Suppose there was a way to literally increase your lead stream by 100% with no cost to you? And suppose that method often gave you an "introduction" so you are not making cold calls to these new leads? Would that interest you? Do you think you could do more real estate deals with these additional leads?
Here’s the deal. You are investing some amount of time and effort into generating leads. Perhaps you are mailing out postcards. Or running classified ads. Or using bandit signs. Or any of the 100’s of other ways to get people to know you are in business.
The goal of all these marketing methods is to get people to contact you. But chances are the only people who contact you are folks who might be ready to talk about doing a deal. And really with some advertising methods - like bandit signs - that is about all you can do because of the limited time people view the ads.
Assuming you are doing all these marketing activities and doing them mostly right, what can you do to grow your lead stream from the same quantity of messages being put out into the community? What is the magic sentence you can use to get those additional invisible leads?
The sentence is "Do you know anyone who can benefit from our services?" or some variation thereof.
The form of contact will dictate how you use this technique.
For instance, in a written communication - like a postcard - you have room to educate the reader about your services. So as part of the postcard, you should work that sentence or a variation of it into the message to make it clear to the reader that this service is open to anyone. And it lets them know that you would appreciate it if they let their friends know about the service.
As an aside, this type of technique is very powerful if you postcard market the preforeclosure market. These people are scared and in denial. So if you send a postcard to them saying in effect that you know they are in trouble and you can help, they will often throw the card away in denial. However, if you word the card to say that you work with people with problem houses in that neighborhood and are looking for referrals, they would be more responsive. In this second instance, they don’t feel like they have been targeted - but rather are part of a general mailing campaign. They might - and often do - call in and say they have a friend with trouble and just want to know what you could do for that friend. It keeps them feeling safe and keeps the interaction nonconfrontational as you probe for details and build a comfort zone with the seller.
Whatever form of initial contact is made, at some point your phone will ring with a potential seller. You should concentrate on the seller at that point. Ask your general and probing questions and ask relationship building questions. Take a bit of time to explain what you do. And see where the conversation leads.
You generally get one of two results.
Result one is a feeling that this may be a deal in the making. In that instance, you should move to the next step and set up an appointment to see the house or whatever is appropriate. And you should follow this deal as far as you can. When it can’t go any further - either because you bought the property or it just didn’t work out - ask the person for referrals. As long as you dealt with them in a good manner, they will often want to be helpful even if you ended up not being able to do business.
Result two is the calls that just won’t work out for you. In this instance, you should explain why the deal isn’t a good fit for you. If you know another investor who could benefit from that deal, you should ask if you can refer that investor to the seller. You should also ask the seller if he knows anyone who would fit your investment profile so you can help that person.
Many times, they don’t know someone off the top of their head. But they are often willing to keep your phone number and pass it along if they run into a friend - or if they just know of a run down house in their neighborhood.
Also, here is a key step that most investors miss.
You just invested time and energy building a relationship with someone. You took time to get their name, address and phone number.
Now, did you send them a thank you note?
If you did not, you are missing out on an excellent follow-up networking opportunity. Since no one does it, it will help stick your name in that seller’s mind. And it gives you one more change to convey your message to the seller - and even personalize it with some bits from the conversation.
The thank you note - because it is unexpected - keeps you positioned favorably in the seller’s mind. That can enforce the desire of this person to help you out with other referrals - or even a win-win deal with that person down the line.
Networking is a fundamental key to success in your real estate investing business. If you are not taking the time to maximize your networking with each contact, you are not achieving the maximum potential your network offers to you. Every person you meet knows several other people well and many more casually. And all of them can become champions of your cause as long as you build a strong and positive relationship with them. Take advantage of this fact and work towards building strong, positive relationships in your network.
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