Skip tracing can be a lucrative and very low cost marketing medium, but if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s inevitable that you’ll make some mistakes. There isn’t necessarily a steep learning curve to skip tracing, but there is a learning curve.
Here at Skip Genie, we’ve been skip tracing for a long time. We’ve done a lot of skip tracing and had to go through a lot of trial and error before we found out what really works.
This article discusses the 3 most common mistakes people make while Skip Tracing:
Mistake #1 – Using cheap data providers
I don’t know if “cheap” is really the right word…. but we tried using data providers that offered an unlimited amount of searches for a nominal monthly fee. They didn’t give us good results. We got exactly what we paid for.
Actually, using a poor data provider can do more harm than it does good.
There are few things as frustrating when your skip tracing as thinking you’ve got a good phone number for a homeowner only to later find out you’ve been persistently trying to call a homeowner who has deceased!
Having good data as a starting point is essential, especially when you consider the nature of vacant properties and returned mail.
Mistake #2 – Giving up too soon
Let’s face it: It isn’t always easy getting ahold of someone.
Even if you have a good number for them, they still may not answer the phone.
Or, you may get a message that their mailbox is full… or on other occasions the phone rings and rings and no one ever answers so that you’re not sure if you’ve got a good number for them or not.
It happens…..
A lot of people give up when they actually need to try harder and dig deeper.
We highly recommend that if for whatever reason you are unable to get in touch with the homeowner that you run a full relationship report on them so that you can also call the homeowners relatives until somebody gets you in touch with who is in control of that property so you can make an offer.
Mistake #3 – Not prioritizing their list
One of the best things about being able to do skip tracing in bulk is that you can use your search results to prioritize your list so that your time is spent going after the highest margin deals with the most distressed property indicators.
Skip Genie has a data set built by investors for investors, so with our data it is easy for you to prioritize the lists you’re calling based upon: deceased homeowners, out-of-state mailing addresses, the age of your subjects, and financial distress indicators.
Prioritizing your list is one of the most important things you need to learn how to do in order to get the most value from it.
List prioritization is so important that we take the time to help our clients prioritize their lists and go over the data set to help them filter their list based upon the property distress indicators our software provides.
Interested in shortening the learning curve that comes with skip tracing?
Sign-up to one of our plans and as a special thanks we’ll give you access to our weekly coaching call with Larry Higgins so that you can ask questions and benefit from our experience.
