In 1968, an inventor named Ted Paraskevakos began work on a technology that, five decades later, would evolve to become indispensable to REI professionals. See, this electrical and communications engineer (please don’t make us try typing his name again; we’re not even sure we got it right the first time …) developed something that everybody who uses a phone—not just real estate investors—takes for granted today: caller ID.

The worst sound an REI professional can hear when talking with a prospect who has just called isn’t “Don’t call again” or “Go to hell!” or “I’m not interested in selling” or a myriad of other phrases you’ve likely encountered over the years. Yes, those suck, but the worst sound is simple and devastating: a click.

REI professionals face a daunting task every time they make a call: getting the person on the other end of the line to not immediately hang up.

Part of the problem, of course, is that people are conditioned to think that any unfamiliar number that pops up on their caller ID is an a-hole. And for the most part, they are right. An April 2018 report by TrueCaller found that the average American receives 23 spam calls a month. That many can make anyone scream “Go to hell!” upon answering the phone …

You’ve seen their infomercials on late-night TV, and you’ve seen their flashy ads appear on the internet. Real estate gurus claim to have the secret to becoming an REI success, and they want to help you achieve your dreams.

Apple has Siri. Amazon has Alexa. Microsoft has Cortana. If only some tech company could hire Beyoncé …

What Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and the voice of Google’s Assistant (plus our mythical, we’d-be-talking-to-our-phones-all-day Beyoncé) have in common? They talk to users with a natural female voice. Their words seem unforced and anything but automated. Most importantly, Siri and Alexa speak comfortingly and reassuringly, even when they indirectly say that they don’t know what the hell you are asking them.

You have the addresses. You have the names. You have the charming personality, focused determination, and negotiating skills. All you are missing are the right digits.

Direct mail and email contacts can help you make inroads with the owner of a distressed property, but nothing beats a good old-fashioned phone call. Interacting with a live human in real time remains the best way for prospects to build a rapport with REI professionals looking to buy their properties (and vice versa). So when you can’t find the phone number associated with a property owner or the property itself, you begin your endeavor already at a ridiculous disadvantage.

Front yards overrun with weeds or brown, dry grass. Screen door handles filled with multiple advertising flyers that no one has bothered to remove in months. Unraked leaves in the fall. Unshoveled driveways in the winter.