Jill Friday – How to Get Over the First Deal Jitters (LA 1702)
Jill Friday – How to Get Over the First Deal Jitters (LA 1702)
Transcript:
Steven Jack Butala:
Steve and Jill here.
Jill K DeWit:
Hi.
Steven Jack Butala:
Welcome to the Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I’m Steven Jack Butala.
Jill K DeWit:
And I’m Jill Dewit, broadcasting from the Valley of the Sun.
Steven Jack Butala:
Today is Jill Friday, and she’s going to talk about how to get over the first deal jitters.
Jill K DeWit:
This is a thing. I understand. I always tell you, if you want to wake up tomorrow and be an investor, you can. Just wake up, you’re an investor today.
Steven Jack Butala:
I love that.
Jill K DeWit:
Yep. This is what I’m going to do. Making some changes. This is it. And then it’s like, “Oh crap. I told everybody.”
Steven Jack Butala:
Now you have to do it. Now I have to be one. Now I have to be one.
Jill K DeWit:
Oh my gosh. I sent out all these letters. Now they’re going to come back. Holy moly. I’m pretending to be an investor. I’m going to fail. No, no. You got it.
Steven Jack Butala:
You’re going to be fine.
Jill K DeWit:
You will be fine.
Steven Jack Butala:
Because you have a massive group here that was where you’re sitting right some time ago.
Jill K DeWit:
Right. And I’m going to tell you, I got three things that I’m going to tell you right now that are really going to help you and calm this all down.
Steven Jack Butala:
Before we get into it, let’s take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It’s free. And don’t forget to subscribe on the Land Academy YouTube channel and comment on the shows you like. I bet that I’m not one of those things that’s going to be calming.
Jill K DeWit:
No, that’s why this is Jill Friday. Yeah. Yeah. Get a partner like this.
Steven Jack Butala:
Putupwithapartner.com.
Jill K DeWit:
Oh boy. Ian wrote, “I sent out a 2,400 unit mailer last Monday, and I have another 1400 letters going out today. This is awesome. I thought they were really good zip codes with good numbers, and I just wanted to things moving. Yesterday, I listened to a podcast where Jill talks about talking to sellers. And one of the examples I used was a member of Career Path who had good deals coming back, but he just wasn’t picking up the phone enough to get the deals. So now, since I work a lot, I’m worried that I’m going to be negatively impacted by the calls from these mailers going straight to voicemail.”
Jill K DeWit:
Yeah. “Jill has mentioned in the past how you want to wait until you have some experience to go with something like PATLive, but I’m wondering if I should set up PATLive? I have enough money saved up, and I think I’m really more worried about missing phone calls, and thus, mail being wasted than I am paying for pat live. Any insight?” Yeah. I’d rather have the phones being answered.
Steven Jack Butala:
Me too.
Jill K DeWit:
You’re right. I really want a live body on the other end.
Steven Jack Butala:
And I love that you’re this concerned about it.
Jill K DeWit:
And you planned for it and you could afford it.
Steven Jack Butala:
Me too.
Jill K DeWit:
So you’re right. Because the voicemail, it’s not effective. It’s not as good as that. And I’m not… And I want you to call everybody back, by the way. Any missed calls, call them back, every one. But yeah, I think you’re right. Good. You’re exactly right.
Steven Jack Butala:
Today is Jill Friday. She’s going to talk about how to get over your first deal jitters. This is the meat of the show.
Jill K DeWit:
Okay. Yeah. This kind of came up a little bit from Career Path, because we have some newer people in there, and a little bit from the session that we did, that first session that we did. Those of you listening know who you are. That was really fun. We budgeted an hour to answer some newbie questions with a really small group. There were 20-something people in that room. And it went a little over two hours because we wanted to get through all your questions. But it was really good. And I think that really helped a lot of people. I know, talking to Amy, that you loved it.
Jill K DeWit:
So, how do you get over these first deal jitters? You’re a brand new investor. You did like this person, and they mailed out all these offers, and you’re like, “Uh-oh. Here they come. Now I’m panicking.” So the first thing I want you to do is sit back, and trust that you know more about the property and the area than the sellers, because there’s a good chance you do.
Steven Jack Butala:
It’s better than a good chance. I would say 95% chance, you know more about land than they do.
Jill K DeWit:
You put in a lot of work to research this area, figure out the price per acre, look around what’s happening in the area. Maybe you’ve even already called, hopefully you did, called the county a little bit, asked them some questions. You know how responsive they are and you know how to work with them. You’ve got a lot going on, and I want you to just know that.
Jill K DeWit:
They may have just inherited this property. They may have owned it for decades, and they’re three states over. It’s usually things like that. That’s the reason they’re calling you to sell it. They forgot they had it. They don’t know what’s going on there, and you do. So, know that. Number two, be prepared. Every test I’ve ever taken in my life, I have over… Well, I shouldn’t say every test. Every test I cared about in my life, I overstudied to the point of nausea. Let me give you an example. Did you know this?
