RealTown's RealTalk

Christopher Cassidy wrote in part:

The bottom line with cold calling is, if you know how to properly generate leads, and you use the right tools, you should NEVER have to cold call, ever.

Newell responded in part:

…"Horsepucky"… Why would you ever eliminate a pillar of lead generation [cold calling FSBO, Expired, up and down targeted streets]?

Texas Lindy adds in part:

ROFL [upon reading Christopher's "bottom line"]

Mark Jay comments:

The well rounded real estate practitioner should be doing a number of different things… so your Brokerage manager/sales trainer/coach will tell you. Those things largely fall into two categories….

PASSIVE marketing is running ads …ala Craig Procter and others… having call capture technology on your real estate signs and then waiting for the phone to ring. And if you're marketing message is compelling and broadcast widely enough your phone WILL ring and you will do very well.

ACTIVE marketing is to become a cold call MONSTER ala Mike Ferry… and others and then you'll do BETTER than very well.

And my observation, like Newell's, is that the tightly focused Cold Call Monster ALWAYS wins the "Who gets the MOST Listings" contests. And whoever gets the most listings ultimately gets the most sales and the most NET income. And this business is about NET income and not about GROSS commission income although you can't have one without the other. What's important is to close the gap between the two. I remember a time 30+ years ago with close to 100K in annual GCI and going broke at the same time… my business was basically a pass through from real estate consumers to the newspaper, radio and TV stations that blasted my name out. I sold a lot of real estate and paid almost all my commissions to my passive advertising "partners"…

Passive marketing "done right" IS expensive. If you're in a small media market where the advertising venues are very cheap then Passive is not so expensive. If you're in one of the top 20 or even 50 media markets it's tough to even justify a three line classified ad… when it costs nearly $100.00 for say a Sunday Open House.

You can buy one of the FSBO and Expired culling services and one of the phone dialer services for around $250.00 per month and a two person team can share that expense and make around 250 dials per hour over 6 hours in a day. That's a little less than 40,000 dials a month. (Note to Newell: only 247 calls in 2 hours? Have you considered changing over to a multiple line dialer service? You should be able to get to 250 dials per HOUR) If you're making 40,000 calls per month you can just about speak 15 seconds of gibberish to people and some people will "go with" you. Remember what Mike Ferry has said 'some will, some won't, so what…) If you make enough calls you WILL get business. If you're REALLY good then you'll get a LOT of business.

The most prolific agents in my area all are massive FSBO and expired cold callers. If you want to carry 50- 60 to 100 or so listings then you MUST cold call and even hire assistants to cold call for you. You MUST be an ACTIVE marketer.

In some areas those Proctor ads can't be used because of licensing law rules… like the rule that you MUST disclose you are a broker and what your brokerage name is in ALL real estate ads. Since a lot of Proctor's campaign is "stealth" marketing; states where you must disclose your status as a licensee takes the stealth aspect out of the campaign, doesn't it? Proctor's campaign IS built around a shot-gun distribution of small blind ads, isn't it? And AS PASSIVE MARKETING campaigns go, the Proctor approach IS inexpensive conceptually. But the term inexpensive is relative. Shot-gunning a broad array of small inexpensive classified ads and similar messages IS cheap compared to other passive campaigns but it DOES add up IF you want to get the kind of "reach and frequency" that works.

ACTIVE marketing… even if and EXPECIALLY if you're looking up the FSBOs, Expireds, and phone numbers by street records… is REALLY inexpensive. And as I mentioned above… even using the latest and best technology; it's only about $250 per month to do ACTIVE marketing… PLUS the emotional cost. It takes a certain type of person to jump on the phone and call strangers who really prefer NOT to hear from you in the vast majority of cases. It's the emotional cost that makes ACTIVE marketing so "expensive"

The reason salespeople resist ACTIVE marketing is BECAUSE of the emotional cost. It's the reason "we" fall for the lead sellers… It's why "we" will give our debit card number to some salesperson who calls us on the telephone from 500 or 1,000 or even 2,000 miles away and sells us the zip code we live in for $100.00 per month without it every occurring to us that the salesman from 1,000 miles away is doing EXACTLY what "we" should be doing…. COLD CALLING. And with embarrassment I'm going to admit actually LISTENING to some guy from Utah working on selling me the zip code I live in here in Wisconsin. I didn't buy but why did I even listen?

