Which is more effective? Mail Marketing or Cold Calling?

Question

Title pretty much says it all.  I am just beginning.  I have a list of properties I got from driving for $$ and have done the skip tracing.  Are people generally receptive to phone calls from investors or should I start mailing first?

Cornelius Garland · Answer

@Darrick Richardson Hey Darrick, I market to sellers using a combination of marketing channels. I am very strategic with my approach, though. I start off with what's the least expensive marketing channel that yields the highest response rate. Currently, this is text blasting for me. After I text blast my sellers, I'll remove the unmotivated sellers from my list and then hit them with ringless voicemail (RVM). The response rate is around 2% for RVM, but I can hit a lot of sellers without expending my budget. The next thing I'll do is send the records that didn't respond to texting or RVM to my cold call team. Once they've run through the list a few times, I'll scrub it and compile a list of who didn't respond. This is when I send the non-responsive sellers direct mail. I do direct mail last because this is the most expensive marketing channel. It makes much more sense to filter out any unmotivated leads using the least expensive marketing channels first and then having a targeted direct mail list. This has allowed me to decrease my cost per deal significantly as well as get more qualified leads. It's important to hit the sellers on multiple platforms in order to maximize your chances of getting in touch with your entire marketing list. Some sellers are more responsive to text messaging than direct mail. Conversely, others prefer receiving a cold call instead of a ringless voicemail.

Cameron Tope · Answer

@Darrick Richardson truth is it depends!

For Houston, we have seen better returns with direct mail, which we have tested for several years.

The only way to know for sure is to test each form of marketing and see which one has the higher response rate. Then you know which one to invest your marketing dollars into.

Best of luck!

Justin Silverio · Answer

I do a lot of driving for dollars and I'm hitting my prospects with direct mail first. I'm then following up with other forms of marketing. The reason I do it in this order is that 1) it's easier and more automated to send DM & 2) it's an easier lead into the conversation when you follow up with someone via cold calling, RVM, etc. when you sent a letter to them already.

Account Closed · Answer

Drive to their location and bang on their door. There is nothing better than face-to-face and while it may seem like it takes more time than sending a letter it does not. You can spend hundreds of hours, thousands of dollars on direct mail and not get one response. You can spend several days on the phone and almost nobody answers their phones. Even when they do answer they won't talk to you.

The answer to your questions; do all three, phone, letter and personal visit, but the personal visit gets the best response where you won't have to wonder about whether or not to keep phoning and writing.

McKinley Crowley · Answer

@Darrick Richardson Layering multiple forms of marketing is a good play. Either way, as @Nicole Heasley said consistency is key. So keep that in mind when you are making your decision. Because direct mail tends to be more automated it is typically easier to stay consistent. Cold calling will take more time so staying consistent can be a bit more taxing. Test it out and see what is getting you more responses that is the best way to know.

John Mucilli · Answer

@Cornelius Garland Hey man, are you still active? I have some questions if so.

Cornelius Garland · Answer

@Darrick Richardson Absolutely! Let me know if you have any other questions. I am borderline obsessive when it comes to my marketing campaigns.

Darrick Richardson · Answer

This is great.  Thanks..

Darrick Richardson · Answer

Thanks everyone.. I'll try both and see what happens.

Ehsan Rishat · Answer

@Darrick Richardson I have tested out cold calling and direct mail in my area and direct mail tends to deliver a better result. I'd advise you to try out both and see which one works best in your area. Also, talk to local investors and find out what method they are following to get deals. If you just have a handful of records then go ahead with door-knocking and "bang on their door" as said by Jack.

Which is more effective? Mail Marketing or Cold Calling?

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