“When I received my initial order of books, I posted a copy of it on Facebook with an announcement. Then, another gentleman, who I had known previously, as a result of seeing my book posted on Facebook and said, ‘Hey Lou, I'd like to talk to you. I've got an opportunity, a piece of real estate I need to get sold.’
And when we spoke, I found out that that piece of real estate was real estate that he had inherited from the death of his uncle and that he was the co-executor on the estate and he wanted me to come over and take a look at it to see what it was worth.
I did that. I went through the entire process with him. I gave him a home evaluation, and we listed the property, and we wound up selling the property within 24 hours of it going into the MLS at full price. We sold it at $379,000.”
“I've got a listing right now, and it also came about as a result of the book. It's a single family home in a town called Hainesport, New Jersey, and that will be a $499,000 listing when it comes to fruition. That came from a referral who I'd given the book to.”
Ben: This is a good story. So tell me a little bit about the results you got in your story about posting the book on Facebook, et cetera. Tell me a little bit about how that worked and what happened.
Lou: Well, when I received my initial order of books, I posted a copy of it on Facebook with an announcement, et cetera. I received a lot of very positive comments as a result of that from people.
Then another gentleman, who I had known previously, as a result of seeing my book posted on Facebook and said, "Hey Lou, I'd like to talk to you. I've got an opportunity, a piece of real estate I need to get sold," and when we spoke, I found out that that piece of real estate was real estate that he had inherited from the death of his uncle and that he was the co-executor on the estate and he wanted me to come over and take a look at it to see what it was worth.
I did that. I went through the entire process with him. I gave him a home evaluation, and we listed the property and we wound up selling the property within 24 hours of it going into the MLS at full price.
Ben: Wow. And this was a duplex or a quadraplex?
Lou: This was a duplex property, yes. Two units, and it's a property that actually needs to be rehabbed and we sold it at a very fair price, a very great price. We sold it at $379,000. Full-price offer. We listed it at $379,000 sold it at $379,000 and he's just ecstatic because he never thought he'd get that much money for the property.
So, I did a good job pricing it, and the book did a great job in terms of positioning me properly, even though I had known this gentleman, positioning me properly so that he wanted to speak to me about the opportunity to work for him on behalf of his uncle's estate.
Ben: Yeah, OK. And this was somebody that you knew, but as we have all learned, you don't get every bit of business from people you know, so it helped close that gap.
Lou: Right, yes.
Ben: Awesome. OK. How long have you known this seller for?
Lou: We had grown up together, but had lost touch over the past, I would say 20 years, 25 years.
Ben: Oh, so you probably hadn't seen him socially or at work probably for 20 years?
Lou: No. Not at all. We had connected on Facebook, but had not really communicated at all on Facebook, and it wasn't until he saw the posting with my book on Facebook that he called me to see what I thought about this piece of property.
Now, the interesting thing is that he was sitting on this piece of property. His uncle had passed away in December and he called me in May or April, after I posted a copy of my book on Facebook. So he was thinking about it, looking around, talking maybe to other Realtors, but it wasn't until he saw me posting this book on Facebook that he initiated the conversation of his wanting me to take a look at this property and hopefully list it and sell it on his behalf.
Ben: So he had talked to some Realtors, but he had not talked to you about it?
Lou: Correct. The book was the trigger. The book was definitely the trigger. I've got several other opportunities in the pipeline. I've got a listing right now that I'm waiting on, and it also came about as a result of the book. It's a single family home, and that will be a $499,000 listing when it comes to fruition.
Their only challenge is they're going to be traveling in the fall and they're not sure if they want to put it up on the market now or wait until spring, but the book really, really was a key component of sealing that deal as well, because he had interviewed another big-time Realtor from another company.
I'm with Berkshire Hathaway; he's with another firm. I actually just spoke with him this morning, and he told me that he called the other gentleman and told him that he will not be getting the listing, that I will be getting the listing.
Ben: Interesting.
Lou: I just received another shipment of books. I ordered, I guess I had 52 of them. I ordered FSBO, the Expired Listing, and then the Business Card Book. So I'm in the process of collecting information and data on some FSBOs and some Expireds, and hopefully, that will get me some more listings.
I'm really focused on getting listing for the next 60 days or so, 60 to 90 days. That's a big opportunity for me. Then I do a lot of open houses and I've given the book out at open houses and it's been pretty well received by those folks. It hasn't resulted in anything immediately from the open houses, but I've had some good comments and some favorable comments as a result of handing the book out.
Ben: Question for you: What did your Facebook post ... did you post it on your personal Facebook or your business Facebook?
Lou: Both my personal and my business.
Ben: OK, and did you post the cover of the book, or what did the post itself look like?
Lou: I posted a picture of the cover of the book, and then I posted along with that some verbiage of, "If you're thinking of buying or selling and want to know what the value of your home is, please don't hesitate to give me a call.
Click, and get a free copy of my book and let me know if I can be of service, yada, yada, yada." I'm actually meeting with another gentleman tomorrow who is a real tech expert, and he's going to help me to really focus on utilizing Facebook as a marketing tool in conjunction with my book.
Ben: Yeah, OK. Now, which one did you post? Was it the Secret of Wealthy Home Sellers?
Lou: Secret of Wealthy Home Seller, The Expired Listings and the FSBO book.
Ben: Which one did you post that this duplex seller contacted you from?
Lou: Oh, Secret of Wealthy Home Sellers.
Ben: Wow. OK. That's awesome. You talked about the other lead. Where did that lead come from?
Lou: That came from a referral who I'd given the book to.
Ben: So you gave the book to somebody ,and then they passed it on to somebody else?
Lou: Well, I gave the book to someone in my sphere of influence, and then, they in turn were in the company of the seller, who was a friend of theirs and they said, "Hey, we're thinking of selling our house, I need a Realtor." And my friend said, "Well, I got a guy for you. He's written a book. Give him a call."
And that's how it came about. So, then when I went to meet with him, I gave him a copy of the book, too, and that's what really sealed the deal between me and this other Realtor.
Ben: Good for you. OK. Basically, you posted the Secret of Wealthy Home Sellers cover along with some basic stuff, like if you want to find out what your house is worth, et cetera. Wow. OK.
Lou: Right.
Ben: OK. So you haven't listed the house yet, but you're in the process, or it's looking extremely positive. They've said they're going to give the listing to you?
Lou: They've been very honest and upfront with me and said I'm getting the listing, whether it's this month or whether it's in March when they put it on the market, whichever they decide.
They're trying to figure out where they're going. They're downsizing. They're an older couple and they're looking to see if they can find the right over 55 community, which I'm going to help them buy as well, or if they're going to go into an apartment for awhile.
Ben: OK. Question for you. Have you used the books at all at listing presentations?
Lou: Well, yeah I did with the property. Yes.
Ben: OK. What about, because I think I pulled you up on Realtor.com. You also have another listing, if I'm correct.
Lou: Yes.
Ben: Did you use it on that listing presentation?
Lou: I did give them a copy of the book, but that was a really strong relationship. So, the book was the book and it helped, but that was a really strong relationship with someone that I've known and been in contact with for a long time.
Ben: OK.
Lou: I wouldn't say it tipped the scales, but it certainly added to my credibility.
Ben: It helped. It didn't do 100% of the work; it maybe did 10% of the work.
Lou: Right.
Ben: Yeah, OK. Awesome. I have a couple more questions, then I'll let you go. What do you ... let me ask you this, because a lot of people are concerned. What do you say if someone gets the book, they look at it and they say, you didn't write this. You're not an author. What do you say to that person?
Lou: Well, that's where I'm different than most other people, because I am an author. I'm a certified executive leadership coach. I'm a master certified coach trainer, and I actually do have another book that I've written on Amazon.
Ben: Wow.
Lou: So most people do know me as being an author. So, what I say to those people when they tell me that I am not an author, I say, "Well, no. You know I am an author. I have a book that's for sale on Amazon.com and you can pay $29.99 for that book. This book I've created to enhance my real estate business, and this book I give away for free."
Ben: I just pulled it up. You're correct. Holy moly. That's pretty impressive, Lou. I like it.
Lou: Yeah.
Ben: No, I think that's the biggest thing. Everybody I've talked to and I've asked that question for, they're confident and they're just like ... Look, in my opinion you believe that maybe you didn't write the Secret of Wealthy Home Sellers yourself, but you've got the smarts and the ability where if you took the time to sit down, you could write that book no problem and you would ace it. Am I correct there?
Lou: Absolutely correct, yes.
Ben: You know you're the real deal. You've sold a lot of houses. You know what you're doing. You're not a nobody who doesn't know what they're doing, brand new Realtor, never sold a house. You're smart. You're confident. You've got business smarts, and you may not have written the book yourself, but you've got the wherewithal to do it if you wanted to.
Lou: I'm 63, I've been in and around the real estate business since I was 21 or 22. I was a licensed real estate broker at 25, and I owned at one time my own franchise with 25 sales associates working for me. I then also owned an ERA franchise at one time. Then, I decided to go into the corporate world and so I've circled back.
So almost everyone knows the fact that ... everyone within my sphere of influence knows that I've been in and around the real estate business my whole life, and they know that I do know enough about real estate that I could have written a book, so I've never really been challenged on the fact that I did not write the book and if I were, I would say, "Well, you know I'm an author anyway, and yes I did have some help writing this and so do many other people whose books you've paid for and read had help writing their books.
So this is no different than what some major author and major personalities have already done themselves. So don't judge me by whether or not I've actually written every sentence or every line. Judge it by what the book delivers to you in terms of the information and expertise and knowledge to help you get your home sold better and faster at a higher price, and that's where I come in."
I'm hoping to ... I'm restarting my real estate business, and I think this tool is going to be very important for me to reignite and restart my real estate business, and at some point, I'm going to be sending a copy of the book to everyone in my sphere of influence, which is at least 500 people.
Past clients and investment advisors. Part of my pitch, and it's in my bio in my book, is that I have about 200 ... I count right now 250; I can go up to 500 or 1000, but I want to keep it modest at 250 investment managers and advisors who are my clients who collectively represent over 50,000 individual investors.
So when I get a listing, and it's in the book, it's in my bio in the book, part of what I do is I promote your listing to all of these investment managers and advisors who hopefully can and will promote your listing to their clients. The average advisor has about 200 to 250 households or clients that they work with. So, that's another part of my unique selling proposition.
Ben: Wow, OK. I've got two more questions, then I'll let you go. What do you feel is the biggest benefit that you get from using the book?
Lou: It differentiates me from everybody else.
Ben: Yeah, it's different.
Lou: The differentiation factor is critical. Everybody has a fancy card. Everybody has a fancy team brochure. But, this is solid, free information that people can take and use to help them get the job done for themselves in conjunction with me.
Ben: Yeah.
Lou: So it's a differentiator. Anytime you're an author, you're different than anybody else.
Ben: That's true. I have one more question.
Lou: Go ahead.
Ben: What would you say to somebody who is, maybe they're starting out in real estate or just things are working, they're really, really struggling to get listings, they've tried all the different things, called FSBOs, call Expireds, do this, use this script, and it seems like nothing is working. What would your advice to be to them?
Lou: My advice would be try the books. Nothing's guaranteed, but the books turn what is a cold call into a warm call. When you send the book out, when you hand the book to somebody and you follow up with them, you're not just like everyone else who has hammered them because their property expired. You're different than anyone else because you have a higher level of credibility in their eyes.
Ben: Yeah. Did you come up with the term warm call?
Lou: No, that warm call has been around for a long time, but the book allows you to turn a cold call into a warm call because it's far better than just a letter. It's far better than just handing out your business card, and especially when you're dealing with a FSBO or an expired listing, if you use the expired title, you're targeting those people specifically, and now, you're different than anyone else.
They all get a letter talking about how great the other Realtors are, but how many of them get a book that talks about what to do if your home is an expired listing? It's about differentiating yourself. Nothing works 100%, because if it did, that would be utopia.
But this certainly gives you an edge, a means of differentiating yourself, having you stand out from the crowd, head and shoulders above the crowd, which is where you want to be.