Posted by lamarr in sacramento on September 11, 2001 at 03:10:01:
I’m with Doug on this one. The idea of a flowchart seems like one that would be of use to many of us newbies. Could you e-mail it to me or share it with us here?
TONGUE-TIED ON ALL CALLS I RECEIVED! - Posted by lynn j.
Posted by lynn j. on September 10, 2001 at 12:59:44:
I started marketing by placing an ad in the newspaper to do flips and lease options. The phone has been ringing off the hook. I was nervous and excited when I started receiving calls from the sellers that I would all of a sudden get panic attacks and start stuterring and babbling and nothing that came out of my mouth made any sense and the seller would hang up on me! Maybe what I need to do is practice with a friend on the phone first to help me relax and get use to talking to sellers. What advice can you give me to help me stay calm and speak to sellers in a clear and professional manner?
Thanks for your help.
p.s. I really thought I was confident and ready to take calls from the sellers, but if I can’t get pass the anxiety attacks or make sense on the phone to put deals together, then I will probably have to put creative REI on the back-burner,and I really don’t want to do that!
Become their friend! - Posted by KarenB (FL)
Posted by KarenB (FL) on September 10, 2001 at 22:44:41:
I started having much more luck on the phone when I started thinking of myself as more of a person that is answering the phone for one reason - to HELP them. Mentality going into a call has more of an effect on the outcome than the actual words that you use with the people. Don’t think of them as potential deals. That will just make you more nervous. Think of them as people in need of comfort & support.
For instance, I had a caller the other day who asked “You aren’t one of those Carlton Sheets late-night infomercial people are you?” That made me nervous for a minute, but I just smiled to myself and said “No sir, I am someone who specializes in helping people solve their real estate problems” Then he sighed a breathe of relief and we continued on with the conversation. If you make them feel like you are TRULY there to help them, and not there to squeeze every penney out of them you can muster, and you make them feel like they can trust you, then you have accomplished most of the battle of the phone call. Once you establish a level of trust, the rest of your call should go much smoother, and even if you forget to ask them something (which I do quite a bit… to be honest) you are on a level where you can call them back with an “update on your research” or what have you, and ask the rest of your questions.
The most important thing is to relax & have fun with them. Treat them as your friends who call you with a problem, or like family, and that’s how they will feel. That will be your edge over the 12 other ads they are calling on in the paper!! It sure works for me…
Good Luck!!
KarenB
Re: TONGUE-TIED ON ALL CALLS I RECEIVED! - Posted by Tim Jensen
Posted by Tim Jensen on September 10, 2001 at 14:32:17:
Lynn,
How about this.
If you will pay for the call, I will help you untie your tongue. Just e-mail me and I will give you my number.
Tim
This is all you will ever need!!! - Posted by Lazaro
Posted by Lazaro on September 10, 2001 at 14:18:55:
I hope you don’t get offended by this but here it is:
Say a short little prayer (quickly) before answering or calling anyone. Just say something like “God I know are going to help me with this and I know this will be a VERY successful call.” It doesn’t have to be just like this but you get the idea. If you practice the Power of Positive thinking (Dr. Peale) then you will need nothing else.
Cordially,
Lazaro
Re: TONGUE-TIED ON ALL CALLS I RECEIVED! - Posted by Bryan H (ny)
Posted by Bryan H (ny) on September 10, 2001 at 14:14:09:
Read the articles “how to handle telephone calls” by Jim Piper, and “getting on the same page as the seller” by Joe Kaiser.
After a while, you will get used to people calling, and the questions they ask. Remember, they’re calling because they need something - you don’t need anything from them. Try using you’re answering machine and call back the sellers when you feel comfortable doing so. Try calling realitors and practice asking them questions about some listings - use a fake name if you feel like it.
If it helps, prepare a script and read from it. Or keep a list of questions by the phone. Or at least have some blank seller qualifying forms laying around.
The absolute best thing you can do is to let the seller talk. Ask open ended questions that they can’t answer yes or no or with a number: “This is Lynn. How can I help you?”, “Why are you selling your house?”, “How did you arive at the asking price?”, etc.
