How to use an auto dialer.
So what is an auto dialer well basically an auto dialer is a piece of software that runs on your computer usually in a cloud-based platform meaning you log into it on a website, once you login you have all of the information that you’ve either put their yourself or some kind of a lead program has put it there for you and what you’re going to do is organize that data into different categories and call list. Once that is done you hit begin dial and basically the autodialer then starts dialing one number after another with a single line dialer and you never actually have to pick up the phone, set down the phone, dial numbers, everything is done automatically! You dial one number and that’s it. The one number that you’re dialing is the number that calls into the cloud system or the dialer. Once you’ve called into that you’re connected and then that line from the Internet continues to make the rest of the calls and it can call cell phones, it can call home phones, it can call expireds, for sale by owners, you can call your sphere of influence, you can call whatever you want the dialer calls what you put in it.
Why use an auto dialer?
So why is an auto dialer a great thing? Well there are a few different options you can get a single line auto dialer or you can get a multiple line auto dialer what this means is while your login and calling a single line dialer will be calling one person at a time. The single line dialer will call it will ring that personal pick up it will connect you or go to their voicemail and you can disconnect and go to the next person you can also leave a voicemail if you like. I personally don’t leave voicemail’s. I haven’t seen a response back from it in my own work so that’s why don’t. A multiple line dialer however is going to have three phone lines dialing at once sometimes more and if someone picks up your connected. Now if a second person picks up or a third person picks up it will play a prerecorded message. Often times this message says something like hello? Hello? This is real estate agent with real estate company calling about the home you had I’m sorry I’m not able to hear you right now so I’m gonna call you back in just a minute when I have a little better reception. It’ll hang up at that point and you can call them back after you finish your conversation with your other prospect.
Rules with auto dialers
Now one of the rules that you have to watch out for is if your telemarketing, which is what this is, you cannot have a dropped call rate of more than 4%. What you do when you disconnect with that person is called dropping a call technically even though you said you would call them right back. Basically you disconnected with a potential client without actually talking to them and this is a rule put in place to keep telemarketers from sending out 100 lines at once and annoying people all day long. Now I know what everybody’s thinking who’s gonna check that, well honestly I don’t know anyone who’s had an issue of it I have heard stories of people getting busted for that and I don’t know how it happens but I heard it will bankrupt you because of the fines and the fact that they implement the fines per call made & per dropped call passing that 4%. It’s just not worth it so if you can use four lines that’s probably too much, two lines is definitely gonna be preferred to keep that dropped call rate down, three lines at the absolute max. That’s based on work that I’ve done personally and seeing what that dropped call rate looks like at different levels.
Realtors and the do not call list…
So now we’re all wondering the same thing what about the do not call list? Well the do not call list is just that, it’s a do not call list. One nice way around this is it is a do not call list not a do not text list. I do not call the do not call list there’s a hefty fine if you’re caught doing that. For me it’s an integrity thing it’s an ethical thing and I’m not interested in doing the wrong thing and getting in trouble or just really giving someone a bad day because they signed up on the do not call list and you ignored that so you can do what you want. I prefer not to myself and I do not call do not call list members.
Which auto dialer?
So which auto dialer do you use? Here’s the thing, I’ve used several of the autodialers out there and most of them are very similar.
Land Voice Auto Dialer and Leads source
it’s honestly been years since I tried using land voice, when I did use it I don’t know if they even had a dialer yet. It was early in my career and all I knew is that I didn’t really care for the leads. They were no better than the ones I was getting in Redx and Redx was much easier for me to manage the leads. I’ve since seen Land Voice’s system at an event they were at and it looks much better. I believe they offer pro leads and a 4 line dialer. To me the 4 line dialer is too much. It’s going to lead to too many dropped calls. That being said I can’t give much value to the multiple line dialer by them because in the long run it stand a chance at hurting me more than helping me. The leads they offer as I mention are right on par with Redx. I’ve never used their pro leads and don’t know of anyone who is currently doing so. The database behind the system did not in my mind beat Vulcan or Mojo. I’m sure it’s working for some people, it just was not my style.
Arch Agent Auto Dialer
One you have to watch out for his arch dialer. Arch dialer charges you for additional minutes when you use the program. I figured this out when I actually started prospecting because I needed to buy more minutes to prospect for 2 to 3 hours a day. Once you buy all the minutes required to call for 2-4 hours a day Arch agent is no longer a discount, it’s no longer deal. Arch agent offers leads again on par with Redx, I’m starting to wonder if these companies get the leads from the same source. (probably but I don’t know for sure) The Fsbo leads through arch are perfectly fine and are mostly a given from any lead source.
