How to take calls from motivated sellers like a pro and convert more leads into deals

by | Oct 1, 2015 | Article, Topics

Leads into deals

Real estate investing success hinges on being able to find good deals. If you don’t have leads coming in and are not making offers on those properties, you’re just not going to make it.

It really is as simple as that

How to take calls from motivated sellers like a pro blog by Danny JohnsonWhen I got started flipping houses over 11 years ago, I gave chasing deals on the multiple listing service (MLS) a go, but soon got completely burned out on rushing to make an offer, only to find out 10 other people had already made an offer on the same house — all within a couple hours of it being listed.

Smart investors learn quickly that building relationships with the listing agents is the way to go so that you are notified of “pocket” listings before they are put on the market. But for most, this is very difficult to do when so many other skilled investors in town have already had relationships with these agents for years.

My favorite way to get deals

The other option is to market directly to homeowners who want to sell a house. For house flippers, we call these homeowners “motivated sellers.” They usually need to be at least a little motivated to sell their houses at the prices at which we need to buy them.

There are tons of ways to find motivated sellers. Some of my favorites, especially if you’re on a shoestring budget are:

● Driving for Dollars – Driving neighborhoods looking for vacant/run-down houses and mailing letters to the owners.
● Bandit Signs – Posting corrugated plastic signs on telephone or light poles at busy intersections that say things like, “We Buy Houses – Cash – Call XXX-XXXX.”
● House Buying Website – Forget the phone book. People are searching the Internet these days.

Here is one of Danny Johnson's houses before rehab.

One of Danny Johnson’s houses before the rehab.

Danny Johnson house after rehab

The same house after Danny Johnson’s rehab.

Which phone number?

One of the most common questions asked when someone is just starting out marketing to motivated sellers is which phone number to use. It seems most people are so afraid to use their cell phone number because they don’t want to be getting 100 calls a day.

I wouldn’t worry about that, because it just doesn’t happen. I wish it did!

In the beginning the calls are just going to trickle in here and there. This is why I always suggest using your cell phone number. You absolutely have to speak to the seller right away when they call.

Here’s why:

When truly motivated sellers are looking to find someone to buy their house because they don’t want to sell it the traditional way, they start calling on all of the “we buy houses” type marketing they see.

If you don’t pick up your phone when they try to call you, they usually won’t leave a message; they will just call the next investor.

I’ve heard it a million times from motivated sellers. They’ve told me, “I’ve tried 10 numbers already and you were the first one to pick up.” Who do you think got most of those deals?

Use your phone number and answer your phone EVERY TIME it rings!

You will get calls from a lot of tire-kickers wanting full market value for their house, but you always have to answer because you don’t know which caller will be the super-motivated one who is begging you to buy his or her house immediately. Yes, that does happen.

Google Voice numbers are all the rage — but shouldn’t be.

Thinking of hiding behind a Google Voice number? Rethink that. I know each time I call a number and it asks for my name so they can try to connect me to the Google Voice subscriber, I just hang up. I think more and more people do this. The worst part is, if the caller hangs up before they try to connect you, you will never know that call ever took place. At least with your cell number, if they hang up after a couple rings, you see the missed call and can call them back.

What to do when you get a call

Don’t do what I did when I got my first call from my marketing (I didn’t recognize the number so I figured it must be someone calling to sell their house). I got so nervous, without thinking, I threw the phone to my wife to answer.

She took the call and asked a couple questions and hung up. After she hung up, we realized we should have asked some more questions so we called back.

This kind of thing happened for the next several calls, but I soon got comfortable and found it very easy to talk to the callers. I’m introverted, so that’s saying a lot.

Questions to ask and the in order in which to ask them

As I grew wiser and more experienced, I realized not just the important questions to ask, but the correct order in which to ask them.

You want to get down to their real reasons for wanting to sell the house and their realistic asking price. As reasonable people, we all want to ask for a little more than we actually expect to get, and we usually have our guard up with strangers.

The key is to have them feel the emotion of what is going on so that they will open up and tell you the reason they really want to sell.

Here’s an example: If you were to get a call from a seller and all you did was ask how much they wanted for the house after just asking for the address, I can almost guarantee you they will give you a higher number than if you ask them what repairs and updating the house needs, how long it been vacant, whether taxes are owed on it, whether the house is behind on payments, why they want to sell it and how fast they would like to close.

If you ask those questions first, you’re going to get the information you need.

