The 6 Months No One Sees
The investor who taught me how to work with investors…
Was an expired.
I called him about a listing that had come off the market.
By the time I got him on the phone, he had already rented it.
That’s where most agents would have hung up.
But on that first call, I also realized something more important:
He wasn’t just a landlord. He was an active investor.
So before we got off the phone, I asked one more thing:
“Would you still consider buying anything right now?”
That was it.
Not a full interrogation.
Not a 30-minute strategy session.
Just one more question.
And then I called him again two weeks later.
For six months.
Sometimes he answered.
Sometimes he didn’t.
Sometimes I left a voicemail.
Sometimes I didn’t.
And when he did answer, he only had time for one or two questions.
So I came prepared.
One call I’d clarify price range.
Another call I’d ask about neighborhoods.
Another about condition.
Another about his ideal return.
I built his buy box slowly — over time.
About 6 months in, I sent him another list of 3-4 properties I thought might work for him. To my delight, he picked one and said, “Let’s go look at it.”
That showing (that he didn’t buy) turned into roughly 100 home sales over the next five years directly with him.
More importantly, learning how he analyzed property — how he thought — gave me the investor skill set that helped me sell another 300–400 homes to other investors during that same period.
Agents look at that and think: “You’re lucky.”
And yes — I am blessed.
But they don’t see the six months of consistent follow-up.
They don’t see the small calls.
The incremental questions.
The patience.
They don’t see that the relationship was built one or two questions at a time.
Here’s the lesson: When an investor says they’re not selling, that doesn’t mean the opportunity is gone.
Ask if they’re still buying.
Get specific.
And keep showing up.
Success in this business is simple.
But it is not easy.
Most agents stop calling long before the compounding starts.