If you are mailing to lists that you get from a list broker, it may be worth checking up on the data they provide to be sure it is accurate and timely.

For example, if you aren’t getting the probate names until very late, the Personal Representative may have already made most of the arrangements to settle the estate and therefore no longer needs your services when your message finally arrives.

A delay in timeliness of data would be even more devastating for a list like preforeclosure, as there is usually less time to put the whole deal together. If the list is old, it will basically be worthless.

Stop by the courthouse and learn to pull the data yourself and then check it against what you have received from the list broker.

In terms of medium, there are things that can be adjusted as well. If your letters look like junk mail, they are probably being put in the trash without ever being opened.

Postcards don’t tend to have this problem, as the message is out there, so you know it gets looked at, as the person has to look at it to decide whether or not to throw it out. With a letter, sometimes people just know it is junk, so they throw it out without worrying that it may be important.

Try hand addressing the envelopes, using a different shape or color envelope, and using a different type of commemorative stamp. All of these things will help the envelope look more personal and less like junk and they may help get the envelope opened and improve response rate.

Take a close look at your message as well. It might need to be reworded to be more formal or less formal, more personal or more professional. Consider who the recipient is and consider what they are going through emotionally (or not going through).

The tone of a probate letter should be more sympathetic and personal than cold and formal. But the tone of a letter trying to recruit probate attorneys should be formal and professional sounding.

Be sure you overcome the objections to your message that you know sellers have. For example saying that you buy properties with tenants, even if those tenants are not currently paying the rent. Or saying that you are not afraid of structural or mold problems.

Be sure what you want them to do is clear. This means looking at your call to action. It should be encouraging them to “Call Now” or “Call Today”. Otherwise they might think that they have to wait until 10 days before they want to settle to call you since you said “We buy houses in 10 days”. Sounds strange to us, but that is how many people think.

Improve your message by testing it on people you know. Ask friends or family to look at your marketing pieces and to tell you, in their own words, what it is you are asking them to do. You might be surprised at their response. Your message may not be that clear. Tweak the message based on the response you get.

Consider these issues when your marketing isn’t working. Make adjustments and continue to track. You will start to see increased response and you will find areas that will improve your marketing campaigns.

If you need help in getting your marketing response rate up so that you have profitable deals flowing in to you, apply now for our coaching program. We will get you laser-focused on how to market correctly to find profitable and consistent deals.

Most people are studying and looking to learn more real estate techniques and strategies for all the wrong reasons, most people are learning more techniques, learning about new ways of investing in real estate for all the wrong reasons. All that really matters is marketing, getting leads to opportunities.

What separates the successful investors, the ones doing deals and taking the money out within 3 to 4 months, from all the rest who are still caught up talking to lawyers and agents and spinning their wheels? What separates them is that they don’t know everything, but it doesn’t stop them, they go out and they focus on the marketing as that’s all that really matters, because unless you find deals, all the rest, and all book knowledge is irrelevant. As long as you have a basic foundation and you find deals, then you know you have your coach to show you how to close that deal. You know you can call your coach and get all the right answers.

Click Here to Apply Now!

They will also say, “I don’t get enough calls” or “I don’t get enough good calls”.

Or “I have been sending 200 postcards a month for a few months, but no luck”. (It will take more volume than that!)

Or “Are people in my area immune to marketing? It just doesn’t work around here”.

And, “Maybe what the newspapers are saying is true. The real estate market is dead”.

What is the problem when someone starts their marketing efforts, but isn’t getting enough response to find enough deals?

When you start out, you just want any response. Later on, you will want to track the response rate and then do things to improve it. You will want more consistency and more bang for your buck.

Successful marketing comes down to message, medium and audience.

If you have a problem with any one of these, it may be affecting the success of your marketing campaign.

Message is what you say to people to grab their attention. Your message needs to be compelling. They need to identify with the message and see themselves in it. You need to “push their buttons” or “scratch their itch” with your message if you expect them to take action and call you.

Medium is the delivery device. This is what you use to get your message across. It could be a letter or a postcard, a display ad or a classified ad, or an outbound phone call or radio ad.

Audience is the people you are targeting. You will either have a list of these people or you will simply advertise in places where you think these groups would go for help when they are in trouble.

If your marketing is not working, you will need to adjust your message, medium and audience. You might be using the wrong medium, sending the wrong message, or flat out targeting the wrong group. Or you might be doing a combination of any of these, like sending the wrong message to the correct group, or using the wrong medium for the wrong group.

Consider newspaper ads. We have tested various types of medium, namely the major daily papers versus the smaller local papers. The major daily papers are a very expensive medium to advertise in, but they generate good calls from the types of people we want to reach. As long as there is money in the budget, they will generate enough leads over time to produce deals.

The smaller local papers are cheaper to advertise in, but we didn’t have the same response rate. Using the very same ad as we did in the major papers saw a drastic drop in response. The right types of people must not be reading those papers or they simply don’t have the circulation to reach enough people to get the response we require. In the end, we may spend less, but if we don’t get any deals, then the cost savings is not worth it.

