No Does Not Mean No Opportunity

"Accepting the no" is one of the biggest mistakes real estate investors can make when cold calling sellers. When reaching out to property owners for the first time, the biggest mistake you can make when the seller tells you that they are not interested in selling is saying something like "Oh, ok, no problem," and hanging up the phone. When someone says no, that doesn't mean there is no opportunity; it simply means they are not ready. However, just because THEY are not ready for that SPECIFIC house does not mean they are not interested in selling another home they own or even providing a referral for another home on their street.

With every phone call that is made the mindset needs to be "either I am going to get the lead or get a referral".

We Are Not In The "Sales Business"...We Are In The Problem Solving Business

When prospecting over the phone, let me make something VERY clear. We are not in the sales business, meaning we are not under any circumstance going to try to convince a property owner to sell, as that would be the second biggest mistake you can make. I say try because we can't solve a problem that someone doesn't have. We can't create the need; the need must be there from the start, and if there is no need, then the property owner is not a good candidate for us, or they are not at the phase in their life where we can solve their problem. Implementing this one piece of advice can save you hours, days, or months from spending the right amount of time with the wrong people.

You want to be a "welcomed guest, not an uninvited pest." - Dan Kennedy

Here's a situation we can help: let's say a property owner lost a family member recently, inherited a property, was not in a financially stable position to manage the property, and have no idea where to turn. On top of everything, they also have the burden of deciding what they will do with a property they are not prepared to own. During this time, the inherited owner might even have family members coming out of the woodwork pressuring them to sell so they can get their share of the pie once the property sells. One day you give this property owner a call, and they welcome the call with open arms because you can solve their problem! Now you are not a pest but instead a welcomed guest! The seller is delighted that you have called and now you can be the solution to their problem!

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Cold-calling property owners can be very lucrative, and I know this because I have built an entire business around it, but it is all about timing. Our goal is to make the right call, at the right time, to the right property owner and solve the right problem! If the property owner has no reason to sell other than "if they get the right offer," then they are not a good prospect, and you will want to check the motivation of the lists you are dialing on.

The One Question You Should Be Asking Every Potential Seller

Ok, now that we have covered the psychology of a call, let's talk about the number one question you should be asking every single seller. You will ask this question regardless of whether they are interested in selling, not interested in selling, wrong number, or any other type of call result. The automatic question you should ask at the end of every single call is this:"Do you have any other properties that you would consider selling, maybe something that needs a bit of work?"  I promise that asking this one simple question at the end of every call will nearly DOUBLE your lead flow and potentially your deal flow! I have all my coaching clients ask this question at the end of every call, and the results speak for themselves. I've had situations where a homeowner said they were not interested in selling but referred me to a friend down the road. Now guess what? When I call the property owner's friend down the road, I am no longer cold-calling. I am WARM calling because I can directly reference their good friend who asked me to give them a call. After all, they felt I was uniquely qualified to help them! Pretty cool, right?

In Summary

If you don't ask for the sale or the referral, you will never get it. Make it a habit to ask this one question:"Do you have any other properties that you would consider selling, maybe something that needs a bit of work?" and watch your leads, referrals, and closed deals soar!

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To Your Success,

- Chris Logan

P.S. By the way, if you'd like to discover how to get access to the BEST deals in your market and sidestep the competition you should check out the FREE training I am doing this week HERE. Take care.

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