Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 47 votes
Hey Bigger Pockets fam!
I’m a wholesaler and I’m in the process of testing some new marketing campaigns for my company. We have some cold callers that work 30 hours a week for us but they’re only generating 1-2 leads a week. We’re launching a Facebook ad campaign (hopefully this week) and I’m looking forward to seeing how that strategy plays out.
But...I recently heard about text message marketing from a house flipper that I interviewed for my podcast last week and it’s got me really intrigued.
Has any tested the market with this yet and had some success? Does anyone have a software that they recommend? What is the average costs to run a text messaging campaign? What else should I know about or look into when considering this type of marketing??
Thank you in advance if you’re able to provide some answers! There isn’t much out there in this topic but BP seems to have an answer for everything!
Vendor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 15 votes
7y
Honestly if you want to do it go for it. It's a great way to generate leads and way cheaper than most other ways I've had people specifically go with me because their mail box was so jammed they didn't even look at it.
Theres always going to be people who moan and whine but at the end of the day unless they're putting food on the table or cash in the pocket or at the very least is constructive in some way their opinion is absolutely irrelevant i.e "ugh please don't". Just about every article on BP has at least one person who does it. Some hate wholesalers, others hate flippers, others who despise RE agents.
The best way I found is to be clear with seller and make sure the numbers work the buyers. Point of the text is to get a response then phone call which is fast than cold calling them individually and a whole lot cheaper than mailing them individually.
--
Let the sellers know "hey I work for investors and if you're interested in selling right now we'd like to submit our best offer to you"
Then walk it take pictures get a rehab budget together that has reasonable numbers not "$25k for a 3,000 sqft house built int 1892".
Try out different marketing tactics to see what works for you :)
I only have a couple SF rentals left now, but constantly get bombarded. Even though we have been careful to whom we give out our contact info the skip tracing services make it too easy. We get:
About one letter a day asking if we want to sell a property
At least 3-4 phone calls per week
We recently started getting text messages
The text message marketers tend to be the most intrusive. They start with "Hi Greg, How have you been?" They rarely respond to "Who is this?" It takes a minute or two to realize this is someone you don't know (or an automated bot) wasting your time. It is particularly invasive and obnoxious.
Investor · Columbus, OH · Member since 2017 · 861 posts · 1k+ votes
7y
I agree with @Greg Scott, it's already bad enough with the calls. The letters I dont mind, but the interruptions are extremely frustrating and theyre only increasing.
You wholesalers are going to piss so many people off that you'll eventually get cracked down on, either by the board of real estate or FCC for violating do not call, or someone with some teeth. My local Facebook groups are already full of pissed off housewives just looking for someone to complain to about the postcards.
Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 47 votes
7y
@Jeff Mason Thanks, I read the article you posted and a few others that it linked to and from what I read it looks like the have to opt-in before you can send any messages via text message. But from in your comment you said that you just have to give them an option to opt-out. Have you done any text message marketing? Do you know if there is actually a way around having them opt-in before hand?
Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 47 votes
7y
@Greg Scott I understand marketing/advertising can be annoying in general but, you have to realize that cold calling, emailing, mailing, texting and even door knocking are a big part of how businesses across many industries generate business.
Personally, I think it would be less annoying to receive a text versus a call. Text messages are much easier to ignore and I personally feel more comfortable ignoring and opting-out of a text message than I do hanging up on or telling a cold caller that I’m not interested in their service.
It sounds like the people who are messaging you may not be following the FCC guidelines but if the company messaging you is following the law (which I intend to do) they would have to remove you from their calling/messaging list as soon at you opt-out.
Rental Property Investor · New York City · Member since 2019 · 58 posts · 29 votes
7y
Jeff is absolutely right. Marketing via phone channels (cold calls, text) needs to be done with great care. There are many class-action lawyers that live on cases like these.
In regards to cold calling specifically, you should always have your records scrubbed against the DNC lists on a daily basis.
Rental Property Investor · Central, FL · Member since 2016 · 950 posts · 821 votes
7y
I just checked. In the last 7 days I’ve received over 30 spam/fraud/crap phone calls and 14 text messages.
I can’t stand anyone that spam texts me or spam calls me. If you want me to buy or in your case sell something sending a text is the easiest way to be put on the “hell no” list of people not to do business with.
I’m sure it will work great for an elderly person, it seems to IRS scams take the elderly for 100’s of millions of dollars a year you could go get your slice of their pie too.
There’s tons of other ways to get deals don’t use the two most intrusive ways of contacting someone.
Flipper/Rehabber · San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 47 votes
7y
@Eric C. @Jeff Mason @Guy S.
Thank you everyone for your input. I think the way I will go about text message marketing from here on out is by focusing more on other forms of marketing that will encourage people to sign up for information via text. We can create a few blog posts about how to learn the value of your home and do some FB marketing so that people can sign up if they want an offer for their house texted to them. I still believe that texting has its place in marketing and when done correctly it will lower the guard of the people who opt-in and are willing to have a conversation via text message.
Greater Minneapolis, St. Paul Area · Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 1 vote
7y
I agree with the above, texting can be construed as intrusive to those who did not explicitly agree to it. You’re on the right track creating content to attract organic engagement, then running paid traffic. You could also create an enticing lead magnet, such as a pdf guide or cheat sheet, to collect opt-ins. Text, call and email can be effective follow up methods for the leads you generate.
Rental Property Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2012 · 256 posts · 64 votes
7y
Thing you gotta realize is wholesale marketing is the most frowned on and beat up tactic in RE anyway...stop putting up ugly signs, stop sending me postcards, don't call me, they're sending low-margin deals, etc etc, so your gonna get beat up either way, it's part of that business. Get your PPC, FB ads, and other non-evasive marketing etc to a point you don't have to be bothered with all the nonsense, and transition into buying/owning property as soon as you can.
Vendor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 15 votes
7y
Honestly if you want to do it go for it. It's a great way to generate leads and way cheaper than most other ways I've had people specifically go with me because their mail box was so jammed they didn't even look at it.
Theres always going to be people who moan and whine but at the end of the day unless they're putting food on the table or cash in the pocket or at the very least is constructive in some way their opinion is absolutely irrelevant i.e "ugh please don't". Just about every article on BP has at least one person who does it. Some hate wholesalers, others hate flippers, others who despise RE agents.
The best way I found is to be clear with seller and make sure the numbers work the buyers. Point of the text is to get a response then phone call which is fast than cold calling them individually and a whole lot cheaper than mailing them individually.
--
Let the sellers know "hey I work for investors and if you're interested in selling right now we'd like to submit our best offer to you"
Then walk it take pictures get a rehab budget together that has reasonable numbers not "$25k for a 3,000 sqft house built int 1892".
Try out different marketing tactics to see what works for you :)
In our business our 3 main marketing source is CC, RVM, and SMS. SMS by far has been our best converting marketing channel. We are doing deals consistently per month most which are coming from CC and SMS. However make sure you are are doing it properly and following the guidelines. Good Luck!
Real Estate Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 14 posts · 3 votes
5y
anybody still doing msm as far as marketing? i've gotten a little bit of interest but i get capped out using a google voice account? looking to greatly boost up this marketing side!
Specialist · Denver · Member since 2021 · 159 posts · 101 votes
5y
Hey @Felix Burgos, text marketing is still a working strategy. There have been some changes since a year ago but I'd be happy to share more about those.