Marketing For Buyers

I ran an ad in one of the smaller newspaper publications. It started running on April 19, 2009 and ran for 30 days. Overall, the ad resulted in 78 phone calls. Out of those 78 phone calls, I was able to collect information from 38 of these buyers regarding their contact info (including email address), their monthly payment budget, how much they have for a down payment, and what they’re looking for in a house.

The prospects are driven to a phone number where a live person answers (between 9 am and 5 pm), or a recorded message (after hours) telling them to leave me their name, phone # and email address.

Once they do this, I add them to my buyers database and begin marketing to them, sending them to my website so they can check out the homes that I have for sale.

Below is a screenshot of my actual email inbox, showing you only a list of the people that have left messages after hours. (Click on the image to see it larger).

This ad really did the trick!! I have 38 more people to sell my houses to, and it only cost me about $2.00 per lead. I think I’ll run that ad again………

Here’s what my ad said:

“OWNER FINANCING

THREE NICE HOMES TO CHOOSE FROM

24 HOUR RECORDED MESSAGE

(904) 555-5555 ”

Of course, the ad has my real phone number for buyers.  I chose a smaller publication newspaper to keep my marketing cost low.  I I had run this same ad in the Florida Times Union, it would have cost me nearly $500 for a month. Instead, I only paid about $80.  Not too shabby…… Now I gotta go…Ive got to get to work on selling some of these houses I have for sale!!

Dear Newbies,

I know the TV and the Newspapers have got you thinking that this is the worst real estate market that you’ll ever see. if you don’t quit watching that crap, you’re going to self combust. There are too many people doing deals right now in today’s market, including myself, and you can do the same thing!! You have to know how to market for these properties, and more specifically, you have to know how to price and sell them quickly.

Fear can overcome your entire being when it comes time to make a decision about getting started in real estate. Coaching can be expensive, and some of these coaches can even make you feel left out in the cold. They’re too busy to take the time with you that you need, and you may never get a deal done. I’m not calling any names out, because there are some really great coaches out there, but some may just want your credit card number.

I’m ready to help some newbies out!! I’m ready to be the one who can help you make it happen. Here’s the deal:

For a LIMITED number of people(5) , I will be your real estate coach/mentor. I will help you get through the hardest part (your first deal), and see to it that you make a big check. Once you get through the first one, the rest will be a piece of cake. I’ll be there to help you overcome your fear and make sure you’re doing and saying all of the right things to your sellers, Realtors, buyers, etc.

I know I will get a huge response from people who want to get on board with me today, so please, please understand that I can’t take everyone under my wing. I am a pretty busy lady, and have a full planner page. I’m going to squeeze my calendar and make time for you!! I want you to do a deal, so I’m going to see to it that it happens for you.

Here’s the scoop on the partnership:

1. You must have some training under your belt and know the technical part of doing a deal. You don’t have to know everything, but some basic knowledge about how creative real estate works is certainly a must.
2. You must be willing to pay for at least 1,000 yellow letters and a mailing list. That is your investment into this deal to show me that you are serious about becoming a real estate investor and being in business for yourself.
3. You need to be open to suggestion and follow the advice that I give you when it comes to deal analysis, making offers, and selling the property. You will also do all of the talking to the seller (of course I’ll tell you what to say and how to say it). If it gets to a point where you need for me to step in, I will, but I want you to get used to doing it on your own (or you’ll always be afraid to do it).
4. We will split the profit on the deal 50/50 at closing (we will sign a partnership agreement for one time transaction agreeing to this).
5. You will provide me with a recorded/video testimonial once the deal closes explaining how I was able to help you and how much money you made on the deal.
6. You will pay me a one time fee in advance of $1,000.00 (that’s it) for my time.  It doesn’t matter how much time it takes me to get you through your first deal, that’s how much of my time you’re buying.  My time is valuable, it’s just not Free………

MAKE SURE YOU READ AND AGREE TO THE ABOVE TERMS BEFORE FILLING OUT THIS FORM!!

Here’s what I’ll contribute:

1. My time and knowledge making sure you know how to pre-screen sellers, how to select the deals that make sense, what to do with the deals that don’t, etc.
2. Walking you through the entire process of getting a deal under contract all the way to closing. This will include marketing, taking calls, making appointments, your presentation, negotiating, signing paperwork, marketing to sell, finding buyer, and closing on the transaction. If it’s a short sale, I’ll help you with that, as well.
3. Being your motivation and your “security blanket” until you get through the deal.

