New Direct Mail Campaign-South Side Chicago Market
Hello BP Community,
I recently started a new direct mail marketing campaign in my Chicago market and wanted to sort of chronicle how it turns out. I actually wanted to post this the first week, but I gave it a little time so I can have some data to share. I usually listen to several different podcasts on different real estate investing strategies and marketing, and on a recent podcast by Sean Terry he had a guest who gave some very great information on how he does some of his marketing and how he creates his mailing list that he mails to and I thought the ideas he shared were so good that I followed his advice in creating my own list. Heres the link to the podcast:
http://www.flip2freedom.com/how-joe-mccall-virtual...
I created my list using the criteria he mentioned in the podcast and I can say that I have been getting some good results. I wanted to create my own list this time around because I am beginning to get much better at my marketing (I find the field very exciting FYI), and I wanted to be more in control of the flow of leads coming in from my particular market. I really don't have a huge marketing budget right now, so I figured if I created the list myself (did it through ListSource) and shopped around for the best price on someone to mail out the pieces for me then that would be beneficial (@Tim Leslie here on BP has done a great job so far :-). I figured I would start with yellow letters the first week, skip one week, follow up with postcards, and do this on a bi-weekly schedule for about two months. In combination with that, I purchased 50 bandit signs (supercheapsigns.com). The list that I created had over 1,500 leads within it (which was pretty pricey for me), so I only purchased a partial list of 300 leads. I will continue to just purchase more of the list a little at a time until I hit the whole thing, then move to another zip code within my market. My theory with the bandit signs is that I can cover more ground with them. Since I was only able to mail out to 300 leads from my list, I would place bandit signs not only within that same zip code that I am mailing to, but I can also hit other zip codes that I wanted to target as well. It gives me more exposure, and I can generate more leads-well at least that is what I want to happen. In addition to those two marketing mediums, I also purchased 6 large magnets to put on both of my trucks and a partners vehicle as well (purchased via Vistaprint). I have a landscaping business, and I'm usually riding through several of my targeted markets constantly, in addition to just driving the other vehicles all over the place, so this will give me great exposure to drive leads for my company as well. Here is how things have been going so far:
Yellow Letters & Postcards
Week 1:
Received 17 calls. 11 had nothing to sell. 2 had called, didn't leave a vm, so I called and left vm with a text message a couple of times, and continuing to follow up with them. 1 was already listed with a broker, and what she needed out of the deal didn't make sense for my numbers. 1 of the calls were from her listing broker-made a connection with her. The last 2 callers insisted that they didn't want to sell right now, so I will follow up with them in 3mos to see if anything has changed.
Week 2:
Received 4 calls. 1 caller was a short sell and was already a recent rehab but the bank was asking a very high premium for it. The seller informed me that she was trying to get another appraisal so they can lower it because there have been several interested buyers, but the price is just way too high for the area and noone is going to buy at that price. She said she'd follow up with me if anything changed, and I'll most likely follow up with her before then lol. 1 caller didn't have anything to sell. 1 caller was another that was listed with a broker, and was priced very high in relation to the value in the area-so nothing I could use. The 1 last guy had recently did a reno and must have went over his budget because he was way off in regards to what the comps of properties in the area were actually selling for. I informed him that I wasn't able to do much at that price, but I would follow up with him to see if he reduced the price.
Week 3:
I am currently in week 3 and just waiting on my postcards to hit. I received 2 more calls from the yellow letters though. 1 caller I have an appointment to check out this Fri.-3/13. Its occupied with a tenant already, and so far looks promising. I will have to put my negotiating skills to work and see if I can get the contract at the price I want. The other 1 call was from a lady who said she wanted to sell the property, but she had to ask her daughter first. She called me back about a couple hours later and said that her daughter was going to be inheriting the property and wasn't interested in selling. I am going to put her into my follow up list and touch basis again in 3mos.
Bandit Signs
In regards to my bandit signs, its funny because its actually kind of exciting doing those lol, well at least my wife and I got a kick out of it. I put up about 21 signs on a Friday night when I received them. I chose high traffic areas where drivers usually experienced long waits during rush hour traffic build-ups, so they should drive some leads. I have driven past most of them and they are still standing so thats a good thing. I was running errands early one morning and I keep my signs in my truck, so as I was driving I was stopping at some major traffic areas as I mentioned previously and putting them up. As I was putting up one of the signs, a guy pulled over and asked me if I could help him get rid of some properties him and his partner were trying to get rid of. Turns out they have about 35 properties (great for me!!!!) and he gave me two of the addresses and said lets start with them. I checked them out and he was expecting more than they were worth, especially one which was in a terrible part of town, but the other I feel I should be able to negotiate and maybe turn a deal out of it. I can relate with him on different levels, so the rapport is there so we'll see how it turns out. I know you have to be careful in some areas with the bandit signs, because a police officer seen me putting up one and had pulled around on me and said that they couldn't be up in that particular part of the area. He and his partner was very cool about it, we could relate with each other, so he just to me to take that one down and to just be careful. I actually gave them both a business card and told them to call me if they or anyone they knew had anything to sell lol. I did notice 3 of my signs had been removed, sucks but the cost of doing business.
Truck Magnets
Again, I was running errands, matter of fact my wife and I were putting out a few signs also, and she needed to run to the bank. As I was waiting in my truck, a guy walked up to my window and said hey I see you buy houses, here is one I have for sale!!! I was very excited because that just let me know that the money I invested was actually paying off. The lead could be a potential deal, but even if it does not turn out that way, at least I know the exposure is driving leads.
I invested about $1,600 dollars total I think for everything, and its looking like I may be making that back very soon. I mean, I still have 3 other mail outs that I'm waiting to touch down, and things are going great. I advise people to check out that podcast and really listen to the tips that he is giving-its some great information. I will soon have my RE license placed with a sponsoring broker, so I know I will have to adjust some of the things I do in my business so I can stay in compliance with state laws pertaining to licensees. I have some things in mind that I know will work since I have a couple of partners I can work with, so I know things will work out fine. Having the license will be very beneficial because even if the leads don't fit my criteria that I use to wholesale the properties, I will be in a position to list it for them and get the commission; win-win situation for me and I can still help people out of whatever situation they may be in. I will keep the BP community updated on the status of how things turn out as I go along as well. Until then, be blessed, and I wish you well in your business ventures.