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If you are not getting “yelled at” then you are not doing enough!

Jason Hanson
2 min read

2323242518 410defd657 mOn Saturday at my local REIA meeting (everyone should be going to ALL of the REIA meetings in your area), I was talking with an investor who had received a nasty phone call from a homeowner who was not happy that they received a letter in the mail. They wanted this investor to know that they “did not want to sell their house and never to send them another letter ever again.” This investor was new and of course this phone call upset them. I reassured the investor that this happens and is the nature of the business.

The majority of calls that I get from these angry, crazy people is them wanting to know how I got their information, not believing it is a matter of public record, and wanting off my mailing list. One of my most memorable calls was from a Realtor who proceeded to scream at me that it was illegal to send out letters trying to buy her house, that she had been in the business 25 years and that she was going to sue me (obviously she must have been very successful if she thought direct mail was illegal…of course you can never argue with a crazy person…just ask any husband).

I can only think of one time where I was justifiably yelled at when it came to marketing — I got a message from an irate guy with every other word being the F word. Apparently, my bandit sign guy had put my sign up next to a funeral marker on the highway, where someone had recently died (yes, I told my bandit sign guy not to do this again and to use common sense when putting out my signs.)

Well, here is the point…you need to be immune to criticism when it comes to this business. If you are not getting people ticked off at you, then you aren’t sending out enough letters, you aren’t putting out enough signs and you aren’t closing enough deals. Who is going to get yelled at more, the guy who sends out 1,000 letters a month, or the guy who sends out 10,000? Also, please don’t take it personally when you do get yelled at…the person who is yelling at you doesn’t know you from Adam. They are simply yelling at some person who sent them a postcard or a letter.

Also, when you do get yelled at, remember the person probably is having a bad day, or has a crappy marriage, or a crappy home life or they are envious of you (and they just need to vent at someone.) Now, get out there and make sure you are getting criticized more often (yes…that means sending out thousands of pieces of direct mail a month and becoming successful sooner)!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.