Need NEW Marketing Ideas and Strategies

General Real Estate Investing
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Need NEW Marketing Ideas and Strategies

Danny Chan
San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes

Hey everyone -

I work in Marketing for a real estate investment company here in San Diego. Our main focus is buying, fixing, and selling homes. My main priority is to generate direct seller leads and work with the motivated sellers.

We are currently doing the follow marketing campaigns:

1. Online Marketing (Squeezepages, websites, SEO, social media, etc)

2. A LOT of direct mail that includes yellow letters and postcards targeting out of state absentee owners, probate, divorce.

3. Driving for Dollars

4. Every Door Direct Mail

5. Craigslist

This marketing is nothing new to us investors. But I want MORE leads and MORE deals.

My main question is: Is anyone trying something NEW and CREATIVE to find more motivated sellers?

I don't want the typical bandit signs, direct mail BS. I need something new and creative that not other investors are doing. What else are you guys doing in your marketplace besides the typical real estate investing marketing campaigns? Are there any untapped lists for motivated sellers?

Help me out here guys. Let's use this thread for a place for new ideas that can benefit all of us.

Thanks,

Danny

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Rick H.
Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
12y

Danny Chan - your post strikes me as "all get and no give."

Why don't you share a bit of what you know and give back before you hit us up to divulge what's working. I personally will respond more positively to you requests, at any rate. Don't want to chase you off, merely commenting.

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  • Dev HornPro Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Eric F.:
    Originally posted by @Dev Horn:
    Dude, I try EVERYTHING! Not long ago, we BOMBED the LA area with these pre-printed sticky notes that appeared to be hand-written... =)

    I (heart) Marketing!

    Dev, where did you get these? I had this idea too and went and bought some sticky notes, hand wrote roughly 20, then gave up. I spent some time on google and could not find a company which could print these up on a pad so I could walk door by door peeling and sticking. I was going to do door hangers instead, but in my mind I feel like the sticky note would get noticed way quicker. Personally, I know I toss a door hanger right in the garbage, but if there is a sticky note at eye level I sort of have to read it lol

    Thanks for the ideas everyone, great thread Danny

    A sticky note is also easier for the homeowner to put on their fridge so they can call you later. This is kind of a custom job, secret process kind of thing. It was hard to find a vendor that could take our art and produce these for our licensees on demand. Took me a while but I developed a "custom" process with a vendor to do this. I'll gladly tell you the vendor in a PM, but I'd rather not put it here on the public site. ;-)

    0Reply
  • Danny Chan
    OP
    San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
    12y

    @Dev Horn Where are you located? What is the response rate from these stickies? Any deals?

    0Reply
  • Dev HornPro Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    12y

    I like these things, but I will add that I've seen very different results in 2 different markets. Here in DFW (Fort Worth area, specifically), we've used them a lot and definitely gotten calls that resulted in deals. In LA, this strategy fell flat. As a marketer, I've struggled to understand that - I chalk it up to differences in competition and/or culture. I like to think that marketing is a science (do this & you'll get that!), but I'm often reminded that it's more of an art (try this, it might work!). You have to experiment to find what works locally.

    1Reply
  • Eric F.
    Real Estate Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2012 · 427 posts · 297 votes
    12y

    @Dev Horn thank you for the follow up posts and advice. We are unsure if we think the post it notes will work here but we are going to try! Good point about putting it on the fridge for later.

    0Reply
  • Dev HornPro Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Arlington, TX · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    12y

    Man, I think that idea will KILL IT in North Carolina. People there are just like they are here in Dallas. Those LA cats are a different breed!!

    Let us know how it works for you!

    0Reply
  • Rick H.
    Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y

    Dev - you called it right about marketing. In 1978, I was 22, a recent biz grad and teaching a graduate level class in International Marketing. I thought I was pretty smart and had it really going on.

    Fast forward to 1995 when I got involved with my first Mastermind group (Jay Abraham). I learn that I didn't really know diddly squat about marketing, selling or business other than what I had seen in my limited world. I discovered things like other business models, front end vs back end, lifetime value if a customer or referral source, USP, and much more. Best $5K, 3 day weekend I every invested my time and money in.

    Yeah, marketing sure seemed like it could be a science, especially with all the numbers we ran. But there's not much science to the disappointment that comes from a campaigns that falls flat after spending a pile of your own dough.

    There's always a lot more to learn. When you're green you grow...when you're ripe you rot.

    0Reply
  • Mike S.
    Investor · Los Angeles , CA · Member since 2014 · 132 posts · 25 votes
    12y

    @Danny Chan I agree the trustee sales are competitive and you need a really streamlined and in house construction crew to make it work, its not a sandbox I chose to play in either.

