New Membership Requirements
Up until recently, agents who wanted DIRECT listing assignments from The Short Sale Specialist Network would pay an annual membership fee and were part of the “Preferred Partner Membership” program. We are pleased to announce changes to our membership requirements in order to get direct short sale listing assignments from the Short Sale Specialist Network. We are completely doing away with and replacing Preferred Partner Membership with these new guidelines. ALL agents who get direct listing assignments from us are now required to be part of our Short Sale Lead Machine Program. Below is a detailed question and answer session that should answer most of your questions.
***Former Preferred Partners! Do not contact us until you read the entire Q & A Below. We can also answer any questions you may have at our upcoming LIVE webinars for the Short Sale Lead Machine Program. Go Here to register for those.
Q. Why are you changing membership requirements to get direct listing assignments?
A. First off, we are NOT getting rid of old referral agents and Preferred Partners. We love our agents and are not looking to replace them. There are several reasons why we are doing this. One, is that in many areas of the country, our assignment volume may only be one or two direct listing assignments per year, or some limited number. We don’t believe it is right to take an annual membership fee of $295-$695, when an agent may only get a fraction of the assignments as agents in other areas. Also, after over four years we still have NOT been able to get Preferred Partners to join in many areas. We have trouble finding agents about 25% of the time to cover our current listing assignments. It is much easier for us to just open the doors and assign these listings to agents who are part of the lead machine program. In addition, it is VERY time consuming to enter new agents into our CRM system, and our company will no longer have that expense of a paid membership director as well.
Q. Do I HAVE to have a website and join the Short Sale Lead Machine Program to get listings?
A. Yes. As of February 1st, 2013, agents who were Preferred Partners who do NOT have a website set up and who are NOT part of the Short Sale Lead Machine Program will no longer be eligible to get listing referrals from The Short Sale Specialist Network. Contact us at (800)210-5231 or click here to get started with your site set up. Before or after setting up your site, please email membership@theshortsaleguide.com to be credited any past membership fees (see below answer).
Q. I just joined or paid my annual dues a few months ago or recently, what happens to me?
A. ALL agent who are currently Preferred Partners who are NOT already part of the Short Sale Lead Machine Program are expected to set up a site immediately. Remember, the first month only cost $1, with $0 set up fee (plus $15/year for a domain name!) In addition, ALL Preferred Partners will receive a prorated credit depending on when they paid their dues. We will prorate your membership time and then divide it by the monthly cost of the SSLM program and will round UP to the nearest month. In addition, we will then give you yet another ONE MONTH additional membership in the SSLM program without cost. We believe this is very generous, and will give most agents their website without cost for 3-12 months. Preferred Partners who need to be credited, please email membership@TheShortSaleGuide.com after setting up your site.
Q. I don’t want a short sale website or already have one, I just want listings.
A. We believe that any and EVERY serious short sale agent should have their own short sale niche website. In addition, our program is not just about giving you a website, it is designed to give you the tools, tactics, training and resources to turn you into a Short Sale Lead Producing machine. Agents find excellent value in our training videos, our pre-made Craigslist and Backpage ads, agent and consumer resources, Mastermind Agent Webinar Interviews, ect… In addition to those reasons, most of our agent sites do excellent on the search engines and will generate traffic and LEADS with little or no work. Even if you already have a website with one or two spots on the first page of the search engines, wouldn’t it benefit and help you to have one or two or more ADDITIONAL spots? Most importantly, Even if you have no use for the SSLM program, the annual cost is still at or around your annual cost for Preferred Partner Membership anyway!
Q. Do I still have to qualify for membership in some way to get listing assignments?
A. Yes. After setting up a site, NEW agents must then fill out and agree to our Network Business Agreement and go through a quick phone interview to be eligible to get direct listing assignments from us at the Short Sale Specialist Network. If you are already a Preferred Partner and have done this in the past, you do NOT have to follow this step. All you have to do is set up a website and join the SSLM program. Go Here to set up your site now. If you are interested in getting assignments from us and have not in the past, set up a site, fill out the Network Business Agreement, then email it to membership@theshortsaleguide.com or fax it to (904)733-4397 and we will be in touch with you within two weeks for a phone interview. Many of your questions about membership in general can be answered by reading the Network Business Agreement or reading this entire Q&A.
