Hey welcome back to the podcast super excited today to have coach, jeff mays in the house. What's up man, yes, good, to see you good to see you too yeah so uh, i i literally said before we started today's show is brought to you by work ethic. I want to talk about prospecting. I want to talk about circle dialing.

I want to talk about open houses. I want to talk about non-owner occupied. I want to talk about being gritty and doing the work because, as you heard me say, you know not too long ago in vegas with all of our elite clients. I do not want to hear about a lack of inventory anymore.

I want to hear about your work ethic, your focus, your drive, your determination, making phone calls doing the cma a day campaign. I am sick and tired. We sold seven million houses in the u.s last year. Someone got the listing if you didn't get enough of them.

This show is for you so jeff. Yes, sir, let's talk about it. Let's do, let's do the layup first, the easy one. I want everybody to get back to open houses.

What do we need to do and say what are the questions? We need to ask to win more opportunities from open houses. I got to tell you the first three months uh the past three months. I've heard a lot more of open houses. Me too, i had a client that just told me the other day that they had 78 uh showings and had 30 offers in two days of an open house yeah - and i was just like how did you handle that many people in there right? So i was very early in my career.

I learned i did a lot of new home constructions. Yeah and i came up with. I call it the maze knockout questions. These are ten questions that may imagine knockout questions.

You've got all these people coming in the door and most people like how do i handle this? How do i handle everybody? So what i tried to do is, i would greet them at the door. Have them come in? Take a look. Look around talk a little bit about the house and then have them look around, but watch this. I never left the front door, so i would hi how's it going take a look around and then, when they're leaving, i would say, what'd you think about the house.

Trying to figure out if they're interested in the house - but i got to tell you - i found that most open houses - they were not going to buy that house. So i was prepared guys. I had a goal of picking up at least two buyers from every open house that i did okay, so i the the ten questions that i would ask them was what brought you in today. So why do you think i would ask that right off the bat? Well, you're, looking for motivation, am i just looking to see what you know what features and benefits the house has like what kind of furnishings or we're looking to buy a house.

I'm also trying to figure out if my marketing is working, whether it was on yeah, it was uh. Maybe i put it on uh zillow, open house or mls, or did they come from the the signs? What brought them out today? Hey? What are you looking for? Okay, i'm trying to figure out their uh description of what they're looking for area price range uh. How long have you been looking yeah? Why would i ask that question i mean nine years or nine days. Where are you in the process right right? If they say nine years, what how come you haven't bought a house? Why so long? What's the hang up? Um, i'm also asking what price range an area they're looking in yeah and then here's the key, because i think this dialogue is going to go in two directions.

Are you renting or do you own yeah, so hey tom, uh, you're, an open house? Are you renting or do you own uh, we own a house? Oh great, so let me ask you something: do you need to sell that house in order to buy your next house? Yes, we are we're actually talking to easy knock about. You know pulling some cash out, so we can buy a house, so your house isn't currently on the market. No okay. What do you think your house is worth uh? You know we were looking on zillow.

We thought, like you know, 400, okay and so uh. Have you had any other agents talk to you about the value of your house? We're really i mean this is like the first weekend. I travel a lot, so we just literally just said honey. Let's go.

Let's go look at some houses where what area do you live in we're just down the street in bananaville? Oh okay, i love banana village too great area bananas, so hey um, um uh. Have you seen anything that you like out there? You know we saw a couple properties online um, but you know today is kind of our first day. You know we're just kind of you know cruising the neighborhoods of the places that we like and just you know, we're very fortunate, like this house is open. There's another one like two blocks over we're gon na go see that one as well, okay and so uh.

Have you made any offers, or is this really the first week yeah the first yeah we're just getting started? Have you heard about the market? You know? What's going on in the market, i mean i hear it's busy and i hear there's like you know: a shortage of homes for sale, right and uh and i'm hearing you know people are having to. You know bid up to get the house that they want and i mean we're. I mean obviously we're excited about that as a seller. We're not really excited about.

You know with the buy side, but you know, but we get it like. We've outgrown our house. We need to you know: we need a little more square footage. We need an extra bedroom, i'd like to have a bigger backyard, maybe a pool.

So you know it is what it is. Will you be paying cash? Will you get a mortgage? Oh we're. Definitely gon na have to get a mortgage. Okay, um have you talked to a lender, yet i started to talk to my bank um, but i was looking online at a couple of different companies, but if you have a recommendation, somebody with good rates absolutely recommend.

