{"id":52730,"date":"2014-01-07T12:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-01-07T19:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=52730"},"modified":"2021-03-16T10:14:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T16:14:50","slug":"2014-01-07-tips-marketing-motivated-sellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2014-01-07-tips-marketing-motivated-sellers","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Marketing to Motivated Sellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have considered myself to be a pretty good marketer for 20+ years. I can actually remember the time when all marketing was done face to face, by using direct mail<\/a> or with ads in places like TV, radio, and newspaper (before the internet).That was the way marketing was done. It was all about repetition and building relationships through\u00a0the principle of \u201cknow, like and trust\u201d.<\/p>\n

Where marketing is concerned today, some things haven\u2019t changed all that much. The person that has managed to establish that \u201cknow, like, and trust relationship\u201d with motivated sellers will be the one to nail down the property just about every time.<\/p>\n

There will always be those sellers motivated solely by money. Those folks will pick the newbie with the higher offer over the investor that they know has the experience to help them. Money is their only concern.<\/p>\n

Many times those will be the deals that never close because the newbie investor simply made an offer that was too high. Let\u2019s face it; when you are new, it usually shows by your lack of confidence, nervousness or maybe your inability to look the seller in the eyes and make that really uncomfortable low offer. But there are always motivated sellers that will overlook those things and sign on the dotted line just because of the higher offer.<\/p>\n

Working with distressed sellers is a \u201cone and done\u201d process in most cases. There won\u2019t be any repeat business. You may occasionally run across a seller that has multiple properties they want to sell at the same time, but most of my business with motivated sellers of distressed properties involves just one house.<\/p>\n

What Happens When that Deal Tanks?<\/h2>\n

When that inexperienced investor finds that they can\u2019t find a wholesale buyer or possibly even a lender that will work with them because they have offered too much for the house, they will have no choice but to back out of the deal unless they can get the seller to come down on the price. This is your time to step in.<\/p>\n

If you did a good job with the seller in the \u201cknow, like and trust\u201d department this is the time you will get a call from that seller. In most cases they will ask you to match the other guy\u2019s price. And, this is always the time when you explain to them that this isn\u2019t possible and give them the reasons. If you have built their trust, they will most likely accept your offer at this point. But if they still aren\u2019t able to come to your terms, be sure to leave the door open for them to call you again. Wish them well and let them know you would like to be their plan B if plan A doesn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n

The Differences in Marketing to Distressed Sellers VS Other Sellers<\/h2>\n

Different types of marketing strategies and tactics work better for various types of sellers. If you are a real estate agent for instance, you should have some type of marketing to solidify that \u201cknow, like and trust\u201d status in your market. Most sellers just don\u2019t wake up and decide to sell today. This is a decision that is made over time (in most cases), so it makes sense for Realtors to have ongoing marketing campaigns geared toward the general public<\/strong> <\/em>to become well known in their market.<\/p>\n

The majority of Realtors I know use a mix of different things like print ads, TV ads on the real estate cable channel, billboards or bench advertising and websites and blogs. They depend heavily on repeat business, so they want to build a nurturing relationship with folks.<\/p>\n

Blogs are especially good for real estate agents. With a blog you can build a list of potential future clients, you can keep in touch with by sending them tips and timely articles, and it\u2019s a great way keep your name on the top of their mind. The best part of all is that it\u2019s FREE.<\/p>\n

I have even seen bandit type signs on street corners with the agent\u2019s name, company and \u201chouse for sale\u201d printed on the sign. I\u2019m sure Realtors don\u2019t think of these like traditional bandit signs, but that is what they are none the less.<\/p>\n

Many of these same strategies will work when trying to find distressed sellers, but there are some big differences.<\/p>\n

What Works and What Doesn\u2019t Work for Finding Distressed Sellers?<\/h2>\n

My best strategy for finding motivated sellers of distressed property has always been direct mail sent to very well defined niches<\/em><\/strong>. When your postcard or letter hits their mailbox on the day \u201ctheir pain\u201d has finally gotten to be too much, you will always get the call; your \u201cwe buy houses cash\u201d offer always gets their attention. They key point here is to have a good, well defined list. You can have a great marketing piece\u00a0but if you have\u00a0a bad list, and you will get terrible results every time.<\/p>\n

Not many real estate investors use billboards and benches because of the cost (and folks don\u2019t like looking at them). I almost never see newspaper and TV ads anymore. Every now and then I will see a \u201cwe buy houses\u201d ad in the classified section of the newspaper.<\/p>\n

Websites can be good if they are optimized and are keyword rich so they can be found easily. I just bought a new domain today; SellMyLouisvilleHouseFast.com (and.net). You will notice that it is a keyword rich domain.<\/p>\n

However, someone that needs to sell a house fast because they are in a distressed situation will never head over to the web and start reading blogs. That just isn\u2019t going to happen.<\/p>\n

There is one thing I recommend, and that is to have a blog component<\/a> on your company website. Having a blog component will allow you to post articles of interest to a seller from time to time. You can also post tips for selling a property fast. In the process this will set you up to be viewed as a credible business person and a source of information. Folks in these types of situations are looking for answers. They want to know what their options are. Offering a resource to them like a free report on \u201cHow to Sell Your House Fast\u201d might actually help them to choose you. After reading about everything they need to do to get the house ready to sell to a retail buyer, your free report just might help them decide that they have neither the time nor the money to take on fixing up this distressed property.<\/p>\n

One Final Tip<\/h2>\n

Once you have made it to the closing table, be sure take this one last step.<\/p>\n

Send the seller a thank you note with your business card in it. Let them know you enjoyed working with them, and you are always looking for referrals. Ask them to hang onto your business card so they can pass it along if you could be of service to someone they know.<\/p>\n

“Take a little extra time to be memorable”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Photo Credit: iammikeb<\/a><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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