I've posted this link before and I think it's appropriate to post it again with regard to ACTIVE marketing… WARNING to the Fuddy-Duddy and Biddy community and other sensitive types offended by strong language… that's just what you'll hear in this clip from this Hollywood movie developed from a script by the great American Playwright David Mamet…

Here's the clip… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY This clip in maybe an abstruse way describes what it takes to be an effective Cold Caller… to ignore the emotional cost of cold calling… If you want THAT message just speed ahead to 5:20 to 5:30. But be sure to also pay particular attention to 2:07 to 2:17, 3:42 to 3:50 and 4:47 to 4:60. This is the clip to watch whenever you have a "difficult" call to make… it should "Steel" you up.

Christopher Cassidy writes in part:

Now, I suppose some might classify the FSBO calls as "cold-calling", but I wouldn't, as they have raised their hands and identified themselves as people who need to sell their home.

Cold calls, a cold call, a warm call, a hot call… let's consider some definitions.

A FSBO that YOU are calling is ALWAYS a cold call. A cold call is where you call someone to sell them a good or service and they are not expecting a call from you and when they DO find you on the phone to some degree or another you the caller WILL receive some level of "sales resistance" from the person you're calling. When a FSBO runs an ad they ARE raising their hands to BUYERS and NOT to real estate licensees who want to list them. So calling a FSBO IS a cold call unless you are a buyer.

A "warm call" is when you're calling someone who is expecting your call. So if a consumer DOES call you as a result of your passive marketing and you return that call… then THAT call is a warm call. The consumer is expecting and more than that WANTS a call from you even if it's not YOU personally but someone from ABC Realty. There is little if no sales resistance triggered by YOU returning someone who called in… at least initially and depending how the call proceeds. Internet marketing is passive marketing. A few days ago I bought a lens and a flash for one of the cameras I use in my Virtual Tour "side business". I did research. I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to buy and I knew exactly who I wanted to buy from based on price. I called in and left a message. When the nice salesperson called me back HE was making a warm call. All he had to do was take my order and send me a receipt and a UPS tracking number.

A "hot call" is when you're 19 year old guy going to college and you call another student… an 18 year old girl who's BFF has told you has a crush on you and would REALLY like to go out with you. The 18 year old girl that you are calling…the one that wants to date you… has specifically instructed her BFF to tell you that she is very interested in you. THAT's a Hot Call. You definitely KNOW you're going to "get the appointment"

Maybe calling up and down a street looking for leads should be called a VERY cold call but calling a FSBO is still definitely a cold call. The FSBO isn't as completely as cold as a random phone number call but it's still a cold call. The FSBO wants a BUYER to call and NOT a real estate salesman. When doing cold calling it is important to get your message in while triggering as little sales resistance as possible. If you don't think of a call as a cold call when it IS a cold call you may overlook this fundamental of cold calling… get your message in without raising sales resistance. Cold calling is about sales resistance!

When you're making a warm call…. Like calling a family member or one of your close friends to ask if they might know someone who is thinking of selling or buying and then you talk about some other personal things you're not raising any sales resistance. THAT's what makes a warm call a warm call and not a cold call. The person you're calling on a warm call knows you, likes you, and wants to talk to you. There's no resistance.

Now it's perfectly OK with me if you want to consider a FSBO something other than a cold call just so long as you TREAT the FSBO as a cold call because if you don't you will definitely run into a LOT of sales resistance and that's not a good thing. A FSBO wants to hear a caller say… 'I saw your ad and the home your selling sounds perfect for me; I'd like to stop by, take a look and maybe we can sign a contract' THAT script from a buyer will not invoke any emotion on the part of a FSBO except sheer JOY. Now imagine YOU, a real estate licensee, delivering almost an identical script… ' I saw your ad and the home your selling sounds perfect for me; I'd like to stop by, take a look and maybe we can sign a contract… a listing contract for 180 days, a 7% commission at a price toward the bottom of my price recommendation range' THAT script WILL evoke sales resistance… likely in the form of click and dial tone…. If a licensee calls a FSBO for the first time and delivers a script as simple as 'Hi this is Randy Realtor from ABC Realty…' the sales resistance will already be there with just those few words. So make no mistake… a cold call is a call that evokes sales resistance. And have a cascade of scripts that will tamp down sales resistance rather than escalate it.

You mentioned "conversion ratios" in your post. If you are ACTIVELY marketing and you fail to treat an outgoing cold call AS a cold call your conversion ratio WILL suffer. Calling someone who left a message responding to one of your PASSIVE marketing messages is DIFFERENT than calling someone running a FSBO ad. Some may take the ATTITUDE… the positive mental attitude… that a cold call is not a cold call because cold calling is emotionally difficult for people who are not desensitized to the emotional aspect of cold calling but NEVER let your "positive mental attitude" over ride reality to your detriment. YOU may not think of a FSBO as a cold call but I can guarantee you in writing that 99.9% of FSBOs will think of you as a cold caller… and that's the point… reacting to what THEY'RE thinking not what YOU'RE thinking.

