How to Generate Leads When Time is Scarce

Bringing in leads is something that every investor must learn to do. How else are you going to find properties? But if you’re working full-time and real estate investment is a side gig, you may find that you don’t have as much time as you like to spend on lead generation. I’m going to offer up a few ideas on how you can bring in more leads, even when time is scarce. Some are completely passive and will take virtually no time at all, while others may eat up a few hours a week. It’s up to you to decide which methods work for you and offer the best ratio of time spent/leads generated.

Increase Your Web Presence

First things first, you need to build your digital presence. Since everyone uses the internet for everything, it makes sense that you need to put yourself - and your real estate business - out there for people to find. It doesn’t cost much to create and maintain a website, and there are several site-building platforms that make it easy for people who aren’t tech savvy to create an attractive website. While you’re at it, beef up your social media game, too. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter...whatever medium you prefer, use it to your advantage. Build those networks and let people know what you’re doing and what you’re seeking.

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an inbound marketing strategy that allows you to purchase listings of names/addresses in your market to send mailers to. Once you have your list, you can outsource the job of actually sending the mailers to a company who specializes in that task. A good starting point is to send out 2,000 mailers per month and see if that nets any leads. If it does, great! If not, increase the number. This is a truly a passive strategy that can result in a surprising number of leads.

Bandit Signs

Ever notice those “We buy houses” or “Sell your house as-is” signs on the street corner? Well, where’s yours? These signs, known as bandit signs, attract more people than you might think, and it’s easy to obtain and place them. Simply buy the materials, and then you or another person can write the info on them and place them. Many investors pay other people to do this part of the job for them, because it can be time-consuming (Craigslist is a great place to find people willing to do this on the cheap). Also, be sure to check what your city’s rules are regarding sign placement. You may need to place them on a Friday night and pick them back up on Sunday night or early Monday morning so they aren’t removed by city workers.

Prospecting

Good, old-fashioned prospecting is also a good place to locate leads. This can eat up more time, but the payoff can be worth it. One prospecting method that I like to use is pulling expired listings off the MLS and then contacting the listing agent to see if their seller might be interested in reviving the sale. You can also “browse for dollars,” which involves browsing rental listings in your market and reaching out to landlords to see if they’re interested in selling. Lastly, there is “driving for dollars” which works pretty much how it sounds. Drive around your target area and look for properties that are either currently for sale or look like they should be for sale (i.e., abandoned, overgrown lawn, poor condition). Dig up the ownership records online to get the owner’s contact info, and then make your move.

Connect with a Great Turnkey Company

Here’s my absolute FAVORITE way to generate leads when your time is short: let a turnkey company do it for you! Turnkey companies like USREEB take 99.9% of the work out of investing, which is great for busy people who simply don’t have enough hours in the day to devote to property scouting. We handle all of that and more and send you a customized listing of properties that match your requirements. Yes, it’s really that simple. If time is your issue, then handing over the legwork to a turnkey group really does make the most sense.