Posted by Brent_IL on January 13, 2004 at 14:51:32:
I’d look for potential scouts as I drove the neighborhood. You can usually find the mail carrier, and will sometimes see the meter readers cutting through the backyards.
I’m not a big fan of paying for leads that don’t go anywhere. I think it’s problematic. I’d rather pay more for leads that actually close. This requires solid information gathering, e.g., contact info, and some indication that the sellers are willing to deal. This necessitates some kind of simple training so the birddog knows exactly what I?m looking for and doesn?t get discouraged, and they understand that they can make a lot of money, but that it?s not get-rich-quick.
You?ll need to practice giving a one-minute talk about the benefits to the scout of working with you. Folks have to be able to visualize themselves accomplishing this task without a lot of complication.
We have an info sheet that we ask birddogs to fill out as accurately as they can. The back has check-off boxes about the condition of the property; I don?t care about that too much. However, the front asks questions similar to those asked by Joe Kaiser in his How-To article at http://www.creonline.com/articles/art-149.html These are the important questions because I only want to talk to those sellers who are ready to pick up the pen. If they are not so inclined, I don?t care what they?re selling.
Working with scouts and birddogs is not as effortless as some would believe. It takes a definite skill set and clearly established expectations. If you aren?t careful, you can do a lot of wheel-spinning.