So let me ask you something: if i found you the perfect home and maybe it wasn't on the market, would you want to know about that? Oh absolutely! Well, you know what i got an idea, i'm going to be at this open house until about four o'clock. Would you mind if i scoot by your house down in bananaville it's just 10 or 15 minutes away yeah the house doesn't need to look anything presentable, just just sit down talk and find out what you're looking for and what your home is worth. Would that be worth 10 or 15 minutes of your time, uh yeah, i mean i have to check with my wife, but you know i would think that wouldn't be a problem like you know, it's penciled in okay, let's plan on 4 30 today how's that sound Yeah, that's great okay! So i'm going to ask these questions to find out their motivation. Uh, i'm a big believer in if you're.

If you've got to sell your house and it's not on the market - you're really not a buyer, yet yeah they're, not a buyer yeah, but they think they are yeah. And you know we know in this type of market there's not a lot of first rights. Yeah contingencies, i was trying to be that first time seller totally yeah yeah yeah all right. So you got you got these nine questions, the maze, knockout questions and - and i love you know because i've heard andy c and so many other greats.

You know the gallons that were like i'm gon na come meet you afterwards, hey i'm gon na wrap up my open house at four o'clock, like i hope that everybody took took that little piece away too just get with them as quickly as possible. Don't say, give me your email and i'll follow up with you, let no! I will come by your watches in 30 years of real estate. I never asked for a sign in sheet yeah, because i got i got to be honest, they're going to give you information. They're not going to they're, not gon na, go well again right, wrong, email address or whatever.

So i was a bigger do you know what an aol account is she's like 25, like aol, you've got mail all right, okay. So let's, let's switch gears. That was some good insight and open houses. Let's talk about it, let me say one thing: here's the key though, and it's the toughest thing to do.

Tell me you do an open house. You've got to make the commitment to call them back that evening. Yes, okay, most agents are going to call them back monday or tuesday. The hard thing is for 30 minutes.

I had to follow up with everybody that came to an open house, and you know why i did that, because people don't live in a bubble guys they didn't just come to your open house, get out, take a look at it and then went home. They are looking around they're driving around they're, making other calls they're on their phone honey. Look steve with that other one right. You know what i love shout out to monica carr cola bank of newport beach.

She ends her open house. She's got the list of like the 15 people she connected with and she just goes: hey katie, it's monica standing in front of one two, three four banana street. You know: hey, i'm going to be reaching out to you and then blah blah blah and just like make that video connection touch. That was a really good part of her.

Like post open house follow up so hey tom here's, a quick hack, i used to put people's contact information in my phone and under company i would put buyer or put seller yeah. So then you know you could just go back and hit buyer and then i've got everybody. There's everybody right there yep so super easy idea, but here's the idea guys if you're doing an open house have a goal of at least walking away with two set appointments from that open house. Yeah, okay, and what i used to do is.

I would call them on on sunday, set an appointment to do a buyer presentation or to get with them or take a look at the house monday, tuesday and wednesday, and then uh create a client and turn a client into a customer. Show them houses on thursday. Friday saturday, my goal was it: they met me that i would get them in contract if they were motivated within two weeks. I love it.

I love it still works in this type of market 100 percent. 100 percent. I mean it's like andy c, like some of the some of the greats of open houses right, like that's the lingo. Okay, let's talk about um, let's talk about non-owner occupied, so wherever you're listening, uh europe, i've been unable to find any data.

Canada, i want to say 15 and a half 16 million houses. Four million of them are investment properties in the us, with 138 million homes. Right now in the us, with by the way 1.5 million in process, which is you should write this down. That's as many as 2004 five and six so inventory is coming, which is exciting, uh, maybe not to your town, but it's coming, but of that 138 million, nearly 20 million single-family residents investment properties.

This is a enormous opportunity for going after listings right what advice? What do you recommend? What's the hack my first thought goes to when you're talking to non-owner occupies. This is not like talking to a couple. That's selling their house buying another house. You can talk directly to them because they get it.

It's about numbers. It's an investment right, not their home right and i think when it comes to non-owner occupies it's we got ta, we got ta recognize one thing to some degree: we're selling fear and we're selling greed. The fear is we're at the top of the market, and rates are changing and maybe your values would be changing and the agreed is: let's cash out, take this equity and put it somewhere else right, and you know i i saw i'm probably making up the stat That probably 60 percent of all non-owner occupied are just they own, just one other house. No, no, so it's i don't know about the 60 and one, but i know that 80, the last time they the last time they put this out and you can google this.

I want to say it was like 2020 right and we know with the amount of funds that have been buying up properties. I've got clients they're buying 70 80 a month in multiple cities. Right at that point, it was 80 of all. The sfrs in the us were owned by what they were deemed mom and pop, so they didn't give a specific numbers like under 10 was basically pop yeah and then 11 in north they deemed more institutional investors right, and that was basically 20 of the market.