If this sounds like something you’re interested in, you’re going to need to reply in a quick like fashion. I really only have the time to commit for 5 people. That’s it. So if you’re interested, don’t procrastinate!! Fill out the form below and I will be in touch with you shortly. Remember, I’m only taking 5 students, so don’t be upset if I don’t choose you.

One of the most important things that you can use to present yourself to a seller (or buyer) of real estate is credibility. You can talk all you want about how smart, proficient, professional, and helpful you are, but the person you’re talking to may still be reluctant to do business with you.

That is why I want you to start getting testimonials from your clients and start using them in your presentations! There is nothing quite as powerful as the spoken testimonial from someone who has used your services and is pleased. When they are willing to write a testimonial on paper and allow you to share it with your potential clients, that is a powerful recommendation.

Even better than written testimonials are video testimonials. These days, everyone should have a website (or at least a laptop computer). You can easily capture testimonials on video and post them right to your website – or you can keep them on your hard drive and play them for your potential clients during your presentation. This technique will close some deals for you without you having to say another single word.

Here’s what I do: Just as soon as I’ve agreed to terms with the seller or buyer, and the contract has been signed, I pull out my checklist to make sure that everything has been completed. Contract, signatures, email addresses collected, all of that technical stuff. Then I ask the seller, “Have you been happy with the service that I’ve provided”? They have 100% always said “Yes, of course!” I then say “Well, then you wouldn’t mind giving me about 15 or 20 seconds of video that I can use on my website, would you?”

I carry The Flip Video in my bag with me at all times when I’m on an appointment. Then I pull it out and tell them “When the red light comes on, just tell me your name, and how I was able to help you in this transaction”. Then I hold the camera up and hit the Record button.

I have never had anyone tell me “No” to this. Sometimes they are a little nervous because it’s the “camera in their face” syndrome, but with a little help from me about what to say, they get through it with no problem. And then BAM! I’ve got a video testimonial that I can use on my website and in my credibility kit for life.

Check out just a few of the video testimonials that I’ve captured on video:

When you’re marketing a property, you should never, and I mean NEVER go out and show the house to prospects. This will suck up and waste your time, and make you hate the fact that you ever got into this business in the first place.

There’s an entire system that you can use to Market Your Houses to Buyers that is a complete auto pilot system. You only talk to the people once they’ve gone out the house, they know how the program works (because they’ve read the information that you’ve given them), and they’ve filled out the application.

Here’s a Tip to Help You Develop your auto pilot system for selling houses: Put a lockbox on the house. When your prospects get to the house, they’re given a number to call where they can get the lockbox code. Kepp the lockbox code REAL EASY, like easy enough for a DUMMY to remember. I like to use “zero”, that way that don’t forget. Then let them see themselves in the house and pick up the information that you’ve left for them on the kitchen sink.

And DON’T worry about people stealing the carpet – chances are they’re just gonna go in and take a look around, and then leave…………..

With the internet playing a MAJOR role in today’s society, it’s  very important that you keep up with that’s going on out there.

Did you know that over 90% of buyers begin their search for a home on the internet?  Those numbers are huge!!  It’s pretty much an essential part of business for you to have a real estate website
where buyers can go to look at the properties that you have for  sale, get information about what you do, and contact you.

If you don’t want to have your own website, then be sure to list your properties on the websites that are already getting loads of traffic from buyers every single day!

Some websites that you can showcase your properties for FREE on are:

www.craigslist.com
www.kijiji.com
www.oodle.com
www.postlets.com
www.backpage.com

Be sure to add as many photos as you can, so that your potential  buyers can get a true feel for the house that you have. PHOTOS, PHOTOS, PHOTOS!

In today’s ever changing real estate market, there are going to be some things that are more challenging than others. If your business
isn’t doing as well as you’d like for it to, you should always step back and have a look at your marketing plan.

What type of marketing are you doing to get that house sold? Are you marketing consistently? What kind of responses are you getting to the
marketing that you’re doing?

Testing and tracking your marketing is a sure fire way to track what’s working and what’s now. Here’s a Tip:

You can use “virtual” phone numbers on your marketing pieces to track your response rates for different ads. They’re pretty inexpensive, and are a great way to fine tune your message to get the MAXIMUM response, the fastest results, and be on your way to that big payday SOONER.

Make subtle changes to fine tune your messages until you’re getting the results that you’re happy with.

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