What is redx? A lead management system or something?

Is there a way to comply with the "telephone surveyor" provision of the DNC?

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/alerts/alt129.shtm

Do you mean trying to use the exception for surveyors to make a sales pitch? The quote you provided seems to be pretty straightforward about that...

No, what I meant is that whether it's possible to call and say something like this...

"Hello Ms/Mr. Jones, um...hum..I'm wondering ...whether you can help me!"

Mr/Ms. Jones - "...OK... who is this?"

Me..."I'm vk60546 with abc realty, I'm starting to work in your area and I'd like to learn about the local real estate market and am wondering if you could answer a few questions for me..."

They'd probably respond with yes, or may hang up.

If they say... YES, I'd ask...
"first, how long have you lived in the area?"

get response

"how do you like your home, your neighborhood, etc.."

"if you had to sell your home, where would you move and why"

"if your friends wanted to move into your neighborhood, would you recommend that they buy a home in your area (town/city) or not? If yes... WHY, if no.. WHY?

Do they know of anyone who is thinking about buying or selling their home?

YES, NO...

How many people in their sphere are thinking of buying and selling?

Thanks Mr/Ms. Jones for all your replies.

From my experience, I know that people like to share their mind with anyone who'd listen. They'd hang up if I started selling them something over the phone, but they'd gladly give information. Occasionally, I'd call the neighbors around the house listed for sale to get some info on the area and on the home for my buyers.

Now, we are not lawyers and I'm not sure whether the above survey would exempt me. What do you think?

I am also not a lawyer- but if your purpose is to sell them something, then it wouldn't be exempt. If your purpose is to collect data to sell to realtors or something then it would?

I had thought that I read that surveys for political purposes were exempt (not any survey), which would also change things.

If you spend a couple hours lining up all your phone calls ahead of time, it is possible.

A couple months back, I was straight up desperate to get a new listing and actually made 250 phone calls over four hours. 90% of the calls were either unreachable or went straight to voicemail (in which case I left a brief, but professional ~15 second message), and of the remaining 10% where I did get somebody on the line, half had already relisted. That left me with about 12/250 calls that were deemed qualifiable prospects. Of those, about 10 were dismayed and overwhelmed with calls from other realtors - a few even just hung up on me mid speech. **However** 2/250 calls were somewhat fortuitous. One resulted in a listing appointment (that I did not get btw) and the other eventually got me a listing, albeit overpriced and several miles outside my comfortable travel range. I still have that listing and will never forget how exhausted I was putting so much energy to get it. (Not one of the voicemails ever got back to me).

I truly believe that the most aggressive "dial for dollars" type broker can hoard a massive database of listings, but it takes a truly exceptional amount of energy and thick skin.

Then again, one could easily compare me to that fat, out of shape smoker who recently joins the gym and convinces himself that he can run 5 miles, do or die. He may succeed, but he'll be gasping and coughing and most likely quit after just one attempt. Run that same distance day in and day out and you'd eventually be in such great shape that five miles wouldn't seem so challenging anymore.

the system that i use would have been unmanageable if i were to run it back when i first came into this business. what i do to prospect could be a fulltime 12 hour a day job for someone who does not have the systems in place to make the numbers.

lucky makes many more actual contacts in 1 day that i make. i do not for one second disbelieve his methods in regards to contacts. go to youtube and start typing in different relevant terms and you can watch video of people dialing and see how it works.

it does work.

just got a message today when i came into the office.

i called her on 15jul10....sent prelisting package on 16jul...called on 21jul to confirm and schedule, she did not answer, i left message...22jul10...seh called me in the morning and left a message asking for me to come out and list the property.

i am going last and there are 3 other agnts interviewing. she knows price has to move. i would bet that i take the listing. the listing appointment is this saturday. i'll probably forget to update this, but if i remember, ill let you know how it went.

So even based on your numbers, you can get a listing daily with this system! Don't sound bad to me!!! The biggest issue may be getting the raw numbers to feed the pipe. A three month supply would be around 15,000 numbers. Probably do-able even with the DNC...

well, I was thinking on using the survey as a scrubbing list for door knocking candidates. Since I would not be selling anything on the phone, but gathering information only, I think that I'd be exempt.

Attached is the complaint form
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/1088B-R.pdf
Notice question no 4

4. Did the call advertise the commercial availability or quality of any property, goods, or services?
___Yes What property, goods, or services did the call promote?
________________________________________________________________________
___No

If the answer is NO, don't think the complaint will go anywhere.

Additional questions I think would be good to ask are these:

If you were to sell your home, would you use a Real Estate Agent.
yes or no. Why or why not.

If yes, how would you choose the agent, etc...

what information do you think a real estate agent should provide, etc...

Selling could be done in person, after door knocking, but never during the phone call.

i don't think that's the intent of the regulation and you are trying to intepret it to your benefit. anyone can see your intent is to drum up business for yourself - heck all they would have to do is read this thread for evidence.

go for it... just be prepared for complaints and fines.

One approach would be to keep recycling all the calls that went to voicemail on earlier attempts. You'd have to structure your system so that you don't keep calling the same people everyday though, as that could backfire with some folks.