So again, whether it's 60 or 80 - it's an enormous number. You should pull the stats in your local mls to know how many non-owner occupants they are and then what do they do to get them so to me, most agents get hung up on. Well, how do i get that information? I know in my mls, i can go into tax records and i just check a search button that says: is the property address different than the mailing address yeah nine times out of ten? That's how you figure out non-owner occupied to get that information, but what i'm seeing is really working is sending a mailer and then following up with a phone call: okay, okay and so the mailer is. We went through it last week or two at elite with matt beret yeah.

The key to that. The key to that whole letter is, if you're not interested. Please text me. No, i know.

Okay, you get. You gave the sort of the punch line away. What's the essence of the letter, and how is it delivered is it like? Does it say banana real estate on it? Is it non-descript? Is it a small envelope? Is it a fedex envelope? It doesn't even matter it's not a it's, not a marketing piece. It is just a letter with your logo on it.

That just basically says you know. Values are super high right now. Have you considered selling um? I i've got the letter but uh. The key is, i can't verbatim go through just the essence of it.

The idea is, have you considered selling, let's get together? Let's talk, i've got buyers looking in your area and if you're thinking of selling, i can help you out with 1031 exchanges talking their language to some degree yeah. I actually think non-owner occupieds are great because they're going to cut through the chase, it's all about the numbers where it's working and i think what you're looking for and i think about as owning property. Is you own property, like you're looking for that moment, you're like okay, that tenant was in there for like seven years and now we're gon na start the process over again, i know that thing that that property needs some work or i could just put it on The market and sell it right and make a boat load in 1031 exchange into something else right, so you're you're. Looking for that moment or like you hear matt beret right saying, i got one that the guy was like look.

I just inherited all these properties right. My mom owned them all. I don't want to manage any of this stuff. You hear about those wonderful stories of picking up five listings, seven listings ten listings so but back to the letter, so the letter is like.

Basically, i know who you are. I understand what you're doing right. The key is, if you're interested or not text me yes or text me no, and if they text you no they're, not interested. What do you do what's uh great? So i know: what's your address right, okay, you're, getting their address! Okay and then like in the text you're like saying great, hey, i'm going to take off your list thanks for letting me know, what's your address, yeah and then you're following up then you're going to send them a market update or cma you're going to put them In your crm you're going to follow up with it yeah, it's genius yeah, i think matt even said he's got five listings from when people were like no, but then they got the cma.

The market update and they're. Like, let's talk well, didn't he say like in the text, i remember he was like, so it wasn't just no and then put him on the list. He was like. No hey, no problem right.

Give me your address, so i make sure and then why don't i send you just a comparative market analysis. So at least you understand the value and then they were like sure right right, like that was the typical response. Like sure, then he sends that and they're like. Oh, it's worth infinitely more or hey.

This is maybe an opportunity for us. Everything starts with a conversation. Get people talking right. I think he sent out.

Eight thousand letters spent. Ten thousand dollars got an 18 times. Roi made almost 200 000 got 16 listings from a mailer right guys. There's no excuse to be not sending this.

I think the the first step for everybody here again remember. We said this show is brought to you by work ethic right right. It's about you! By being gritty yeah, so you know maybe just maybe it's starting with just getting the data in your local marketplace to see how many there are and then ask yourself like? Is it reinventing that letter? You know what i mean is it? Is it sending a different letter? Is it making phone calls? Is it like, whatever it takes right? What you might say you know hey, i have an investment property and i get those letters all the time and i never respond to them. Well, you're a real estate agent.

You don't want to sell right, but we're talking about that you're you're you're, trying to get them in the moment when it's right for them. That's all it is that's right, yep all right, so none other occupied's check. Let's talk about circle dialing, i love circle dialing, but here's the key where i think people make a mistake is people are calling right now, hey tom, you want to sell, you want to sell. You want to sell guys that doesn't work.

We got to recognize. One thing these are homeowners, they're not leads and we're treating them like leads. Somebody told me like imagine, you're calling somebody and they love their house. Their kids have just grown up in this house and they're sitting there on the couch and they get this phone call that says: hey the market's crazy.

You want to sell your house what's the instant knee-jerk reaction, no click, it's so different from you. You're, like okay, honey, i need to go, get a new shirt and tie right because i'm going to this function, you walk in hi. Can i help you? No i'm just looking it's the same thing. I'm there to buy a shirt and tie, but it's like it's that knee jerk reaction.

