{"id":188841,"date":"2026-07-30T14:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/?p=188841"},"modified":"2026-08-03T06:59:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T12:59:26","slug":"you-have-500-leads-now-what-how-to-prioritize-your-list-so-youre-not-wasting-marketing-dollars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/you-have-500-leads-now-what-how-to-prioritize-your-list-so-youre-not-wasting-marketing-dollars","title":{"rendered":"You Have 500 Leads. Now What? How to Prioritize Your List So You’re Not Wasting Marketing Dollars."},"content":{"rendered":"

Sponsored by PropStream<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

As a real estate investor, you already know that finding deals is the cornerstone of building a successful business. Building a list of potential sellers is pretty straightforward these days\u2014there are software tools that can easily generate a list of 500 potential leads. So, not knowing how or where to find leads is definitely not an issue.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The issue is that you diligently mailed and called everyone on your huge list, got a very low response rate, and concluded that <\/span>“marketing doesn’t work.” Maybe these data tool-generated lists are overhyped? Maybe you should go back to old-school ways of looking for motivated sellers, e.g., direct outreach?<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s pause at the phrase \u201cmotivated seller.\u201d That\u2019s your real issue right there\u2014not using a tool that \u201cdoesn\u2019t work” but treating every name as equally likely to sell. To succeed, you must learn how to prioritize, and that involves reframing your goals from <\/span>“How do I find leads?” to \u201cHow do I know which leads are worth spending money on first?”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how you do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

What “Motivated” Actually Looks Like in Data\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The idea of a “motivated seller” can seem like a vague one. Traditionally, investors using direct outreach to find motivated sellers had to almost act as detectives, trying to suss out the property owner\u2019s financial position and goals and then pitch them an attractive opportunity. Essentially, you would be trying to build a complex picture of where the potential seller is from a puzzle piece here and there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Identifying motivated sellers can be a much more efficient and less labor-intensive process. All you need are concrete, visible data metrics that will give you a clear sign that the seller is ready for an offer. It\u2019s not a guessing game anymore when you have access to these key data fields. They are:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n