How Many Times Should You Call a Bank (for Notes and REO)?

Persistence is what separates successful note investors from the “also ran.” In order to generate a constant flow of leads, you need to have a repeatable process for contacting clients.

In this article, you will see what a structured prospecting process looks like and how you can create a 1 year prospecting plan.

Jump to:
Call More, Earn More
What a Prospecting Plan Looks Like
1-Year Prospecting Blueprint
Calling Tips

Call More, Earn More

Let’s face it. If you’re working with banks or other institutional sellers, whether you’re an investor, a broker, a bird-dog, a “flipper,” you’re in sales.

It may be that you’re selling “a fast close” or “immediate liquidity for non-performing notes,” but whatever it is, you’re in sales. Start thinking like a seller, an asset mover, and that’ll help you zero in on your prospecting approach.

The video below features Tibor Shanto from SellBetter.ca (we reached out and asked for permission to repost it here for you). To clarify, Tibor is from Canada so when he’s talking about “sellers” he means salespeople. When we say “seller,” we’re talking about someone who’s looking to move assets.

What a Prospecting Plan Looks Like

prospecting plan

Too often we hear from people who want to try the business out. They get all fired up about making money then they contact us 30, 60, 90 days later and say “this doesn’t work” or “I’m going to try [enter name of get rich quick / real estate niche plan here]”…so sad.

Worse than being sad, it’s a drag on the industry. It clogs up the works. If your stamina can only take you 30 or 60 or 90 days into an endeavor, do everybody a favor and get out of real estate – forever. Because you’re not cut out for it. Showing up to annoy a few people and say some stupid stuff for a month doesn’t help anybody. Quit now.

Prospecting 101: Act like a professional

Professional Investor

OK, so now that all of the drips have gone off to write hate mail and it’s just us talking, let’s get real. Let’s come at this from a professional perspective.

We’re talking about working with institutional sellers. If you want to make it in this niche, you need a well-structured prospecting system tailored around your target contacts, and then you need to execute the plan with precision and consistency.

What does your first contact look like? Your second? Your 12th? Chances are you don’t have this mapped out and your answer is that you don’t know… and that’s okay, but let’s make a plan.

Let’s not just make a plan, let’s develop a system.

When you work from a system you become a deal-doing machine. You feed potential leads into the hopper at the front end and auto-magically, your machine spits out deals on the other.

So, how many times do you call on a prospect? One of the best explained clearest plans I’ve seen is Gary Keller’s 8X8 and 33 Touch system. This can be applied to nearly any prospecting.

Gary’s system involves an intensive once per week contact for the first 8 weeks followed by 33 more touches over the course of a year. What would happen if you put together and then executed a strategy like this?

What would happen if you implemented a plan to systematically contact your top 200 or 300 contacts from the top 100 banks that you want to do business with, on a schedule, for the next 12 months?

Next-Level Prospecting: A Pro with a Plan

Start developing a solid prospecting plan with just 4 steps:

  1. Determine who the best 100 banks or other institutional sellers are for you based on their portfolios and the vitals we talk about in our training webinar.
  2. Start identifying contacts to add to your system so that eventually you have 150-300 (1-3ish per bank).
  3. Write out a contact plan.
  4. Execute the contact plan for each contact.

What’s your plan going to consist of?

what plan

First and foremost, you need to be adding value to the lives of your prospects or the business is going to go to someone who is. Think about where it is that you can add value and start putting together some materials.

You can talk about valuations, the state of the industry, “How to” maximize your return on X or Y, San Diego (or Vegas, or Boston) single family home price trends, WHATEVER, there is something you know about and your prospect can benefit from and you can send it to them… and if you can’t come up with anything smart, then send holiday cards with a reminder of what you do, or a Starbucks gift card, or something else of value.

1-Year Prospecting Blueprint

Prospecting plan spreadsheet
What a proper prospecting plan looks like.

