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spleano

Only my telephone number. Hurting me?

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I won't go on a ranting rampage about how much some sellers annoy me. I was a Realtor for years, blah, blah, blah.

In the majority of my marketing, I don't include anyway to get in contact with me besides the telephone. My reasoning is: If the seller isn't motivated enough to pick up the phone and call, they aren't motivated enough to be a good lead. Am I losing business this way, or minimizing my time spent with losers -- I mean unmotivated sellers? The seller's endorsement of Michael's short offer is great for finding out whether they are serious or not. That happens after the initial contact and verbal agreement. Does anyone here use any Call To Action obstacles to separate the wheat from the chaff?

 

X Agent Dino

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Dino, there is no shortage of tire kickers among homeowners. It's why I advocate making a short offer on any property sight unseen. If the homeowner is agreeable to the concept of a lease purchase and to the terms I offer, then and only then is it worth my time to get inside the property.

As far as providing your phone number only, I think you'd benefit from also including an email address. It's the accepted and expected technology of our time. Most homeowners who email me ask me to call them anyway. So what's the downside? Give them every opportunity to contact you, then have a brief conversation to determine if they are serious or just curious. If they are serious, get the necessary info and shoot off that Short Offer Letter.

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I think you'd benefit from also including an email address. It's the accepted and expected technology of our time.

You're probably right, and that's true.--- Have you ever done a deal without ever talking to the seller on the phone? If not, at what point do you decide enough is enough with the email and make the seller call you or give you their number?

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No, I've never done a deal without talking to the seller or their representative. If they reply to my second email, where I have explained in some detail what I'm offering, they will either call me or I will be asked to call them. If the latter, I will call and attempt to be off the phone within 1o minutes or so. If the call went according to plan I follow up with a Short Offer Letter.

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With the exception of "professional letters" that I mail out which include a return mailing address on the letter, not just the envelope, I only give a phone number. The goal of my marketing is to appear to be just a regular person, not a big company, so I tell the seller to call my cell phone if they're interested in selling.

I agree with your theory of "if they can't pick up the phone and call, they aren't THAT motivated", though MC does bring up a good point as well... it's 2014 and there are probably a good chunk of people who would rather avoid touching the phone at all costs, so offering a website or email address may get some responses that a phone number alone may not. On the flip side of that, a seller who see's a website URL, email address, Facebook address, etc. may assume that you're one of 'those companies that are out to steal peoples houses' and not even respond, because they made that assumption.

 

I had a webinar recording or CD from a program, I forget exactly who it was... Wendy Patton maybe? Anyway, she said that her marketing has every possible way to contact her on it... phone, fax, email, website, form they can fill in and mail back... and she said it worked well and all forms of communication got responses from sellers. I think I tried it a couple of times on smaller mailings and didn't get much of a response, so I went back to my more personal "call me on my cell phone" approach.

Might be worth trying though, this thread has me thinking of changing up my marketing a little and including more ways to contact...

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. . .this thread has me thinking of changing up my marketing a little and including more ways to contact...

 

The only consistency in marketing is the inconsistency. Marketing is fluid. What works one month may very well flop the next. What works on my area may fail in yours. Take a diversified approach, keep track of your results, and be nimble and ready to change your approach as your results dictate.

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Yep, and I'm learning more about that now that I'm living and marketing in Charlotte... The suburban Boston market (real estate market, not the restaurant) is a completely different beast... not only as far as the real estate market itself, but sellers are a whole different animal down here. My whole marketing plan has been in a state of flux since entering this new market, as I learn what works / what doesn't and what it is people need/want around here.

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I use email mainly because I like everything to be in writing, plus the sellers can refer back to it if necessary; lease options are a new concept for most. I also like to be able to address everyone on the deed with the same information at once.

 

I only talk to them on the phone if they request and have done entire transactions via email, up until it's time to get the key and endorse the paperwork. Same with buyers, I usually don't talk to them until I call on my way to confirm a showing.

 

Both my cell and my email are on business cards, website, Facebook page, and all correspondence.

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