January 13

Automating Yourself Out of Business

The 21st century has seen a lot of amazing developments.

It’s crazy when you compare how things were years ago compared to now. When I was growing up, my friends and I used to trade cassette tapes and CDs to share music. Now you can just text a link to a friend or share it on social media.

Back then, when we wanted to figure out what to watch on TV, the TV Guide – a small book that the mailman delivered weekly – became our best friend.

Wanna plan a trip? Back then we didn’t have google maps. You had to buy a real paper map and plot your course.

But nowadays everyone wants an easy button.

Is it easier to create automation that will text sellers so you don’t have to cold call? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean it’s gonna make you any money.

Probate is a people business. You can’t automate a human connection.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not a dinosaur. I love automation. But when it comes to contacting the personal representative, think about how you would like to be treated. How would you want a family member treated?

Prospecting on the phone still works. In fact, even though there’s more competition than ever, cold calling is one of the best ways you can stand out from your competition.

Why? Because almost everyone else is doing it completely wrong.

Dialers have their place, but most people set them to the fastest speed. There’s a weird pause at the beginning of the call that screams out SPAM to the person receiving the call. That’s an instant hangup and a lost opportunity.

Pre-recorded messages can automate the process. These are calls where AI starts the conversation and will provide different information based on what is said by the person receiving the call. It’s obviously fake and everyone knows it. Faster and easier? You betcha. Its speed and ease will put you out of business faster than you expected.

How about automated text messages?

Getting random text messages out of the blue from someone you’ve never met is almost always a dead end in probate. Somehow I ended up on someone’s list and got a text message from some random number that said:

Good Morning, my name is Rheu with X Real Estate. I hope things are going well. We are updating our database and I was just wondering if you have thoughts of purchasing a property? or justsell? Let me know.

Even if I was thinking about buying or selling, this is a hard pass.

Use automation when appropriate. And remember that automation doesn’t mean it has to be done by a computer. You can automate processes using reminders to yourself, staff members, or even automating with virtual assistants.

Whatever you end up doing, make it personal. Sure it’s more work, but you’ll be closing deals while everyone else is busy striking out because they do nothing but press that easy button.

To your success,
Ernie “Automating The Right Way” Vargas | The Probate Fox

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