So, what's the better, it's a little bit more. You got to again slow down the speed. Hey tom. This is jeff mays, i'm a local real estate agent yeah.

We may even know each other, or maybe you've, seen my signs around town right. They get that they're. Thinking like who is this guy at least the reason for my call is number one i want to let you know we recently sold a house or there was a house that sold in the area and uh first off. Congratulations.

They sold their house for 350. 000. 10 percent over asking, but the real reason for my call is that house had four bedrooms: two and a half baths about eighteen hundred square feet: hey tom! Let me ask you something: how does that compare to your house yeah? My house is a little bit bigger and i actually i actually drove past that house. I didn't see it when it was open, but you know the joneses.

I don't know them, but i know who they i mean. You just know because they're in the neighborhood but like i don't know, know them, but our house is way better. Okay, so would you so if they got 350 for their house? What do you think yours is worth? I don't know we're like 2200 square feet. I've got i've got about at least a thousand square foot larger lot, wow and uh, and our garage is like you could like eat off the floor like it's stunning, it's good yeah.

So let me ask you, i know you're not ready to move, but at what price would you be a seller? I love that question i think, is that, like i almost think like how people are going to respond to that like that is uh, you know eight billion dollars, jeff like they're gon na give you something. So if they give you a stupid number, i'm gon na still say great. Let me do a little research, i'm not gon na be yeah. Let me just it's: just the the door is open.

It's looking for a crack to get in. I'm gon na give you another line that uh that everybody should write down too. What's your walkaway number, i got to tell you uh. You know uh i'd probably take 750 for the house right.

I think it's probably worth seven. If you could give me that, could you give me that tom i well? Let me let me run the numbers and uh and i'll get back to you with a fair assessment of what i think we can do, but i'm i'm looking at home prices right now. Literally, since the beginning of the year are up seven and a half percent geez, just in the first, you know x, number of days right right so and again, some of your marketplaces. It's it's more! Some of it's less.

You know obviously always tell the truth right but, like i think that that question, what's your walk away, number right like what's the number that would make you say: okay at that price, we have to sell another thing that again back to their homeowners. They're not leads! You want to say the reason for my call tom is i've got two or three buyers and they wanted me to call you to see. If you have any interest in selling, you got to understand, that's a totally different spend where it's like. Do you want to sell your house yeah? What do they think greedy agent you're, just like everybody else, but i'm actually of service for my client.

They wanted me to see if you so i'm putting it on them, changes the dynamic of that car. I have a dear friend of mine in my building, who said he's like very like stop training agents in my area in florida right because they call me everything and he said, but he goes. I finally got one we're on the golf course there and he's. Like he's like, i got this letter and it said you know followed up by a pretty fast phone call he's like i'm an attorney, i'm i'm representing three california buyers that want to buy on this street this street, or this right.

It was an attorney right, not even an agent right and they'll, basically pay whatever name your price, so you got him thinking. Oh, he was like. I never wanted to sell that house. Until i got that letter.

There was something about he's like there's, just something about name your price: what's your walk away number! So all right! So we're talking circle dialing, but i think, let's, let's close it out with you - and i can go back and forth on this, because i got some thoughts as well: best hacks for becoming a more effective prospector uh, whatever you're, avoiding is where the opportunity is um And if you have an affirmation that, like i hate prospecting or i don't like getting on the phone yeah, that's not really a good start yeah. I agree. Okay, so i like to to counter that uh, the song by depeche mode, pick up the receiver like. I would like to listen to that over and over again and play star wars in the background you got to get fired up right.

You know imagine right exactly like it is it's peak emotional state um, but the other one is to to just stop and ask yourself like okay. What do i love about serving people right like? Why am i really in this business, right and and what, if, just for today, i got on the phone and found like three people that were thinking about selling like what, if this was that moment like what? If this was the moment where i picked up the phone - and i found three people that are thinking about selling and then i make start making phone calls like, if you ask yourself more empowering questions right, you get energized, you get fired up. So what else? What other hacks you got for? You know what uh we came out of elite and i got all my clients uh. We did an hour of power all together, yeah had 45 show up.

I got to tell you. I did my song and dance for a minute or two and then put mute. There was nothing more powerful than looking around seeing everybody else doing what you're doing. I got an idea for you, i'm throwing all your all your clients prospecting on zoom.

Everybody can see each other like an appointment right. I got an idea. We need to get. We need to do that on a regular basis.

We've done that before remember. We've had this appointment challenge contests. We were doing that during pivot. We need to get back to that all right.

