This is episode number 2247. We talk about Jill’s updated land buying script for 2025. Hint, it starts out with the words, “Why are you selling?” In case you don’t know, it’s Land Hacks Week. Each day on the show, we answer a question from our Land Academy Member Discord Forum, and we take a deep dive into land-related topics by popular request, except for this episode.

Making Deals Out Of Everything

My question for Jill pertains directly to this topic. This topic that Jill’s about to talk about has been in the top five questions since we started Land Academy. Why is this so important to everyone, Jill? Everybody wants to hear Jill’s recorded calls. They want to learn how to negotiate. They want to learn how to turn a real estate deal that wasn’t there 30 minutes ago into a viable transaction. What is the secret? What is the secret sauce here, starting with how your script changed in 2025?

True. Do you want to just call the whole topic one big ball?

Yeah.

What do I do that’s so special? We’ll do that and then we’ll jump into my new script. What do I do that’s so special? I innately believe everyone is calling me for a reason and I believe that they need something and I need something, otherwise a phone would not be ringing. That’s number one. Even if they’re calling to yell at me, why are they mad? I think there’s something there. They wouldn’t be calling to yell at me if they didn’t have something to sell and or if they’re yelling at me, because the price isn’t right. Let’s see if we can get to the bottom of that together. That’s part of it.

Starting Conversations With People The Right Way

I come at it like that. I’m going to make deals out of everything I can. If I can’t make a deal out of it, at least I know what their price is. I will find out. Sometimes it might be a make me move number. Okay, that person I can move on. They’re never going to sell this. It’s been in the family for five generations. If they have to live on it in a tent, because it’s the only property that’s left in their life, they will do that. Got it. I got to the bottom of it. The second piece is how I talk to people and how’s think I get things out of it.

That’s what I think.

Part B is, I don’t spend too much time on it. I’m not going to have an eight-hour conversation. People have had long conversations, but I can have 20, 20 minutes if I have to because it’s going that good and I know there’s a good deal here then. I need to get to the bottom of it too. While I’m talking to them, I’m doing my due diligence at the same time so I can get a solution. The second thing is really how you come at people. As I said, I believe there’s a reason we’re talking. I let them know that. I let them know they’re not wasting my time and I don’t want to waste their time. I am here to solve this problem with you.

Do not let land buyers waste your time, and let them know you are not wasting theirs either. Share on X

You need money. I want to give you money. That’s the point here. Maybe even on the sell side, when I’m selling something, they want to buy it, I want them to buy it. I want them to know how great it is. I want them to know all the great things that I know about the property. Maybe there’s some I don’t know. I hope they go off and love it. I hope they get it at a great price. I’m going to talk to them.

I talk to everybody like it’s my favorite aunt or my favorite cousin. That’s how I treat them because I don’t think there’s any other way of doing anything. I walk into the bank like that. That’s the thing too. I walk into the bank going, “How are you?” Don’t walk over the counter and start dropping what you need. It’s a person. This is their job. Anything can be a fun transaction. “How are you?” “It’s great. How are you?” Great.” All of a sudden, too, it just puts everybody at ease.

Can I ask you a bunch of questions?

Sure.

It’s more of a psychological profiling and it is just asking questions because I know the answers. This has been years we’ve been doing this. I know why Jill’s great at this, but I need to have you say it for everybody else. When we send out a mailer and it’s a sign, a specific phone number, and then you see your phone’s ringing it’s off that mailer, do you want to answer the phone?

Yes.

Does the fact that I send that you have confidence in my pricing positively affect your desire to answer the phone or don’t you care? I hope it’s that you don’t care.

I don’t care. It’s actually really helpful, but I don’t care. It’s helpful if they’re warmed up to our price, but I don’t care because you know why? I’m not afraid to talk them down. If it’s too low and I add money, everybody’s happy.

This is a question. You’re wired to just talk on the phone with people and do you have any goal not to buy their property, but do you have any humanity-type goal with people when you’re talking to them that you want to achieve by the time you get done with a phone call?

Absolutely. I want to be friends. Still, to this day, I’m like, “Give me the phone number. What is their phone number?” I’m not getting anywhere. I can’t do it in text. I can’t do it in email. I certainly can’t do it in the snail mail. I need to pick up the phone and call them. I’ll strategically do things, too. I use the phone. I’ll send an email and then I’ll call and go, “Did you get that? Did it make sense?” That’s my way of nudging them along. It’s a very nice way of getting what I want.

A lot of times, people who are curmudgeons that are selling these properties. Can you turn them? Do you try to turn them or do you detect early on that they’re unturnable, they’re just curmudgeonly and that’s it? Not about price or buying the land. They just want to get off the phone.

We can still agree on stuff. It’s totally fine. Do you know how many times people have said, “I’m sure you’re a nice lady. Lose my number.” Click. That’s fine. I’m good with that. I’m totally fine with that. I think that’s good.

