So you wanted letters?…

So letters you wanted?

It's going to be long, I feel a little sorry for you. But it's worth it. I think.

In the corner of Monroe and Franklin St., a good area for anyone who knows, stood an abandoned house for years. I knew him from the first few days I started walking around Brooklyn already on 2007. When we started dealing with investments and renovations and flip-flops it was one of the first homes we tried to purchase, and we decided to look for the landlord. We also knew that there were many who kept an eye on the house because of the location and condition of the house so there was competition. Excellent. Most fun to win in the competition.

An online search provided a number of potential phone numbers and addresses and the contact task began. Phones have always worked for me. I have no problem sitting for hours and dialing, I have no problem being disconnected inside, I have no problem being told "no", but if anyone is interested, it works great. It's also faster than going door to door and knocking. A complementary action was sending letters. Generally for the most part, personal to those we have emphasized. So I started calling them but without much success, so I switched to personal letters. Once a week or two I sent a personal, polite letter describing who I was and that I was interested in purchasing the property. Like this for months on end. I'm not exaggerating. Months.

One day phone. Sounds like a young, nice girl - "Can you talk to Tal? You're been sending me letters for a long time, we got to the point that we're ready to sell and we wanted to meet." All enthusiasm like a little boy. This reward worked. The next day we met. A young couple whose home belongs to his mother. We discussed who and what and it turns out again that there is competition. Have already received a takeover bid and are considering their options. Legitimate, but I want the deal so I immediately said "I want you to get out of here with a deal that will make you not think twice. That you will not look for another deal. That it will close here and now. What is the highest offer you have received?". I did not believe the answer. "25 thousand dollars" (clarification of the poet - the intention was that they would have 25 thousand dollars left after paying the debt to the bank they had, several hundred thousand dollars). Stinginess is a disaster! That's how you lose deals! By this time the market had already started to climb and it was clear that the house would be sold renovated for a great deal of money. I immediately replied "I offer you double - $ 50. Does that close the matter?". That closed the matter. A few more days pass, Advocate drafting a contract, we have signed the relevant paperwork and we can move forward with the deal.

The house was purchased for $ 524, renovated and sold for $ 1.8 million (design credit and execution for Shlomi). Who wants to tell me now that sending mail doesn't work?

Incidental? Let’s go to the second extreme, a few months ago I purchased a property at Mint Condition in Rochester. 1 family, 3 bedrooms rented for $ 1,000 a month. price? $ 25,000. Half Price. Maybe less. How did the saleswoman reach me? From letters we sent to the whole neighborhood. it was worth it?

So let's conclude that letters work, now it remains to learn what needs to be done for them to work. For this purpose I am starting a 17.8 session corona workshop in which I will reveal all the tricks up to 20% percent in your profits. Are there subscribers? Because maybe I'll just stop here and make millions….

Well come on let's go on. So the first challenge to deal with is the "no", those who call back angry, send texts or even bother to write something and send back. To this subject I say: Who is interested in? What do you really care about accepting it and why it requires reference. The phone can be hung up with some politeness (and no, no need to answer them with the same coin), the text erased and the letter folded nicely and imagine yourself King James in the final series throwing the crucial shot in the trash in the corner of the room, then go on with life. Were you offended by a seller? Your problem. You will grow up. It's just a waste of time.

Sending a letter is something that does not work. Send employee letters. What do you mean? A lot of letters need to be sent. really a lot. Thousands, tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands. So there is an impact. Response rates are always low, individual percentages on a good day with a back wind so to bring in a good deal needs volume, so start thinking big, and do not send a lot of letters once, send a lot of letters all the time! Previous round did not work? Not relevant, maybe someone who got it last time was not in the business of selling then and today actually is. Your job is to give him a chance to call you.

The next step is to understand the dimension of time. A letter sent today can bring results in 5 years. Reward Some people keep them and suddenly call. I know to recognize when the letter was sent according to the wording and I swear there are some that take years to respond, but it happens. It happened to me in the US and also in Israel !!! So send letters and who knows one day you might get another unexpected phone call.

