Getting Sellers to Raise Their Hands
I'm a wholesaler so I need to buy houses very inexpensively
so my buyers get a great deal. I am in a real estate market
where the MLS is very competitive. Not only are investors
bidding against each other, so are landlords and retail buyers.
Many well-priced listings will have 20 offers on them the day
they hit the street.
In this market you have to have a way to find sellers that not everyone uses, so you don't have to worry about competition. I have tried bus benches. I had a dozen of them for a year on very busy streets in areas that I wanted to invest in, but they don't even get me one call a month. That didn't work. I tried pre-printed bandit signs and got a few calls, but there were no good leads that came of it. One was close. I tried magnets on my cars. That didn't really work out very well either, though I did get one good call once.
So far, the best responses I have gotten have been from doing mailings and from direct referrals. When I do a postcard mailing to absentee owners, I can expect to get between 1 and 2% of the people who I send it to to raise their hands and leave a message with my answering service to let me know they want to talk about selling their property.
I use a very simple white postcard with copy on both sides. My first mailing was to 517 people and I got one deal out of it. My next mailing was to 1045 people and I am still calling back the people who want to sell. I will only do deals that are a win for everyone. Luckily, there are so many different ways to structure a deal that I can offer many ways for the sellers to win.
Direct referrals come from talking about what you do and being excited about it. I have 3 houses under contract this year because of direct referrals. These are all short sales -- basically deals where you can name your own price! They take longer and have more moving parts, but can be very lucrative and again, are a win for all involved.
Now, go get some seller to raise their hands and buy a house!
Christy Mellott
Millionaire in Training, MMMChallenge.com
www.realdealcolorado.com
In this market you have to have a way to find sellers that not everyone uses, so you don't have to worry about competition. I have tried bus benches. I had a dozen of them for a year on very busy streets in areas that I wanted to invest in, but they don't even get me one call a month. That didn't work. I tried pre-printed bandit signs and got a few calls, but there were no good leads that came of it. One was close. I tried magnets on my cars. That didn't really work out very well either, though I did get one good call once.
So far, the best responses I have gotten have been from doing mailings and from direct referrals. When I do a postcard mailing to absentee owners, I can expect to get between 1 and 2% of the people who I send it to to raise their hands and leave a message with my answering service to let me know they want to talk about selling their property.
I use a very simple white postcard with copy on both sides. My first mailing was to 517 people and I got one deal out of it. My next mailing was to 1045 people and I am still calling back the people who want to sell. I will only do deals that are a win for everyone. Luckily, there are so many different ways to structure a deal that I can offer many ways for the sellers to win.
Direct referrals come from talking about what you do and being excited about it. I have 3 houses under contract this year because of direct referrals. These are all short sales -- basically deals where you can name your own price! They take longer and have more moving parts, but can be very lucrative and again, are a win for all involved.
Now, go get some seller to raise their hands and buy a house!
Christy Mellott
Millionaire in Training, MMMChallenge.com
www.realdealcolorado.com
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