How To Land More Wholesale House Deals [Overcoming Sales Aversion]
How can real estate wholesalers help homeowners overcome sales aversion to land more deals?
There are still over 200 billion dollars in defaulted loans and REOs at banks in America. This doesn’t even take into account all of the other foreclosures pending due to delinquent property taxes and HOA dues, nor all the motivated home sellers that need to sell their houses fast for other reasons.
The bottom line is that there are plenty of distressed properties, and potential for scoring deep discounts on homes that are ripe for wholesaling. There are many sources of these properties. Going direct to homeowners is still one of the favorites for the ability to cut out other costs and difficult to work with parties. However, despite the urgent need for many of these property owners to sell, and do it fast, and the valuable service that real estate wholesalers can deliver, there can still be a disconnect that prevents owners from taking advantage of the help.
Often this comes down to Sales Aversion. There are times when consumers want to be sold, for example when they really want to justify an expenditure to buy a luxury item. However, in general most of the population has come to avoid being put into positions where they are to be in high pressure sales pitches. They’ve learnt the hard way after falling for timeshare offers, being strong armed into overpaying for gym initiation fees, friends hosting parties with MLM motives, and even just being lured into giving up email addresses, only to be hounded with never-ending spam.
Consumers don’t want to be cornered into uncomfortable and abrasive sales pitches. They definitely don’t see why they should spend in order to be put in these positions either. Why should they take time off work, and drive miles to a used car dealer that refuses to give any upfront information? Why take the day off of income producing work, and endure a day of family stress to accommodate a property showing to a wholesaler who is vague, won’t provide detailed information upfront, and is expected to try and hard-sell them on committing to selling their home for pennies on the dollar?
This pain can be worse than just sticking with the status quo, even if they are in a tough spot. Sales 101 says that in order to make a deal prospects need to be shown a path out of their current pain toward pleasure.
Many of today’s wholesalers don’t realize that they aren’t accomplishing this.
Yes, property owners might be in distress. Yes, the best move for them may be to sell. It may even make sense for them to sell at serious discounts and just get out of the debt and walkaway. Wholesalers armed with transactional funding which can free homeowners, and even put cash in their hands may be their best option. But, in order to truly effectively convey that and make the process palatable and appealing can take a little more effort than some appear to be making.
So how can real estate wholesalers overcome sales aversion and close more house deals?
There are many ways to connect with motivated sellers. However, it really all boils down to two marketing strategies:
Notification Marketing
Word of Mouth Referrals
There is absolutely a need for Notification Marketing for new wholesalers. They need to get the word out about their services and product. This can include direct mail, social media advertising, Google Adwords, press releases, and email marketing. It can also include inbound marketing via articles and real estate blogs designed to help prospects in discovering solutions and meeting needs on demand.
Word of mouth marketing has evolved significantly too. The original form still applies, but this has also morphed into using affiliate marketers, social media, sponsorship, and strategic referral partnerships.
Whichever real estate marketing strategies are being used, one principle applies to making them effective for landing more real contracts today.
Doing business with wholesalers, and even just contacting them, and agreeing to meet them requires making it easy and attractive to do so. It has to offer the promise of more pleasure, while diminishing their current pains.
There are two critical parts to this. The first is overcoming objections in advance. This involves education, defining expectations, transparency, and clarity. This can be done upfront online, on real estate wholesaling websites, and in initial interactions.
The second part, which builds on the first is making it appealing to pick up the phone and call you, give up an email address, fill out a form, or arrange a showing. The anticipated experience should be appealing, not simply the homeowner opening themselves up to a high-pressure, hard sales pitch.
Define the process upfront, and offer a win-win for them for taking the action you desire, even if the two of you don’t wind up making a deal on this transaction. Cut the mystery, increase the clarity. This will boost your reputation, and the eagerness to share you by others.
