Last week my partner got a call from a lady who mentioned that she got our number from “a friend”. The call was a strange one because the lady did not want to give us any information about who she got our number from, only that she heard we are buying houses up in Trenton. I like a few things about this call, one of which is not the reluctance of the person to give us any information about who referred her. My partner figured it out later after connecting some dots.
What I Like #1: Our Name Is Out There
Even though we haven’t bought a thing in Trenton just yet, our name is being circulated around the area. We want to invest in Trenton for sure. It’s going to be a slow and steady build and the key is to stay consistent. We are weeding out the “war zone” areas right now so we can concentrate on the investor friendly areas more going into the future.
Have you ever heard of Viral Marketing? This method will build your name and reputation faster then any other form of marketing period. My wife’s home town boggles my mind at how fast news can spread. Tell one person some information that is worth spreading and it’ll be around the town in minutes. Being a house buyer won’t work quite this well, but to a lesser extent the news that you are buying houses in an area could spread.
What I Like #2: The Referral
One of the best ways to get a deal is through a referral. The reason is because you will already have the trust of the seller from the beginning. I always trust something or someone if one of my friends tells me about them. Granted this lady was far from trusting, but we got a call from someone we never sent a letter to. That is great!
One way to get referrals is to simple ask for them in your direct mail. I have yet to do that, but plan on it in my next batch. Just simple put a P.S. at the end of your letter saying..
“If you know of anyone else who is interested in selling their property, please give them our number and we’d be happy to speak with them.”
If you really want to go for it, you may even offer a cash incentive if you close a deal that was referred. I’m not going to do this, but it is not an uncommon practice.
Does anyone else have any good tips for getting a referral?
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Comments 6
It is my experience when they act like this on the phone that they are the ones who got the letter in the mail and they are aware you may know certain information about them… like financial problems or mortgage info…. so they are evasive and say they were referred… so they can feel you out as to what you know…. I have found out afterwards many times that they were on my mailing list….
Author
In this case, another lead called and asked if the person they had given our number to called. But usually I would agree with your assessment.
Way to go Scott! Asking for referrals has always been the best way to go, but a lot of times we fail to do that. Simple stuff that we just need to implement.
Author
Tell me about it, I have forgotten to ask many many many times.
Referrals are awesome! It’s funny when people tell you that so and so gave them your name and number and you have no idea who they are.
Author
Have you ever been caught pretending you remember the person who gave the caller your number?