I take that back. The best thing you can do is to make sure that you fully understand the techniques that are promoted here and can relate them to a lay person. So this may mean going back and studying some more. Then try explaining the techniques to your family and friends. When you can get them to understand what you’re talking about, you’re off to a good start. Remember to use plain English, not the jargon you see on this board. I just talked to a retired real estate agent with 40 odd years of experience and a few properties of her own who had never heard of a lease option before. This threw me for a loop - I figured that someone with 40 years of real estate experience would be intimately familiar with every possible situation and thought that the sophisticated phrasing I used was appropriate. I know that I started to scare her off until I caught myself, back tracked, and explained the L/O like I would to a lay person. She did’t like the idea, but at least she understood what I was talking about.
Use phrases like “take over payments” instead of “lease option”. There is no need to get more technical in your explanation than “Every month, I pay the mortgage, insurance, taxes, mainainance - everything related to the house. Then, a year or so down the road, we actually close.” Don’t get into the details unless you are asked to - you will only be confusing someone who really doesn’t care anyway. If they ask why they should do this, tell them something like, “With all the deals I work on, I can’t get new financing every time I buy a property. Doing this helps to establish a payment history that will allow me to pay off the house ,and you, in about a year or so.”
Good luck!
-Bryan
Re: TONGUE-TIED ON ALL CALLS I RECEIVED! - Posted by Doug (ON)
Posted by Doug (ON) on September 10, 2001 at 13:39:02:
First, take a deep breath! We’ve all been through this. It does get better, but it probably will never completely go away, it’s just human nature I guess.
Practicing with a friend can work. I also recommend calling ads in the paper which you have NO interest in doing a deal with. That may work better for running through the questions you want to ask, because you’re actually talking to someone you don’t know who has a house for sale.
Another thing that will help is to do as little talking as possible. Write down a few open-ended questions (questions that force the other person to elaborate). Ask one and let the caller do the talking.
Here are some possible examples:
“Tell me about your home.”
“How did you arrive at your price?”
“Why are you selling?”
Follow up on their answers with questions which acknowledge what they’ve told you and cause them to go into more detail. You’ll find that some callers will really open up, I just had a call like that the other day, the seller didn’t just answer my questions, I became her student! I learned things about my own area I had no idea of before the call!
Other sellers won’t be so forthcoming and I know that can be very uncomfortable, especially if you run out of things to ask and you start fumbling through the conversation.
Just do your best to ask the qualifying questions and if they’re agreeable then set up an appointment. You’ll probably be better in person than on the phone anyway.
One more thing, forget about being professional. Just TALK to them like you’ve known them for years. Joke about a few things, ask about their plans, their new job, their kids…whatever. Be upfront about what you do and why, and let them decide if what you have to offer might work for them. If they feel like you understand their needs and they understand yours, they’ll be less likely to resent your offer, or have seller’s remorse later on if they sign.
Above all, think long and hard about how THEY feel when they pick up that phone to call you. Curious? Nervous? Desperate? How would YOU feel if you couldn’t afford your payments anymore and decided to call your ad? You’d probably hope the person on the other end would be friendly and compassionate about your problem, and I’m sure you’d appreciate it if that person really listened to you, and then explained the way their business works, and then let you decide if that was the right way for you.
Doug
Re: TONGUE-TIED ON ALL CALLS I RECEIVED! - Posted by Brian M. Powers(MI)
Posted by Brian M. Powers(MI) on September 10, 2001 at 13:35:26:
Lynn:
I too am a beginner and have had some of the same problems. Have you checked out the How-to Articles? There are some real good articles in their by Joe Kaiser that I have found very useful. Also check out the Money Making Ideas, Jim Piper wrote a great peice, I think it is titled “The Perect Phone Call” or something along those lines.
To get over my stumbling phone conversation tendancies, rather than write out a word for word script, I created a flow chart of how I want the call to go. The key for me is to not do a lot of talking, rather “steer” the caller throughout my flow chart as he/she hits on all the topics I want him/her to talk about. When they finally get done babbling, if they have not touched on one of my key points, then I dig it out (“sounds like a nice home, may I ask why you are selling”, or “sounds like there is some potential for me to make a deal with you here, let me ask you, if we couldn’t agree on an all cash offer, would you be open to taking payments?”).
