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Door Knocking Scripts |
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★★★ Prospecting Neighbors near Property Listed! Ask about CELL PHONE NUMBERS and EMAIL ADDRESSES around your Just Listed and Just Sold properties! Here is a sample verbiage you can use when CALLING, EMAILING or DOOR KNOCKING on the doors of Just Listing properties: Dear … I have just listed your neighbor’s home. Selling your home is far more complex today than it ever has been. When you put your home up for sale, not only do you want maximum exposure to interested buyers, you also want a fair price for that property. That’s where I come in. My name is __(Name)__, with __(name of Realty Company)__. I have just listed your neighbor’s home and already have interested prospects ready to look at it. As a seasoned professional Realtor with __(#)__ years of experience in __(name of area)__, I can be counted on to get the job done. Taking care of my client’s needs is my full time occupation and I don’t stop working for them until their deal is complete. If you are interested in selling your home, why not call and let me help you make this a lot easier for you? When you choose me as your Realtor, you can expect me to:
Please feel free to contact me anytime at __(phone #/email address/etc.)__. Yours truly, “JUST LISTED” SCRIPT: “Hi, I’m John Smith with ABC Realty, and we just put your neighbor’s home on 123 Main Street up for sale. Did you notice that it was now on the market?” Wait for a response and proceed with: “JUST SOLD” or “SALE PENDING” SCRIPT: “Hi, I’m John Smith with ABC Realty, and I’m proud to say that we just sold your neighbor’s home over on 123 Main Street. But we have a new problem. We generated so much interest in marketing the home that we had several interested home buyers that also want to live in your neighborhood. So we are now reaching out to all of the neighbors to see if you know anyone else looking to sell their home in the near future?” FOLLOW-UP SCRIPT FOR NEIGHBORS: “It is my intent to specialize & focus my practice in this neighborhood. So I’m providing all of the homeowners with a complimentary value of $500 with the hope that they might consider interviewing me when and if they ever decide to sell their home in the future. You see, an appraiser would typically charge you around $500 to appraise your home, and I’m attempting to help you alleviate that cost to determine what your home would be worth in this market. Would that be of benefit to you?” If they are interested, proceed: “I’d be more than happy to take a brief look through your home to give you a quick value with absolutely no obligation on your part. I also wouldn’t want you to straighten up your home just for me. I’m a Realtor and we’re very used to viewing homes before they’re ready to show. I assure you it won’t affect the value at all.” If they are still interested either preview the home on the spot or set another date and time to preview the home with them. Either way, obtain their contact information so that you can add them to your client database management system to stay in touch with them over time.
A better approach is to present yourself as a local real estate/foreclosure prevention expert that is canvassing the neighborhood to share free resources in the event that the homeowner knows anyone that is facing hardship in this turbulent market. In this way, you are not singling out the homeowner, but convey that you are hitting anyone and everyone in the area with this information. Here is some sample verbiage you can use when knocking on the doors of distressed homeowners: KNOCK KNOCK. “Hi, Mr. Smith… my name is Bob, I’m a local real estate/short sale expert, I provide ethical, compassionate solutions to problems with real estate loans and I’m visiting the neighbors this evening… I hope I’m not interrupting dinner, I just want to get a couple of these in your hands and get out of your hair…. (hand them a card, flyer or other collateral with a link to your free resource). This is a book I put together and I’m not sure if this applies to you or not, Mr, Smith, but I’m sure you know someone here in Maricopa County that is having a hard time making their mortgage payment or owes more on their house than what it’s worth, and if you give this to them, they’ll thank you, I know they will. It’s not about me, I wish they would call me, but they’ll thank you for this. This book will show them how to avoid foreclosure, it’s got all the tools they need, resources to pull it off. Maybe they want to sell their house for free – short sale – in lieu of foreclosure, maybe they just want the bank to foreclose, maybe they’ve been trying to modify that loan for six months now and it’s just not going anywhere. This book will talk about that, too, and what to expect. So can I leave you with a couple of these and you can download it and get a free copy and you can send it to whoever you might know, maybe a coworker, someone at the gym, family member, friend, that is upside down on their primary residence – or investment property – it doesn’t really matter, this book will help them out, it will show them the way out, well, out of the woods. I appreciate your time, have a fantastic evening”. The biggest sentence to get is “I’m not sure if this applies to you or not, but I’m sure you know someone”. This non-threatening verbiage disarms the homeowner and presents yourself as a compassionate, concerned and guileless person who’s objective is to help. To learn how many struggling homeowners need your help, you can request a free count at http://www.CDLDATA.com |
| ★★★ See a Door Knocking Script that has worked for other agents Script when knocking on the door of homeowners 30-60-90 days late on their mortgage payment. You should have a script prepared when communicating with distressed homeowners 30, 60 or 90 days late on their mortgage payment, at least a guided script or a blueprint. In theater, actors are scripted to create a predictable response from the audience and likewise, you can elicit a response from homeowners in pre foreclosure if you have a script prepared. Drawing from our experience with what has worked well for other agents and convinced in the “soft sell approach”, here is a script you can use when knocking on the doors of distressed homeowners reported as being late in our pre-screened mortgage late list: Knock knock (stand away from the door and if you hear someone coming to the door, turn your head backwards to disarm the homeowner) When the homeowner comes to the door, STEP BACK. You don’t want the homeowner to feel threatened. First impressions last forever. “Hi, Mr. Smith?