Prospecting for new properties is a very important part of any property management company. You have to understand that there are two types of marketing: Passive and Active.
Examples of Passive- Putting signs out and waiting for a call. Putting an ad in the paper and waiting for a call. Sending out direct mail.
Examples of Active- Calling on signs. Asking people in networking groups for their business and referrals. Calling on Advertisements.
Typically, active advertising produces higher quality leads and usually costs little to nothing (except for your time).
Some of the ways that I prospect are very easy and can be done by anyone.
1. Craigslist- Find homes that have been posted days ago and look like they don't have any idea what they are doing (no photos, possible HUD violations, poor descriptions). Then, call the owner and ask them if they'd like your services. A lot of times they will say no, but make them a deal that you will call them if you run across someone who may be qualified to rent their home. Once you get in to a couple of conversations, chances are they will be willing to give you a shot.
2. 'For Rent' Signs- I call as many for rent signs that I can. I make a note of the address and the phone number and the date I saw it. I call the owner asking for business and if the sign has been there long enough, I know they may be hurting.
3. Non-Owner Occupied Lists- In Idaho, I can have my title company send me an excel spreadsheet of all homes that aren't occupied by the owner. This list can be easily mail merged into a letter that can be sent out.
4. Expired Listings (for sale)- Since I am a licensed and active Realtor, I have access to the MLS and I can call expired, vacant listings and ask the owner for their business.
I hope these give you some good ideas and if you try them out, you'll be surprised at how often you hear 'yes' (but not before you hear 'no' a whole bunch of times).
Maybe in another post, I'll focus on what types of objection handling techniques and dialogues I use. :idea:
