At Real Estate Virtual Assistant Services, one of our most popular offerings is Real Estate Telemarketing.
No matter what you do, your real estate telemarketing efforts will always involve some semblance of at least two factors:
- Real Estate Telemarketing SCRIPTS, and
- Real Estate Telemarketing LISTS.
Today, we'll be exploring the latter. And, it's a topic I feel pretty comfortable exploring.
That's because more people come to us for real estate telemarketing than any other service. I've seen most imaginable outcomes first hand. Plus, several of our "Investor Telemarketing" scripts were developed in my own personal real estate investing endeavors where I was on the phone myself, setting appointments. We have proven scripts for a variety of campaigns, and people who are actively engaged in these campaigns right now.
What that has shown me, with certainty, is that old fashion telemarketing is still one of the best ways to generate and pre-qualify leads in any real estate business. Depending on your average revenue per new client, telemarketing is also almost always profitable... if you have a good list & a good script!
What Is A Real Estate Telemarketing List?
A real estate telemarketing list is the list of contacts your telemarketers will be calling.
This is the ground floor, entry-level foundation to your real estate telemarketing campaign. If you have a bad list, you might as well not even waste your money on a telemarketer because your campaign is destined for failure before anyone ever picks up a phone.
To be successful your real estate telemarketing list is going to need to fulfill a few key criteria. Namely:
- The contact information (phone #'s) needs to be Accurate.
Not all lists are created equal. Some are as bad as 50% or more wrong or disconnected numbers. Typical is closer to 80% - 95% (depending the type of list & the source). - The contacts on the telemarketing list must be Targeted.
You need to dial real potential leads. Depending on your business, this often means building lists like probates, FSBOs, absentee owners, pre-foreclosures, expired listings, high net worth individuals, active investors, etc. You need to have a list that is targeted to be receptive to (and qualified for) your offer. - The list must have enough Volume for a profitable campaign.
Depending on the type of campaign, a full-time telemarketer can go through a 800 - 1200 record list in a month (a typical rate is around 6 connected calls per hour x 8 hrs x 5 days x 4 weeks). Too small a list could make telemarketing impractical. - The list must be Compliant with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Telemarketing is a regulated activity, and if approached haphazardly can put you at risk of serious penalties. That's why it's important to be sure you're compliant with the TCPA, particularly that your list is cross-checked with the Do-Not-Call registry.
Without all four of the above factors, you're significantly harming your chances at a successful campaign, risking your telemarketing budget, and possibly even opening yourself to legal liabilities. Even the world's best script & most persuasive telemarketer is going to cause problems if the list isn't right.
How To Build Real Estate Telemarketing Lists
There are lots of ways to go about compiling real estate telemarketing lists that range significantly in both expertise & manual labor required for the task.
Here are a few real world examples to give you an idea of how we do it in practice:
FSBOs:
One of the most popular real estate telemarketing lists among brokers, agents, and investors alike is the "For Sale By Owner" listings. For these, we recommend turning to sites like Zillow, Craigslist, and other specialty sites like ForSaleByOwner.com, Owners.com, and FSBO.com.
Probates:
This is one of the lists I'd recommend most of all, especially for investors. The problem is, it can be pretty tricky to put together. Depending on where you live, your county's probate records might not even be online. In some {rare} locales, accessing the probate records via a local county website is as easy as Zillow. We also work directly with USProbateLeads, where you can simply buy your probate lists pre-built (though they tend to cost a bit more than FSBO's per record).
Expired Listings:
As all real estate agents & investors know, expired listings can be a goldmine of opportunity. However, they can also be a bit difficult to track down & stay on top of consistently. One of the first things you'll need is a way to browse the MLS directly. Then, you'll need to find a way to highlight expired, withdrawn, and cancelled listings. From there it's just a matter of ongoing consistency to stay up-to-date with the newly expired listings (as well as occasionally revisiting the long expired old listings).
High Net-Worth Individuals:
To approach your list building from a much different angle, it's worth considering target demographics like high net-worth individuals. To build this type of list, your best bet will be going through a third-party list database service (like Experian, InfoUSA, or AccuData). Or, you can always hire a company like us to help you get the same information without lifting a finger.
And More...
While these should give you some idea of how to start going about building a real estate telemarketing list ... the above are by no means an exhaustive compilation. There are many other lists you might consider, all with their own unique nuances when it comes to putting together a profitable campaign.
Want To Learn More About This?
Whether you do business with us or not, we're here to help all real estate professionals avoid list broker scams and build better lists for all your campaigns.
If you're seriously wondering about anything to do with real estate telemarketing lists, just contact us directly. Or leave a comment below, and I'll make it a point to personally respond to you.