One more thought on cold calling. Some think that being all smarmy and warm and enthusiastic and agreeable and sunny is the key to talking to strangers. I think that's a mistake… That classic laughing, ever happy, back slapping sales shtick INVOKES sales resistance it doesn't reduce it. Consumers all have that classic salesman's image in mind and resist that. I'm.. as usual too long on this post.. so I'm not going to lay out sample scripts in detail but I will say this… I've found the best approach is to be 'matter of fact' in making cold calls. Of course you're not a downer in attitude but you also shouldn't be ebullient either. Have a smile on your face but otherwise be flat in your delivery and look to take NO for an answer… and when you get that NO then completely and with affective flatness accept that NO, quickly say thanks and good-by and then call for another NO the next time you call and then keep at it. Conceptually, what you are doing when you call FSBOs and Expireds is asking over and over again 'Are you ready yet?' and when they say NO… you accept that completely and call again later and ask the same conceptual question. Some percentage around 80% at some point will stop saying no and say yes. Your job is to be the licensee that get's the yes. Have you ever heard the expression "it's a numbers game?" Of course you have. There is no magic bullet, there are no magic words or perfect scripts. In fact I believe the best script is the script that doesn't sell or convince or attempt to trap a prospect in a logical box… rather the best script is the script that takes no for an answer and shows respect to the prospects 'rate of travel' while knowing that even though many will reach the destination you want they won't arrive there with you and be completely accepting of that… 'numbers game'

No perfect script…. There's just letting people say NO to you and have them feel comfortable with saying that to you by completely accepting the NO… until they're ready to say yes and then be there for the yes.

I have to wonder if Craigslist is more effective in certain markets over others.

I use to get tons of leads from craigslist and now all I get is crap.

Several other agents in our area who used to get quality leads are experiencing the same thing.

PLUS we have had our names hijacked along with listings as a ploy to lure in unsuspecting people looking for housing to rent and they have scammed a multitude in our area.

Fortunately, one person decided to contact me from my website link (can you believe it they even had my website link on the site) and the not the craigslist ad……..It was not even my listing,….it was an APR listing that was for sale but someone hijacked and �had it listed for rent on craigslist.�

Apparently they pick vacant homes, usually either meet the prospective tenant after 7PM or state they are presently out of the country on business but come across as legit and tenants fall for it. So they tell them fill out the application and email back or on line and where to send the money and they will send them a key.

There are reports in areas hit really hard by the crisis that signs were removed and locks were changed to give the appearance they really were the owner or leasing agent to perpetrate their scams……. There was no neighbors to report the goings on….money was exchanged and then the tenants found themselves in quite a predicament when the Realtor showed up who had it listed for sale was at their door wondering what the heck are ya doing here?

It would be amazing if these low life scums would just turn all of that fraudulent energy and lies into something positive……could really make a difference in our communities………….

So with the modern world of advertising now comes another segment no one would have ever wanted to see.

I have had more buyers call on houses due to the listings they found on Zip Realty, Realtor.com or Zillow.

I am not saying craigslist is completely worthless and I still advertise on it but I believe real estate on craigslist is becoming more and more pass� as other avenues of more credence venues are showing up at least in our area.

I can remember the days when at open house I would get comment after comment I saw your ad on craigslist…….hey I know you , you advertise on craigslist…….emails responding to the ads……….

Now what do I get those fraudulent ads that want you to sign up to make quick money even though you have highlighted not to respond with ads . I turn everyone into craigslist scam but there are thousands of them out there now…The internet is phenomenal but also a curse………I guess it is the price to pay to be on the net……..

Terry L. Osburn
Broker Associate/ ePRO�
Alain Pinel Realtors
1646 N. California Blvd.
Plaza Level, Suite 101
Walnut Creek, Ca 94596

Broker License # 01255032

Direct Line 925 627 3006
Cell 925 381 9944
http://www.TerryOsburn.com
http://ccshortsales.com

Have a Great Real Estate Day!

Oh, by the way,I am never too busy for your referrals!



CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
This communication is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed.
It may contain information that is privileged or confidential and/or exempt from disclosure. Any unauthorized disclosure, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone (925 627 3006) or return e-mail and delete the message from your system.
Your assistance in maintaining the integrity of e-mail communications is appreciated.