Recently, I came across a news story on the Internet that talks about a locally well-known pastor and his wife being involved in real estate scams in the real estate business. Basically what they were doing is they were using their positions to lure investors into questionable real estate purchases.
This locally well-known pastor and a radio show host, have been arrested by authorities, and now are in jail pending the posting of bail of $1.4 million each. They were charged with racketeering conspiracy, first-degree grand theft and obtaining a mortgage by false representation by the state prosecutors.
You can read the rest of the article by going here.
I know that I am not the only one that has been exposed to such news. I bet you have heard of such a real estate scams story yourself. With the recent economy bailout plan by our government, lax Fennie Mae and Freddie Mac lending policies, these types of stories have been popping up all over the internet and fueling the subprime mortgage crisis around the country.
The bad part about all of this is that these real estate scams are still out there and they have not been exposed yet. Even worse, as in this example where a pastor, a trusted local figure where people looked up to in their every day lives, has been charged with racketeering! It blows my mind…
So, how are you, real estate investor or agent, going to convince your possible buyer or seller that you are not going to scam them? How are you going to convince them that you are trustworthy and that you will actually help them, I mean really help them with their problem?
I mean, why should they trust you? Why should they give you they info and believe you that you are not another scammer? The local news channels constantly talk about public figures who are suppose to be trustworthy. Instead, they are getting imprisoned by the authorities.
Well, there are several ways that you can invoke trustworthiness into your business. Some will take time and some will give you an instant credibility. I know of several great ways that you can show your buyers, investors and/or sellers that you are going to really help them.
But today, I decided to do something different. I decided to run a little contest. Yes, a contest! So what do you get as a winner you ask?
Here’s what you’ll get/win and what I’ll do for you.
The person that can give me the best convincing idea/strategy, a way that will help you as a real estate pro to gain the trust with your prospect will win. I will choose the person who has a creative and actionable strategy. The winner will receive a video critique of their real estate site, landing/squeeze page, blog or whatever web page they would like to have reviewed. I will personally review your site, on video and give you actionable ideas that you can implement to increase your site’s success on the internet.
The value of that package is $997. But you get it for free, here on my blog.
Here’s what I want you to do for a chance to win.
I want you to tell me what you think is the best way to gain your prospect’s trust. What do you need to do or say to make them believe in you?
Write at least one idea in the comments below. I will reveal the winner and several of my strategies this Thursday, October 9, 2008.
And believe me, some of my strategies are not the typical “Listen, I’ve already helped John Smith with this problem. I can help you too.” Good luck.
To Your Success,
Peter K.
“Contest Winner Announced”
The winner of the contest is: (drum roll please)
Ken
Ken’s winning post is as follows:
Have a credibility kit with pictures, testimonies, etc describing what services you offer and testimonies from others that you have served well. If you are a newbie and you have bought someone’s course you could still “credibility” say that you and your “team” have helped these people in your credibility kit. Give this credibility kit to EVERYONE you plan to do business with or motivated seller and tell the seller that “This is your Credibility Kit”, and tell them “that many other investors will be contacting you Mrs. Seller and would you do me a favor please? Ask them for a credibility kit and if they don’t have one–would you do yourself a favor and not do business with them.”
Also whatever you do “follow up” (from the beginning). EVERY lead I get hears from me as soon as I get their lead over the internet–even if it is just to say “I got your information and right now I am out of town or in a meeting and will call you later”—this type of follow up has helped me close so many deals and build trust.
Thank you very much for entering the contest everyone. Ken, please contact me by clicking on the green envelope button at the top right sidebar of this page. Once you contact me, I’ll give you some details I’ll need from you to complete your video review of your site. Congratulations Ken!
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After establishing rapport, I tell sellers, “This is how I pay my bills and feed my family” then show them two sets of APODs (Annual Property Operating Datasheets), one APOD is with their asking price and why it typically will not work for me and the other APOD is one with my offer showing how it will work for both of us. I believe that establishing rapport and then supporting what I say with numbers is effective as well as presenting them with a credibility kit that has testimonials in it from people whom I’ve had the privilege of being allowed to help.