Cam Dunlap here with an interesting question that came into my podcast hotline…
“I’ve taken your advice and have a virtual assistant calling leads from the Motivated Seller Data Feed, but we’re getting almost all disconnected numbers. What does that mean? What can/should we do about that?”
First, I’m grateful the caller is using my system, the Motivated Seller Data Feed, and second, I applaud them for pressing forward despite a roadblock.
Now, to the good stuff…
My first thought is: I’m not going to take a VA’s word for it that almost ALL those numbers were wrong.
If a recording picks up saying the number is no longer in use, then obviously that number did ring to that person at one time.
The only way to know would be to actually speak to someone who tells you that your VA has the wrong number or that the number is no longer in service.
I’ll be blunt: Your VA is not speaking to enough people on the list of leads to call to make that claim.
They’re likely getting a lot of voicemails. (And, BTW, the VA should DEFINITELY be leaving a voicemail!)
How do I know they’re probably getting voicemails?
Because we do this! I’ve got VAs doing calls. And we do live calls during our events. I’m using the system, too, of course.
But let’s say you do have a disconnected number. Then what?
You might say it’s a dead lead.
And I’m here to tell you: Heck no!
So keep reading… I’m about to change your perspective on this.
When you’re unable to reach a seller — who’s got a stack of motivations — because the phone number is out of service… for me, that moves them up on the ladder of my interest in them, because of the likelihood of them being very, very motivated.
When sellers have a problem, they stop paying their cell phone — it doesn’t ring to them anymore. That’s a sign of motivation.
So, let’s say your VA says, “All these were disconnects or no longer in service.”
Well, find them!
Try direct mail, an email, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram…
Again, when the phone doesn’t work, you’re looking at a seller who’s potentially more motivated than you even realized.
Let me give you another example of the same thinking… matching address.
Let’s say in my system, you see an address: 123 Elm Street.
With some research from the tax assessor’s office, you learn the name and address of the owner. And that it’s vacant. Which is a huge motivation!
When most folks see that it’s a vacant house, they get discouraged.
You shouldn’t. In fact, this is such a big deal!
When we designed the Vacant House Data Feed and the Motivated Seller Data Feed, we created a filter for this specific situation.
The seller hasn’t even told the tax assessor that they’ve left the house. Now, what I’ve found indicates that they’ve left in somewhat of a hurry.
Frankly, until they tell the tax assessor their new address, they might not even pay the tax bill, and you can add another motivation to the stack, which would show up as a local lien.
My overarching point is when there’s a matching address… when the phone is disconnected… when it’s harder to find the owner… the deal is generally better.
Now, there’s an old saying that I’ve been repeating for a long time: The harder the seller is to find, the better the deal.
Why?
The reason is because everyone else is having a hard time finding them and most folks give up.
But again, not you and not me. Nope!
We look at that and say, “Oh, the seller just got one notch harder to find. I know that the harder the seller is to find, the better the deal. And the reason is because most people give up. And I’m not most people!”
So, when you or your VA comes across a disconnected phone number, do a little happy dance, then find them another way. Because that is likely a very strong deal.
Ring ring!
Get to it.