Here’s an example of what a prospecting blueprint might look like. Let’s say that 8X8 makes you nervous and 33 sounds crazy and you want to go a little easier.

We’ve agreed you’re going to add 50 prospects into the hopper per week for the next 4 weeks.

Each time you add, this is how the pattern is going to look:

Week 1: Mail

Week 2: Call

Week 3: Email

Week 4: Connect or message on Linkedin

Week 5: Mail

Week 6: Call

Week 7: Email

Week 8: Mail

Then follow up each month:

  1. Alternate Calls then Emails
  2. Mail something (think: helpful newsletter or oversized postcards)

Totals Per Prospect For 1 year

  • Calls 8 – Cost: $0
  • Emails 7 – Cost: $0
  • Mail 12 – Cost: $8.40
  • Total: 27 “touches” $8.40

Week 1
Mail 50 pieces
Add 50 prospects

Week 2
Mail 50 pieces
Call 50 contacts
Add 50 prospects

Week 3
Mail 50 pieces
Call 50 contacts
Email 50 people
Add 50 prospects

Week 4
Mail 50 pieces
Call 50 contacts
Email 50 people
Connect with 50 (try LinkedIn)
Add 50 prospects

Week 5
Mail 50 pieces
Call 50 contacts
Email 50 people
Connect w/ 50 (LinkedIn)

Week 6
Mail 50 pieces
Call 50 contacts
Email 50 people
Connect w/ 50 (LinkedIn)

Week 7
Mail 50 pieces
Call 50 contacts
Email 50 people
Connect w/ 50 (LinkedIn)

Week 8
Mail 100
Call 50
Email 50

Week 9
Mail 50
Call 50
Email 50

Week 10
Mail 50
Email 50

Week 11
Mail 50
Call 50

Week 12
Email 50

*** Now that you’re past lift off, it’s time to move into farm/maintenance mode ***

Week 13
Mail 200
Call 50

Week 14
Email 50

Week 15
Call 50

Week 16
Email 50

Week 17
Mail 200
Call 50

…. and so on for as long as you’re in the business. Feel free to add people as you go in batches or individually but give them all the same well-thought-out treatment.

Look at what happens above. The beginning is where all the “heavy lifting” comes in but guess what – if you break down these numbers into bite-sized pieces, it really isn’t that much at all.

For the first 10 weeks of “heavy lifting,” you’re only talking about 10 calls and 10 emails on average per day.

After you hit “cruising altitude,” you’re only talking about an average of 5-6 calls and 5-6 emails per day.

If you’re looking at this saying “man, that’s a lot of stamp licking” – STOP thinking like that. You can get stuff professionally printed and mailed first class, even an 8-page newsletter, for as little as 70 cents. You simply upload your list, set it, and forget it.

There will be no doubt in your prospects’ minds about who you are, what you do, and how you can help.

Heck, if all you did was mail something once a month you’d be MILES ahead of your competitors.

Putting together a plan for well-thought-out, systematized prospecting might be the most important thing you ever do in your career.

Calling Tips

Here is a very helpful video showing you 3 phone sales tips that will increase your chances of closing the sale.
If you would like a more in-depth phone call training that is made specifically for speaking to banks about their mortgage loans, sign up for the Academy where you will get a cold calling script template.

In Conclusion:

I dare you.

I dare you to write out and then begin executing a plan.

You can do this.

12 thoughts on “How Many Times Should You Call a Bank (for Notes and REO)?”

  1. Agreed that the 8×8 and 33 touch are the best lead generation systems in the real estate business. The hard part is executing consistently. I have had good luck with Quantum Mail for the post pieces. Now if someone would only make all the calls for me…. ;)

  2. Sounds like a great plan. What investment do you estimate carrying out a plan like that might be required. I’d really, really, really love to start and maintain a system like that, but how do we sustain that financially if we are not generating an income in the mean time?

    Warm regards,

    Ben Rodriguez
    Bank Prospector Pro Active Member

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