In our hyper-technological age, the good old-fashioned telephone is still an REI professional’s best friend.

Direct, spoken communication remains an important channel for investors and wholesalers to connect with potential sellers. Because conversing with someone who might want to sell their home is so serious and so personal, an email or text message often just won’t do.

Given that phone conversations are so important to REI, you need to be just about perfect on calls. Your tone must be authoritative and enthusiastic, paced yet direct, and, above all, knowledgeable. To gain that knowledge—before you even say hello to the person on the other end of the line—call tracking software is a fantastic tool.

First, a quick definition: REI call tracking works with your phone system to provide information about the person you’re calling or who is calling you—in this case, the property owner. The software displays data such as name, address, owner demographics, property specifications, and other key info. With this intelligence, you go into the call from a position of strength and can tailor the conversation to how the person on the other end will respond.

Busy REI professionals can’t possibly remember every individual they sent marketing to. Call tracking acts as your memory and your internet search, delivering information when you crucially require it. Here are four reasons why REI experts must have this software:

1. Instant info

Information is essential to successful real estate investing and wholesaling. When you pull up someone’s info on call tracker software before a call, you are armed with knowledge to speak confidently with the person on the other end. However, if someone is returning your call (or calling without any previous contact from you), that info might not be readily available, but you will still be on the spot to be an authority about the person on the line and their property.

The best call tracker software—designed specifically for REI professionals—solves this problem by displaying all the caller’s key information before you answer the phone. You exude authority and invite trust (more on this below) when you aren’t fumbling over simple details or saying, “Please wait a moment while I call your file up.”

2. Trust building

The world is seemingly overrun with telemarketers trying to sell you something or scammers trying to steal something from you. As a result, any telephone-based communication with someone unfamiliar carries a high and automatic level of distrust. Anything about you that seems unprofessional—whether you sound too robotic on the phone or utter too many “um”s—can cause the prospective seller to hang up and cease to be an opportunity. And when sales calls regularly start dying, your job becomes all the more difficult.

REI software with call tracking delivers all the relevant information on the caller and property, thus allowing you to speak confidently and on the fly. This builds trust because sellers can hear that a) you’ve done your homework, and b) you are sincere in understanding everything about them and their interests. Subsequently, when your number shows up on their caller ID, they will answer instead of dismissing you as an untrustworthy telemarketer.

3. Smooth negotiations

Talking and negotiating with the owner of a distressed property is incredibly delicate. The conversation is about buying someone’s home—and that person is likely considering selling because they can no longer afford or maintain it. There is almost always an emotional connection you must consider, as well as the reality that owners may be embarrassed about their financial situation forcing them to sell.

Besides building trust, call tracker software allows you to learn much more about the seller than just name and address. Age, education, occupation—these are just some of many characteristics seller ID can offer to give you a better chance of finding a point of connection that can make a difference during negotiations. Moreover, if you can see a picture of the person you are speaking to, you have more clues for how you might build a personal connection. Until now, the only way to put a face to a name was to have a live meeting with your prospect. But REI Rail puts you "face to face" on your very first call.

4. Data tracking

Our final reason to use call tracking software is more practical than the interpersonal advantages detailed above. In a typical month, you might speak with dozens of potential sellers and connect with even more contacts via the phone. Therefore, tracking your performance on this vital channel is essential. How long is the average call with potential sellers? How much does the prospect talk compared to how much you and your team do? What is the correlation between call data and closed deals? The best REI software tracks these numbers and, ultimately, helps you measure effectiveness or determine where you might need to adjust your strategy.

Finally, be aware that not all call tracking software is equal. Many one-size-fits-all solutions out there are geared toward any industry and clearly not designed with the REI expert in mind. Be sure to choose a solution that offers call prep extended to the property itself. Such a platform will immediately give you the address of the caller’s property, house specs (such as bedroom count, square footage, and more), comps, and other key info. This will strengthen your knowledge and, subsequently, your credibility with the potential seller. Credibility leads to trust, and people prefer to do business with people they trust.