How to Follow up Effectively with Your Private Money Prospects

I hear it all the time from real estate investors…

I made the call, I sent the email, I reached out. But prospects aren’t getting back to me.

My first question… and you already know the answer because you’re smart and savvy… is how many times have you reached out? I’d bet big money your answer is once.

But once, my friends, isn’t good enough.

The key to effectively securing private money is follow up, and effective follow up is the straw that will break the camel’s back.

I’m not really sure what that means, so let’s just say this; effective follow up is the key to securing private money, and I’m here today to share with you exactly how to do this.

Lately I’ve been talking about lots of ways to structure your deals for your private lender prospects. Recently, I shared the 3 Touchstones Every Private Lender Needs to Fund Your Deal, and hopefully you took away some seriously valuable lessons from that post.

So today I want to expand on those concepts a bit and talk more about the actual process of following up with your private lender prospects, so you can walk away from this post feeling confident that you can close your first funding deal… and many more after.

Basic training: follow up 101

I know the saying – assuming makes a you know what out of me and you. But I’m gonna make an assumption here anyway…

I’m assuming that you’ve already had a couple of “priming” conversations with you prospects. You’ve walked them through your private lender presentation, you’ve explained how your program works for the “right” people, that is, and you’ve done so without offering them into any specific deal… yet.

In short, they’re getting to know you and how the private lender process works. You’re massaging the deal, they’re (hopefully) getting comfortable, and they’re getting hungry for a piece of the action!

Sound about right?

Now let’s move on. Follow these important steps…

Because you know I’m all about that base… the database, that is

Make sure you get the most accessible phone numbers and an accurate email address for all your prospects. Once you’ve got a solid database with accurate information in place, it’s just a matter of blasting out mass emails or texts each time you’re ready to fund a new deal.

Be sure to build a list of everyone you present to. Contact information, as we just discussed, is key, but so are investment goals. When you know investment goals, you’ll be able to up your chances of securing that private money by matching the right goals with the right deal.

Stay in their faces to stay in the game

I can’t stress it enough. Keep in regular contact with your prospects either on the phone or through email. Notify them every time you have a new investment opportunity to help build trust and credibility.

Most of the time, it’s all about timing. I asked an investor recently what it was that got him to finally invest with us. He shared that after seeing the presentation and learning about our various investment opportunities over a few months, I simply caught him at the right place and time. It took time and patience to cultivate a relationship… and it paid off.

7 follow-up power phrases

So you know about presentations and building rapport and building trust and consistency…

Let’s go a little deeper though. Get ready to be empowered by my 7 follow-up power phrases…

1) “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
If you’ve caught a prospect at a bad time, you need to know. Bad timing means they won’t have his or her undivided attention. When it’s not a good time to talk, ask them when would be a better time for you to call back.

Did you hear that? I said you make the call back. Don’t ask them to return your call. You need to remain in control.

2) “I thought of you when this opportunity came up and called you first…”
People want and need to feel appreciated and important. It’s human nature.

By letting your prospect know that you thought of him or her first (“You were the first person I thought to call!”), you’re immediately establishing rapport and a sense of camaraderie. And that is priceless in this business or any business for that matter.

3) “This probably isn’t right for you but…”
This statement will keep you in the unmotivated role, which is right where you want to be.

You’re tactic here – as evil as it sounds (cue evil laugh) is to disqualify your prospect. After all, people hate to think they aren’t good enough or that someone may be better qualified.

Securing private money is much about psychology. When most people believe you’re a simple salesman selling them smoke and mirrors, they’re turned off, right? Most will run and not look back. If you’re suddenly seen as a friendly guy with an answer to a problem, you’ve improved your chances of securing private money exponentially.

“This probably isn’t right for you” is one power statement. Try it for yourself.

4) “I’ve got an excellent opportunity for the right person, not sure if that’s you…”
Translation? Are you, the prospect, the right person.

Oh, there’s no question the deal is right when you use this statement. Rather, it’s all about the person. And again, using this power-packed statement helps to take you out of that unattractive slimy salesman role.

Bonus.

5) “I’m going to have this deal financed by X date, so if you are interested…”
Promote scarcity! Having a limited number or a limited time frame will always up your sales no matter the product or service you’re selling. Letting the prospect know that you’ll have the deal financed by a certain date tells them that they need to act fast if they want to get involved and it makes you look like the confident rock star that you are.

Remember, it’s not a matter of IF you’ll get financed, it’s a matter of who will take advantage of your opportunity the fastest.

Bottom line is if you have confidence in yourself and your investments, other people will too.

6) “When should I expect to hear back from you?”
So, your prospect is interested and says he will think about it or talk it over with the spouse to see what they can afford. Okay, that’s all good.

But ask this question so that there is a clearly defined next step in your communication process. Ask for a specific day that you can expect an answer, and be sure to follow up if you don’t hear back on that mutually agreed upon date.

7) “Would you like me to notify you of our next opportunity?”
Secure everyone to your follow-up list. Period. I’ve found that most people are delighted to hear from me and to learn about the opportunities I have to offer, even if it’s not the right time.

One final thought

Some pretty good stuff so far, huh?

Well, you don’t want to miss the next post, my friends! We’ll take what we’ve learned here today and actually make it tangible. I’m talking about scripting…

I will give you a detailed script of what this all actually looks like on paper, so when you pick up the phone to put this good stuff to use in your own business, you’ll be armed and dangerous (in a totally awesome, non-violent way, of course) to conquer that private money you so deserve.

Whatcha think?

Take a minute. Squish it around. Then let me know what you think about today’s post