personal and professional.

@Cody L.  YES!!! That is exactly what happened to me. Was using Google voice,  got a call to look at a property, and when I showed up there was a Code Enforcement vehicle full of my signs at the curb and an Officer with a $500 ticket.