Q. As a Preferred Partner/referral agent, am I still required to update you regularly on the online tracking portal?
A. Yes. For agents who have been with us in the past, they have been required to update us regularly on the status of listing assignments through our online tracking portal. New agents who get direct listings from us will be required to log into our portal AFTER they get their first assignment. Remember, agents pay a 25% referral fee ONLY on direct listing assignments we send to them. Leads generated directly on their Short Sale Lead Machine Websites are theirs for the keeping.
***Please not that this Q&A ONLY deals with getting DIRECT listing assignments from The Short Sale Specialist Network.
Go Here for a Short Sale Lead Machine Frequently Asked Questions
Or sign up for one of our live demonstration webinars
Go Here for Details or to set up a site
Q. How many listing assignments do you get in my area? How many can I expect?
A. That depends on MANY factors. Volume levels do fluctuate from area to area. Agents who were part of our Preferred Partner Membership Program for Direct Assignments would typically get between a couple per month and a couple per year. Agents who are part of our referral program who in the SSLM program can expect about the same. Through the Short Sale Lead Machine, you can basically get as many leads as you want THROUGH YOUR OWN EFFORTS. Our goal is to provide you with the tools, tactics, techniques and technology to turn you into a Short Sale Lead Machine. We have agents who list 5-10 properties or more each and every month solely through leads generated from their website. Through our free marketing training program, marketing packages, and other outreach and marketing that YOU can do, the sky is the limit! You can either pay to get traffic to your site, or take the time to generate the traffic to your site yourself. Once on your website, our systems are very strong at converting web traffic into leads.
Q. How do I set up a site, what is the next step
A. Click Here for info on the Short Sale Lead Machine program, and scroll down and click on the “Get One Now” tab to get set up. Our customer support staff is also here to assist you and set up your site for you. If you would like us to set it up for you, please email HelpDesk@TheShortSaleGuide.com or call (800)210-5231. Again, ALL Preferred Partners are expected to make this switch by 2/1/13.
Q. Will I definitely get direct listing assignments if I join the Short Sale Lead Machine Program?
A. No. While we are constantly looking for new referral agents for direct assignments, we still have great agents in most areas.
Here are some other general points about getting direct listing assignments from The Short Sale Specialist Network –
- Agents who are part of the Short Sale Lead Machine Program can receive referrals from us based on availability and are graded based on consistency, accountability, experience, and production.
- There is a need for multiple agents in major cities, as sellers are “paired up” with specific agents who may best be able to meet their needs. There are a few areas where we already have as many as 6-10 agents, but we are constantly replacing poorly performing agents. Don’t ask ridiculous questions like “do you get leads in my area”. Yes is the answer.
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ALL referrals are 100% Pre Screened. Home owners in hardship are informed about the short sale process by us, given a financial worksheet and list of all required documents, and instructed to have these ready for their assigned agent at the time of listing.
- Our fees are 25%, please read the network business agreement for details. Remember, you ONLY pay a referral fee for short sale listings that are directly referred to you. ANY leads generated from your Short Sale Lead Machine website are YOURS and you do NOT owe a referral fee on them
- Prior to receiving any DIRECT from the Short Sale Specialist Network, all NEW agents must first set up a Short Sale Lead Machine Website, Then must sign and return our Network Business Agreement and email it to membership.theshortsaleguide.com or fax it to (904)733-4397, then we will contact you within two weeks for a phone interview. Agents who were preferred partners in the past do NOT need to do any of this, other than set up a site and email us to be credit for past dues you may have paid.
Go Here for a Short Sale Lead Machine Frequently Asked Questions
Or sign up for one of our live demonstration webinars