Follow Up: The act of making an absurdly low offer on a house, hearing “no,” and then pestering the seller once a month for all of eternity until he breaks down, cries uncle and signs the freakin’ contract. Not to be confused with “stalking,” “psycho-dialing,” or any other term implicative of emotional instability on the part of the follow-upper.
Preston Ely here, and let me start out by openly confessing that in my numerous years as a real estate rock star, until recently, I never followed up with one single person.
Not ever.
It’s just not my thing.
My thing is to make mass loads of offers and just see what falls in my lap. Because I stay so busy and tend to be fairly effective at first bat… this has worked out well for me in the past.
But was this the smartest thing to do?
Um… no.
I left a lot of money on the table due to my laziness.
I got a call one time from a lady who received my probate letter over a year and a half before! She wanted to know if I still wanted her house. They weren’t ready to sell then… but called me when they were ready.
I get those types of calls from time to time. But I wonder how many MORE of them I would get if I had purposefully followed up with all those sellers who said “no.”
“Success comes from taking the initiative and following up… persisting.”
~Anthony Robbins
You can’t not follow up
A Harvard Business study thingamajig that I swear exists somewhere (but I can’t remember where) reports that a majority of sales occur on the 5th touch.
Not a sexual touch, mind you. Those will not get you anywhere but jailed.
I mean a “communication” touch. You speak to them or send written correspondence of some sort.
A good friend of mine who runs a huge mailing house told me recently that they are seeing 80% response rates on their monthly follow-up mailers.
80%!
That means, send out 100 letters to motivated sellers and 80 will call you back.
The national average for direct response is 1.5%.
Would you rather have 80 people call with houses to sell or 1.5?
Me personally, I’d rather have 80 for no other reason than that 1/2 a person would freak me right the heck out. I’ve never met a 1/2 a person, and frankly, I was hoping I never would. You do what you want, though.
In light of Harvard’s totally real study that exists, doesn’t it make sense to follow up with all your leads at least 5 times?
It does unless you’re lazy like me and totally averse to systems, organization and tracking in general.
I HATE that crap. I’m not a “details” guy. I hit homeruns and go home. Period.
That’s why you’ve gotta have systems in place that make following up all but effortless. Including for your direct mail marketing.
So… follow up with all your “no” responses every 30 days. 30 days is plenty of time to convince a non-motivated seller that he should convert himself to a more motivated type of seller.
It can be as simple as calling him/her up and saying:
“Hi Bob/Bobette, I spoke with you last month about your property at 1234 Non-Motivated Boulevard. I just wanted to check back with you and see if you had managed to sell it yet.”
Then shut up and see what he/she says.
Be a masterful negotiator and take it from there, okay?
Make it happen!
Tell me about your FUs
What’s your system for following up? Share below.
Don’t be lazy – follow up, every time, every lead.
Follow up repeatedly, knowing that the 5th communication usually gives you the win.
Put processes and systems in place in your business to make following up a breeze.
Preston Ely
is a real estate investor, serial entrepreneur, life coach, musician and philanthropist. CEO of Real Freedom, Inc, one of the most influential internet-based information publishers in the world, owns the largest Anytime Fitness Gym in the United States, is recording a music album with Atlantic Records, sits on the board of Advocates Of Love Orphanage, and has a non-profit charity assisting the poor and oppressed in Cuba with both their physical and spiritual needs.
With over 200,000 subscribers to his email newsletter, he is rapidly fulfilling his mission on earth, which is to glorify God by setting people physically, mentally, financially, and spiritually free through his music and his message of FREEDOM. Preston is 37 years old, lives in Tampa, FL with his wife Ashley, where he spends most of his time reading, writing, and practicing mixed martial arts.