… My name is Jim, I hope I’m not interrupting dinner, I’ll be out of your hair in a second, I just wanted to get this into your hands (hand them a business card, flyer, or other material with a link to an online report)… I’m not sure if this applies to you or not, but I’m sure you know somebody. I’m a neighborhood real estate and short sale expert, I offer ethical and compassionate solutions to problems with real estate loans. If you know anyone, co-worker, family member, friend, someone in the gym, that owes more on their house than what it’s worth or is having a hard time making their mortgage payment, please have them go here to get a free report on their options and how to get fair market price for their home. It’s not about me, I hope they call me, but they’ll thank you for providing this free resource. Thanks for your time, Mr. Smith” Hopefully this provides a general framework/verbiage for a script, and your report can become viral or the “soft sell” approach disarms the homeowner on our list and they become receptive to your message and begin asking questions. If they are not receptive, follow-up is in order. Having personally visited the homeowner, you have more of a license to contact them again. It’s worth noting that many homeowners on our list that are reported as being late on their mortgage payment may be taken aback or offended if you profess that you have inside knowledge that they are behind, which is why we advocate this soft approach. For more ideas and to build a list of homeowners 30, 60 or 90 days late on their mortgage payment, visit www.CDLDATA.com At CDLDATA.com, we provide early, accurate and exclusive pre foreclosure data on distressed homeowners before their hardship reaches any public file. Disclaimer: Per CDL Data ‘Terms of Service’ following conditions apply to Your use of any of the CDL Data – Model Late Data : When reaching out to distressed homeowners in pre foreclosure, one popular marketing vehicle is a postcard, because they are cheap to print, cheap to mail, and a postcard doesn’t have to be opened – they stare distressed homeowners in the face. Yet despite the advantages of this “tiny billboard”, there are potential pitfalls to avoid. In this post, I’ll hopefully give some insight when planning a postcard campaign to upside down, struggling homeowners that are eager for hope and solutions. Focus on Benefits, Not Features One of the biggest mistakes we’ve seen with postcard campaigns is the tendency to focus on features, which talk bumpkins about the REALTOR. The reality is, the homeowner doesn’t care about you, your expertise, your training, how big you are, how many homes you sold, or what association you are a member of. Let’s say you helped 28 homeowners avoid foreclosure last month, or you are a member of the Better Business Bureau, or you completed a course on short sales. That’s great, but it doesn’t answer the homeowner’s only question – WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? People buy on emotion and justify it later with logic – they’ll come back to your credentials later, according to world renowned sales trainer Zig Ziglar. While features are the language of logic, benefits are the language of emotion. Here’s some examples of benefits: “Get a good night’s sleep for the first time in six months”… In another post, we showed an example of one client’s postcard that did a good job focusing on benefits, and it paid off. > See her postcard here. The point to get here from 40,000 feet is that you should talk less about you and more about the homeowner that is experiencing a very difficult period in their lives. Postcards Will Not Close The Sale Not much can be fitted on a 4 1/2 by 6 postcard. The objective then of a postcard is to tease the homeowner and encourage them to learn more. In our view, the best call to action is to drive them to a landing page, where they can access something of high perceived value, such as a free report. Once on your landing page, you can capture the homeowner’s contact information and nurture the lead with “drip” marketing. People Respond To Repetition If you send one postcard one time to one list, hopefully you can get a deal. One listing will pay for the postcard campaign and put money in your pocket. But the reality is marketing has never meant to be and never will be a one-shot deal. To create big, predictable results, you have to market your services repetitively and be “in the face” of your listing prospect with several touch points. It’s like a parent that finally gives in to repeated requests for a new toy, a piece of candy, or permission to stay up late. Distressed homeowners are the same way. The best results come from multiple mailings. Through repetition, you establish familiarity, which in turn builds credibility, which in turn builds trust. You then have more of a license to call the homeowner or knock on their door. Use Creative Calls To Action While you ideally want the homeowner that is falling behind on their mortgage payments to call you, the reality is many of these homeowners will not immediately pick up the phone and warm up to a stranger that has sent one post card. Yet those homeowners that would not otherwise pick up the phone will feel feel more comfortable going to a landing page where they could download a free report on the 5 things they should never do if they fall behind on their mortgage payment, or a leery homeowner would feel more at ease listing to a 2 to 3 minute hotline that provides an overview on their options available. The soft sell approach works. Instead Of A Logo, How About A Map To Your Office? In our view, a logo isn’t as important as a brick and mortar address. It’s a virtual world and there are a lot of shysters on the internet, so people want to see a real place. This is especially true with distressed homeowners that feel vulnerable. Remember, the entire media for the past two years has been telling everyone that if someone approaches homeowners with foreclosure help, they are probably a vulture. Having a real place for the homeowner to see and visit will go a long way in dispelling this myth. There are myriad other variables that will determine the success of your postcard marketing campaign. The headline, your choice of color, font selection are just a few factors among them, but we won’t divulge all on this blog. For expert consultation, call us at 866-377-4599. At CDLDATA.com, we provide early, accurate, and exclusive data for real estate professionals. Armed with insider information from the credit bureaus, you will know exactly which homeowners have just missed a mortgage payment. Since this is not yet public record information, you can get more listings by being the first to advise distressed homeowners on their solutions, long before your competitors. At CDLDATA.com, we provide early, accurate and exclusive pre foreclosure data on distressed homeowners before their hardship reaches any public file. |
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Knowing what to say is crucial, and scripts can be very helpful in hoosing your words carefully. Door knocking is one way to get your message of hope and solutions out to distressed homeowners falling behind on their mortgage payments. Rather than attempting to close the deal on the porch, the soft sell approach of sharing more information has paid dividends to agents pounding the pavement for more short sale listings. Using a list of homeowners 30, 60 or 90+ days late on their mortgage, you can know exactly which mortgagors are struggling, but we strongly advise against telling the homeowner that you have any knowledge about their hardship. We’ve worked with agents that have said to the effect, “through my research, I understand you are falling behind on your mortgage, and I can help….” or, “the bank is reporting that you are 60 days late on your house payment…”. Predictably, this has infuriated homeowners.