Hey hard working guy.

I'm glad to hear somebody else
has to make calls to get business.

Sometimes I think I'm a freak because
of the large number of people I have
to speak to to get business, very few
people work this way so it can be lonely,
not much comaraderie with fellow agents
in ones office.

Started the business in 1993, I knocked
on 4000 doors four times a year. Would
order 4000 newsletters and then started
knocking on doors, by the time I had finished
all the newsletters I always had 4 deals,
mainly just listings sold, Mike Ferry told
me not to work with buyers. So I did not
work sign calls or open house leads, I would
just knock on doors Mon - Fri in the morning
and this would give me lots of business.
I would not do every day maybe 3 - 4 days
a week. When I got busy I would drop door
knocking in a heart beat, not clever.

1000 doors knocked on, 1/3 of the people
home would equal 1 deal, always in the morning,
my energy is good at this time. To add I
always make 50 attempts per hour while
on the street, after two hours your
focus becomes fuzzy, so I find it best
just to do 100 doors then jump in my
car and leave the area.

The embarasing thing is over a 11 month
period I only prospect half an hour a
day. Now that I'm married I'm trying
very hard to bump this up.

A very successful prospecter in the
East End told me that people join a
gym, they go for a few weeks and then
stop, this he said is what happens to
agents who try to prospect.

The only time prospecting has let me
down in 17 years is when a girfriend
of 6 years left me, I did 3000 doors
with no results, my head was messed
up I think.



This system worked for me because I was a
27 year old single guy with rent/car payments
to make, and when I worked it it always produced
for me. Most of the agents in my office had a
wife/husband who made a regular income so
if they didn't sell something for a while
they would'nt starve, I did'nt have that
luxury. So in -10 weather I was on the
street with a frozen face, working.


Did this for 7 years, hard in the Ontario
Winters, then went on the phone.

While on the phone I always averaged betweeen
2300 - 2600 people spoken to
per year. With the phone I did 1 deal for
every 270 people I spoke to. I do not go on many listing
appointments, they have to be dead seriouse.
Were, When, Why, you can feel in your bones
when they are the real deal.

My mother sold real estate for 30 years, when I
started she told me to door knock for 3 hours
a day, If I had done just that I would have lots
and lots of RRSP, takes disciplin. My mother
was always in the top five percent of 100 agents
in her office till she was 70 years old. She
has always grossed double what I do, she says
I work just enough to get by which is true.

This year I've gone back on doors, my phone
list are old ones from the Bowers Book, they
wanted me to pay for these new legal lists.
Good thing is I've lost some weight from
walking around, it's forced excercise.

Lucky thanks for your honest contrubution, hope
this has not bored you.

Hunting is more exciting than
Farming, you never know what
will pop up, and they are all
different.

Lucky forgot to add

If you knock on a door when there
is a domestic dispute going on you
will get a very scary response from
a wild man.

I'm 6.2, 200 pounds and have never
been physically touched, there is
a short real estate guy who doors knocks
who has been roughed up more than once
, this guy only doors knocks in the evening
so booze is more likely part of the
equation.

One more funny one, there
is an agent I don't care for
who door knocks.

Got very badly bitten by a
dog, owner told him it was
his fault so he called the
police, went the the hospital
to get a report/rabbies shot. The dog was
put down, this is the law in
Toronto, Ontario.

In my case while door knocking
in the morning I sometimes
get to see women still in there
sleeping clother, adds some spice
to the day.

Lucky,

I track Attempts, Contacts, Leads,
Apointments but apologise for not
taking the time to add them all up,
I carry a note pad and write everything
down. Attempts, contacts and deals are
the most relevent to me. At the end of
the year I add them up but not monthly.

This week, it's easy to add up one week.

Attemps 457 for four days.
I average 50 doors per hour
so this would be 9 hours,
not enough.

Contacts 128, follow up calls 6

Leads 4

Appointments 1

For this appointment I knocked on the
door and the women thought I was the agent
she was waiting to see, she had come into
the city to help her mother sell
her home. While we were talking the two
agents drove up in their car, they both
know me, the one got out and stood by the
car the other stayed in the car till I had
moved on to the next house, kinda fun.

She called me after the agents had left and
invited me over for a 3pm appointment.

We will see who gets it next week when she
comes back in town on Thursday, the other agents
are very good and seasoned but gave a very high
price, either I'm out to lunch on price or they are,
(they asked the lady what she wanted, she told them
589,000, they said no problem with that, I gave a list
of 529,000, after I gave the price she would not look
me in the eye, not a good sign, my price is the truth,
have worked this area for 18 years)
this team always list homes at great prices, I charge
five percent, the owner said that was the same as
the competing agents, personlly I never take way
over priced listing, costs time and money, better
to prospect more.

Not all weeks go this well.

This post is a bit addictive, must stop this.

It's raining today, will have to use my golfing
umbrella to keep dry, makes it hard to track
your numbers while carrying an umbrella.

Daily affirmation, I must spend more time prospecting
and less time looking at naked women on the internet.

Happy Friday, go and make your own luck.