Pat Live

[TerryKruse]

I have been getting mostly hang-ups when people call Pat Live after receiving my yellow letters. This is usually silence when the call center person is asking questions.

I know there are many reasons for this, but I am wondering if some of the callers are hanging up because they get a Southern US accent when expecting a Calgary person?

Does anyone else think the US accent is an issue?

I am thinking a local call center might be an answer but I am curious about other opinions.

Terry

ps. I am getting some response but I am always looking for a better way when possible.

 

[cmattric]

Terry, I think it is not an issue at all.
I am getting some hang-ups, believe me those are better than talking to Patlive rep, at least it doesn`t cost you $1 a minute.

If the seller is motivated, I think they will not care if ithe accent is sourthern or northern.

Besides there are lots of people here living in Calgary who are immigrant from Australia, England, USA, Middle East, India, China. If you have a 403 number I think that`s matter most. Not so many people are aware that these kind of services exist, anyways. Although I am technology geek, I wasn`t aware Patlive-like services 3 months ago.

Oh, once I gave my cell-phone number for yellow-letters, that was almost killing me. Every 30 minutes bell rings, you think it`s every minute, catch off-guard all the time.



QUOTE (TerryKruse @ Dec 10 2009, 10:31 AM) I have been getting mostly hang-ups when people call Pat Live after receiving my yellow letters. This is usually silence when the call center person is asking questions.

I know there are many reasons for this, but I am wondering if some of the callers are hanging up because they get a Southern US accent when expecting a Calgary person?

Does anyone else think the US accent is an issue?

I am thinking a local call center might be an answer but I am curious about other opinions.

Terry

ps. I am getting some response but I am always looking for a better way when possible.

 

[JimWhitelaw]

I`m seeing about 25% of my calls as hangups. It`s something I want to investigate and try to reduce. I think the hangups are happening during the hold time before the operator answers. If that`s the case and people are simply running out of patience, then that tells me they just aren`t that motivated. That said, if the wait times are too long, that`s also something to try to correct.

 

[ScottS]

Why not just go for a voice mailbox instead of pat live? I am getting very few people actually leaving all the info, which means I need to call them back anyway. I will admit that they are probably not motivated, therefore they are not leaving their information. Wouldn`t the same logic then suggest that if they are motivated it shouldn`t matter if someone picks up or if it goes to voicemail?

 

[cmattric]

Also a reminder, when I activated the service, I had this music when transfering the call. I asked patlive to remove it. Hang-ups might be because of the music. Just an idea.

 

[GaryMcGowan]

QUOTE (cmattric @ Dec 11 2009, 02:11 PM) Also a reminder, when I activated the service, I had this music when transfering the call. I asked patlive to remove it. Hang-ups might be because of the music. Just an idea.

I did not realize it was an option to have it removed. I will be calling Patlive.

 

[therealpotentials]

QUOTE (cmattric @ Dec 11 2009, 12:11 PM) Also a reminder, when I activated the service, I had this music when transfering the call. I asked patlive to remove it. Hang-ups might be because of the music. Just an idea.


How much has your bills been so far? With the no. of emails you get and the no. of hang-ups does the bill justify the patlive report? Please comment. Thanks.

 

[lanedry77]

I`ve found PATLive to be far less attractive than was first thought, and am not 100% sure why...

The Southern accents might be a problem.
When a caller asks `where are you located`, and the answer is `Florida` might be a problem (test it - that`s what most of their agent say).
The long answer time might be a problem.
The occasional lag time in the phone call because of the distance/their phone system might be a problem.
The lack of customization might be a problem.
The lack of personalization might be a problem.

... There`s a lot of things about PATLive that I find to be inadequate, to be blunt. I think a portion of the issue stems from the small differences between Americans (and the horrible housing mess they`re in) and Canadians (who are more reserved, and accustomed to a higher level of privacy).

I`ve started migrating most of my numbers away from PATLive and am testing (and refining, and testing, and refining...) some options here in Western Canada. So far, the results have been dramatically improved, and the costs comparable.

Once I have some conclusive results and costs, I plan on posting back here for the benefit of everyone.


Thanks,

David.

 

[gkeary]

I love this site. I was just contemplating my experience with PatLive and thought I`d check here to see if anyone had any comments.
Right at the top of the posts was this thread. Serendipity.

Here are my comments. I tend to agree with many of the points David made. While you can make the case that really motivated sellers will persist despite "distractions", that is not necessarily always true if they get put off right at the start.

I think having the US tone (ie voice, manner, location etc) can contribute to the feeling some of my callers have been expressing that they thought this was a scam and were even more convinced and worked up after talking to PatLive. So I`ve had to work through a lot of their resistance just to explain what I`m doing.

I also have had a ton of hangups - again, can we assume they are not motivated because they hang up - maybe they didn`t like the feel of being on hold or...

In general so far my yellow letter campaign has been a bust. I have sent out close to 1000 letters and have not had one solid lead. I know part of that has to do with who I`ve been mailing to. Like a lot of you I mailed most of those to postal codes so it wasn`t targeted at all. However I`d begun to suspect part of it is the answering service component so this is a very timely discussion for me.