Well then I hope that at this point you are convinced that letters are good for you so we will move on to the more technical sides. How do you do that? So this is a million ways to do it. Manual is nice but limited in volume. I use it mainly for more specific assets that interest me anyway their quantity is lower so I can be specific in the letter. You can already specify the name of the seller, the specific address, a more personal message, etc. The easiest way for me to do this is to make an Excel list and a letter in Word and then integrate them. And in a matter of minutes, you can make hundreds and thousands of letters!

In the good old days when we wanted to send generic letters in bulk we had software that takes out and sorts names of property owners and their addresses, we would order 50 letters we designed and matching envelopes and in the office there was a basement length that would print inscriptions on the envelopes, fold the letters, paste them and paste them. We would put everything in special crates and take to the main post office. A mess of a few good days. Today is the good life. The lists can be created according to parameters that you have defined in software such as Properties Shark or purchase them, and there are companies that will take care of everything for you, from printing and preparing the letters and sending. The cost is worth the time and effort. A little tip: add to the list a number of check addresses like yours, the partner and the grandfather so that you will see that they really arrive and when. Another tip: in the period after sending you will walk around with a notebook and pen and will always be available on the phone. Sounds anal but I can tell you about two deals in Mecca that I missed from the same seller because I came back to her after 36 hours and not 24. I deserved it. When a hot seller needs to jump on it and there is always someone else he can sell to.

Who is it sent to? It is easy. for everyone. Filter it for suckers. Do not try to guess who wants more or less to sell. You do not know them and do not understand the forces at work in their lives. Be Greek and give everyone a chance to sell you a good deal.

What's left? Ah, what to write. An important part. Remember that the role of the letter is one - to get the recipient to call you. We are not trying to get him to sell us the house through the letter, we will do that in the conversation and in the personal meetings after it. Right now all we want is to be more first in line when he decides to call someone. So let's see how this is passed on to the seller. Let's start with a self-presentation. Who do you think the seller would rather deal with? Someone experienced big strong and professional or someone starting out, small and inexperienced? I think the answer is clear, so in your letter make sure to get the message across. To the mother-in-law? Most of them hate their mother-in-law anyway so I'm not sure the connotation works. It also sounds personal and unprofessional.

Sales 101 talks about the need to provide only language solutions We are a bit guessing the needs so we will try to operate the whip gun method and ask ourselves what most sellers will want? What challenges does each seller face? A safe cash offer will work for everyone, good price, the option to sell in any maintenance condition of the house. Wouldn't you buy a house in good condition if the price was right? What else can we offer? Help with moving apartment If the seller lives there or with tenants if they do not, what about quick closing? Any tempting offers that are not binding. Fast is a relative matter. Think further about what else can be added and what the correct wording is. We will try to avoid negative connotations like "problems" or "difficulties" and find a positive wording like "easy and quick process" or "we will provide help and support". There are countless options. Here are some examples:

WE PAY TOP DOLLAR - ALL CASH !!!
WE PROVIDE MONEY ADVANCES
WE CAN DEAL WITH YOUR BANK
YOU PAY NO (!!!) FEES
WE CLOSE IN 7-10 DAYS
WE HELP WITH YOUR RELOCATION
WE BUY PROPERTIES IN ANY CONDITION
WE BUY VACANT OR WITH TENANTS
100% CONFIDENTIALITY GUARANTEED !!!

The next thing will be is how to make them remember us. Do not forget that you are not the only ones sending so what sets your letter apart from the others? How about 2 flight tickets to Disneyland? Why not offer them something that attracts attention for free. Everyone loves for free. Even so only if the total cost will work for us then we will buy then what does it matter to offer? You will find something creative. Hawaii was my thing. Everyone dreams of Hawaii. To every such letter of mine to this day appears the sentence, in large letters:

At closing you will receive 2 plane tickets to Hawaii !!!

And now we'll pack everything nicely. Letter on quality paper, good printing, colors and not black and white make the difference. The company logo really is and not something you downloaded from Google with your website address where your image appears. This is important because today it is easy to test you and it gives you credibility. And to that I will add, you should have your website in English if you work here. little details.

Last but not least - how to call you. Phone number on the spot and clear size. The seller should not look for how to call it should be easy and available so do not forget.

I'm almost done. I wanted to thank Nir for raising the issue and allowing me to use the example. All thanks to him.

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