“Focus on being productive instead of busy.” Timothy Ferris, Author of the Four Hour Work Week
Direct Mail Marketing
Yes, you’re doing it, and you might have bagged a couple of deals too. But, how do you know if your direct mail marketing is up to the mark?
For most of the investors, if they’re receiving even a couple of deals through direct mail marketing, it’s successful.
Successful real estate investors, on the contrary, lookout for new ways to land more deals and always strive towards efficiency.
‘Don’t ever get too comfortable, there’s always room for improvement or replacement.’ ~ Unknown
Without taking any more time, les’s discuss some key improvements that could mean success and failure in real estate business, especially for beginner investors.
How to Run a Direct Mail Campaign like a Rockstar?
Creating a List of Motivated Sellers
There’s no denying the fact that you’re always on the sellers’ timetable, and it’s quite difficult to create urgency, not unless they are foreclosing the property.
How about creating a list of already motivated sellers?
Now that’s something in your control. Start by targeting:
Once these lists are available, you can add additional filters including the age of the property (built after 1970), equity in the property (50% or more), or even target particular zip codes.
Further, it’s best to purchase a new list annually, helping you target fresh prospects, and saves the hassle of cross-checking it through multiple databases.
Be Unique with Your Postcard/letter
By saying unique, you don’t have to add a unicorn to the front, but it always pays to stand out.
Choose a size that the majority of your competition doesn’t use; try to go with the bigger one.
The primary focus here is to market your services, so maintain marketing intent throughout the mail.
Create a Leakproof Followup System
What could be worse than not receiving a response?
Failure to follow up on leads!
As a real estate investor, getting enough time to follow-up on leads could be a challenge and failing to do so could literally sink your business.
If you’re a one-man army, an online follow-up system could do the trick for you. Some of the available systems include features like prospect tracker, call tracker, feedback system, and other relevant detailed reports.
However, if you’re old school, even Google spreadsheets are good to start with. Some of the details you would want to keep on the sheet include seller name, phone number, property address, email id, date of the first offer, offer amount, and the next follow-up date.
Irrespective of the system you choose, the key is to create a system and stay consistent with it.
Employ Measurement Metrics that Offer Real Insights
“What gets measured, gets managed.” ~ Peter Drucker
The only way to improve further is to measure your current campaign results. Unlike the general trend, measuring only the response rate isn’t enough. Here is a list of some key metrics you should start tracking.
Monitoring these metrics will help you streamline your campaigns while achieving higher efficiency.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY) or Direct Mailing Service
“If you think it is expensive to hire a professional do the job, wait until you hire an amateur.” ~ Red Adair
If your car broke down, would you repair it yourself or give it to an expert? Even if you have a sound knowledge of automobiles, repairing the car will take insurmountable amount of time.
The same rule applies to a DIY approach. Doing it during the initial phase of your career might save you some money, but in the longer run, it will cost you more in terms of the time you spend in doing it.
You can hire a direct mailing service to do the job for you. Thanks to the developing ecosystem of specialized real estate service providers, you can find the right agency at competitive prices.
In fact, some of these agencies allow you to design custom mailings online. All you need is to design the mailing piece, upload your mailing list, and posting schedule.
The journey of becoming a business owner from an owner-operator starts by creating systems that can run on auto-pilot. Start building your systems as early as possible, and improve them with every single deal.