I think that you have a dynamic personality. I know you do. You have been hardwired since birth to speak with people and to essentially get along in life with everybody. Without any malicious intent or any type of sales, used car sales tactics or any of that, you get to the bottom to find out if they want to sell their property or not. If they don’t, that’s okay. If they do, it’s okay, but there’s a price range that works or it doesn’t.

That’s it. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of it. Either one of us can make a decision. They’re at $30,000, I’m at $20,000. They don’t want to budge for $30,000 and I don’t want to budge for $20,000. At least we part ways and we know everybody stands. One of us might change our minds at some point. That’s okay.

The reason that this is in the top five, I think, and it always has been and always will be, is because number one, and this is if you are this person, I am this person, if you, reader, are this person in this category, it’s because you don’t want to talk on the phone. You just don’t want to, number one.

The people that are so enamored by this?

Yeah. They want to learn how to talk on the phone like you do. The fact is, they don’t want to.

They may not be good at it and that’s okay. We talked about this a while back, that there was a person in Career Path who was having trouble with deals. He was an older gentleman. I’m like, “I got to ask the question.”

I’m an older gentleman and I understand this.

He’s like this, “We’re not getting the deals.” I said, “Hold on a moment. Who’s answering the phone?” “I am.” To which I said, “Stop it right now. I don’t care who you get to answer the phones, it can’t be you.” He might’ve been initially offended and I don’t think he was, I just think he needed to hear it. He is probably like, “You’re probably right.”

Why Are You Selling?

“You sound like a cranky old man. I don’t want to talk to you.” He was. You’ve got to you got to figure that out too. I want to talk about the script real quick for a few minutes before we get this and we can cover more. My number one thing for 2025 is we’re in a weird funk right now, but I would argue that probably in five years, I’m going to call it to funk again and then we’ll be in another funk. It’s just the way real estate is.

If you are not getting the answers you need, you have to change something in yourself or how you are coming at it. Share on X

She means the economy. We’re in real stagnant pricing things, not selling, interest rates aren’t moving.

Maybe people want to hold onto things.

We’re in the sailboat with no wind.

People are calling and they want to sell or they don’t want to sell. There are times where they really want to sell everything, like the sky is falling. That’s not what it is right now. It’s not like they’re doing great either. It’s weird. To combat that, I have changed my script to just get it out in the open right away. It’s not about money. What the heck has you picking up the phone calling me to talk about this property? Why are you selling?

It couldn’t be more open-ended question than let them go. Let them talk. It doesn’t matter what the price is, we need to get to the bottom of the situation because there’s a situation. It’s usually not because, “You sent me a letter.” “Keep going. What else you got? Can I send a letter for your car too? What are you driving?” Make a joke of it if you feel like you can do that, but get them talking. “All right, so this works for you. $3,000 works.” “No, we didn’t even talk about that.” “Alright, so what’s going on? Why are you selling? How long have you had it? What can you tell me about it?” Just a few things like that.

Again, let them talk and then it takes your tone and how you treat them for them to open up. If you’re not getting the answers you need, it’s probably either you or how you’re coming at it. You need to record your own phone calls. I’ve still listened to my own calls. I listen to the podcast. You need to know how you’re coming across. It’s really important. That will tell you a lot. That’s the first thing. If you have three bad phone calls in a row, stop and listen to all the recordings and I bet you’re going to figure out what it is. It could be your initial out of the gate, like just, “This is Bob.” That could just be that instead of replace it with somebody else. What else you want to know?

If you have three bad phone calls in a row, stop and listen to the recordings. It will help you determine what you are doing wrong. Share on X

Nurturing Likeable And Dynamic Personality

I think that you are very likable. Everybody I know likes you. There are very few exceptions. For some reason, everyone who’s not related to you likes you.

We go there. That’s hilarious. It takes a lot. That’s great.

I’m in a similar situation.

Everyone who’s related to me is a little sick of me. Great.

If you have a dynamic personality and you have a relatively positive history with people in your past, you’re going to do great at this. That just means you have to sharpen your skills and learn some stuff. That’s probably one of the reasons you’re reading this. If you have a long history of being a loner and you’d much rather code or sit in a dark room and analyze data like me and dread talking on the phone to the point where it’s not healthy, the good news is your dread’s not healthy. You have a choice.

I had a choice and I chose to line up with Jill so that I found somebody who, fortunately for me, professionally and socially, is interested in putting yourself out there and going to work at it. You have choices. You don’t have to stop and not do this, but you’ve got to look at yourself in the mirror at some point, like I did and say, “I hate this. Eventually, I’m going to stop doing it.”

I might not be the best person at it.

Next Episode: Working With Your Spouse

Join us next time where we discuss working with your spouse, lessons from completing 16,000 real estate deals. You are not alone and your real estate ambition. We are Jack and Jill. Information and inspiration to buy undervalued property.