The Redx Storm Dialer
There is another one out there for redX it’s called I believe Storm dialer and Storm is a decent dialer I wasn’t crazy about the data management part of it. The backend is not as easy to keep notes on everything and keep it organized as I prefer. But it wasn’t a bad dialer and I believe it is unlimited minutes. Unlimited minutes are key to doing a large amount of prospecting. Imagine not being able to make more calls because you’d made your limit for the day… What do you do??? Well you have to go door knocking or dial by hand which is not the point of using a dialer. Storm dialer is a single line dialer if memory suits me. I do like that I can hear the phone ringing when I make a call as with some dialers its just silence until someone picks up. Mojo dialer is that way and while it does work I just prefer to hear the phone ring. The database portion of Storm dialer is really the only part I would say that would keep me from purchasing it and lead me towards Mojo. Being able to organize my call lists, follow up calls and do not bother calls is very important and saves you a lot of time in the future. If you enjoy storm dialer or know of people who are using it and loving it over the Mojo system I’d love to hear why as maybe I missed something, however for now skip the Storm dialer and hit up Mojo or Vulcan.
Mojo Dialer and Vulcan 7
Mojo dialer is probably the best dialer out there. I don’t use it because I use Vulcan 7. Vulcan 7 and Mojo are the two top options. I use Vulcan 7 primarily because the data I can get through Vulcan 7 is better than the data that I can get anywhere else. Vulcan 7 also includes a single-line dialer which is what I prefer. If I was going to be doing a lot of circle prospecting I would have Mojo and I have had Mojo in the past and I paid their $10 a month fee to keep my database in Mojo so if I ever want to buy the dialer again I can. Mojo offers a single line all the way up to a triple line dialer so that is very nice. Vulcan 7 is only a single line dialer. The data management for both Vulcan seven and Mojo is great they are the top two that I’m aware of.
Lead Sources
What makes the red X leads better or worse than other leads? Typically the best leads are going to have fewer phone numbers and those phone numbers will definitely get you in contact with the person selling.That is a great lead. A poor lead would be a lead that has five or six phone numbers for it and none of them are for the correct homeowner. This is pretty common with lower end lead services such as the red X, land voice, arch agent and even mojo. Some of these companies do offer a higher end package. For instance the red X also sells a program called Onyx and that is their high-end lead service. It is going to have more accurate leads than the standard Redx leads. This is because they go through a better database and that’s why it cost more as well. Landvoice also has a higher end lead service to their system I believe it’s called the pro leads. Vulcan 7 is often going to get you people cell phone numbers. Cell phone numbers are the best because most people aren’t sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. Especially if they’re home just came off the market and hundreds of other agents are calling to reach them.
For sale by owner leads are typically going to be very similar in value, the difference being that some services can go back several months to pull old for sale by owner information. I typically use whichever for sale by owner service is cheapest at the time. I’m not even against going on craigslist, Zillow or other for sale by owner sites to attempt to reach them. The reason the value of these leads will typically be similar throughout the spectrum is because the for sale by owner’s are supplying a phone number to reach them at.
For circle prospecting there are a few different options for lead services, Cole information is one of those as well as mojo neighborhood search. These are the 2 relevant circle prospecting lead sources that I am aware of. Cole does have a upgraded service which supplies you with cell phone numbers. This is great because as we mentioned previously many people are not at home waiting for the phone to ring.
Which dialer and lead source is best for real estate prospecting?
You need to evaluate your needs in order to find which program is going to work best for you. What does your budget look like? Do you need a monthly bill or are you planning to pay a year in advanced to receive a discount on the services being provided to you. How much time do you intend to dedicate to making calls each day? Will you be using the dialer or do you have a team of inside sales agents making those calls for you? In the latter you need a program with multiple user accounts so you can track the results of the people calling for you. This is not as important if you are the only person making calls as you can track them yourself either through the dialer or on a piece of paper. Can you afford the premium quality leads? If yes then I will say go for it. They are the best for a reason, they are the Glengary Glen Ross leads! Does that mean you shouldn’t call the cheaper Redx leads? No call those too! Often different services will miss a few leads each so by using more than one you minimize the amount of new expireds you are not getting numbers for. I’ve personally seen Onyx get leads that Vulcan 7 didn’t get and vice versa. If I was starting out with a small budget I would probably go with Mojo single line dialer and Redx basic leads. I used Redx basic leads for quite some time before moving up to a higher end source and I listed plenty of homes with only Redx. I also listed homes with Arch Agent, it just wasn’t worth the money as I started having to purchase larger amounts of minutes each week.
Quality of leads?
The quality of leads matters most when you are making fewer calls. If you have a plan to make tons of calls and want to keep the budget low then go the Redx/Mojo route and get to work. These will result in listings without a doubt if you put in the effort.
There are a lot of new dialers and CRM programs coming out right now just don’t get too caught up in shiny object syndrome stick with what works if you’re on a budget get a single-line dialer through Mojo, buy the leads through redx even though they are not the best leads but they are leads that you can put in a dialer and continue to call and that is the most important thing, that you are making those dials and making contacts.