So to me this is a moment here. Is anybody capturing that everywhere on my team? What do we just commit to doing yes hold on someone listening? I want to be a part of that so uh all right. So i i agree: there's something about uh doing it with a group right right having accountability. I'm gon na go super old school like like 1989, my brother and i uh shout out to matthew ferry my brother and literally we would.

We had group calls for like 20 people on it right like that, was coaching back then, but we would like tie like uh to old telephone cords right from my leg to his leg right and the deal was like until you like got an appointment right. You couldn't leave, you couldn't go to the back accountability, cat food beds, cat food, bats, um, all right, but other little hacks. One thing for sure is uh sitting versus standing. Yeah like you got ta be standing right now.

I know you might say: well, i'm just more comfortable, i get into a little relaxed night. These are. These are like these are like sales calls service calls energy matters also remembering that you've got five. I know some of you will say six five.

You know different. You know modalities right, you know your auditory, visual right taste touch site et cetera, but over the phone, you're 80 percent, ineffective. The only thing you have is your voice right. So if you stand up and you project, you know they're going to hear you they're going to hear your passion, you know exactly what i'm talking about that.

The other one is make sure you have all your scripts and dialogues up in front of you right right practice, travel not practicing or role-playing have a plan. Okay, i'm going to call like 10 past clients right now, i'm going to check in i want to have more than like hey how's it going. You know what i see too is people come to this like? Well, i don't have enough people like to me if you're going to do this, it starts the day before like who are you going to call? What's your focus right? Who are you going to talk to yeah practice, what you're about ready to say, get warmed up and then get on the phone? I'm a little different? I i'm old school like you, i was like just get on the phone. Just do it yeah you'll, be amazed at how much crap you can stir up by just getting on the phone right, even almost not even talking about real estate.

When it comes to your past clients, i think we got to think service call, not sales call people get in their head, like i'm trying to sell them. Something no just talk to people. I, if you look at the you look at the data right now. Everybody wants to know three things right: they want to know how much is my home worth right, right and and the you know, sort of one a is and what's happening with prices right.

The second thing they want to know is: do i have the right interest rate right right if you're in the u.s, 138 million homes, 40 of them, don't have a mortgage of the remaining balance from my conversation with ivy zellman, the oracle of all things housing whatever That 70, 80 million houses half have an interest rate higher than three and a half right, half have an inch straight lower than three and a half who do, you think is most likely to sell the person with a 2.65 or the person with a 3.7. Three point: zero: i'm going with a 3.7 so because they're too lazy, they didn't have anything refinanced, they're right. We need to move right. They just you know they.

You know they're busy the life kids, whatever it is right and then you say then the third thing is everybody wants to know is like like what's the future of this house for me right, you know you have to ask the question like? Is this your forever home, like, i think that question to your database, you know: hey we're all watching the market right now and i'm sure you're reading the same thing, i'm like, i see it as an agent, a broker like the the question for all my clients Is is this your forever home right like if this is if this, if there's even an ounce of thought around selling, we need to have a discussion, but if you're like this is my forever home right, i love you. We're still gon na talk, i'm gon na call you all the time check in see how you're doing let you know the value of your home, but i honor that. But if this is not your forever home, this might just be the moment in time. We need to sit down and actually have a conversation about what you could get out of this house.

You know my thought goes to this and i'm sure you probably have heard it have you heard of the power of seven seven touches, guys, seven pounds. We got ta recognize. One thing is that, with over 52 billion robo calls out there right. People are not answering their phone right, but that's not the only way that prospecting can be done.

You can we're getting a lot of dms on facebook and instagrams and instagram linkedin. I tell this story all the time i will call tom on the phone like hey tom, how's it going i'll leave you a voicemail message. He routinely replies to me by a video text. Message number one i feel like dumb, because i didn't do that number two.

It makes you feel special right, but you know what have you ever had those times where you're trying to email or text, something like? Oh, that doesn't sound good or that's a little cheesy. When you get a video text message, i get the total picture. I know where he's coming from the the the idea and the approach from this 100 percent, so it is making your calls, but then i would say, then you got to follow up with email, texas, video text message dms on instagram, there's just different ways to connect. Don't i have people now they're like there's no expireds out there.

I called a hundred i made 100 calls and only got 10 contacts. Well, we got ta adjust or we got to pivot and do something different. 100. 100.

All right man. We got a balance. This was just a ton of fun stuff, it's always great to have you on the show uh. Thank you so much for watching give us some comments.

What else do you want us to talk about when it comes to prospecting and getting more appointments? Should we do some geographic farming love it right? You name it. You know we're gon na cover it all right. Thanks. So much guys we'll see you soon.

You.