Gaining the trust of troubled homeowners

Jim Rutkowski here of Homestead Data. In my introductory post, I ended by saying that investors will be successful if they help troubled homeowners during the tumultuous period of hardship they are going through. Yet how do get a troubled homeonwer to work with you? The answer is they have to trust you. How is trust developed?

First of all, trust and rapport can be established through repetition, which builds familiarity and in turn, credibility. The reality is marketing has never meant to be, and should never be a one-time shot. It may take several points of contacts, or "touches" to establish credibility. One mail piece, one phone call, one knock on the door may not be enough. People respond to repetition, like a parent that finally gives into repeated requests from a child that begs for a piece of candy or a new toy. Publisher's Clearing House is successful because they understand the principle of repetition through repetitive mailings over time. The law of repetition states that any marketing communication is most effective when it is repeatedly brought to the attention of your target market.

Secondly, in order to gain the trust of troubled homeowners, you must make an emotional connection with them. You will not be initially persuasive to homeowners presenting a spreadsheet with numbers, because as world renowned sales trainer Zig Ziglar said, "People buy on emotion and justify it with logic." The logic only comes after a homeowner opens up and makes the decision to work with you based on their emotion, or gut feel.

To make this emotional impact, it is helpful to think in terms of benefits, NOT features. If you buy a $500K Ferrari sports car after you make a ton of money in the short sale business, why will you buy it? It won't be because it is made by the best European car designers, or the hand-made Italian leather seats and expensive coverings. Those are all features. Rather, you will buy the Ferrari because of its benefits... you'll buy because you'll turn heads by having the most famous sports car in the world, you'll be recognized as someone with style, flair and class, and be envied by your peers. The diamond industry is masterful at selling on the benefits. Think about it - why would someone want to buy a rock from the earth? They wouldn't. They will buy a rock for the moment a woman looks deeply into their eyes, a moment that seals their love and union forever. All benefits are emotional. Alarm systems sell because people want to feel safe and secure. Ipods sell because people want to feel a sense of belonging by taking part in a powerful trend.

It's not about you or your realty, or even your expertise. It's about them. How you will help them solve their problem, how you will make their lives better, and most of all, how you will make them feel good.

"We helped 28 clients this month avoid foreclosure" is a feature, not a benefit. "We are a member of the better business bureau" is another feature that will not win the trust of homeowners that are headed for foreclosure.

What then, would be an example of benefits? You can:

- Get them from underneath this financial nightmare
- Allow them to sleep soundly at night for the first time in six months
- Allow them to get the best financial solution that's legally available
- Help them move on to build better memories
- Return to their normal day-to-day routines
- Etc.

You must first solve homeowners problems on an emotional level to build trust and rapport so that a homeowner agrees to work with you. Citing your credentials are fine, but it is the emotional connection that will win you over. Once you describe the benefits of your service to homeowners, they will come back to your credentials later.

Jim Rutkowski is the managing partner of Homestead Data, a company that is dedicated to providing timely, accurate, easy to understand data from the credit bureau on homeowners that are 30, 60 or 90 days late on their mortgage payment. Armed with this data, realtors and investors can be the first and the only one to offer their help, and have months to resolve foreclosure situations. Contact Jim at 607-759-5058 or by email at jim@homesteaddata.net.