competing against the big boys
Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2009 · 66 posts · 25 votes
In large markets what is anyone doing to compete with the guys that have a 20K per month marketing budget. Here in the Dallas Fort Worth area there are multiple Homevestor operations that spend this much or more. What are some of the more creative marketing things anyone is doing. It seems like everyone is mailing to absentee owners which is an area I have had very little success with.
There is one way you can compete without a huge budget. Get out and network. I’m not talking about REI meetings loaded with your competitors. I’m talking about business networking, chamber of commerce, and various business organizations.
This is very much a people business. Get out there and let it be known that you buy houses. Have professional looking business cards. On the back of the card you should list the type of houses you are looking to buy.
Everyone who needs to sell a house knows plenty of people. When they talk to their friends, associates, etc, you want the person they are talking to to say “Hey, I met a guy who buys houses, let me get you his card.â€
Networking is very much down in the trenches activity and it works. I have personally built several businesses through networking without spending thousands of dollars on marketing. It’s not easy and takes a lot of effort. That’s why they call it netWORKing.
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Don’t let the so called “BIG BOYS†stop you from taking action. They can’t be everywhere at once. Realtyman is right. Do a little research to find out what market they are going after (owners in foreclosures, free and clear properties, over leveraged homes, junkers, out-of-town owners, etc.), the type of media they are using (TV, radio, postcards, flyers, letters, door hangers, bandit signs, internet, etc.) and the message they are using. Then do what they are not doing.
I’ve never known any real estate investor, small or large, to use every marketing method to every type of property owner at once. Besides, you only need one good deal to make it all worth it. If you’re low on funds use free online classified ad sites like Craigslist to find motivated sellers. Email or call the FSBO’s and landlords on these sites and ask them the W.O.W.W. questions to see if you can buy their property.
W) What is it worth?
O) What do you owe?
W) What are you asking?
W) Why are you selling?
If you have a few bucks to spend, then I would suggest having the yellow letter printed up and passed out to entire neighborhoods. Be sure not to put them inside envelopes. You can pass them out yourself if you have time, hire some kids for cheap, or get a flyer service to do it for you. Here's a little trick I discovered that increased my response x10. Fold them in fours (printed side facing in) and stick them under the corners of doormats, in door jams, and in screen doors. When the owners get home, they will think a friend left them a personal note and open it. To make it look really intriguing, put a big smiley face on the outside in red ink.
I’ve had great response from both of these methods and I guarantee the “BIG BOYS†aren’t doing them. So like Terry Royce says… “Get out there and make it happen, and the results will come.â€
Big boys are totally beatable 100 times over..when it comes to buyer side. One thing I do is buy a list of people who have had there credit pulled by a mortgage company that ALSO have criteria that tells me they would be a good prospect for me and create "purls" they are domains, for example bob smiths purl would be bobsmith.yourwebsite.com (all done automatically) and slap that bad boy on a 50 cent postcard and mail to people based on zip codes. "hey bob, do you still want to own your own home? I made this website for you bobsmith.yourwebsite.com . It may sound like a lot but after a time or two its easier and cheaper than alot of other things. Soon you can have a database with lots of folks and use "refer a friend" links like .yoursite.blank/make100bucks/bobsmith that people will refer friends.
I think the best way (buyers) is to find the ones who are not fully qualified and are not getting chased if you know what to do with them, this is simple when it comes to the data I mentioned above. These people trip over things to call us back, no one else is saying yes...