My Painless 'Non-Script' For Talking To...

fix it Hey Moguls, the awesome Rob Swanson is here today with a terrific lesson. Rob has already done two amazing training calls, which you should definitely check out here and here.

Here’s a quick reminder about Rob… with more than 10 years of experience, Rob’s a real estate investor, educator and an expert in wholesaling, structuring deals and raising money. As the President and CEO of The RMS Companies, Rob oversees the purchase, renovation and liquidation of residential real estate. (See what we mean by expert?!)

So, we’re gonna let Rob take it away with another powerful lesson…

From Rob Swanson…

I have a question for you...

How are you at talking to motivated sellers? Does the idea of “selling on the phone” still send you into a tailspin?

Well, once you follow the points in this lesson, that dread will become history for you. (Cue the cheering!)

I don’t think I have to tell you that one of the things that you need to focus on, and get good at, is talking to motivated sellers. If you can't talk to a motivated seller and move them down the path toward making an offer – and you solving their problem by buying their house – your business will definitely suffer.

So, in this lesson, I want to give you a framework to go by that even the most subdued, non-salesy person can follow. Because this is not about sales. This is about:

Building Rapport

Solving Problems

Change Your Mindset; Change Your Attitude

Once you get that mindset, your attitude will be forever changed. You don’t need to be a salesperson to be wildly successful in this business. Whew! You may be heaving a sigh of relief because you know that you definitely are not a salesperson…

salesman And that can be a very good thing. Your attention will be tuned toward listening to this seller’s problem and finding ways to solve it – as opposed to thinking about how you’re going to land this sale.

From a marketing standpoint, as business owners and as real estate investors, we need to get good at having leads coming into our business. That’s the selling part. Once those leads are coming in, the sales part stops and the rapport building begins. When you pick up the phone and talk to a motivated seller, or any seller for that matter, you can follow this introductory script below and make sure you include these 5 points:

Who
What
How
Why
Fair

Once you get beyond this point, you'll be able to move to an entirely different level of rapport with your potential customer.

Who

Here's how it begins... a lead comes in; it hits your lead sheet. You call the seller back. The seller answers the phone and you say:

"Hi, my name is [your name] and I'm a local real estate investor. I'm buying houses in the area."

And with that, you've just introduced yourself in this first sentence.

At this point, some sellers are going to say: "I don't want to work with an investor. I don't want a low-ball offer." And they may end the conversation. They may swear at you. They may hang up. This is good! You just saved yourself 15 minutes.

Consider yourself lucky, because by starting your conversation and telling them upfront who you are, you're being open and honest. You're upfront and 100% transparent. This is the best way to weed out those who have no interest in dealing with you.

What

After introducing yourself, you want to get permission to continue: "Am I catching you at a good time?"

what Hopefully, they'll say, "Yeah, now is an okay time."

They might say: "Oh, are you the guy who sent me the postcard?" Or, "Are you calling me back from the form that I filled out on the internet about selling my house?"

You're going to answer “Yes.”

Now, they may have a question for you with regard to what you do and you can simply explain: "I buy houses just like yours."

How

Next, you need to answer the question of "how."

"How do you buy houses?" they might ask, to which you explain that you can buy all-cash or on terms – depending on that seller’s situation.

So, you’d say: “The way I do that is I either by paying all cash, if you would like to close quickly, or I can buy on terms if you would prefer to receive monthly payments."

See how we're doing this? We're explaining right upfront what we do and how we do it in an easy-to-understand way.

Why

The next piece is a critical step in the process. Once you go from who you are, what you do and how you do it, the seller is naturally thinking: "Why do you do this? What's in it for you? Are you going to scam me or take advantage of me?"

You need to take that concern and that fear away early on in your introductory script...

"Mr. Seller/Ms. Seller, what I do is I buy houses, generally at a significant discount, and this is how I put food on the table at my house. This is how I feed my family."

So right up front, you want to relate to the seller. Nobody can argue with the fact that you buy houses to put food on your table. This is probably the most important step in the process because you can build rapport right here with the why, and show them how you are concerned and you care about solving their problem.

As a little side note here, always remember that we are not in the house business. We're in the people business. When we buy houses for pennies on the dollar or take over payments in cash flow, we're solving someone's problem. So, rather than you thinking, "How can I structure this deal to buy this house?" instead think, "How can I structure this deal to solve their problem?"

Put the other person ahead of yourself and you’ll be more successful. This isn't about you. This is about solving their problem. And if you can build rapport, put their needs first and explain who, what, how and why, you'll be more successful than most other real estate investors out there.

Fair

This is where I simply say, "Mr. Seller, if there's a way for us to do business and solve your problems with your current property, I promise to make you a fair offer."

And stop right there… give a brief pause, and then say: "Would that work for you?"

That last line is one of my favorites. Because it absolutely works!

Summing Up

So, that’s your introductory script when talking to motivated sellers. (You’re welcome.)

Follow it and you’ll lose your dread of talking on the phone and I guarantee that you’ll be more successful. Now practice the script and go hop on the horn!