    I am planning to roll out some direct marketing materials in Spanish to specific zip codes its a fairly simple process to determine which areas to implement this. Drive around and find areas where the billboards are in spanish, if Fortune 500 companies with their massive marketing budgets determined that spanish is more effective well then we should probably be doing the same. Have you tried this yet in SD?

    Also are you doing any email marketing? if so what type and where are you getting your lists?

    0Reply
  • Mike S.
    Investor · Los Angeles , CA · Member since 2014 · 132 posts · 25 votes
    12y

    @Dev Horn I like the the sticky note idea how did you deliver them?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Danny Chan:

    Also competition is high for absentee owners.

    Doesn't this tell you something? The last two houses I bought in 2013 were OO.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Dev Horn:
    I like these things, but I will add that I've seen very different results in 2 different markets. Here in DFW (Fort Worth area, specifically), we've used them a lot and definitely gotten calls that resulted in deals. In LA, this strategy fell flat. As a marketer, I've struggled to understand that - I chalk it up to differences in competition and/or culture. I like to think that marketing is a science (do this & you'll get that!), but I'm often reminded that it's more of an art (try this, it might work!). You have to experiment to find what works locally.

    Actually, "try this and it most likely won't work" is science.....which is an art. :)

    0Reply
  • Mike S.
    Investor · Los Angeles , CA · Member since 2014 · 132 posts · 25 votes
    12y

    @Account Closed were they acquired through mailers?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Mike S.:
    @Account Closed were they acquired through mailers?

    One was a letter, one was a newspaper ad.

    I don't know who decided that absentee owners were the most motivated group. Wait, I do know. People selling marketing and REI educational materials. If marketing is really a numbers game, more houses are sold by OOs than NOOs. Some of the OOs have to be motivated. Learn to think like a motivated seller and find out what their motivation is.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Mike S.:
    @Danny Chan I agree the trustee sales are competitive and you need a really streamlined and in house construction crew to make it work, its not a sandbox I chose to play in either.

    I am planning to roll out some direct marketing materials in Spanish to specific zip codes its a fairly simple process to determine which areas to implement this. Drive around and find areas where the billboards are in spanish, if Fortune 500 companies with their massive marketing budgets determined that spanish is more effective well then we should probably be doing the same. Have you tried this yet in SD?

    Also are you doing any email marketing? if so what type and where are you getting your lists?

    The teams working the trustee's sale in volume where I am in CA are so very streamlined and the margins are so very thin. But I do admire the way they adjusted to the market. There are three buying teams I follow the data trail on. Since rehabbed inventory is at serious low for owner occupant buyers, they rehab to the absolute minimum to make it FHA eligible with lightening speed. This is in the $175-$300K range. There is no branding. They are doing 3-5 deals a month, a few of them work multiple counties and are doing way more. They are running a business with serious attention to cost and speed.

    0Reply
  • Brandon Lee
    Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2013 · 36 posts · 32 votes
    12y

    @Rick H. , Jay is amazing. I've never seen him live, but his free resources are high-value.

    @Danny Chan , @K. Marie Poe , Our trustee sale strategy is targeting them right after they get the NTS. I think it's unanimous you can't get solid deals regularly from the auction itself, but it is quite feasible if you catch it before the sale ;D

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Brandon Lee:
    @Rick H. , Jay is amazing. I've never seen him live, but his free resources are high-value.

    @Danny Chan , @K. Marie Poe , Our trustee sale strategy is targeting them right after they get the NTS. I think it's unanimous you can't get solid deals regularly from the auction itself, but it is quite feasible if you catch it before the sale ;D

    The trouble I see with this strategy is equity volume. Are you planning to work only NTS with equity, or do you have a strategy for working over encumbered properties? NTS with equity in many parts of CA (still) would be a very short list. The trustee sales in my areas that go to 3rd party buyers are almost always dropped min. bids. The equity is created by the lender at sale when they drop the bid.

    0Reply
  • William F.
    Real Estate Investor · Beverly Hills, CA · Member since 2014 · 7 posts · 1 vote
    12y
    Originally posted by @Dev Horn:
    Dude, I try EVERYTHING! Not long ago, we BOMBED the LA area with these pre-printed sticky notes that appeared to be hand-written... =)

    What was your response rate? Did you see a return on your investment in this marketing campaign? How were the sticky notes distributed?

    0Reply
  • Danny Chan
    OP
    San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
    12y

    Does any know how to get a list of tax delinquent homeowners? I called the recorder's office, the assessor's office, as well as the tax collector's office. Finally, I got a hold of the auditor's office and this data is being stored in a 3480 cartridge (they're still in the 80s) and the only way I can get it is if a third party converts it or if I go into the office myself and copy everything down. I'm definitely not going to waste my time doing that. So is there an easier way?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Danny Chan:
    Does any know how to get a list of tax delinquent homeowners? I called the recorder's office, the assessor's office, as well as the tax collector's office. Finally, I got a hold of the auditor's office and this data is being stored in a 3480 cartridge (they're still in the 80s) and the only way I can get it is if a third party converts it or if I go into the office myself and copy everything down. I'm definitely not going to waste my time doing that. So is there an easier way?