We have had good luck with The Pennysaver, however. It isn’t quite the same as a local newspaper, people tend to look in it for coupons and services and they turn to it when they think of where to look for things.

Your results may be different. You have to test to figure out what works for you in your market.

Be sure to figure out the cost per reader. The major daily paper may be expensive, but find out their circulation and then divide out the cost to find out how much you are spending per reader. Do the same with the smaller circulation local papers and you will see that there is quite a difference. You simply reach more people with the major daily papers and that makes the cost per reader much less.

Stay tuned for Part 2…

Reading is one of the best things you can do to expand your mind. Especially in business, the more you read, the more you can expand your ideas beyond your actual experience base.

Need help marketing, thinking of new ideas, or need advice on how to handle the challenges of leadership? There are plenty of books on each of these.

Remember: success leaves clues. Other people write about their experiences so you can learn from them. Take advantage of the opportunity.

We have put together a reading list of some of our favorite books on topics that apply to success in business and real estate. You can print this list out and use it for yourself or buy these books for others.

—>> Download the Reading List here

The Financial Lifeline Radio show airs live nationally 12pm to 2pm from Los Angles, with stations joined by the Salem Radio Network, and on XM Satellite Radio.

Financial Lifeline Radio, brought to you by the Superior Gold Group, is a nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by Dave Harbison and John March and gives listeners the most up to date and cutting edge information about investing.

Financial Lifeline Radio provides a broad understanding of how world events impact and shape our bigger financial picture. The topics discussed provide a fresh perspective on the financial markets from a non-Wall Street perspective with a wide range of experts from a variety of industries. The show strives to deliver a fresh view of the financial markets with an edge unlike the Wall Street Universe.

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How Do You Tell A “Real Estate Guru” From A Con Artist?

To really “learn the ropes” of real estate investing, you’ve got to learn from people who have done it themselves. That’s why Capital Area REIA brings in fresh guest experts to teach.

But it probably won’t surprise you to learn that some “real estate experts” are more than a little shady. Their “classes” are all fluff, their methods are borderline illegal (maybe even a bit over the border), and they have the personal ethics of horse thieves.

Q: How do you tell the difference between a real-life expert who can show you how to buy, sell, and rent your properties … and a scammer who can show you the quickest way to jail?

Q: How do you tell the difference between a real estate legend who possesses deep knowledge of acquisition, negotiation, financing, and rehabbing … and a fly-by-night who’s “blowing smoke?”

Q: How do you tell the difference between an experienced, honest teacher who is ready to give you the tools and the confidence to start completing deals … and a “guru” who’s just out to sell things to you?

A: You don’t need to. Because at Capital Area REIA, that’s a job WE take on.

WE filter the list of experts we allow at our meetings.
WE screen the guest speakers who are invited to address our group.
And WE make sure that every person who teaches from our stage has tremendous knowledge to share — knowledge that you can put to real use in your own real estate business.

In fact, we have an actual blacklist of speakers who are persona-non-grata at Capital Area REIA.

Currently, there are 9 speakers on this list. These are people who:

- have conducted themselves unethically,
- have products that don’t live up to their promises, or
- are simply “full of it”.

We take the business of real estate education seriously, and we have no room for speakers who are “all hat and no cattle”. When you come to Capital Area REIA, you can be confident knowing that you are getting real estate knowledge from speakers who know what they are talking about.

When we started out, we built our investing business by attending Capital Area REIA and by applying the techniques we learned from the gifted and knowledgeable speakers who shared their techniques with us.

When there was a speaker who inspired us, then we invested in that speaker’s ideas or system. It almost always paid off, as just one useful technique could produce many times more profits than the cost of the system.

But sometimes we got burned. A product turned out to be junk, nothing more than a “brick in a box.” This was always upsetting, and we always returned it.

Now that we organize the education for Capital Area REIA, this is something we can do for YOU as a benefit of membership. We expose you to the best and the most knowledgeable speakers – and we protect you from the fraudulent speakers who sell nothing but junk.

There is no better method for learning the real estate investing business than to actively attend and participate in your Capital Area REIA. Everything you need comes together in one room: education, networking, and resources.

We thank you for being a part of Capital Area REIA. We are determined to bring you the absolute best real estate education. And we mean business when we say “no scammers allowed.” Out blacklist proves that we don’t kid around. If you want to peddle garbage or teach shady, illegal tricks, then you’ll have to speak at another REIA.

Let us guide you, teach you, and lead you — all in an ethical and moral manner.

To your success,
Tom & Carolina Zeeb
Capital Area REIA
Profitable Partnerships

__________________________________
Capital Area REIA, LLC
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #365
Washington, DC 20003
202-558-6508
202-318-7299 fax
tom@CapitalAreaREIA.com
http://CapitalAreaREIA.com

Recipient of the National REIA “2009 Award of Excellence”
For Best Real Estate Investor Association!

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