On the show today we talk… Lead Conversion Deep Dive with Gustavo Munoz Castro of PowerISA!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify
Show Links:
– PowerISA website
– PowerISA Facebook Group
– PowerISA Facebook Page
Show notes for Lead Conversion Deep Dive with Gustavo Munoz Castro of PowerISA!
The Vantastic Life is…
– is in Fruita CO!
Gus is at KW Bothell and Julie is at Exp Real Estate.
Julie is thinking of Thanksgiving food on Tuesday morning and picked up 14 pumpkins yesterday for 4 kids to spell out Happy Halloween. It looks so cool!
Joe is in Fruita Co where it went from sun to snow overnight and we are going to head down to AZ.
Joe
Gus give us your life story.
Gus
I grew up in Mexico, but have a SoCal acsent because my family made fun of me. Then I was recruited by Microsoft up in Seattle, where I moved in 2004. I stayed with them for about 10 years. I was trained in computer engineering, but I loved the software.
It was my wife that was bit by the real estate bug. She got licensed in 2008, right when the world was ending. But she was the rooking of the year.
And the market shifted from crazy sellers market to crazy buyers market.
I learned about short sales and all the super fun stuff my wife was doing. I was good with people and sales that I wasn’t using at Microsoft. I loved Microsoft but wasn’t using my skills.
So I jumped into real estate in 2013 when the market was starting to shift in a good direction.
First, I was going to take 6 months off and help my wife build her team. 6 months became 9 months, which became years, and now I have Power ISA.
Julie
It’s interesting how engineers are getting into real estate.
Gus
Yeah, well, I can work a spreadsheet like a ninja, and people want to see the analytics. Especially in Seattle, there are smart people.
Engineers jump into the game as investors and the retail side. The first thing that I did was serve my community.
My first niche was helping the immigrants and I did 25-30 deals a year with just that niche.
Julie
What is real estate like in Mexico?
Gus
Wow, great question! The US and Canada has the MLS, and no other country has that. They are very unique.
My brother just bought a house in London and there are no buyer agents. It’s crazy, the sellers agent try to hide everything.
Julie
We aren’t going to talk about Exp vs. KW, but I think it’s really interesting what happens in different countries. It’s very fascinating!
Gus
It’s very different because the US and Canada are very distinct. They make it easier.
Julie
Do you work only with agents?
Gus
We work with investors. Any investors. The life blood is deal flow. They have to be getting appointments and deals.
Investors are hustling constantly.
We are on the conversion side.
Julie
Describe with an ISA is?
Gus
Inside Sales Agent. It’s on a retail real estate and investing team. They are on the phone. They can do outbound lead generation and appointment setting. With investors it usually goes one way or the other. Cold calling or lead generation.
Julie
Do you guys text?
Gus
Absolutely! Everything under the sun. All of our employees are from Mexico and native English speakers. They work within your CRM, and/or work an auto dialer.
Julie
How do you speak differently if they are speaking to outbound in inbound?
Gus
Outbound can take different forms. If it’s a true cold calling list in a neighborhood… just call every number you can find. And tell them what you’re looking for. You just want to be as fast as possible. You have about 5 seconds. It’s about getting the message out, but if you talk to the right person they will talk to you.
Julie
Do you leave a voicemail?
Gus
We don’t. You don’t want to leave any trace, and they will call back more often if they don’t know who’s calling.
You’re looking for the 1 person that is who you want to talk to.
Julie
Do you use Mojo Dialer?
Gus
We use what ever the company that we are working with is using. We like Mojo Dialer the best because it’s so easy to use.
It really depends on how big the list is. If it’s a list of 100 we will just dial them individually.
Julie
Aren’t there some rules around multi calls and single calls?
Gus
You should definitely checkout the government guidelines. You aren’t supposed to be using a power dialer with mobile phones. ?
One of the cool things about Mojo is they help you to be compliant.
Julie
I use Volcan myself, and I think it’s a single dialer.
I think there are a lot of people trying to work around the rules, but I’m a rule follower.
What are your thoughts on do not call?
Gus
Do not call is real. If you don’t filter against the lists you are taking a risk. The individual that you call can take you to court and sue you for $1000. It’s a risk. You need to understand that. If you call the do not call list you will hit that.
The rules are a little more flexible in the US than Canada.
Julie
What are your clients doing?
Gus
Mail, Facebook, etc. Anything that doesn’t violate the do not call list.
Julie
To get a custom audience in Facebook you need a good phone number and email address.
What are you using for data?
Gus
It depends on what the companies are using. We really like the freelance list builders.
Julie
You don’t get involved in the custom audience building?
Gus
We don’t. The list is valuable.
Direct mail is still the number 1 way that most investors get deals.
Julie
If you guys need some follow up help you can always reach out to me at julie@seattleinvestorsclub.com.
I love talking about this stuff! Joe can attest that I was the biggest dip shit on this stuff. But now I’ve got my flow.
How do you speak to those inbound vs outbound differently?
Gus
Cold calls are quick in and out, but if you are calling someone under notice of default or short sale list. Those are WAY different. There the approach is different. You want to ask them about their situation and then shut up. Try to get them to start talking. Then be human, have empathy, and ask questions.
Julie
I want any lead. And I want to only talk about that message hook that they came from. I only talk about that. I find that there’s people these days that are offering cash offers, that people are just curious. They might not be distressed.
As a broker investor I can convert any lead, and I think you’re nuts to not have a broker on your team.
