How do you currently get most of your leads?

Question

I've noticed that whenever someone states that they do X number of deals a year or are working on X number of deals, everyone immediately asks how they are finding their deals.  I wanted to start a topic that have the replies to all of those inquiries in one place.

So this is a sort of survey to see how people are getting the majority of their leads.  What type of marketing are you doing?  This can and should include things like getting leads from craigslist or the MLS, so not necessarily just from signs or direct mail.
          
          I am currently getting the majority of my leads from the MLS.  I have searches set up to send me the new, price-changed and back on market listings for certain areas and price ranges.  
          
          The competition is starting to ramp up as more investors are buying again.  Because of this I plan to start a new direct mail campaign (to landlords, absentee owners, vacants)
          
          (To keep the post on topic: I am looking for what marketing methods you are using, not what is in your letters)
          
          Thanks for sharing.

Jaremy Moritz · Answer

Another tactic I've used is to keep a few blank bandit signs in my truck.  When I see a house that clearly is the eyesore of the neighborhood and is vacant, I will write "I am a cash investor that wants to buy this house.  Referral fee paid to anyone with information that leads to me buying it.  Call me @ 281-770-XXXX."

Brian Haskins · Answer

I'm going to apologize up front for my little rant. I have been investing for about years now and I get asked everyday what kind of marketing I do. It's like there is some secret out there that I have since I do so many deals. It's not the case at all. The thing I see the most from new investors is that they think they always are missing something and they keep going after the flavor of the week thinking that's what they are missing. When it comes to real estate investing all forms of marketing work for the most part. I have realized its all about quantity. Most people send out a few hundred postcards and get no results and think real estate doesn't work. Thats just not the case. Most months I send out over 5,000 pieces of direct mail among many other things. I know this has nothing really to do with your question I just wanted to throw this out there for all the people reading it so maybe it will help them not to get hung up looking for what the new thing is. If there is anything i have learned in this market for wholesaling its to go back to the basics and keep it simple. Tons of direct mail, bandit signs, internet leads (pay per click), reos and so on.  Mail to people that are absentee owners, going through probate, in divorce, recent evictions, and so on. they all work but you have to be patient, mail multiple times and mail a lot. This is how you will get results that people are talking about. Real estate investing is basically just a numbers game you may have to talk to 25-50 people before you will find a deal. To wrap this up I would say the best leads come from direct mail. But you have to mail at the correct times and its just a crap shoot because you may mail to them today and their not motivated but tomorrow something may come up and you will never know. That's why I mail multiple times. Internet leads are good but it seems that if they fill out the form on your website they probably just go down the list and fill out everyone else and it boils down to who calls them first in most cases. Bandit signs usually bring in a ton of calls but they won't be the best quality direct mail is more targeted and in today's market the lists are pretty easy to come by whether you buy them or pull them yourself, note that most court houses keep their records online.

Brian Haskins

Jaremy Moritz · Answer

The last couple of years, I've gotten close to half of my leads from my website.  Through SEO, I'm at the top of the search for most keywords in my market.  I used to spend a good bit of $ on PPC, but as the site got closer and closer to the top of the rankings, I didn't need PPC anymore.  For most new websites, I'd highly recommend doing PPC as the cost per lead, at least in my experience, justifies the expense.  Just make sure you've got highly targeted keywords.

I've also purchased a lot of properties through direct mail.  This makes up about 30% of my purchases.

Bandit signs and Greensheet (local thrifty paper) each make up about 10%.

I've also done door hangers (somewhat effective but very expensive - I had to print in bulks of 100K and pay $.16 for delivery on each) with marginal results.  I did get properties from it, but the cost per lead and cost per buy was more than twice my normal costs.

I very rarely purchase off the MLS as it's too competitive for my liking.  I'd rather have sellers chasing me down instead of the other way...

Jaremy Moritz · Answer

Brian,

You made some excellent points.

I agree it does take massive and consistent advertising to be able to sustain a good pipeline of deals, but it also depends on how effective an investor is with the leads that they have.  It wouldn't do anyone any good to have 100 or more decent leads a month if they aren't good at negotiating and communicating with sellers.  I feel that this is where most people fail as opposed to not having enough leads.

Like you said, most forms of advertising work as long as you're consistent.  It may take multiple times for a seller to see your ad, whether it's on a bandit sign, direct mail, website, or anything else before they decide to call.

Too many new investors just want the "secret", but there really aren't any secrets.  Advertise and get as good as you possibly can at negotiating.  On second thought, being extremely effective at both just might be the "secret" after all.

Jaremy Moritz · Answer

Danny,

Have you thought about putting a stack of the ones you have left in your vehicle and putting them on houses you see when you're out and about looking at deals?  I've done this and actually gotten calls from it.  How many times have you been on your way to something and a house catches your eye because of long grass, newspapers piling up, gutters hanging off the house, etc.?  Just stop and slap one on the door.  You just might get a call...

Danny Johnson · Answer

Has the quality of leads from your websites been noticeably lower than from other sources?  I ask because I have received tons of leads from my website but buy far fewer per lead than from other methods.  Doesn't matter much to me but was just curious if others experience this.

Bryan Hancock · Answer

Agreed...all forms of advertising work to a certain degree and you need to do it CONSISTENTLY or it won't yield results.  All forms of advertising and branding require that you are consistent.  As your business grows you will get tons of referrals assuming you are being ethical.

Letters and websites that are SEO-optimized pull the best.  All of the other forms work to a much lesser degree and should have a correspondingly small budget to go with them.  Your tactics will depend on your overall budget.  We recommend that new investors just do letters and a website and scrap the rest until they have to luxury of doing extra ads.

Danny Johnson · Answer

I actually meant 'Well said, Jaremy and Brian'  
          
          Both of your posts are great for everyone to understand that it really does take consistency and some people, sales, and negotiation skills.

Danny Johnson · Answer

Well said, Brian.

Danny Johnson · Answer

That's a great idea.

It reminds me of the time I put a for sale sign in front of one of my investor friend's house with MY number on it.  After the word sale, I wrote a tiny question mark, therefore making it a question.

It turns out, he left town for the weekend.  I had to deal with tons of calls, mainly from neighbors asking why he was selling.  That one blew up in my face.

How do you currently get most of your leads?

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