REI Essentials: Avoiding Mistakes on the Way to a Conversion

Pop quiz. What’s the single most important part of real estate investing?

If you said conversion, you are absolutely correct – and you win a new car! Okay, not really, but it was fun to be Oprah for a hot second.

Conversion is, without a doubt, the most important step in the real estate investment business, and we’ll get to the “why” in a minute. First, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane to recap where we’ve been with these posts about the REI Essentials…

We’ve talked about the 3 major marketing decisions that every investor has to make to get his or her business off the ground. Then we talked about lead generation, specifically through direct mail. Then we dove even deeper into lead generation, and when we last met, we tackled the topic of targeting cash buyers and private lenders.

We’ve covered some serious ground, and we’re just getting started!

Today, it’s all about doing your due diligence to avoid mistakes and performing circumstance analysis to convert those leads into deals, and it all comes down to researching and understanding your property AND the seller.

It’s about getting into your seller’s head and understanding the psychology behind who they are, what is motivating them to sell and how you can create a deal that makes sense for them… and you.

It’s about creating a win/win offer, and the more you can create that win/win scenario, my friends, the easier it will be for you to get deals under contract, again and again.

So before we get into the actual contract phase (incoming soon), let’s cover a few basics to get you there…

The Power of Influence

To me, influence is all about the power of persuasion – positive persuasion, that it. Influence is the act of guiding others to make good decisions.

Is there a difference between influence and manipulation?

Absolutely! Manipulation is a dirty word as far as I’m concerned. It insinuates dishonesty and even force. So let be clear that we are NOT talking about manipulation.

Influence, on the other hand, is about empowering people through education and positive example-setting. It’s ethical., And, as an investor, you’ll learn to empower people to take the action you want them to take – without force or deceitful manipulation.

The process of influencing is simple: Be truthful, fully disclose all information (when and where appropriate) and make others feel that THEY are in control of their decisions.

Avoid these Rookie Mistakes

I was a rookie once, so I get it. You’re going to make mistakes. Expect them. Embrace them even. Learn from them.

But for the love of all things holy, please don’t make the mistake of thinking that you don’t need the 3 Ss: strategies, systems and scripts.

Word to the wise – don’t fly by the seat of your pants. While you may be a newbie, you’re not going to act like one when it comes to planning and being prepared. You have to have the proper strategy.

Rule of thumb numero uno?

Don’t vomit the benefits of working with you and don’t toot your horn too early. Remember that rapport and your tone when speaking with the seller is everything, and until you’ve established solid rapport and created a relationship with your seller, you need to take a conservative approach at first.

Until that rapport is created, I want you to modify your pitch and adapt it to match your seller’s expectations. The key is bringing the seller into the deal-creation process, so make them feel included – not excluded – from start to finish.

Remember, converting those leads is about empowering your sellers and making them feel like they’re in the driver’s seat.

Next Steps in the Conversion Process

Today was more of a lesson in control – control as it relates to how you communicate and how you can influence your sellers and make them feel empowered.

Heed my words, investors, and know that once those leads come pouring in (and they will, if you continue to implementing what I’ve been teaching you in this REI Essentials series), you’ll convert them by following a strategic script and by determining if your leads are motivated.

Once you determine if your lead is motivated, you’ll focus on 6 main goals. And in an upcoming post, we’ll cover these goals in detail to learn how to convert those calls into hard leads.

But, to lead up to that useful info – in my next post, we’ll uncover the 3 main principles to get you to close.

It’s gonna be a good one. Stay tuned, and don’t miss it!

Until then….