Okay, I broke one of my own rules…
You’ve probably heard me say before that: “You are in business to make money today.”
Not tomorrow. Today.
Here’s what I mean…
If a seller is not motivated… not ready to do business… if they say, ‘send me info and I’ll look it over’—don’t waste time on that person. They may be ready later, but you must move on to the next potential seller.
Sure, I’ll send them a quick offer because that’s what I do and I’ll definitely follow up, but I move on.
Because you’re in business to make money today—not later. (I got this saying from Claude Diamond.)
Having that perspective helps you prioritize what’s important and what’s not: Is what you’re doing right now for your business making you money?
Well, remember how I said I broke my own rule?
Here’s what happened…
So, I was in a rare situation, but I was given the impression that a particular seller was motivated and ready to sell. I was told she just needs to meet with me and she’ll sign.
Great! Though, in the back of my mind, I was thinking I should call first…
And instead of making sure all that information was correct with one quick phone call, I drove 30+ minutes to her house—where she said, “Let me see what you’re offering and have my husband look it over. Oh, and we’re leaving on vacation for 2 weeks.”
Ugh. :-/
What should have happened?
I should have called, presented my lease option offer, and then waited until she and her husband were together at the house before I spent/wasted time going to see if they were interested.
Will I still get a deal out of it? Probably. Maybe.
See, you should be able to tell within a few minutes if the seller is or is not ready to do business with you today. Had I made that call, I’d have known.
It’s okay to fire sellers. You’re not in business to make friends… if sellers are not answering your questions on the phone or giving you too many objections… move on.
You can be polite: “Mrs. Seller, it’s okay, maybe now isn’t the right time, I can call another time and maybe you’ll be able to answer my questions. All good.”
You are in business to make money today.
Remember to ask yourself this question: Is this going to make money for me today?
If the answer is no. Move on… to something that will. 🙂