I made the key mistake of going in to these calls blindly just hoping the seller would spill their guts and give me all the necessary info. It’s not always that easy. So my advice is to go into the calls with a set plan, knowing exactly what you want to get out of the call, and don’t hang up until you’ve got EVERYTHING you want to know.
I’m no expert but this has been working well for me so far and has really helped me get more comfortable with sellers on the phone. You have to sound assuring and confident or else they won’t have faith in you to help solve their problems- that’s the way I look at it.
By the way, please share what this killer ad is that you are using!!
BMP
Re: TONGUE-TIED ON ALL CALLS I RECEIVED! - Posted by JohnBoy
Posted by JohnBoy on September 10, 2001 at 13:23:58:
Go read these two links first:
http://www.creonline.com/mm_37.htm
http://www.creonline.com/art-149.html
Then after you have finished reading these, go get the local paper and start calling all the FSBO adds. Then practice your phone skills on them since most of them won’t be motivated anyway. Then you can get some good practice in before chasing off any motivated sellers that might be calling you.
And remember, they are only on the phone! They can’t reach through the phone lines and grab you or something. They don’t know you from Adam. So practice away and get your confidence built up!
Pep Talk - Posted by David (OH)
Posted by David (OH) on September 11, 2001 at 07:19:17:
I heard a speaker at the local RE club here from the Dale Carnagie (sp?) group, which is some sort of business motivational speaking company/club. He suggested that you should give yourself a pep talk before you do anything in your business. Now you will have to use your imagination a bit here, but he asked everyone in the room to stand and say something like, “I am going to do a great job talking with this possible buyer, YEA!!!” in a real excited voice, very loudly, and you had to pump your fist on the “YEA!!!”. Oddly enough, it does make you feel better. Never really tried it for real, but at the meeting it did put a smile on your face and gave you a better attitude, which is at least half of the game. I’m all for a prayer, but not for motivation. Pray because sometimes we need help from someone greater than us to make it through.
David
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale - Great Man! (nt) - Posted by JT - IN
Posted by JT - IN on September 10, 2001 at 22:39:01:
$
Re: You’re a Good Man Laz!(nt) - Posted by GregNY
Posted by GregNY on September 10, 2001 at 20:05:23:
.
What if… - Posted by Doug (ON)
Posted by Doug (ON) on September 10, 2001 at 14:26:07:
the investor is an atheist or agnostic or simply doesn’t believe God answers prayers like this?
Doug
The AD that I’m using - Posted by lynn j.
Posted by lynn j. on September 10, 2001 at 14:08:32:
in the newspaper in my area is:
I Buy Houses for all Cash
Quick Closing - any condition.
No Commission/Fees!
call 314-555-5555
I got this one from the archives!
I would like to thank everyone who responded to my post!
Lynn
Brian! - Posted by Doug (ON)
Posted by Doug (ON) on September 10, 2001 at 13:42:48:
While Lynn hopefully shares this pulling ad of theirs, how about sharing your flow chart with us?
Doug
Thanks! - Posted by Lazaro
Posted by Lazaro on September 10, 2001 at 20:43:42:
Greg,
I appreciate comments like that. You are also a good man
Cordially,
Lazaro
Re: What if… - Posted by Lazaro
Posted by Lazaro on September 10, 2001 at 18:05:48:
Doug,
“That is why I said I hope I don’t offend you.” But let me tell you that this DOES work. So God does answer these prayers. I would be sorry if he was trully atheist. I don’t want to preach but it is just wrong in MY opinion. But yet again I am not here to preach and I don’t think this would be the right forum. But just wanted to correct you and give a little bit of my opinion. Hope this dosen’t offend anyone
Cordially,
Lazaro
Re: Brian! - Posted by Brian M. Powers(MI)
Posted by Brian M. Powers(MI) on September 11, 2001 at 14:30:46:
It is actually hand written on a yellow legal pad! I will pull the information off and put in a text form and post it.
BMP