In our last issue, I’d promised to deliver to you a fast, easy, and FREE way of getting a good chunk of motivated Seller Leads, so that you could start filling your pipeline full of deals, in order to avoid the dreaded condition known as “One-Deal-Itis!” Sound familiar? Great! We’re all caught up.

In this issue, you’re going to learn exactly what information you need to compile about each lead you’re going after. Remember, we’re targeting For Sale By Owner leads (aka FSBOs), and we’ve also selected Craigslist.com as a source for those leads.

But let me also point out that there are many other sites you can use to gather a nice list of leads, such as Fsbo.com, ForSaleByOwner.com (yes, they’re separate sites), Owners.com, and others.

You’re also about to get a sweet script to use when calling these FSBO leads.

Ready? Here we go…

Here’s the Information You’ll Need to Put Together for the Initial Spreadsheet:

1. Link for the AD on CL/FSBO site. Easiest to just cut & paste it in.
2. Email address for that ad. (It will be a special Craigslist email, but don’t worry)
3. Quick details of the house (Notes about it. Just a few. You can copy/paste.)
4. Asking Price.
5. Location & address of house (obviously)
6. Make sure you leave some room, because you’ll also be getting other important info you need, such as What the house is Worth (ARV), What they OWE, What the Repairs are, if the Payments are Current or not, why they’re selling, etc.

Once you’ve gotten yourself all organized & ready to go, it’s time to make some calls!
We also like to call this part, “Dialing For Dollars,” but feel free to call it whatever you like.

This is the part where most people freeze up & just don’t do anything. Why? Because they’re either scared or unprepared. So let’s fix both of those right now. The only reason you’d feel unprepared is because you don’t have the foggiest idea of what to say to the seller if & when they pick up the phone!

Ok, that’s easily overcome by the simple script I’m about to give you.

Now, if you’re simply scared to make some calls, I understand! Hey, we’ve all been there before.

So I’ll tell you what. Why not just pick up the phone & call your best friend. Try doing a little role-play with them, but don’t let it take longer than 5 minutes…TOPS!

I can practically guarantee that your friend will probably be tougher than most sellers you talk to. Hey, all these people want to do (most of the time) is just sell their house. And your job is to simply call enough people, read off the script, fill in a few lines, and find which ones are out there that you can work with that are possibly a deal!

Feeling better yet? Great! So let’s get to the Batphone! Now, before you start, make sure you’re set up & organized. Have their website ad page open in front of you while you talk to them, AND have a pen & piece of paper to write NOTES on….VERY IMPORTANT!!!

If you have a Property Info Sheet from a good course, USE IT! Print it out one & write on it. In fact, print out a bunch of them to use for when you talk to sellers. You’ll need ’em.

Here’s a Simple Outline of a Script You Can Use (Practice This!):

You should start off w/ something like, “Hi, I’m calling about the ad I saw on Craigslist about the house for sale … IS THE HOUSE STILL AVAILABLE?”

I always like to start off w/ that, because it gets right to the point & makes sure I’m talking to the right person. Plus, it psychologically draws the seller in to you, because they feel like they have someone interested. (Evil, devious secret #1!)

If the house is still available, you then quickly introduce yourself & ask for their name. (“Hi! My name is Tony. What’s yours?”)

Next, you tell them that you’d like to ask a few questions about the house if they have a minute, and ask if that’s ok. (More psychology at work here, hahaha!)

Start your questions by saying that you saw the ad & the house looks (great, nice, lovely, whatever), then say you’d like to confirm what you read in the ad. This shows them that you’re real and that you’ve really read their ad.

Confirm the number of beds & baths, square footage, etc. The simple, obvious stuff. Ask when the house was built. Ask what kind of condition it’s in… Is it move-in ready? Does it need any work? If it needs work, what kind & how much would it cost to fix up?

Then ask WHY they’re selling the house. Here are some nice, magic words I like to use: “(First Name), it sounds like a really nice house! May I ask why you’re selling at this time?” WRITE DOWN what they say.

DON’T SKIP THAT PART – IT’S ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF INFORMATION YOU’RE GATHERING!! It lets you know what their true ‘Hot Button’ is for selling, so when you construct & present your offer, you can frame & present it around that point. It also opens things up for the next wave of important questions.

Ask “Do you have a mortgage on the house, or do you own it free & clear?” (I made up that phrase & it works great, so use it.) Most people will have a mortgage, so you’d need to next ask them,

“Ok, about how much do you still owe on it?” “And how much are your monthly payments? Does that include Taxes & Insurance, or do you pay that separately?”

If you’ve gotten this far with a seller, and they’re still answering your questions, congratulate yourself, because you’re doing great! Actually, most conversations you have should go this well. After all, you’re just gathering information by asking a few questions. Just keep it simple!

I hate to have to do this, but we’ve run out of time (and space)! So join us NEXT month for the next installment. We’re going to complete the script and cover how to handle some objections. Important stuff that you don’t want to miss!

We’ll see you next month, right here.

Tony Pearl