Around ½ of My Deals Over The Years Have Come From This

Cam Dunlap here, about to kick off 2024 with a super helpful REI concept this Friday morning.

It’s something that’s frequently overlooked by most investors — they’re so focused on generating leads that they almost always miss the ball on this one.

Here it is: tapping into and monetizing the pile of profits that’s hiding in plain sight from all the leads who said, ”No” to your offer.

Let me be very clear — following up with sellers who said no to your offers can be immensely valuable. It’s an important lesson worth really wrapping your head around and today, I’m sharing an example of exactly how I do it. 

The caller’s dilemma…

“I was just wondering if there was an easier way of finding properties to put under contract because a lot of the people I’ve called in the Motivated Seller Data Feed said they were not interested in selling.”

BTW: The Motivated Seller Data Feed is a software tool I created that helps investors identify, yep, you guessed it, motivated seller leads.

Ok, here’s probably the best takeaway I can offer…

When a seller says no to your offer, what they really mean is “not yet”, “just not right now” or “I’m not ready but if you’d please check back with me about it later, I’d really appreciate it.”

You don’t want to pester them, but just gently get back in touch in some way to let them know you’re still out there and you’re still willing to buy the property – regularly, as demonstrated by my deals over the years. 

And in all likelihood, when you are following up with the seller, they’re going to like you more and think you’re more professional. When the seller finally realizes they really need to sell the house and right now — because you followed up with them, you will be top of mind. 

That’s the power of follow-up. 

Now, when a motivated seller, even and especially from the Motivated Seller Data Feed, implies that they’re not motivated, you’ve got to be careful about 2 things:

1. Never let them know you found them on a list of motivated sellers.
   
2. Never point out the things that you know about their property and their situation. When you’re talking to somebody who’s in the Motivated Seller Data Feed, the last thing you want to do is let them know that you know what they’re dealing with. 

If you let the seller know either of those 2 things — that you know what’s motivating them and that they’re on a list — they will feel like you’ve invaded their privacy, probably get defensive, not like you very much and almost for sure… not sell you their house.

Of course, we know exactly what’s motivating this seller simply by looking at that data, because it comes from public record. That stuff is not pluck-from-air, made-up crap. It is a public record. It is real. 

Now, whether or not the seller is facing the music today is up to them. But eventually, they will. And if you are top of mind at that time, if you have been kind enough to stay in touch and to show how professional you are, show how likable you are, you will likely get that deal. 

And it’s like a pipeline… 

When you talk to a seller and they indicate that they’re not motivated or they have no desire to sell right now, you’ve got a couple of choices at that moment. 

• You could get discouraged, which is common.

Or

• You could find a polite way to get their email address if you don’t already have it or skip trace them and probably get it without having to ask. 

And begin the follow-up process…

You’d then add them to the autoresponder system in iFliP, another tool I created, which automatically sends them a message that you previously composed and set up on an interval — typically ~30 days — that has an opt-out link, so they can opt-out if they don’t want to hear from you again.

So, when they hit reply, it comes right back to your inbox. 

Pro Tip: The series of follow-up messages that you’ll send out should be sent in roughly 30-day intervals. What I mean by roughly is, it’s important not to appear robotic. So, 28 days, 32 days, 27 days, with a message that is not the same as the previous or any other one that they’ve received thus far. Though, the general message is similar: 

“Hey, it’s me again, and I just thought I’d touch base with you and let you know I’m still here. So if you decide you’d like to sell your property, I’m a ready, willing, and able buyer. My contact info is below and you can reply to this message.

It’s all automated and super simple. You use the same series of messages sent at the specified intervals for all the sellers you follow up with.  So set it up once and then simply “subscribe” the next seller who says no to your offer and let the Autoresponder do the work!

And if your stats follow mine, roughly half the deals you do over time will come from sellers that originally told you no but that you followed up with.  And remember that as a rule, other investors (aka your competition) simply don’t do this. They hear no from a seller and move on.

That’s 30 years of experience talking right there. 

In fact, studies show that with anything, it takes 7 touches or contacts before you get a “Yes.”

Following up with the seller is like gold. 

Now go get it.

Happy New Year!
Cam