BiggerPockets

I had a chance to test drive what some of you have seen on one adwords link or another, rei webtools. (note: i include a link to the offer i responded to for illustrative purposes only. i am NOT trying to peddle their wares.)

in a nutshell, it is a database system that collects leads delivered from a handful of targeted squeezepages. your typical "we buy houses" deal.

the system sends you an email whenever someone has filled out a form on one of the webpages. this is a lead for you to follow up on preferably by phone asap. depending on selections made in the form, you should know if your lead is a owner-occupant buyer looking for a new place to live, or an experienced investor looking for deals, a motivated seller, or a potential private investor, etc.

the system allows you to calculate your cost/revenue per lead and generates reports/graphs to track progress. in the more premium version you can add users to perform duties you might otherwise, allowing you to free up your time to do higher $/hr activities. you can access your leads online, export the data to a spreadsheet, send emails from the system (like to jv partners or referral sources for stuff you don't personally do), and generally manage your lead data (as opposed to sticky notes on your desk?).

the system also stores text/html banners for posting classified ads. so if you're into posting on craigslist, backpage, kijijii, postlets and the sort then this tool is alleged to save you time posting. the idea is to be able to copy and paste your set ads as opposed to typing them out every time.

the system has an assortment of links to all the free classified ad places, the free valuation sites (zillow, cyberhomes, etc.), where you can get bandit signs from, place to mail postcards, foreclosure list provider, email list service provider, etc.

included are about 4 ebooks on locating & negotiating with sellers, guidance for personal accountability and performance modification, users manual, how to best use the product, etc. also is an increasing section of forms that included flowcharts, assorted contracts, useful documents, etc.

top it off is the hand-on setup & "mentoring". a young, kind, upbeat gentleman takes the time to get you going and get you pumped up. he is remarkable responsive and available.

as of my writing, more features seem to be added and tested in addition to what i've described. there is still some functionality i have not personally tested.

all this being said, i decided not to go with this one primarily because i thought the lead generating website design and copy were atrociously generic. and i didn't want to fork over $47 a month (some pay as much as $97) for "hosting" of the sites and system access.

i tested the forms on the websites myself to see the caliber of the free information sent from the website's autoresponder. there was no free report or information in my email, only a message saying that someone would be contacting me soon. it got me thinking about how much credibility i might lose if my leads were disappointed with no free information i had advertised. i sent an email to support and got some message to the effect that "our lawyers are reviewing the info we want to offer and said until its edited to keep it down...". i don't know about you, but i'm instantly turned off by any website that can't put free info in my inbox like right now.

the text ads that come pre-loaded are the epitome of generic, in my humble opinion. while i understand that the purpose is to get a click through to the accompanying squeeze page, i didn't see the ads eliciting any real desire (as in attention, interest, desire, action or AIDA). you can change them at anytime and you should. but which takes more time: actually typing out the ad or thinking of what to write? while often necessary, i don't include creative writing in the time-saving category. yet if you're going to do real live internet marketing then this stuff becomes important. what's the conversion ratio for generic marketing? (rhetorical question) and because the websites are hosted on their servers, no personal branding for you as in www.thisisyourbrand.com. it'll be www.selltheirstuff.com/replicatedaffiliate/#2579.html. hmmm...

you're encouraged to multiply yourself by "hiring" assistants to post all your ads for you. go grab some hungry college student and offer them $500 for each lead they generate that ends up as a deal for you. they have access to the same system as you whereas their a "user" and you're an administrator that can monitor their efforts. the idea is seductive: have a team of people putting ads up for you all over the place, generating massive traffic to your websites, resulting in enormous lead generation for your business. could work for you, but i don't want to mange anyone - especially not in this type scenario.

as with any of these mass produced deals that have a bunch of forms and a task list of things to do to get going, you have much to discuss with your attorney getting involved in the intended activities associated with this program/system. the design of the system is to have massive leads coming at you from every which way with you in the middle playing traffic cop. a seller lead comes in and you determine through subsequent negotiations whether you're gonna pursue a wholesale, lease-option, occupant buyer, or buy and hold deal. depending on your tastes you will either do it yourself or outsource to your realtor for listing referral (and hopefully fee), to your short sale contact for referral (and hopefully fee), to your rehab contact for wholesale (and fee), etc. while getting sued is supposed to be just a fact of life for the real estate investor, there is definitely a lot of contract paperwork to stay on top of here. beware and be prepared.

lastly, once i actually saw the scope of the activities that i should be doing i realized how little i would actually use the database. posting ads, going to rei meetings, networking, putting up bandit signs, sending out postcards, scanning for probate personal representatives, you know like marketing and following up on leads, etc. all this stuff and more is done without or away from the database.

so would you pay $100/mo for some semi-fancy software that you'll use occasionally? i won't.

i've purposely tried to be as sober as possible in reporting my experience. i don't want to bad mouth anyone, per se. just offering my view from here, take it for what its worth to you and hope it helps.

I just wanted to chime in from a rookie perspective...

#1 Marc Imhof is VERY accessible.
#2 Marc Imhof is VERY honest. He took over a half hour out of his day to talk with a guy (me) who had nothing but questions, doubts, etc...
#3 Marc Imhof is NOT pushy. He never even tried to get me to sign up for his program (I had already bought his 'Wholesaling for Cash" program). But he has several different hands on programs as well.

So, if you were thinking about his program and were hesitant because you weren't sure you could trust him, I can say with all sincerity, he is everything I said above and he truly cares about people. In fact he cares about people so much, he wants to make sure you really know what you're getting into BEFORE you spend any money. You can't go wrong with Marc Imhof.

Kev