I also am going to be exploring other avenues. I want to check out local resources.

I know Ron repeatedly said not to worry about the money and I understand the logic of one deal paying a lot of bills however at this point I figure it is costing about $2000 per month just for the yellow letter campaign. Do the ROI math on zero leads.

It`s time to reevaluate my marketing methods and taking a serious look at using a canadian answering service is going to be included in that.

Like others I will report in with any "finds". cheers gk

 

[bhl]

Agreed - this message board is fantastic.

There are technical problems being reported to patlive on 403 and 780 area codes. I reported one myself.

I spoke with patlive service operators for about an hour on this issue. They had me initiate test calls from
the 780 area to various numbers that had been reported as problematic while they did deep call tracing.
Heisenburg principle (or Murphy) applied and of course all my test calls worked.

The rep I discussed this with indicated about 10% of the phone numbers
in these area codes have problems with calls getting dropped within the first three minutes.


When I placed three calls in a row to my number and the first one failed early on.
I checked my on-line report and it showed a "result" status of MAIN(switchboard) rather than LR (Live Receptionist)

If you review your report and see the same caller-id calling multiple times in a row with MAIN as a call result I conjecture you are
getting the same problem - a dropped call.

In the last week I saw this pattern three times in my report and I`ve advised patlive to look for this pattern too.

Of the 47 calls I got last week 11 were MAIN - they didn`t even hit the operator!

If others can check your reports and post your counts here that would be good data.

David I look forward to hearing your alternate results

Brian

 

[TodorYordanov]

I had my suspicions early one when I made my first "test" call to Pat Live. The deep south accent was quite obvious and when I asked where the operator was from , she attempted to say Mississauga and completely miss-pronounced it. Well my letters are send to Mississauga. They can`t even pronounce Canada!
No wonder one of my recipients called the Police to investigate, and the police had a lengthy conversation with PatLive on what this is all about.
I am trusting less and less the "Do as I say" message from Ron. Yes, we are different in Canada.

As with many of you our yellow letter campaign has not been very productive and it is very costly.
I wonder if anyone finds it successful and how they do it.

 

[cmattric]

This is a Vancouver based Company in, rates are linked below, for people looking for alternatives.

http://www.thenetworkhub.ca/phone-answerin...rvice-quote.php

 

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

I did not attend the Le Grand workshop, and have been reading about PatLive only, with no direct experience. However, I have tried other systems.

I have tried an Interactive Voice Message system on my own computer ("Dial 1 for Dan, Dial 2 for rentals", etc), and never could get it to work properly. If I could get it to work, I would probably still be using it because I liked it when it did work.

The one I use now is a Telus provided 1-800 number, redirected to my office phone. (Its numbers are the same as my office number.) It has a personal message that I control, with no southern accent to be concerned about, and is ready 24 hours per day. (The IVM could be used to answer that phone.)

So far, the 1-800 # is the most efficient and effective system I have used.

Just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[cnsmith]

I have been using PAT Live and am quite pleased, overall. I have had lots of hangup calls. I`ve had a few of the hangups call back, which I know because the call display number is relayed in the email message.

From the list I sent, I had roughly a 20-30% callback rate, wheather it was a hangup call or they actually left some information. (that was based to sending 100-150 letters per week over the last few weeks). I dropped the letters in the mail in the first part of the week and started recieving calls Thursday through to the next Monday before the calls dried up and the next batch started calling. The call volume really slowed down as soon as the cold snap hit Edmonton.

I like the information that they send you back by email which is very convenient.

In a single day I`ve recieved nearly as many as 30 calls anywhere from 8:00 am to 9:30 pm. I couldn`t imagine taking that many calls myself (especially while at my day job).

I`ve had a handful of annoyed calls and one that threatened to call his lawyer/the police about the letter - so far I`ve heard nothing and don`t expect to. Some of the sellers are somewhat aggressive (don`t like investors, won`t sell for less than asking price, etc.) and I`m glad to have PAT filtering out those calls that would probably just sap my energy if I took them. The couple hundred or so dollars that I paid over the last couple of months was worth it.

I`ve also had many who want a call back and without answering the script questions. Some I call, some I don`t. If they are motivated, they`ll leave the info. Those that I called back weren`t that motivated or were just curious. Some of the ones that I did not call back called a second time, which might indicate some motivation.

Incidently, I`m interested in working with investors in the Edmonton area that are interested in pusruing some of these leads that I am generating. I would like to share some of the workload with someone who is hungry. Please email me directly at [email protected] or call 780-238-3781.

I Hope the above info provided some helpful insights!

Cheers,
Clay

 

[GordonDaniel]

Hello All,

Great, timely discussion. It`s time I started adding to it and not just reading all the great posts!

