Armstrong Capital Newsletter

August 2011

Jeffrey R. Armstrong

President of Armstrong Capital

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        It is officially August and in the bass fishing world the dog days of summer.  Scorching temperatures and tough fishing conditions in the daytime but exciting action in the evening and at night!  My business always slows down a bit in the summer months but it gives me a chance to get caught up on my follow up!  To be successful in the note business you MUST follow up with note holders on a regular basis, it is critical! 

Follow Up or Lose Business

While operating your note business a lot of effort is put into marketing for new leads and generating new business.  I would say that marketing takes up at a minimum 50% of your time, probably more.  After you get that first response or contact, whether it is a first call or first meeting, your job is not done.  Maybe you were able to get enough information to fill out a worksheet.  Maybe you were even able to get some quotes form your favorite Master Buyer and an Investor or two and present the adjusted offer to the potential seller.  What do you do next?  Do you just wait for the seller to get back to you and hope you get the deal?  Or, do you follow up and keep in touch with the seller?  If you want to increase your deal flow, I hope the latter.

Many times a seller will not need cash when they first contact you.  More often the potential seller will just be curious, not have a reason to sell or not have any real need for cash when they first contact you.  When this is the case I have a carefully regimented and organized method for following up with potential sellers.  A series of weekly, monthly, semi-annual, biannual and annual tickler files.  I find that if I simply follow up with them on a regular basis, by being friendly and building that trust and rapport with them, I have a much better chance at getting the deal when they do need cash.  I can not tell you how many times I have gotten deals just because of my persistence and follow up.

Depending upon the information I am able to get from the seller I make my own determination of when to follow up with them.  If I do give them some options for their note and they seem fairly interested I will call them back weekly to see if they have any questions or if one of the options I gave them might interest them further at this time.  I do not call to pressure, to try convincing them to sell or to hurry them into making a decision.  Rather, I call merely to check in with them and make sure that they know I am very interested in purchasing their note or other income steam whenever they are ready or can use some cash.

If they don’t seem too interested in selling all or part of their note or income stream at the time they first contact me, I will usually ask them if it is alright if I give them a call back in a month or two just to check in and say hello.  I get one of several responses from them. With a response of, “No need to call me back, I’ll keep this information in my file.”  I will put them in my annual call back file. The potential seller may or may not need cash today but who knows what the future holds.  With a response of, “Check back with me in a few months.”  I will put them in the appropriate monthly call back file.  And with a response of, “I may be looking at doing something on or around (such and such a date).”  I will also put them back in the appropriate call back file.

My monthly call back files are placed in my file cabinet separated by 12 dividers with the names of the months on them.  During the second or third week of the month, depending upon how busy I am, I will pull out all of the files behind the current month and follow up with every single one of them.  When I follow up I will take notes on their current level of interest, when to get back to them again or if I just left a message.  Then they will go right back in their next appropriate follow up weekly, monthly or annual file folder.  Should they contact me before it is time for me to follow up with them I do have every note holder listed on an excel spreadsheet listed, searchable and under the month of the file their worksheet is in so I don't have to look through hundreds of worksheets to find theirs.

It may seem like a lot of extra work, a hassle, too much trouble or not worth the effort to some note brokers.  However, I can honestly tell you that without follow up I definitely would not be able to maintain my current level of transactions year in and year out.  After twenty years in the Note Business I have refined my follow up technique to its present level and don’t plan on stopping it any time soon.  Follow up is very critical in the note business because you must be readily available when they need to sell their note or income stream.  By following up with a potential seller regularly, he or she will remember you when their need for cash arises.  If you want to make your cash flow business grow and be successful you should get in the habit of following up with any and all of your prospects.

More to come next month! Enjoy your summer! Hope this helps! Keep on marketing, it’s going to work! TWITA!

            Jeff Armstrong

Update your records we have a new FAX number 818-449-4840. Our other contact info is the same. Thanks!

Jeff Armstrong is President of Armstrong Capital and was the Editor of the NoteWorthy Newsletter from 2006-2008. A current practitioner in the seller financed note business since 1991 he is a member of the Million-Dollar Club, a Master Broker/Buyer, visiting instructor for the American Cash Flow Institute, Instructor for Nouveau Riche and the author of several best selling industry books.  Visit www.secretsofpaper.com to learn about upcoming workshops and events and  go to www.armstrongcapital.com and click on "Note Brokers" for answers, articles and information about his Master Buyer services and how Armstrong Capital can help you succeed. He can be reached by calling 800-845-3055, faxing 818-449-4840, e-mail jeff@armstrongcapital.com.

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