How Do You Stand Out From Other Cold Callers? Advice Needed

I know that cold calling is one of the best methods to finding mobile home park owners who may be interested in selling. The issue is that there are a lot of callers out there and the owners are constantly receiving calls from your competition. How do you stand out from all of the other callers? What do you do to be effective that no one else is doing? Any thoughts?

I would respectfully disagree that its the most effective. Are we to believe that Ma and Pa owners have not thought about selling in an all time high market till a stranger calls and asks them to? With all the scammers and robo callers would you start dishing out financials and inquiries to a total stranger on the phone? Its a tough market without experience and dollars to work it.

As a broker and an Owner, I can tell you that I get a TON of Cold Calls.

Timing is everything. You could have called me 2 weeks ago and I was not looking to sell. Things change, life happens.

As a broker, I have called folks to see if they wanted to sell. I offered to either buy the park myself or find them a buyer. They said no, 6 months later I saw their park on the market. The Mom died and the heirs wanted to cash out etc. If I would have phoned then again I probably would have got the listing, but I didn’t.

** I forgot to mention a win**
I sent a guy a letter to buy his park. He kept the letter for 2 years. He called me. I passed on his park (too small for me) but I ended up Brokering the deal and making $40K in Commission.

Keep calling. All you need is 1 yes.

If you wanted to really get my attention then send me a good book or a gift basket. One of the guys who used to cold call me sent me a personalized letter and a book called “The Go Giver”. Three years later we are still in contact.

If you truly want to ad value to someone then give more than you want to take.

When I do my farming. I spend about 1 hour on each deal. I find the True Owner, what they own, how long they have owned it, when they last refinanced and when the loan is due. A great time to solicit someone is 6-12 months before their current loan is due. In this time frame folks are either thinking about trading up or recasting the loan to buy something else. If you do your homework and have this information you will definitely stand out.

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Where do you find this? From the owner you cold called, or some other source?

Some municipalities put mortgage documents online as public records. You can use that to find dates. There are also services out there, such as reonomy, that compile public records and provide not only owner name, but mortgage dates and amounts, too.

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@Brandon
I pay for a service that researches properties and many but not all of the properties have this information online.
It should be public record so you can usually get it by ordering the DOT or Recorded Mortgage.

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Don’t be an ass. I get multiple cold calls and not one of them have asked a basic question to me:
“What are your plans for the park?” If they asked me that, they’d know to call in in 12 months.

With a caveat, I completely disagree that cold calling is the one of the best methods. I personally get calls all the time in the most inappropriate ways. Generally, if they call my cell phone, I hang up on them. If they call my business, I have the receptionist take a message, which I do not return.

  1. I get calls on my cell phone even though my number is never used in this industry
  2. My wife who is not in the business gets calls on her cell phone
  3. My parents approaching their 80s who are not in the industry get calls on their home phone even though I have not lived there for over 30 years.

However I do get calls from brokers that are appropriate. They have a relationship with me. We talk on the phone every few months about deals, and they sometimes ask if I want to sell. We meet at trade shows and have dinner and drinks together. At holiday time, they send cards or a small gift. The point is that you need to develop a relationship and keep in contact to be effective.

If I were you, I would go to the trade meetings, visit the parks, start the relationship, and continue it by phone.

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