Thank you to all the real estate agents, investors, attorneys, and others who joined us to share their probate success stories and unique solutions to the different situations presented by probate leads! Some key topics include solidifying relationships when a seller says they have everything handled, approaching attorneys that want to know what’s in it for them, and ideas for finding the right pool of buyers for probate deals.
Call Re-cap:
•Joe asks about dealing with sensitive situations, such as when a young person dies. How long should you wait to follow up? Jim advises to go with your gut, but always remember that these situations always involve grief. A week might be too soon, but a few weeks down the road and perhaps even after a follow-up mailing would be ideal.
•Joe adds that even though he is new to All The Leads, he has been doing really well with attorneys. He started by setting appointments to see them, got in there and discussed the value he can bring, and left brochures. One even let him set up a brochure rack. It’s always a good idea to market to attorneys alongside the personal executives.
•Jim gives a reminder that in our CRM, you are able to opt leads out of mailings and out of callings if you don’t
•Clayton returns today – He designed a tri-fold and found some local attorneys he plans to reach out to, and is curious about approach agents in a similar way as an investor. Jim also suggests writing in the All The Leads Mastermind group on Facebook to network with realtors in his area.
•Grant from Chicago suggests getting some information from title companies and using that as leverage while building attorney relationships. He also asks, besides taking some weight off an attorney’s shoulders, what forward incentive can he give for working together? Most attorneys that do probate also do some time of estate planning, trusts, etc… You can offer these services to your sphere to help families you work with avoid probate and make referrals reciprocal.
•Mike from South Texas has some questions about the Do Not Call List. Jim estimates that our subscribers have made several millions of calls, and we have never heard of one complaint. Jim states that the decision was pro-active and meant to provide more information to our clients. We provide Federal, State, and Local DNC lists, and also crosscheck against known-litigators lists. These are public records and you are reaching out to help.
•Tim adds that most of the numbers we pull for attorneys are actually direct or personal numbers, and this can explain why their numbers can appear on the DNC despite their position as a court servant. It’s always a good idea to look up their office number as well.
•Caller is looking to cut down on the time they spend calling. Some leads come with multiple numbers, and he is most concerned about speaking to the personal representative or their spouse. He is manually removing additional numbers to save time. Is there a better way? Tim describes we are in the process of concatenation to fill each position in the lead sheet efficiently.
•James is curious what to do when he reaches a bank while calling. It is a very small percentage of cases where a bank will be appointed (such as when a person had no family left, or the deceased didn’t trust their family members at all). Ask flat out what the criteria is to get on their third party services list, then say “I can do those things” instead of listing your services first and getting shut down.
•James also wants to know when someone seems like they are about to hang up, saying “No I’ve got it covered,”is it worth trying to grab them quickly? Jim brings up the vacant home question “Ok great, before you hang up, just want to make sure you’ve gotten the homeowner’s insurance changed on the property?” Other times, they are just giving you a general objection. Simply mention that you hear that often, but suggest things one at a time like “I see you live far away, do you have someone taking care of cleaning out the home? Is there anything I can help you with there?”
•Tim also adds, if you give up on a lead then you’ve lost it. It’s always worth it to keep going, and throw in that you have someone curious about buying the property – that buyer is you, your investors, your sphere. It will at least help you figure out if there is real estate they will need to make a decision on.
•Next caller had the same question. He double closes on most properties, using a transactional funder. He offers his success in handling the “I already have a realtor” objection: “Well what do you need a realtor for when you have a buyer on the phone right now?”
•Cliff asks when the leads come in and when they are delivered, what is the gap of time between? We give the probate leads when they are filed. Sometimes a house could already be listed because they are working obituaries and death certificates, which as a company we feel is too predatory to service under our brand. Other times, it is purely the initiative of the family member to deal with the house as soon as a death occurs.
•Cliff also asks what to do when you reach a voicemail? It depends on how often you plan to call. If you’re going to call multiple times this week, it’s probably best to wait and leave a voicemail on the last call. If you’re spacing your calls out, go ahead and leave a message. Leaving a generic message also tends to work better: “Hey this is Cliff. I noticed you’re the personal representative for the _______ estate. I had an important message I wanted to discuss if you could give me a call back.”
•Ben calls back in after joining our roleplay call yesterday. If we get through to the PR and get through the questions, what should we do with the other numbers? When you’ve gotten the right person, you can quit calling down the list but it’s always a good idea to ask the PR if they’d like to include anyone else in the decision-making process?
•Ben also asked about the types of deals. He is in a big college town and was curious about what percentage of probate deals are good wholesale opportunities? A great trick here is to find investors who are looking for buy-and-hold income properties, that way when he comes across these college houses as part of a probate, you have an audience ready to look for.