How William Francis Uses His Books to Train Investors
“If you can pass out a business card or shake someone's hand, you can also build a client base through the use of tools and mechanisms available through [Authorify].”
William Francis has been in the real estate industry for over 20 years and in that time has worn many hats.
“There was a point in time where I had my own brokerage. There were a lot of the service areas — corporate leasing, landscaping, plumbing, building, and engineering maintenance. I'm a licensed real estate agent, as well. There's not much in this industry that I have not done.”
Nowadays, William does a lot of work helping investors buy and sell their properties.
“Investors can be as diverse as the portfolio itself. There are rich people who need places to invest their money and homeowners on the opposite side of the spectrum, wanting to offset the cost of their personal home. Something as simple as a duplex or multi-unit — where they can live and rent, where they live to offset their costs, can still be considered an investment.
“But it might be overwhelming because people are all over the place — from actual owners, high money earners, people who are looking to invest, beginners, people who want to get away from their 9 to 5 job.”
That’s where William comes in with his book.
“The use of my five Authorify books is a business card. I had people read the books who weren’t interested in investing, but after finishing the book, felt comfortable in doing so.”
INSTILLING CONFIDENCE
According to William, 80% of what holds people back is fear and lack of knowledge. Having the opportunity to provide his investors with a step-by-step blueprint on what they need to know gives them the confidence to be successful.
“[It] removes that negative self-talk of ‘Oh, this is something I can’t do. This is truly complicated.’ Being able to pass that confidence to someone in a non-pressure situation where they can still experience leisure is very fulfilling. Since using the books, I’ve been able to call a following of investors, that quite frankly, I wouldn’t have gotten. After reading the book, they can say, ‘Hey, I can do that.’”
DIVERSIFICATION
William says using multiple Authorify books has allowed him to strengthen his credibility and relationship with his clients. He targets areas that are still “undergoing renaissance.”
“I want to diversify my Authorify relationship. I am focused on buyers because 75% are investors. 50% of those are out of state — California, New York, Georgie, North Carolina. I’m in the DC Metropolitan area. I need the value in a place that’s undergoing renaissance where there’s a lot of money to be made.”
A POSITIVE OUTLOOK
When he’s looking to work with potential investors, he uses his books to explain concepts that may be confusing and complex.
“I don’t shoot the book to pros. But as opposed to being condescending and negative with investors that are less experienced on certain subject matters that raise red flags or speed bumps, I often say, ‘Hey! This particular subject is covered in this book if you’d like to know more about it. You don’t really need to read the whole book. Why don’t you just read the chapter on staging? On financing?
“By introducing small doses of those to investors who are quite fearful, struggling, and taking the wrong paths, they become corrected organically, as opposed to having someone who dictates them what to do. They are able to read and react in their own timeframe.”
ESTABLISHING DEEP CONNECTIONS WITH INVESTORS
William understands the importance of building genuine connections with investors by providing them with knowledge that can strengthen their skills and help build solid strategies.
“I’ll send the e-book right out. I speak to an investor, find what their niche is, their price range, and inform them of our traditional lending mechanism. Then, I’m setting them up on auto search with clear instructions on how to utilize it. They receive an investor starter kit — the book, instructions, a lending mechanism that works for them, lists that keep coming everyday through the help of auto search.”
“I found this combination to be very quick and effective. I’ll have somebody read that book in 3 to 4 days. Although some of them hate reading, at least they get to have the confidence of being experts. In a week’s time, people are becoming investors who are confident and comfortable with their assets.”
TIME IS GOLD
William considers time an essential component of his success. Learning from his mistakes and taking the time to polish his craft has solidified his ability to navigate through every challenge that comes his way.
“When you’re doing full time in the real estate business, doing all the different facets that I told you I have done, time is of the essence. I’m able to leverage myself to disseminate information that I have to verbalize or get across through Zoom meetings. For instance, correcting a mistake. It takes a lot of time. So being able to pass out literature — I’m able to give information in a non-intrusive manner that they can digest while they are at their leisure.
“I’m able to spend that time supporting them or somebody else in another way. For me, it’s the time and area of focus. By them feeling comfortable, not having to ask me a direct question, by just having the book, they can go and investigate on their own due diligence in certain areas. It’s saving investors’ time and of course my time for not having to explain a lot of things.
“If you can pass out a business card or shake someone's hand, you can also build a client base through the use of tools and mechanisms available through your company.”
