Telemarketing to troubled homeowners

Some of our clients are adament about only getting records with phone numbers. Others find calling homeowners dreadful or ineffective. There is a gaping difference between these schools of thoughts, and I want to check in and offer my thoughts on picking up the phone and offering your help to homeowners that recently defaulted on a mortgage payment.

I don't subscribe to either views but would consider myself in the middle ground. As I've layed out in earlier posts, it can take multiple points of exposure, or "touches" to land a client. To the extent that a phone call is a way to get through to a troubled homeowner, I think that a phone number is valuable - it's another useful utility to have in your toolbox. I do believe, however, that phoning should be used in conjuction with other marketing strategies and should not be used alone. It's my belief that a lead has to be warmed first, before they receive a phone call.

If a homeowner has had trouble paying their bills and they receive a phone call from a stranger offering to help them, their inclination might be distrust because they don't know you from a can of paint. Once again, a homeowner must TRUST you first, and one phone call might not be effective in building that level of trust. If, on the other hand, they've received mail pieces and you at least have name recognition, you are in a better position to call them. Once you pick up the phone and start talking to a distressed homeowner, they might interupt and say, "huh, who are you?", to which you can say "I'm Ben... I sent you a letter last week". "Oh, that's right" the homeowner responds. You have thier attention now, having more of a licence to call them.

That is not to say that blowing through a list of phone numbers will not yield any results. This is a numbers game, and our clients report that one deal will pay for the list and put a lot of money in their pocket. But to maximize your ROI and get the best results, I would advise harnessing the power of the telephone as a follow-up device and not as a stand alone marketing vehicle.

The exception would seem to be targeting spanish-speaking homeowners. I'm working with a successful client in Southern California that re-orders 2500 records every week or two. He requires only records with phone numbers, and only records with Hispanic surnames(Due to such finite criteria, we've had to expand the list coverage into other states) Him and has staff has been very successful, and I'm guessing it's because they can speak the homeowner's language and establish an instant rapport from a cultural standpoint. I do not think that the success of this 100% telemarketing campaign is typical based on feedback I've received from other people.

I'll end with a word of caution. First, the goal of a phone call should be to get an appointment and NOT attempt to seal the deal over the phone. Don't negotiate over the phone but instead, save that for a face-to-face meeting.

In my next entry, I'll expound on using the phone to connect with troubled homeowners. Till then, A-B-C - Always Be Closing! :-)