Steven Jack Butala:
No. This is shocking, because I’m the exact opposite.
Jill K DeWit:
This is me.
Steven Jack Butala:
I had to prove it to myself that I don’t have to study and I can still do okay on this test.
Jill K DeWit:
Two tests that I took as an adult, and I nailed, to the point of, “You could teach a class on this.” “I know I can.” One was my private pilot’s license, and the other was the real estate license. Nailed them on the first time, to the point, my private pilot’s license, the first thing you do is you have an oral exam, and then you go fly around. We didn’t even get to question number five of the oral exam. He’s like, “You know your stuff.” I’m like, “Yeah I do.” I’m like, “Hit me, ask me more.” He’s like, “No. We can stop now.” He’s like, “I know you know your stuff.”
Steven Jack Butala:
Good for you.
Jill K DeWit:
Because I was flashcards. That’s how I learn the best, by the way. I’m a flashcard nut. So I knew my stuff forward, backwards, you name it. Same with the real estate school. We both separately took the course, studied, went and sat through the classes. We did it in Arizona. It’s 40 hours. I can’t remember what it is. How many hours? 40, 60 hours you had to sit through classes. You have to study and pass the test.
Jill K DeWit:
We never got our licenses, obviously, because we’re investors and we don’t need our licenses. But I wanted to have that knowledge, and I wanted to know what agents know. And there’s just always good stuff you’re going to capture from that. But, nailed it. Again, I’m a flashcard nut, and that was how I learned the best. So I was prepared, and because I was prepared, I was very confident going into it. I wasn’t worried. I knew it. So I want you to feel that way too. You should be that prepared for the callers.
Jill K DeWit:
How are you going to get that prepared? By having a checklist. And I already did one for you. So when these sellers call you back, I made a checklist for you. It’s on landinvestors.com, on the left hand side, scroll down. It says “Jill’s inbound land seller checklist.” Print that out. Have it there. Also, take it a step further. If you’re in Land Academy, you know all the steps, because you have it, of how this whole deal’s going to go, from the beginning, through how to buy it, going through escrow, how that’s going to work, what’s going to be needed, when you post it for sale, we’re going to post it, what’s going to happen when you sell it, all the way, cashing out.
Jill K DeWit:
So, have your process and your checklist all spelled out. It’s like your own person company SOP, standard operating procedures. And if you have that all ready to go, you’re going to be like, “Well, this is easy. Because I know after I do this, now I need a purchase agreement. And then I know I need to call and find a title agent. And then I know I need to send them the purchase agreement, open escrow.” That’s going to calm everything down. You know your steps.
Jill K DeWit:
And then, my third thing to get these first deal jitters out of the way, you know your stuff, you have a checklist, you know how it’s going to go. Now you just have to, whew, take a deep breath. Every time the phone rings, answer the phone, and you’re just going to have to dive in and do it. Or even making that call, like, “Okay, I know what I need to get out of these brokers. I’m nervous. I’ve got to find a broker. This is who’s going to sell my property. Or I just need a broker’s opinion. I think about it ahead of time, have my checklist, what questions I need to get out of them,” and then you’re just going to have to pick up the phone and do it.
Jill K DeWit:
And you might be nervous for every single step of the way, but you’re going to get the hang of it the more you do it. “You know what? Okay. Whew. All right. I just hung up the phone. I just talked to my first title agent. I found out how much it’s going to cost, how long it takes to close, what they’re going to need. Now I’m going to call another one. Because, like Jack and Jill say, I should shop around. Now I’ve got a list of five here. I’m calling five title agents today.” By number three, you’ve got this. And number five, you’re telling them how this is going to go. “All right. I need to know this, this, and this. What do you got to say,” kind of thing. You’re going to be a pro. You just have to just go for it.
Steven Jack Butala:
Life is packed full of moments like, “There’s no way I can accomplish this.” And then, six weeks later, you’re you’re killing it. And so, I don’t care if it’s a test in school, having a baby, I don’t care, starting a new job, any type of public speaking, most of us are in some type of play and grade school. All those moments are terrifying for the first 30 seconds that you’re involved in it. And then, after doing it for a while, then it’s just fine. You will get the hang of it, but you have to practice. And that’s what Jill is really saying. Talk to five title agents, and just get yourself comfortable. Maybe on Discord, ask if anybody’s willing to just really have a phone conversation about how to talk to sellers. Or whatever it takes-
Jill K DeWit:
Or role play with you. Practice with you.
