Written by Jeffrey R. Armstrong – President/Owner of Armstrong Capital
Your favorite Master Note Buyer – Straightforward, Honest, Fair…
I get many, many calls and emails from new and experienced brokers every month basically asking me what they are doing wrong. While I am able to ask about what they have been doing, their marketing materials and what they think they are doing wrong my hands are tied unless I know what they say and how they treat the note holders that contact them.
If you treat every note holder like a number and just get the worksheet filled out as quickly as possible and then hurriedly get them a price without knowing anything else you are doing yourself a huge disservice. If do not listen to their story and try to find out the reason for their phone call, their need, then you will likely get few offers accepted.
Changing YOUR perception of the note holders who contact you can lead to more transactions. “A simple word such as treating your note holder like a “guest” versus a “customer” can make a dramatic difference in the way we perceive the people who use us to sell their notes and indirectly pay our commissions.
A “customer” is someone who makes a purchase. A “guest”, on the other hand is someone we welcome with open arms and look forward to interacting with. A guest more of a friend, someone we will treat with dignity and respect.
The reason you may think you have a problem or that you think you are doing something wrong with your note business may simply be solved by incorporating the acronym GUEST into your negotiating methods and create a five step process to follow:
1) Greet your “guest”
2) Uncover his or her needs or wants
3) Explain the options you can provide
4) Solve their objections
5) Tell them to sell their note
The “guest” method replaces the non-active, passive role or aggressive negotiating tactics utilized by others. Rather than waiting for guests to ask all the questions and respond to objections, note brokers should be proactive at times and raise questions to discern actual needs. This will allow the note broker to adapt their presentation, mitigating objections and show the note holder that they are prepared to solve the problem rather than simply get an acceptance on an offer. The key is not action but interaction.
Stop treating your note holders like a paycheck and view them as guests to your note business. This may sound awkward and initially difficult to comprehend, particularly if you have been accustomed to using aggressive negotiating tactics in order to get a note holder to accept your offer.
However, you will soon notice a difference in the way your note holders respond to you. In return, they will be more willing to part with all or part of their note.
Give this a shot and turn your ordinary note holders into special guests!
Remember, success demands action! Keep on marketing, it’s going to work! TWITA! (That’s What I’m Talking About!)