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Another Way for a New Investor to Build Instant Credibility With Sellers

Jason Hanson
2 min read

Three weeks ago I wrote about one of my most profitable direct mail pieces ever. It’s the endorsed mailing, where you mail a letter and include a glowing testimonial from a previous seller whom you helped–this will get your phone ringing off the hook.

But now I want to tell you another way to build credibility with a seller. You see, sellers these days are as suspicious as ever. And when you try to buy their house, a lot of times they will want to know everything about you and your company. Such as, “how long have you been in business?”, “who else have you helped in my area and can I talk to them?”, “are you registered with the BBB?”

What happens when you’re a brand new investor?

Well, if you’re brand new you obviously have no history. So if you’re sitting on the couch in a seller’s house and they ask you how long you’ve been doing this, telling them “I just started this week” isn’t going to go over very well with a seller who is already skeptical about working with you. What’s the solution? Partnering up with successful investors who’ve been in this business a long time.

Here’s why: I’m sure you know who Kevin Federline is, right? Why is he famous and why does he get paid a couple thousand dollars to make celebrity appearances at different venues? Because he was married to Britney Spears. The only reason why he’s famous is because he is now associated with Britney.

Here’s another example: I got an email from a friend discussing about how lucky some dating “guru” was that he got to spend New Year’s at the Playboy Mansion, and how he was jealous this guy was cool enough to be invited to go. Now, this “guru” is putting these pictures everywhere because he’s now associated with Hugh Hefner and more men will think he’s awesome. (By the way, want to know the real truth about these parties? It’s easy to go to the New Year’s party. This year’s tickets cost $2,000 each and are not hard to come by).

This is how you can use this strategy in real estate…

This is exactly what I want you to do with other investors. Associate with more successful investors, so you can “attach” yourself to them and look successful yourself. Here’s a real life example: Last week one of my newer partners was working on a deal. The person selling the house wanted to know every last deal about our home buying operation. Well, my partner has only been doing this for one year, but since she’s working with me she can say we’ve been doing this seven years; she can also use my testimonials and references. She’s attached herself to me and gained herself the credibility of an investor with many years of experience in this business.

Of course, you need to be extremely careful with whom you attach yourself, because the wrong person could ruin your reputation and even worse get you into legal trouble. However, this is still the fastest way to gain credibility and make sure you have a high percentage chance of closing every deal you come across.

So if you’re 100% brand new, seek out a more successful investor at your next REIA meeting and see if there is a way you can work with them.

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