Hey, gang.
Here’s another good lesson from our private money madman, Patrick Riddle.
Patrick is a machine in the private money arena, and in addition to cranking-out the deals, he also creates lots of good content for us here at Mogul.
Check-out our archive of Patrick’s previous lessons about Funding strategies and Inner Game mindsets, then read on to learn about his 7 “smooth sayings” for following-up with private money prospects.
7 Smooth Sayings for Following-Up with Private Money Prospects
Alright, so you've used my previous lesson to explain my PowerPoint presentation to your private money prospect. Now what?
It’s time to follow up...
Many of your private lenders will require consistent follow-up to get them to fund a deal. So it’s important that you position your opportunities in such a way that you’re continually building massive rapport, interest and desire.
To help you do this, here are 7 “power phrases” I use that will make your prospects more motivated to say “YES” to your next deal.
1. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
First off, asking this question from the get-go is just a common courtesy that far too many of us have forgotten. You never know if you're interrupting something important, or if you're diving right into your private money chit-chat while they're in the middle of dealing with something else entirely.
So it would be really great to just get in the habit of asking this at the start of any conversation before you dive right in.
If you happen to catch your private lender prospect at a bad time, you certainly want to know it, right? Because they'll likely not be paying attention to what you’re saying. You need their attention to be intently focused on you. You need mental buy-in to even having the conversation with you.
So when you realize it’s not a good time to talk, simply ask them what would be a better time for you to call them back. Don’t let them tell you that they’ll get back to you. You want to remain in control, so keep your hands on the steering wheel of the follow-up conversation.
2. "I thought of you when this opportunity came up and called you first…"
People naturally have an innate urge to want to feel appreciated and important. It's actually one of the top things that people want most out of life across the board, whether they fully realize it or not.
So how can you make them feel appreciate and important? How can you make them feel special?
By saying, “Hey, I thought of you,” and “called you first,” to your prospects.
Of course, they have to believe it. Meaning you want to come off as sincere, and not like a slick used car salesman who slyly "thought of you" just when he saw his latest junker hit the lot. So be subtle and sincere in making them feel genuinely special.
3. "This probably isn't right for you but…"
This subtle Jedi mind trick puts you squarely in the unmotivated (aka reluctant) role – Which is exactly where you always want to be.
The deal is, with these 7 little words, you’re politely disqualifying the person from what you’re offering. And human nature is that we almost always hate to see ourselves as somehow unqualified for your opportunity.
This also takes you out of the salesman role in their minds. When most people think of a salesman, they think of someone shoving nothing but positive features and benefits down their throat, and always pushing towards a sale. Dropping a quick "This probably isn't right for you . . .” in a casual, friendly, non-condescending way – well it flat-out turns this on its ear.
It disarms their innate defenses against you as a "salesman" and actually makes them more interested in seeing if they can, in fact, prove themselves worthy by "qualifying" for your deal after all.
It may seem a little counter-intuitive, but it’s a powerful way to use language to your benefit. Use it and see for yourself.
4. "I've got an excellent opportunity for the right person, not sure if that’s you…"
This is along similar lines to the previous one, but it goes a little further in affirming the quality of your deal.
This statement conveys that it’s not a question whether or not the investing opportunity you have is good… the only question is whether the prospect is the “right” person.
Then, you can finish it off with another “...not sure if that’s you” to once again remind them that you're not a salesman here.
5. "I’m going to have this deal financed by (x-date), so if you are interested, I’ll need to know soon…"
Promote urgency and scarcity!
Letting the prospect know that you’ll have the deal financed by a certain date does two things…
(i) It tells them they need to act fast if they want to get involved, and
(ii) It positions you as a confident businessman. It’s not a matter of whether or not you’ll get it financed; it’s a matter of who will take advantage of your opportunity the quickest, and enjoy the inevitable gains to come.
Having a limited number or a limited time frame will always increase response no matter your product or service. If you have confidence in yourself and your investments, other people will too.
6. "When should I expect to hear back from you?"
So your prospect has shown interest and told you they would think about it or check on the availability of their funds or talk to their spouse.
Now you need to clearly define the next step as far as your communication goes, so ask them very specifically when you can expect to hear back from them. Make sure they are specific with their answer (as in “next Monday”).
Then I usually follow up their response with, “Okay, Monday sounds great. And I know that we’re both busy people. If I haven’t heard from you by Monday afternoon at 3:00pm, do you mind if I follow up with you?”
7. "Would you like me to notify you of our next opportunity?"
This one ensures that the people on your follow-up list actually want to continue being contacted with future opportunities.
I found that everyone I contacted was delighted to hear from me and be presented with the opportunity, even if they weren't interested at the time. But it's always a good idea to make sure, and to set an expectation that they will be contacted by you again next time.
Initiate Contact – Use this previous lesson from Patrick Riddle to explain his PowerPoint presentation to your private money prospect(s).
Maintain Regular Dialogue – Since many of your private lenders will require consistent follow-up, position your opportunities in such a way that you’re continually building massive rapport, interest and desire.
Speak Strategically – Use Patrick’s 7 “power phrases” to motivate your prospects towards saying “YES” to funding your next deal.
Patrick Riddle
has been investing in real estate ever since he got the bug in college at Clemson University and - to his parents dismay - dropped out of college to dive full-time into real estate at the age of 22 with a couple friends/partners from school.
The first few deals were rough for them, mainly using their own cash, credit, and hard money loans. But, soon he found out that was a rough and unsustainable way to build a real estate business.
After "on the job" learning through the school of hard knocks at first, he found the key that helped their company get deals done more quickly, with higher profit, less risk, without having to go to banks or use their own cash.
Fast forward to today, their company has closed over 130 real estate transactions and has put over $6 million in private money into their own transactions.