Steven Jack Butala:
I’ll tell you what. I do great. On a personal note, not everybody’s like this, I think Jill is like this, I do very well at throwing myself blindly into a situation where I don’t have a choice. I sign up for this class. I sign up for this class. I know nothing about it. I don’t even like the material, but I’ve got to do it to graduate. And then, four weeks go by, the finals happening, and you’re there. You’re sitting at that desk, or whatever they do now, and you’re just going to get through it. And that’s what doing a mailer is. You send out 10,000 letters. You got two weeks to figure it out before the calls start coming in. And if you don’t figure it out, so what? Then, the next time, you do it.
Jill K DeWit:
Well, you know what? That’s the good thing. Not if you don’t figure it out. You make a mistake, the best thing you can do, by the way… We’re all going to make mistakes. The best thing you can do is call the person back and say, “Oh, I forgot to ask X,” and turn into a… A, it’s a learning moment. You’re like, “I’m going to add that to my list, or highlight that. I keep forgetting to ask the APN.” I’m sure that happens. I’m sure people are getting calls from sellers, and they go, “Oh my gosh. I forgot to ask the APN. What do I do?” Call back. It’s kind of funny.
Jill K DeWit:
It’s like, “I forgot the most important part. Where is the property? We had this great conversation, but I forgot to ask the details on this,” kind of thing. “I said I’d email you that, but by golly, I forgot to ask your email. Might be helpful.” Because then too, you have another chance to build a relationship with these people. It always makes it great. Every time I forget, it’s the funniest thing. And now they really love me because I’m like, “Oh, hello.” And you’re a real person. They’re real people too. And so, that’s…
Steven Jack Butala:
Sellers call back that are relatively happy with how you price it and do want to sell, they’re going to respond in one of two ways. One, they’re going to talk about the circumstance that they’re in from a social standpoint and about why they want to sell. So you’ll sit there and spend 10 minutes about, “Oh yeah, I have to move back to Boston, because this, and this, and this happened. I really do need to sell the property.” And then, their next question is going to be, “What do I do next?” There’s not a lot of real estate talk.
Steven Jack Butala:
The second type of person, which is a lot less likely to buy their property, is going to tell you about how great that real estate is in an effort to either change the price or just to talk to somebody because they’re lonely. So they’re not going to ask you mechanical, hard questions that are tough to answer like, “Well, how long does escrow take? And what makes you think that you can buy my land?” They’re just not going to… Very small likelihood that you’re going to get any questions that you can’t answer, I think. Don’t you?
Jill K DeWit:
Just trust that you most likely already are the expert compared to the person that you’re talking to on the phone. This is your business. And know it, own it, wake up today… Like I said, you can wake up today, put that hat on, “I’m an investor today, and this is it.”
Steven Jack Butala:
Just power through it, like everything else.
Jill K DeWit:
And you’ll be just fine. And you have us. You have us.
Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah. And all the people in Discord.
Jill K DeWit:
Got it. We’ll never let you fall all that far. Same thing we tell the kids.
Steven Jack Butala:
As long as you stay involved, and as long as you ask questions in Discord, you’re going to be fine.
Jill K DeWit:
Yep. Happy you could join us today. Five days a week, you can find us here on the Land Academy Show.
Steven Jack Butala:
Join us next week for another interesting episode. You are not alone in your real estate ambition.
Jill K DeWit:
You know what this just made me think of. So we did that talk last week with those newbie Land Academy members that were having a lot of jitters, and having a lot of questions, and they didn’t feel comfortable asking. They thought, and they were kind of silly… They thought they were not necessarily solid questions, or whatever term you want to put on it, so we did a special session just with them. Say get it out, ask them whatever. There’s no stupid question. We’re happy to help you. But, where was I going with that?
Steven Jack Butala:
I think that class was very… They had a lot of great questions. I was shocked.
Jill K DeWit:
Yeah. They were brainier questions. And I guess that’s it. I think that they were surprised that they were smarter questions and they thought they were, and they already knew so much. Was good.
Steven Jack Butala:
I’m not sure that they really wanted the answers to the questions, although that’s helpful. A lot of times, you just want some reassurance.
Jill K DeWit:
Yeah.
Steven Jack Butala:
And so, it was us on screen, saying, “Yeah, you know how to do this.”
Jill K DeWit:
Exactly.
Steven Jack Butala:
Just by asking those questions gives me a lot of reassurance.
Jill K DeWit:
I know what I wanted to say. My whole point was the fact that they were asking questions, and they showed up, that you people, you know who you are, you were there, you showed up, you were with us for the two hours, you asked those questions and really cared, tells me you’re going to be just fine. So if you’re listening to this today, and you’re thinking about your first sale jitters, and you’re going there, you’re putting in the energy, you’re going to be just fine.
Steven Jack Butala:
Totally agree.
Jill K DeWit:
Thank you for tuning in. We hope you find our content valuable and we really appreciate your support. If you haven’t already, check out our YouTube channel and hit that subscribe button.
Steven Jack Butala:
We’re Steve and Jill. Information.
Jill K DeWit:
And inspiration.
Steven Jack Butala:
To buy undervalued property.
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