mr2monster 0 Report post Posted August 13, 2004 There must be 500 investors in my city doing this!!! I was amazed at the amount of classified ads in the paper today for LP deals, we buy your house cash, etc. All different numbers but the same mumbo jumbo. I think they actually out numbered the FSBO's!!! This is kind of discouraging to me but at the same time i feel motivated to be different. Anyone else have this "problem"? What do you do to differentiate yourself from the competition? I'm looking to spend some doe on marketing to get myself up and moving pronto but I'm not sure if classifieds are the best bang for the buck. So far i have business cards planned, and classified cards too, along with low cost flyers.... What kind of marketing tools did you start with? What did you find to be the best bang for the buck? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-Tony- 0 Report post Posted August 14, 2004 This is kind of discouraging to me but at the same time i feel motivated to be different.Why it must work well in your area . Try I buy houses above market valueTony Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimberly 0 Report post Posted August 14, 2004 mr2monster, Tony's suggestion is a good one. You might go online and look at the classified ads for other cities to get some ideas of what other investors are using for ads. Some of those with ads and bandit signs will be new, you could offer (as Adam suggested in another thread) to assist them in getting started. Offer your services to assist them with the leads that they can't handle (i.e. close), you'd then give them a referral fee. AND they'd be the ones paying the advertising dollars not you. Calling the classifieds will work. You can "age" the paper, call FRBOs 1-3 weeks after their ad comes out in the paper, and FSBOs 1-3 months after their ad comes out in the paper. Several of the properties will be gone and those calls will be short (30 seconds). Those that are still available will be more motivated. Some of the online sites have dates the ad started and/or was changed. Others have notifications available for new "listings." These can both be used the same way as above. Start with the free stuff -- one completed deal will then pay for you to begin your advertising. Don't try to get several properties to start, just get one and get it done. Happy seller, good reference. Repeat as needed. Kim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grannyguru 0 Report post Posted August 14, 2004 To encourage you: I called IN YOUR MARKET..... the third call I got, the seller was more than interested... he had tried FSBO, then with realtors he was about to dump... I think if anything the large number of L/O, nothing down, etc. ads in the paper made him more receptive to my offer, not less. FSBO have no idea how to go about offering the flashy items you see in your papers. I would have thought, seeing all the flashy ads, that surely someone else besides me would have already called people like my seller. Apparently not. Remember too a certain percentage of the ads you do see are placed by newbies, just hoping. If you are like me when reading those ads I thought: surely the 'BIG GUYS' have already called everyone on earth...what chance do I have? I was wrong; the seller was overjoyed I'd called. I did not get that deal. Because the realtors found I had called him back on his earlier FSBO ad, and they had a "hot investor" (me!) about to leap on the property. So finally they decided to actually sell the property. Also because I made two mistakes: 1. I told the seller too much, confusing him, so he waited to sign up with me, had to go out of town, and then the realtors sold it. 2. I was unable to physically go to the seller because my car would not have made it there. I would LOVE to discourage you :ph34r: because I KNOW there are willing sellers there... if I (a newbie) could convince the third person I called... But then Michael might send Vinnie after me.... Here, we actually help each other Go for it! Alice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sold ! 0 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 Calling the classifieds will work. You can "age" the paper, call FRBOs 1-3 weeks after their ad comes out in the paper, and FSBOs 1-3 months after their ad comes out in the paper. Several of the properties will be gone and those calls will be short (30 seconds). Those that are still available will be more motivated. How do you keep track of who you have called and the new ads you see in the paper? Don't you find that if you simply hit the paper every Sunday, you are calling on the same people week after week without some sort of system to sort the old from the new? Does anybody have any good suggestions for filtering FSBO's and FRBO's as they age? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doug Pretorius (ON) 9 Report post Posted October 1, 2004 A week or two ago I suggested just calling every ad in the paper. While this would work fine in my market (FSBOs are rarely in there for more than 2 or 3 weeks, and there are 10-20 new ones every week), I'm sure that wouldn't be a good strategy in other areas. Someone mentioned using an Excel spreadsheet with a color system for tracking seller interest. I've started doing the same. Now I know:1. Who I've called but NOT spoken to (answering machine, busy, etc.)2. Who has said NO (for now)3. Who has SOLD4. Who has LISTED5. Who said YES/MAYBE I keep track of these major items:* Date of last contact* Phone number(s)* Seller(s) name* Asking price* Minimum rent required (to cover costs)* Address* Neighborhood* City* Bedrooms* Baths* Square Footage* Age* Parking* Style of house (single, semi, townhouse etc.) That gives me all I need to get good comps. The rest is tossed until I sign the deal up, then I'll get all the juicy details. Aging ads in my market is deadly as I just found out yesterday. Called an ad I've had lying around for over a month. He JUST LISTED with an agent last week! If I'd called him 10 days ago I would have had another CA signed up So my advice is CALL ALL THOSE ADS! Even if they're the same ones from last week...and keep calling until they're sold or they tell you to stop harassing them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimberly 0 Report post Posted October 2, 2004 How do you keep track of who you have called and the new ads you see in the paper? I track the sellers I talk to on index cards. I quit trying to track all of the ads. I keep the phone number on the upper right hand corner and the address upper left. Also included is the seller's name and a few details about the house. I also keep notes regarding the conversation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-Tony- 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2004 The way I figure it is they pay for you to bug them so if they run the ad every week you should call every week. This way they can feel they are getting their monies worth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan 0 Report post Posted October 5, 2004 Tony, how do the people react to you calling them several times from the ads? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-Tony- 0 Report post Posted October 5, 2004 they were pretty cool about it. I would usually make a joke about "well atleast your getting your moneies worth out of your ad" then I would say talk to you next week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan 0 Report post Posted October 5, 2004 Tony: How many calls do you make per day? Also, at what times do you usually call ( night, afternoon )? Al Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-Tony- 0 Report post Posted October 6, 2004 I got away from calling, I wanted them to call me but the market is saturated with signs. So, now I will focus more energy towards CA's. My wife was going to go back to work (she dreaded it), we came up with a solution to that. She will do the initial calls and set up appointments for me. When I started I would call during the day and leave messages than I graduated to evenings. To be honest what I do will not effect you if you don't make the calls Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Akinwale 0 Report post Posted October 24, 2004 A week or two ago I suggested just calling every ad in the paper. While this would work fine in my market (FSBOs are rarely in there for more than 2 or 3 weeks, and there are 10-20 new ones every week), I'm sure that wouldn't be a good strategy in other areas. Someone mentioned using an Excel spreadsheet with a color system for tracking seller interest. I've started doing the same. Now I know:1. Who I've called but NOT spoken to (answering machine, busy, etc.)2. Who has said NO (for now)3. Who has SOLD4. Who has LISTED5. Who said YES/MAYBE I keep track of these major items:* Date of last contact* Phone number(s)* Seller(s) name* Asking price* Minimum rent required (to cover costs)* Address* Neighborhood* City* Bedrooms* Baths* Square Footage* Age* Parking* Style of house (single, semi, townhouse etc.) That gives me all I need to get good comps. The rest is tossed until I sign the deal up, then I'll get all the juicy details. Aging ads in my market is deadly as I just found out yesterday. Called an ad I've had lying around for over a month. He JUST LISTED with an agent last week! If I'd called him 10 days ago I would have had another CA signed up So my advice is CALL ALL THOSE ADS! Even if they're the same ones from last week...and keep calling until they're sold or they tell you to stop harassing them <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Very good post. Excel can work wonders for tracking your prospects. This works very well for me. Akin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