    Call a title company. Super easy info to get. Alternatively, all CA counties publish annually in the newspaper the power-to-sell list (properties that are tax defaulted more than 5 years), usually in early September.

    0Reply
  • Danny Chan
    OP
    San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
    12y

    @Account Closed The title company is the first place I tried asking for tax delinquencies. Since it's not recorded in the county recorder's office, they can't pull it up.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Danny Chan:
    @Account Closed The title company is the first place I tried asking for tax delinquencies. Since it's not recorded in the county recorder's office, they can't pull it up.

    Call a different title company. Chicago, Fidelity and First American all have access to whether or not a property is tax defaulted and they include it in their property profiles.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:
    Originally posted by @Brandon Lee:
    @Rick H. , Jay is amazing. I've never seen him live, but his free resources are high-value.
    @Danny Chan , @K. Marie Poe , Our trustee sale strategy is targeting them right after they get the NTS. I think it's unanimous you can't get solid deals regularly from the auction itself, but it is quite feasible if you catch it before the sale ;D

    The trouble I see with this strategy is equity volume. Are you planning to work only NTS with equity, or do you have a strategy for working over encumbered properties? NTS with equity in many parts of CA (still) would be a very short list. The trustee sales in my areas that go to 3rd party buyers are almost always dropped min. bids. The equity is created by the lender at sale when they drop the bid.

    @Matt R. Got your message. NTS = Notice of Trustee's Sale. In CA, this is published for 3 weeks before the scheduled foreclosure sale.

    0Reply
  • Brandon Lee
    Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2013 · 36 posts · 32 votes
    12y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:
    Originally posted by @Brandon Lee:
    @Rick H. , Jay is amazing. I've never seen him live, but his free resources are high-value.
    @Danny Chan , Kristine Marie Poe , Our trustee sale strategy is targeting them right after they get the NTS. I think it's unanimous you can't get solid deals regularly from the auction itself, but it is quite feasible if you catch it before the sale ;D

    The trouble I see with this strategy is equity volume. Are you planning to work only NTS with equity, or do you have a strategy for working over encumbered properties? NTS with equity in many parts of CA (still) would be a very short list. The trustee sales in my areas that go to 3rd party buyers are almost always dropped min. bids. The equity is created by the lender at sale when they drop the bid.

    Correct, it's a very very short list. I have a team in place, so we actually just go after all of them, SS and cash for keys is very common on this list.

    We rarely hit the actual courtsteps, too many moving parts and little control over it. When we're direct to homeowner it's a lot easier to structure things and whatnot.

    0Reply
  • Rick H.
    Lender · Greater LA/Orange County area, CA · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    12y

    There are so many different ways to find forced sale (distressed) property opportunities. Some years ago a did a seminar near LAX that I attempted to get thru "53 Ways and 53 Plays" and before I had finished the workbook came up with another 50 or so. K. Marie Poe was a panelist and we all had a lot of fun that day.

    The difficulty with buying property at auction (or the equivalent of) that uses a bidding process is that it squeezes profit out of the deal. On the other hand, volume buyers require a fairly consistent supply of product (properties) to feed their machine and keep their production line (acquisition people, contractors and rehab tradesmen, office and sales staff, and profit for the investors).

    Using the triggers of defaults (mortgage, taxes) as telltale indicators of an opportunity and marketing to owners before their forced sale event has been my preferred way to invest. It's definitely more profitable on a per transaction basis however it's typically labor intensive on the front end and may require a wider range of skills in problem solving.

    My observation is that new people who begin chasing distressed property deals are less likely to refer deals to other, more experienced investors for a smaller piece of the profit and, because they are unable to generate a deal flow, ride what few opportunities they have into the ground. I find a better approach is to focus on a niche and build my skills looking for deals and referring out the situations I'm not skilled at (bankruptcy, heavy fixers, etc.).

    The O.P. asked for different (creative?) marketing methods, as well as techniques to improve his conversion numbers. Have you tried affinity marketing?

    0Reply
  • Danny Chan
    OP
    San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
    12y

    @Rick H. I have not tried affinity marketing. Care to share some insight?

    0Reply
  • Danny Chan
    OP
    San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 0 votes
    12y

    Reviving this thread!

    Does anyone have experience with quit claim deeds? Where can I find this list? Two title companies already told me they can't provide a list for me.

    Anyone have any ideas?

    0Reply
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