The only way to make a fortune investing in real estate is to find a steady stream of deals. That requires marketing.
What many investors don’t realize about marketing is that it usually doesn’t work immediately.
Why?
First, because it requires repetition. There is so much happening in prospects lives that they don’t see or hear your message. This is not a real estate phenomenon – this is advertising in general.
There is a reason they play the same ads so many times on television.
Next, your prospects have to be ready to receive the message and more importantly, ready to act. Many times prospects will see marketing, intend to respond, and just don’t until they are ready.
Savvy investors are always on the lookout for new ideas and strategies. You don’t want to market to the same prospects that everyone else use using the same marketing message.
Look for lists that no one else is chasing. As a rule of thumb, the easier the list is to get, the more competition is mailing to them.
Look for different types of marketing that stand out from the others. If it looks the same as every piece, prospective sellers will just bundle it together with the rest and discard it all.
Seek out opportunities to market to people at the precise time that they are ready to act. For instance, let’s say that you are mailing to a pre-foreclosure list. Everyone is mailing to them as soon as it is released.
Instead, consider waiting weeks (or even months in states with a slow foreclosure process) and then contact the homeowners. There will be much less competition and as the deadline approaches, the prospects will much more ready to act.
Remember that marketing is not a one-and-done process. You need to continually market and test results. Keep your eyes and ears open for new ideas and anything that will get you in front of prospects at the moment they are ready to act is going to offer a huge payoff for you.
Those that continually market and follow-up on their leads are the ones that close deals regularly and are earning huge profits. Those that don’t….aren’t!
Expect abundance,
Lou Castillo