Gus
Absolutely! You always want to try to qualify on motivation, and if you can’t, talk about the property.
I talk to investors who will toss their retail leads.
Julie
At the Seattle Investors Club I work with a lot of investors and partner with them to go on their retail leads.
I don’t mind going on appointments. Even if we aren’t sure if it’s a wholesale or listing. We can have a head nod. ?
What’s the best lead type to convert on phones?
Gus
The inbound leads way more. Outbound prospecting is great because of the ROI. Maybe calling all day will just get you one nurture lead. Not even an appointment. You have to work that list.
Julie
Do you have more success with outbound with a real estate broker or investors message?
Gus
The retail is always the easiest by far! 100 conversations you will get 1-2 interested sellers. If you are really skilled you can get to 3-4. But these people could be 12 months out.
The more specialized the list is going to convert higher.
Julie
Why would someone spend time with a non specialized blanket list?
Gus
I think it’s a function of the cost of the list and how many numbers you can generate. Sometimes in certain areas you just need a larger list.
Call the highest value list first and then call everyone else. If you don’t have appointments you should be calling.
A blanket list can move the ball forward even though it’s harder. If you don’t have appointments you have time.
Julie
Should the people be uploading list or making calls?
Gus
The inbound is always going to be a great source as well. Google, Facebook, anything that comes to you. You can get an appointment that day.
Julie
What about Google, Facebook, and YouTube?
Gus
YouTube is the least, and Google wins. Google is a better source, but it’s more expensive. Facebook does convert less, but cost per acquisition is as good or better than Google.
Julie
So it seems like people should be doing YouTube.
Gus
Absolutely! Nugget right there!
Julie
This is all such fun I could talk to you forever.
If we were building a plan for somebody… do Facebook and cold calling. Then build a budget.
Gus
I think that everyone should be experimenting with YouTube. It’s intimidating but everyone should be doing it!
We should do a podcast on YouTube. Nobody is doing it. Next year will be the new Facebook.
Julie
That’s like everyone being on TikTok.
Gus
Right!
All of the platforms age up eventually. Everyone uses YouTube. 3-70 years old.
Julie
How much does it’s cost to hire a ISA?
Gus
Around $12-15/hour and it’s usually a salaried position with bonuses. These are usually licensed.
You can get people in the Philippines for $2-3/hour.
If they want to work with us, they call and we go over their business and match the best person for their situation.
Julie
Do you connect them to the people or how does that work?
Gus
They work for us and we manage them. We have a lot of skill with managing people.
We use Zapier to connect systems, and have a custom CRM that we built ourself.
You can send us a paid per lead type of service that we will work a list for you.
Julie
How many times do you call a lead before you consider it dead?
Gus
Facebook leads… if we want to talk to 51 we have to have 14 attempts in 60 days, and we talk to the majority of them. This can be calls or texts, emails don’t work well.
Julie
Is that a daily thing?
Gus
The earlier the lead the more intense. 6-7 touches the first week, then 1-2 a week after that. You want to mix it up… call, text, call, text. You want a response.
At least once to twice a day for the first week.
If you can’t get them you will put them into your pond list.
Julie
What is a text that you would send someone?
Gus
Text… “Hey Julie, I just tried to call you. Are you getting these?”
We use Twillio for text, or value text is another good one. A lot of CRM’s have them built in.
I would use what is built into your CRM.
Julie
Does anyone use Craigslist or Zillow?
Gus
I don’t know anyone doing Craigslist anymore. But with Zillow… it’s a great lead source but it’s an adequately priced lead source.
Cold calling off Zillow, I don’t have great numbers off that.
Julie
Who is the hardest to convert right now?
Gus
For sale by owner. It’s a function of the market. When the market shifts it will come back.
Julie
How about best time to call?
Gus
Usually evenings, but calling is more important than the perfect time.
Julie
What about that first week from Facebook?
Gus
Mix it up for sure.
We usually have a team of ISA’s so we mix it up.
Julie
Any rules?
Gus
You can’t call before 8am or after 9pm.
Julie
Do you call commercial real estate leads?
Gus
No, mostly just retail and investor stuff.
Julie
Have you noticed any certain type of list that’s working right now?
Gus
The Facebook cost per lead went down because of businesses failing.
Facebook is an auction. If there are less people bidding the cost goes down.
If you aren’t trying Facebook you need to give it a try. It’s better than it was a year ago.
Julie
I have a deal from a Facebook video view ad that will net me $15k.
Come on guys, if you want to learn how to do this hit me up.
Last question…. What are your 3 principles to helping people convert more Facebook leads.
Gus
You have to have speed to lead. You need to get right back to them. Use whatever you can. They expect an instant response!
Most are not going to convert on the first touch, so you need at least 14 touches in the first 60 days. Mix in phone calls with texts.
You’ve done everything, and you’re on the phone with the person you need to have some chops. It’s all about what you can do for them. Talk about their problems and concerns. Help solve their problems. It’s a skill game, and you can get better at skills.
Julie
Yep, you have to give them what they want and have the different buckets. You need to be a specialist at providing options.
Where should people engage with you?
Gus
The best place is PowerISA website, or you can look me up on Facebook. I have a group that’s 100% free. I’d love to continue the conversation.
Julie
You could be out selling whatever and this info can be applied to you. I love this stuff!
I’m so excited my head is spinning.
Gus
I love talking to people that are in the game! And I love people that are teaching others! It’s a great thing to see!
Julie
I appreciate everyone listening all the way to the end.
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