Real Estate Investor · Philadelphia , PA · Member since 2014 · 87 posts · 9 votes
Just starting my direct mail campaign. I'm looking for ideas/strategies to following up with owners. I know being consistent and persistent is the KEY!! and you have to hit the same leads 5-7 times. So my question is how do you follow up with properties your looking to wholesale? Because I started with yellow letters am I sending the same exact yellow 5-7 times? Am I changing wording? Am I changing the color ink pen I using? Am I changing envelope color? Or should I change from a hand written letter to a type letter? Then a type letter to a post card? Suggestion please !!!
I would spend LOTS of time reading through all the forums and blogs about mail marketing. Especially from @Jerry Puckett , @Michael Quarles about seeing stacks of mail on a table and you want your stack to be the biggest. Be the one that keeps mailing longer than others do.
And something I may start...and you might want to try, spread your letters out farther with a post card in between, that IS the same every time. I've been thinking of this for awhile and haven't pulled the trigger yet.
Good Luck!!!!! and let us know what you ultimately do & your results :)
I would spend LOTS of time reading through all the forums and blogs about mail marketing. Especially from @Jerry Puckett , @Michael Quarles about seeing stacks of mail on a table and you want your stack to be the biggest. Be the one that keeps mailing longer than others do.
And something I may start...and you might want to try, spread your letters out farther with a post card in between, that IS the same every time. I've been thinking of this for awhile and haven't pulled the trigger yet.
Good Luck!!!!! and let us know what you ultimately do & your results :)
I am in the same boat as you and here are my ideas for myself which may also help answer your questions.
First listen to the following podcasts until you have a complete understanding of the direct mailing scheme. Podcast #2, #12, #18, #21,#22, #27, #42, and #81.
From listening to the podcasts I know that some people will keep every piece of mail you send, so you need to vary the type of correspondence you send. One seller had all of the direct mailing cards and letters rubber banded together when the wholesaler came over to their house.
You need to have the same basic message but not the same wording, you have to make it personal to the seller…….they are not just a number, but a person to you.
You need to find out what their pain point is. Why they need to sell their house and how you can relieve their pain
It is a matter of timing and keeping your correspondence handy to the sellers.
If your mailings are on attractive paper it may create a memory point for them. A schedule might be, yellow letter, post card, attractive envelope and paper, post card, yellow letter. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Postcards should be something that they will want to stick on their refrigerator door and keep, cute cartoon, message of happiness, vintage art, kittens, puppies, blah blah blah. NOTHING religious, NOTHING sexual, NOTHING political, NOTHING that would bother people in the least way.
What size envelope? Not business size, It should be in an invitation size envelope with the back flap tucked in instead of being glued shut, no return address on the outside of the envelope, they have to think the letter is from aunt Grace or someone they know. That is why yellow letters are hand written or font fake hand written.
Mailings are more about timing than anything else, so I think you need to mail out something to your sellers every 3-4 weeks and update your mailing list every 6 months.
Who ever does respond to your direct mailing campaign make sure you make the conversation all about them. Ask plenty of open ended questions and dig into their lives without being creepy about it. I would suggest reading the book Conversationally speaking by Alan Garner, if you are unsure about open ended questions and want to know how to control a conversation. Your goal is to find out their pain point (why they want to sell) and to be their friend or be the person they need in order to eliminate the pain.
You WILL make some people mad, that’s just part of the whole deal, if they say they want to be taken off of your list, remove them. After all they have just saved you on unnecessary postage.
The above are just some thoughts I have about my own campaign, I am open to any criticism or comments.