MEET OUR STAFF

In my past life, I was a newspaper publisher and I am used to speaking out in print. So when I came to work for NARS in December I was looking for a nice quiet little niche that would allow me to just do accounting work – a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of a small newspaper where I had to wear many hats, sometimes all at once.

At my interview Bill asked me if I new much about trusts and what NARS is all about and I said no, but I did know a few things about trusts as my MBA would attest to. I was immediately fascinated with the trust system and how it worked and was hooked from the very first.

So I accepted the position and start going to the seminars, reading all the same materials and start looking for properties just as you are. I find the FSBO’s and bring the leads to Bill. Bill says, “they’re yours and you call.” Come to find out picking up the phone and calling these strangers was absolutely the most frightening thing I have ever done in my life. Talk about being paralyzed with fear! I was absolutely catatonic!

One thing about Bill, he doesn’t cut me any slack just because I work here, so one day he told me to go and call and he insisted that I do it. After much grumbling, I did. I called all eight leads that I had that day and thank the stars above I got answering machines. What a wonderful invention! I didn’t really appreciate them fully until right at that moment.

The last call was actually answered by a live, breathing person and because of the seven calls before I had practiced with the script, I was able to answer him and all his questions. I don’t think this deal will fly, but not because of what I said or didn’t say. It was because the house was his mother's and she had just passed away; he was fixing it up so no one would see the disrepair. When I said that we could get a RB (Resident Beneficiary) in there that might fix it up, he was shocked and said he had to fix it for his mother. In this case I know that he may never sell that house, but at least it isn’t because of what I said or didn’t say.

One of my calls was for a lease option and I changed the script to reflect that rather than using the For Sale by Owner script. Left a message for the person to call me back (gotta love those answering machines) if interested, and sure enough he did. Since this was a $1.4 million house in an exclusive area I thought it might be better for fractionalization and again wanted to bail out and let Bill handle this. Of course Bill said, “No way!”

I live about 30 miles from the office so when the call came in, I answered and when I found out who it was, I thought CRUD, what am I going to say now, and also thinking that I am going to strangle Bill in the morning. I did the first thing that came to mind and said I was on my cell phone and traffic was impossible so could we talk later? And of course he said, “ok.” So I’m thinking and subconsciously hoping that this guy won’t call me back.

I pull into my driveway and guess what? My phone rings and apparently I had had time to sort out what to say because I think we had a very good conversation about the house and what he wanted to accomplish. Turns out, putting his house in a Trust and doing a RB system isn’t what he wants right now, he wants to do a lease option now and keep the write-offs himself.

So I said that if he changed his mind that he could reach me either at home on my cell phone. With the market like it is, I think he will call me, because he won’t want to keep lowering the price of the house. The way that he is setting it up he will not get what he wants with the way that he is doing it.

I now have his email and will be following the process on this house. This is a wonderful place and would be a great place for me or another RB. Mark two up for me! I’m excited the earth didn’t open up and swallow me. I survived!

I am not timid about speaking in front of groups as I have run for public office, spoken to college groups about publishing and women in business but cold calling was just beyond me. One of our members said that he understood how and why I feel like I do about talking to people, and it’s because I am an accountant and am comfortable within certain parameters. When I step out of those boundaries then I’m at a loss. So now that I understand why I am like this, it has been easier to take off my accounting hat and put on my investor hat and go for it.

So while I still have a tendency to give my leads away, I am running ads and calling on properties. I have my daughter in Texas running down FSBO’s, and so it is getting easier to do this. If it wasn’t for those answering machines I would have missed out on a whole bunch of, not only fun, but the experience of talking to and meeting new people.

You can take it from me if you are apprehensive about doing the calls, it does get better; the more familiar you are with the script, the easier it gets. Also, we have the OCS program with Bret and although it is very time consuming and demanding, it is very worth while. There is also the TEAM program, again through Bret, that is offered at the seminars; I joined that one and it has helped immensely.

Don’t be afraid to call any of us, we’re all here to help. Communicate your successes and your failures we’re all good listeners and can share with you our experiences and make it a two way learning effort. We enjoy hearing from you.

I hope you all keep coming to the seminars. There is so much to learn and Bill is the best teacher that you will ever find...and bring your friends. Share this wonderful opportunity with them, they’ll thank you. Look forward to seeing you soon!

Until later,

Linda