Every real estate investor and wholesaler, whether they're a novice or experienced, can tell you that one of the most nerve wracking tasks is cold calling motivated sellers. They fear rejection - that their offer will be shot down, and part of their issue is discovering the seller's motivation without coming across as "prying" or "aggressive."
At GoForClose, we make calling motivated sellers much easier. We skip trace potential leads, who we then cold call to discover their situation and gather information about their property, before passing quality leads to you or your sales team, based on your needs and requirements.
Once we pass the lead to you, it's up to you (or your team) to call these motivated sellers and close the deal. You can do this a number of ways, based on the kind of closer you are, but the first thing to address is how to be fearless when you call a property owner you've never met before but know has a motivation to sell.
Here are some guidelines to give you confidence and the skills to negotiate great deals with ease and high chances of success.
Tips for Cold Calling with Confidence
If You're a New Investor, Partner with an Expert
Every beginner in an industry should look to a professional who's been there, done that. Someone who knows what works and what does not, and what will make or break a deal. Seasoned real estate investors are cold calling experts. They've been cold calling people and making business deals over the phone for a long while, and you can benefit from their expertise on how to talk to sellers.
Get Organized
Do you remember giving speeches in the classroom? The times it went better were likely the ones when you had a script and rehearsed Q&As beforehand. Cold calling motivated sellers is no different, except that it's for a deal rather than a grade.
Organize your notes, thoughts, and arguments (aka your persuasions) before every call. Using details we pass along to you about the lead, it may help to compile a Property Information Form, giving you room for conversation with the seller. Also, if a house needs some TLC, you can create a Spreadsheet of Costs to Repair to explain to the seller why your offer is less than their asking price.
Forge a Positive Mentality
Easier said than done, right? I had a coach who often told me, "Visualize what you want, and it'll happen." When you foster a positive attitude toward achieving your goals, more often than not, you do. In the case of making a real estate deal, it depends on the seller, but chances are, if you enter the conversation with a positive mindset, good things will happen.
Avoid being negative and self-doubting before calling. A negative mindset will implode the conversation.
Confidence builds over time and with practice, BUT if you go into a deal with confidence, and the next deal and the one after that, it'll get easier. It'll come naturally, and soon you won't even think about it.
Ask the Right Questions
The good news is GoForClose has already asked the big questions for you. We discovered the seller's motivation and passed along these details to you. But it's still up to you to establish a relationship with the seller and build rapport. One of the best ways to do that is to ask the right questions.
Think about it: when you meet someone, and they ask questions about you and your life, how do you feel? You feel important, right? Well, that's what your sellers want, to feel that they matter and that you care about their situation.
Ask about their property and situation. You want to discover the most important aspect to them: speed, price, or convenience. If price matters most, you may not be the right buyer. But if the seller values speed - they need to sell fast - and convenience - get it done with little-to-no hassle, they're the best prospect for a discounted deal.
Prioritize the Seller
As an investor, you understand that most people who sell are confronted with motivation reasons, so they prefer a compassionate buyer. For this reason, you want to come across as empathetic to their situation.
Portray yourself as someone who wants to help. Make it clear that even though you cannot pay their asking price, you can make their problem - whether it's foreclosure, bankruptcy, or divorce - go away, or at least lessen the blow.
Listen and engage. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you sell to a person who is pushy and does not listen, someone who's only interested in money but has no interest in what you're going through? Probably not. You want to present yourself as the ideal buyer when you call motivated sellers.
Be Honest
With yourself and with the seller. Most leads do not expect the full market value for their properties, because they were thrust into the situation of selling. So speak your intentions freely with the motivated seller. Explain yourself and include something like, "I buy properties at a discount," to create awareness, so the seller doesn't think you're hiding anything.
Maintain Control Over the Conversation
Some sellers are good negotiators, while others steamroll you with their expectations and demands. In either case, these sellers might convince investors to offer more money than a property is worth.
Do not get flustered if the seller is aggressive. Be patient and calmly explain to them why you are the right buyer to purchase their property. Always be steadfast and give favorable advice and professional explanations to all their inquiries.
Be a Friend
Often the best deals happen after creating a sense of friendship with your clients. When you engage with them, be kind, courteous, and understanding and show readiness to help solve their problem.
When they feel you care, almost like a friend, and you give them a good selling experience, chances are they may refer you to a friend or family member later on who needs to sell.
Additional Tips for Cold Calling Motivated Sellers
It's the little things that often make a difference. Cold calling efforts can improve with these tips and tricks.
Wear a Headset
Having your hands free to take notes, look up information, or calculate numbers helps you stay focused during a conversation and not derail.
Slow Down and Enunciate
You're not an auctioneer. Sellers are often intimidated by fast talkers and assume they're trying to slip something by them. Make a conscious effort to slow down and speak clearly.
Smile
Believe it or not, even if you're on edge or nervous, smiling can change the tone of your voice. True, the seller cannot see your smile, but they'll hear it in your voice, so you come across as friendly and approachable.
Have a Real Estate Investing Script
When you're getting organized, have yourself a script with a simple opening and answers to common objections. This way, you can defer shutdown answers or hang ups and come across as a professional.
GoForClose Finds You Motivated Seller Leads and Does Warm Transfers
At GoForClose, we help you find motivated sellers through Inbound Tactics with PPC or Outbound Marketing, using marketing campaigns and highly trained VAs we call Inside Sales Associates (ISA). You can provide the data or we’ll find quality leads using our proprietary software and internal database, with over 150 million properties, with hundreds of data points per property. Then we reach out to them via outbound tactics, including cold calling, texting (SMS), ringless voicemail (RVM), and email.
Stop sending direct mail and hoping for leads to call you. We'll find them for you! Our ISA calls and answers leads. We do the follow-ups, and when they are "Ready", the ISA provides a warm transfer to you or your team, and from there, it is up to you to build trust and establish a relationship.
We focus on the marketing, so you can focus on closing more deals.
If you have questions or are curious to know more, request a free consultation below.