I`ve had about 20% call back from my yellow letters in Okotoks. Of those calls:

25% are calling because they are curious (well my house might be for sale, for the right price)
25% want to be removed from my mailing list
25% are suspects, want retail price, already listed, etc
25% are hang ups

I`ve called back nearly every call, especially the hang ups. I tell them I`m sorry I missed their call and then ask them about their house. It seems that nearly all of these people chose to hang up but are still willing to chat with you once you call in person. Some even have a house for sale. This week, I had two of these hang ups refer me to someone they knew who needed to sell. One was a divorce and the other a landlord looking to dump a nice property. I ALWAYS ask them if they know someone else who might need to sell. My calls only take about 20 or 30 minutes each night.

I also agree - we need better lists than area codes.

Gord

 

[Judy1298]

I sent out 500 yellow letters last Thursday to postal codes in Moose Jaw, SK. By Friday morning there were replies coming from Patlive. I only had about 10% hang ups but many that wanted a call back, including the MJ City Police, City Hall requesting that I get a business licence, realtors as well as those with houses for sale. OF 500 Y/L sent, 177 replies (including hang ups). Of these there are 13 with houses for sale but no strong prospects. I have another 500 going in the mail tomorrow so we will see what that does. There are many curious, many more suspicious, some helpful but none desperate.
I will be looking at the site suggested for a Canadian live service as well.
Judy

 

[TerryKruse]

Way to go Jose. It is great that you are calling back the hangups and getting extra mileage from the letters.

I called back a homeowner (million plus neighbourhood) the other day and he told me if I found him a condo with everything on one floor, that he would sell me his home. He doesn`t want to shovel or mow anymore as he is older and it takes work getting someone to do this for him... now that was a fun call.

I`m glad of the discussion this topic has caused. I didn`t want to come off as a complainer. The yellow letters themselves have a fantastic response rate compared to other direct mail campaigns.

I spoke with another RLG the other day who has gone with a voice mail system and found the response rate increased...

Cheers, Terry

 

[GordonDaniel]

Advice from Ron: set up your own message on PAT Live for the initial wait (when the "on hold" music is playing). The caller will hear YOUR voice and message before being routed to the live receptionist.

My message says something like this: "Hi, I`m Gord, sorry I can`t take your call but stay on the line and my receptionist will take it in just a few seconds."

I`ve recently added "You can also visit our website" and then provide the address. I`m thinking that those people who are scared to leave info can then comfortably visit the site and fill out the form online.

Would this possibly detract from the unsophisticated nature of the yellow letter we`re trying to achieve? Or perhaps it`s OK since they`ve already decided to call? Any thoughts?

Cheers,
Gord

 

[LeighF]

It`s funny. I received a "yellow Letter" in my mail box today. I forgot all about these posts for the first 5 or 10 minutes, then it clued in on what it was!!!

First thought was curiosity .....
After calling the number, and listening to the music, I immediately thought it was a scam!

Some suggestions for "yellow letter users" - personalize it with your own message and let the caller know what your intentions are and get rid of the music!


I`m sure your no different than me....you get your share of spam/scam telephone calls and if it doesn`t sound legit right off the bat, people are going to hang up. I know I do!

 

[davepeniuk]

Hello all,

Great updates on the yellowletter campaign and patlive!

A brief summary of what we have done and what we`ve found:
- We have mailed 4,000 yellow letters to postal codes in Nanaimo (why don`t we have targeted lists in Canada!?!?)
- Letters were only mailed to addresses where we had the full First and Last Name - thus, more personalized
- We sent the letters out in 400-800/week batches over the last 7 weeks
- My father-in-law (and fellow REIN member) has answered almost every call! We did NOT use Patlive
- Response rate is approx. 25%
- Of the approx. 1,000 who have called, the categories have been as follows:
40% have been "curious" and just want to know what we`re up to and "why my house"?
30% have been interested in selling....for the right price
20% are not selling and have asked us to not contact them again
9% have been quite rude and/or calling us "scam" artists
1% would be classed as "maybe" deals

- We have been called by the police, a lawyer has called us on behalf of his client, and we have even been in the local paper
Check out http://revnyou.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/ron-legrands-quick-turn-real-estate-program-update-its-gettin-juicy/ ://http://revnyou.wordpress.com/2009/1...-gettin-juicy/
for some hilarious messages we`ve got from callers and to see us in the newspaper!

I would agree with most of the fellow Ron LeGrand students who have commented on their results thus far that:
a - the yellow letter has been fairly costly thus far with little to no "strong" leads
b - I can`t comment on patlive, but from our experience, we have spent a considerable amount of time on the phone trying to figure out if there is a deal or not (quicker assessment will come with experience)
c - most of the potential early leads turn out that the house needs a ton of work yet we can only get it at about a 5-10% discount
d - other early leads are either in neighbourhoods we`re not keen on OR the debt appears to be more than the house value
e - there are 2-4 possible prospects and we are still working on those deals
f - finally, we are hopeful that we have "planted the seed" with a few not-yet-prospects just by being the actual investors (not patlive). Thus, in a few months time, we will follow up with some and others may contact us again where they may now be prospects.

No question, this has been highly entertaining and educational, but not nearly (or at all) as profitable as Mr. LeGrand led us all to believe. But, the bottom line is the letters work (at least at getting responses) and persistence and hardwork will payoff. We just keep pressing "play"!

Cheers