Your prospect's address on file has likely been listed for rent. This is a good time to reach out, your prospect may be making a move.
Alert Background:
This contact meets the minimum credit criteria set by your organization. The property address appears to have recently been listed for rent per one of our third-party listing data providers. If they have been renting and the property is listed for rent, they are planning to make some move soon. It would be an excellent time to check in and see if the contact is looking to buy rather than rent their next home. Since you have a prior relationship with the person, you should reconnect and see if they would like you to prepare a pre-qualification. Some borrowers don't realize that they will need that to put in an offer on a new home, which may take some time. If they are looking into buying, you may have an opportunity to introduce them to a buyer's agent.
Script Example:
This script is one example; feel free to make it your own and communicate the message in your own words.
"Hi (First Name),
It's (Your Name)."
Make the Connection: At this point, you want to remind them of how you know each other. This will change the tone of the conversation from a cold call to a warm call. For example, if you spoke to them about buying in the past, bring that up. If this is a contact that an agent provided to you, let the client know the connection, for example:
"We spoke a year ago when you were looking into buying a home..."
OR
"I met you at a home buyer seminar six months ago..."
OR
"We played golf together two years ago at ..." (you get the picture, right?)
Now that the conversation has relevance, it's time to start talking about them...
"You may have seen the letter or email from me recently; my system periodically reaches out to clients in the market for a home, and your name popped up, so I thought I would give you a quick call. Have you been considering buying a home anytime soon?"
Let them talk, and ask follow-up questions that will get them talking about their plans, for example...
"What is the reason for the move?"
"Have you heard about your area's down payment assistance programs?"
"Have you already been prequalified for a mortgage, or would you like me to get you prequalified?"
Give Value: Let the conversation continue from here, with you asking questions about them. Remember, people don't want mortgages; they want homes. The more value you can give, in the form of insight or answering questions, the more likely they will open up and have a meaningful discussion.
Differentiate Yourself: Talking about rates and terms will put them to sleep. Rates and Terms will sound very similar from one lender to the next. Instead, let them know some of the steps or challenges they may experience along the way that you have solved countless times...
Possible Next Steps:
The contact is considering buying a home:
- First, answer any questions they have and get them prequalified! Then, send them a follow-up email, so they have your contact info on hand.
- Ask them their preferred method of communication that will work with their schedule, i.e., email, phone, or text.
- Once you get them a pre-qualification letter, ask if they would like you to introduce them to a good buyer's agent.
- Keep in touch often throughout the process.
The contact isn't interested at this time:
- Send them an email thanking them for their time, and leave your contact info.
- Let them know you are here to answer any home-buying questions in the future.
- Enroll them in a first-time buyer nurture campaign in your CRM.