Developing a good marketing strategy is essential to getting any business off the ground. Educating yourself and discovering how to locate and motivate potential sellers to contact you is a must in making your real estate business a success. You must be able to locate prospects who want to do business with you. You must find the sellers who need to sell, not the sellers who just want to sell their properties. This is essential to your success as a real estate investor. Otherwise, you will spin your wheels chasing “dead” deals with non-motivated sellers.
Marketing is also a numbers’ game.
The more leads that come in,
the more opportunities you will have
to make deals and be successful.
You won’t buy every property that comes your way, but when you develop a “machine” that brings in quality leads, you will be able to pick and choose the deals you want to do. You will quickly learn to recognize quality prospects.
You must also be able to recognize the necessity of using a “shotgun” approach and using a targeted approach when marketing to locate motivated sellers. Otherwise, you will waste marketing dollars. Use a shotgun approach such as signage, business cards or generic letters, to bring in a lot of leads, but recognize that very few of them will be qualified motivated sellers.
Using a highly targeted approach to locate motivated sellers will bring in fewer leads, but they will be much more highly qualified leads. They will bring you a much higher number of profitable deals. One is not necessarily better than the other. You need to integrate both types of marketing into your business in order to bring you the highest number of opportunities.
TEST VARIOUS MARKETING TECHNIQUES
The best way to test various marketing techniques is to develop between three and five different marketing techniques that work the best for you in your area, and then integrate both the shotgun approach and targeted marketing into your business plan. Always test and track which approach brings in what amount of dollars per lead and per deal. To be a real success, you must reach your market place in as many ways as your budget will allow, since not every motivated seller will see every type of marketing you do.
For example, an out of state property owner won’t see your ad, your signage or your business card. You need to send this person a letter using a quality direct mail campaign designed to bring in highly qualified sellers.
Try various marketing techniques
to see which ones give you the best results and then capitalize on them.
Don’t keep changing the way you market. Develop a marketing strategy that works well for you and stick to it. This will “crank up your buying machine” like nothing else can. Make sure you give the market a fair test before deciding a strategy does or does not work. This period of time should be at least sixty to ninety days. Measure the quality of the leads, not the quantity of the leads that come in. Be sure and track the source of your leads by simply asking the sellers how they heard about you.
Use a full approach, not just your specific marketing niche. Use as many marketing tools as you can in every possible area. You must…“be there!” Once you complete and analyze your marketing tests, choose your most productive techniques and remain consistent with those.
As you market to sellers and you begin to purchase properties, you will also want to consider the cost per deal as well. How much is each deal costing you and what marketing technique did you use to acquire it? Continue to test and track as you go to make sure your marketing dollars are being used in the most effective way possible. This is how you build a successful business.
If you are a beginner in the real estate business, there are many ways to get motivated sellers to contact you even if you are working on a limited budget. If time and finances create a challenge for you, there are many techniques that require very little time and almost no cash to implement. Using signs, direct mail, running ads, flyers or using other people to “spot” properties for you are samples of some of the types of marketing techniques you can use in your business to generate leads.
Some of the ways to use people to “spot” properties for you would be to talk with your mailman, pest control person, a moving company, delivery person, or friends and relatives. These people see properties you would never otherwise come in contact with and can generate many leads for you with virtually no expense.
CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY
Being consistent with your marketing efforts is the most important thing to remember. There is no single formula that works all the time. The successful investor has a network of people and strategies at their fingertips at all times.
Get your plan in place and get started.
Remain focused!
If you do not develop continuity to your marketing campaigns, you will see the results drop off immediately. Your telephone will stop ringing and you will cease to get regular contacts from motivated sellers.
In order to be successful in your real estate endeavors, you need to be creative. Be consistent and do that which separates you from your competition. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned investor, developing a specific marketing strategy is an invaluable tool to generate leads and buy more properties.
The more leads you generate, the more opportunities you will have to deal with motivated sellers and become financially free.
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS
To recap . . .
“If you were arrested for being a real estate investor would there be enough evidence to convict you?” I was once asked! I wholeheartedly responded with a resounding, “YES!” Do that which makes you stand out from your competition. As you begin your promotional campaign as part of your overall marketing strategy and goal, continue to diligently test and track results as you go. You MUST be able to determine what marketing tools work best for you in your market place in order to draw the highest number of motivated sellers to you.
People often ask me, “What is the best way to find motivated sellers?” After all, that is one of the purposes of this book. My response is to do that which your competition will not; and do a lot of it. Dare to be different in your approach to locate motivated sellers. Analyze, discover and continue to rediscover the best combination of marketing methods that will generate the highest number of motivated sellers for your business. Devote your resources to those marketing techniques that net the very best results. As simple as it may sound—don’t spend time on something that is not productive.
COMBINE MARKET STRATEGIES
Constantly test and track new marketing techniques since your market and your business will continue to change over time. In most cases, change IS good, especially if YOU plan that change. Spend time listening or reading about those who have come before you and who have developed marketing strategies that draw high numbers of motivated sellers. Spend your time and energy constantly seeking knowledge about new combinations of marketing methods to create even more leads. Pursue creative marketing methods in your business to bring you the highest number of motivated sellers. Be innovative. You’ll get “status quo” results if you stick to the status quo!
Don’t be afraid to use unusual types of marketing products such as florescent orange or pink business cards, post cards or signage to attract sellers. Use t-shirts in your business and wear them all the time.
I even had a t-shirt made for my German Shepard dog. When I take him for a walk, people know what I do for a living. “Wrap” your vehicle in signage and be sure to include a web site address. Implement several different ways to attract sellers since you will need to reach your market in a variety of ways.
Direct mail is a very productive way to attract lots of motivated sellers. This is a method most of your competition is not using in their business. Do your mailings on a residual basis so you are in constant contact with these sellers. When their circumstances dictate that they do so, they will sell to you first; even if they have been contacted by someone else in the meantime, since you have taken the time to build credibility with these sellers. Use “lumpy” mail pieces in your envelopes to entice your reader to open the envelope and read your message. Design your direct mail piece so different that it demands people’s attention, so it gets opened and read.
Don’t be worried about people who make negative comments about you or your marketing methods. You will be the one who will get “the last laugh” all the way to the bank with the profits from your real estate deals. Throw your business cards out into the bleachers when your children’s team scores a point. Give business cards to everyone you deal with on a daily basis. Write an article on real estate and submit it to your local newspaper. Offer to do a free talk on real estate for your local radio station or at your local library.
Become a local expert in the real estate field
and sellers will seek you out first
when they need to sell.
A marketing genius once said, “Perception is more important than reality.” People are more comfortable dealing with someone they perceive to be an expert in their field.
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August 27th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Since marketing dollars are scarce, it is very important to target specific areas. You can do that best through neighborhood direct mail programs. This can allow you to become the “go to” realtor in desired neighborhoods.