  • What is the address of the house you would like to sell?
    Sellers usually call and ask if you buy houses. I answer in the affirmative and ask them for the address of the house they’d like to sell.
  • How many bedrooms and bathrooms does it have, and is there a garage?
    You will need to know the number of bedrooms and bathrooms it has so that you do your due diligence and run comps to find out how much the house will be worth after it’s fixed up.
  • Are there any repairs or updating needed?
    You might need to ask more specific things here as some people will just answer, “Yes.” Ask if it needs any major repairs like foundation problems, roof, electrical, plumbing, etc. It’s also important to find out if updating is needed — as it almost always is.
  • Might I ask why you are selling the house?
    This is a big one. Your job after asking this question to be quiet and let them talk as much as they are willing. You have to get to the real motivation so that you can gauge whether they might be open to selling the house below market value.If they tell you a quick answer like, “We just want to move,” you need to find out why they just want to move. Are the neighbors trouble? Is the neighborhood bad? Are there repairs needed they cannot afford to make? Are they behind on their payments? Are they facing foreclosure? You get the idea.
  • How quickly do you need to close?
    This is a follow-up motivation-gauging question. If they tell you they needed it sold last week, you should get excited. If they tell you within the next six months, go ahead and let the wind go out of your sails.
  • Is there anything still owed on the house?
    You need to know whether there is going to be enough equity for a deal to be made. Why waste the seller’s time and your time if there is no deal possible because they owe too much? Of course, short sales are possible, but that’s a whole other discussion for another day.
  • Is the house behind on payments?
    You never want to ask if “they” are behind on payments because people can be embarrassed by that. If you ask if the “house” is behind on payments, they usually are much more comfortable with the question.
  • How much were you hoping to get for the house in its current condition?
    You need a price to start with. Many people won’t even have a price in mind, but you need to get it from as many as you can because it really helps to determine if they are going to be motivated enough to sell at your price.
  • If I were to offer all cash and close it really fast, what would be the minimum you’d be willing to accept?
    You’re probably scratching your head wondering who in their right mind would tell you another number after they just told you their price. I’ll tell you — about 95 percent of them!

If that seems strange to you, you’ve never asked the question or been the one who wants to sell a house quickly.

I’ve had rentals that I’ve dumped super cheap before, so I know the mindset.

How soon would you be able to show the house?

You need to set an appointment during this initial call so that you avoid having the seller call more investors. If you don’t set an appointment they might feel they haven’t accomplished what they set out to do.

Set the appointment even if you have doubts of it being a deal. I set the appointment and then do some quick analysis of the deal (comps and how much below resell I would want to buy it at). If there isn’t a chance of a deal (solely based on what is owed, NOT what they are asking), I will call back and cancel the appointment.

How did you hear about me?

You keep track of where your leads are coming from, don’t you? You need to. The savvy investors know that if they keep track of the cost per lead and cost per deal for their marketing, they can invest more in the ones that produce better.

Treat this business like a real business and not a hobby

What is the best way to contact you?
Make sure you get as many ways as possible to get back in touch with the seller. Sometimes their phones get disconnected and dropped in the toilet. Get email addresses. Some people prefer to email.

Communicate earnestly

If you don’t honestly feel empathy for the sellers and their situation, don’t try to act like you have it. People can usually smell a phony from a mile away. The best thing to do when talking to motivated sellers is be yourself and be honest. You have to understand that many of them are embarrassed by their situation. Treat them with respect and help them move on with their lives.

Does buying houses from motivated sellers make you scum bag?

I sometimes hear from new investors who cannot stomach buying houses from motivated sellers because they feel they would be taking advantage of them. The usual question is, “Why wouldn’t they just sell it through an agent and get more money?”

That’s a good question, and each particular motivated seller’s answer to that is the reason why they don’t. There are hundreds of reasons people don’t want to sell through an agent. Many times, the house is in such bad shape that they’d probably make less selling through an agent because only an investor would buy it anyway and then they’d have to pay the agent’s commissions as well.

Once you speak to some motivated sellers, you’ll quickly realize that they see you as someone who can help them be rid of problem property and problem situation quickly. These sellers are not stupid. They know perfectly well they are selling below market value.

Where to go from here

Now it’s time to take action. Don’t be afraid to put your phone number out there with marketing. I’m sure you’re nervous, but the motivated sellers who will be calling you will also be nervous.

It’s time to push ourselves outside our comfort zone, flip some houses and make our way to financial freedom.

Visit Danny’s site here.


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  • Danny Johnson

    Danny Johnson has flipped hundreds of houses over the last 11+ years in San Antonio, Texas. He blogs about flipping houses at FlippingJunkie.com and is the author of "Flipping Houses Exposed: 34 Weeks in the Life of a Successful House Flipper," a best-selling book on Amazon. He also provides real estate investor websites at www.LeadPropeller.com.

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