Bill Twiffer:
Well, I tell you what, it's not only important to real estate investors, it's important to anybody that speaks the English language. Because communication is everything you need in this world to succeed.
Tom:
I agree with that.
Bill Twiffer:
You know, whether you're doing stuff on the web, I mean, you have to write things so you can communicate with people. and you also, if you're talking to people face to face or over the telephone, whether you're doing short sales or wholesaling or lease options or subjects tos, it all boils down to communication skills whether you're going to get the deal or not.
Tom:
You know that’s true, Bill, because one of the biggest mistakes I see investors make is they go out, they but their bandit signs, they start sending letters out, and when those calls start coming in they have no idea how to communicate, like you mentioned, or negotiate with the seller.
Bill Twiffer:
Or close them.
Tom:
Or close them.
Bill Twiffer:
Yeah, that’s right. They put out 50 signs and they get 10 calls. They just burn through those ten calls because they just don’t know what to say. They don’t know how to act. They don’t know how to pace and leave people and how to mirror people. That’s a lot of the stuff we’re going to talk about tonight.
Tom:
Oh, I agree. I agree. So, what are your favorite ways of finding homeowners in distress, Bill?
Bill Twiffer:
Well, basically what I do, that - my favorite way of finding homeowners in distress, is I find out who’s in foreclosure. I find an area to work. I find out who’s in foreclosure. Then I get their phone numbers. I call them or I door knock them. I chase people, that’s what I do. That’s what I've done from day one.
Tom:
Okay.
Bill Twiffer:
So I mean, I just go after people and I actively chase them. Now, a lot of people don’t do that. A lot of people wait for business to come to them. See, when you go out and knock on 50 doors a day or you go make 50 phone calls a day, you’ll be able to run your number in about a month. You’ll know what you have to do every single day to reach your goals.
Tom:
That makes a lot of sense.
Bill Twiffer:
A lot of people can't do that when it's a passive marketing.
Tom:
Okay. So, Bill, define the difference between active and passive marketing.
Bill Twiffer:
Well, active marketing is going out and making something happen. Chasing people. Passive marketing is doing things, waiting for business to come to you. Now, if I mail out 500 postcards, I'm sitting by the phone hoping somebody will call me. If I go but bandit signs out, I'm sitting by the phone hoping somebody will call me. If I put an ad in the newspapers, I'm hoping people are reading my ad on page seven, line item three the fourth ad down. I'm hoping they're reading it and I'm hoping they call me. See, when you actively go after the business you create things to happen all the time. I saw a sign one time about five years ago at Office Max, it was. What they said on the sign, you know, they have a lot of them that say “integrity” and stuff. One says, “Success.” Success in business is when you chase the business and don’t wait for the business to come to you.