By Eric Woolhiser
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This insight and approach didn't come easy for me. I wasn't always a people person - I was a computer programmer - and it still takes some effort for me to approach new people. In my four years of real estate however, I've come to grips with the fact that ours is a people business, and making real contact is an essential piece of the puzzle.
Dropping homeowner letters in the mailbox may feel like you've achieved something, but it's not the same as getting out there and meeting people face to face. Calling on the phone too, while better than mail, is rarely effective. (People facing foreclosure are typically besieged by bill collectors, and they've learned to ignore the phone.) For me, hitting the pavement is the only way to go.
I owe much of my training to Bill Nasby who is one of our core trainers in EXIT Realty International. He walked me to my first few doors, and got me to knock on them. Once you get past your first door of the day, it's pretty easy. And once you've been doing it consistently week after week, it seems like a natural thing to do. I plan my week around it.
How We Do It
Our approach is simple. Every Friday (we love to call it "Foreclosure Friday"), my partner and I download the list of new properties from ForeclosuresMass. We merge the list with what've we've worked on in the past couple of weeks, and map out the locations in a town or two (we work the same four or five towns consistently). Stating at about 10am, we get in the car and work all day knocking; usually 25 - 30 doors.
We don't discriminate - we knock on every single door we can get to. At this preliminary stage, the goal is to find a motivated seller... someone who wants to do something. Until you have that, it's not worth the time to find out what the house is worth or to investigate any of the other specifics about the property. That will come later.
Three Keys To Success
Knocking as a team works better for a number of reasons.
First, it allows us to bring more to the situation. Paul tends to be the rapport builder, while I'm more of the technician. (I told you, people stuff doesn't come naturally to me. I love to get in and solve problems right away.) Together, we've got all the bases covered and can answer just about any question that comes up.
Second, it keeps the conversation moving. With two people, the homeowner tends to look back and forth between us, giving us more of a chance to explain why we're there and how we can help. We've learned to play off of each other.
Third, it makes us appear more trustworthy. If we trust each other enough to work together, the homeowner has at least some evidence that maybe we're not such bad people.
Finally, working with a partner keeps both of us motivated. There have been plenty of cold and rainy Fridays where it would have been easier to stop early or not go out at all. Having a partner keeps us accountable to each other, and as a result, we cover a lot more ground. And when a door goes well we pat ourselves on the back; when it doesn't we joke about that too.
That's important. These people are fearful and literally in a state of shock, often having received their Notice of Default from the sheriff only days before (assuming the sheriff has even been there yet at all). Building trust is critical, and my certification as a licensed agent goes a long way.
The other benefit of being an agent is that if the deal is just too thin to make sense as an investment acquisition, I can still list the property for sale to others. That gives me an alternative option, and even if the deal doesn't add up as an investment, it allows me to realize some benefit for my time.
Today, I show up smiling, confident, and with the attitude that I'm bringing the homeowner a gift. I've got an ear to listen, a fluency in the details of the process they're going through, and a sincere desire to help them make the best of a bad situation. People can sense this and it has made all the difference.
Knocking doors can be nerve-racking at first, no doubt about it. It takes some time, training and practice to make this a good habit. If you're going to make any deals, you need to be able to sell. That means meeting new people everyday. You have to push through that fear. And by the way, I do give my time to train people to knock doors (just like Bill Nasby did with me). Give me a call and we'll see if we can get you to the door!
Eric Woolhiser is a REALTOR® with EXIT Advantage Realty in Westford Massachusetts. His primary concentrations are negotiating short sales and helping investors purchase multifamily commercial properties in the Worcester area. He can be reached at eric@woolhiser.com.
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