Replying To Ads To Find Dream Team Members

In previous articles I talked about various methods of building a strong dream team for your real estate investing business. In this article I will be sharing with you some tips on how to reply to dream team members that are already advertising to get the best response.

Before I get started, I have to tell you about my experiences, and the experiences of other investors who I have worked with and talked to about this exact process. If you have not tried to call or e-mail a business that has marketing out - expecting a prompt call back - you will be shocked (at least I was shocked) at the very small percentage of them that actually return telephone calls or e-mails.

Personally, I just don't get it. If, as a business owner, you were going to advertise something, wouldn't it make sense to return telephone calls from potential clients calling on your ads? Wouldn't it make sense to reply to e-mails from people that are asking for more information? Well, that's what you are up against.

Recently, I was considering selling one of about 10 different rental properties in one of the cities that I invest in. So, here's what I did: I went to my favorite search engine and to CraigsList and I contacted, via e-mail or via their website "request info" form, 10 different real estate agents/brokers to contact me about selling my rental property. To each one I submitted a different property address, as if I was just a regular seller looking to sell just that one property. Guess what happened? I received ONE return call; that is 1 callback from 10 inquiries. Every time I tell that story I am surprised anew with just how unbelievable it is.

So, let's look at some quick tips when replying to ads for finding dream team members:

Tip #1: Tell them What's In It For Them

When you contact someone for information, you should tell them why they should reply to you. If it is a lender, tell them you are an investor and you are looking for someone who can do loans for you and your buyers on your investment properties. If it's another investor, tell them you are looking to buy properties if they have any for sale and/or that you occasionally come across deals that do not work for you and would like to be able to pass them along if they are interested (wholesaling).

Tip #2: Make It Easy For Them To Contact You

E-mail and web forms (which are often sent via e-mail to the website owner) are not perfect. E-mail you send can get sent to spam folders, get lost in cyberspace, and, occasionally can be swallowed whole by your computer. Likewise, responses to e-mails have the same challenges on their way back to you. Always include alternative ways to contact you like a phone number, fax or mailing address when you contact people via e-mail. And, if it is important enough for you to get through, follow up yourself (remember my 1 out of 10 from above)?

If you are calling and leaving a message, please speak your name and number slowly. Repeat your telephone number slowly. Repeat your telephone number slowly. Yes, I said that twice for effect. I can't tell you the number of times that someone leaving me a message from their cell phone had a momentary, fraction of a second, interruption in service just when they were saying an important name or number on their message. If they repeat it, the chance of it happening at the same moment is small, but when you only say your number once—or really, really, fast - you are telling me, "Don't bother calling me back."

A tip on saying names: you'd think that with a popular name like James, I wouldn't have a problem with people getting my name wrong from voice mail messages. You might think my name was Jane though if you knew how many people mistake "James Orr" for "Jane Orr" when I leave a message in my adult male voice, so I will usually spell my name when I leave a message now. My name is not that hard folks, so if people are getting mine wrong, they might have some trouble with yours too.

Tip #3: To Follow Up or Not To Follow Up

I hate chasing people. But there is a gray area between chasing someone who is intentionally not calling you back and giving someone the benefit of the doubt that maybe they really didn't receive your e-mail or couldn't make out your number from your voice mail. It is possible that their phone service deleted your message (yes, it happens rarely) or that some other unusual event occurred that prevented you from making contact.

So, I do recommend following up, especially if you see a potentially good fit from the ad they put out. Wait a day or two and try again, referencing that you already left a message, but have not heard back.

Until my next post,

James