Landlord · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 505 posts · 34 votes
The yellow letter no doubt increases your call quantity, but does it increase your call QUALITY ?
Invitation style envelopes, hand written fonts and colored blue will all spark interest in and get your mail opened more, but the question is will it increase the QUALITY of your leads? Im somewhat skeptical. Im sure you will get more calls with that approach, but it will likely be out of curiosity.
The purpose of this thread is to generate discussion on the matter. Personally, I will be trying an A2 invitation size yellow letter next month for the first time.
Developer · Andover, MA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 489 votes
13y
Using invitation style envelopes, red handwriting, and first class postage will all help your open rate but I think if you want to get more quality leads it's going to be in the message of the letter.
For example, the standard "Hello, My name is Justin and I want to BUY your house at Address." letter will get you a lot of calls. Most will be curious and some will be good. If you want less call but more quality, how about adding something like "If your serious about selling, call me today as I only have so much cash to buy houses." You are telling them you only want serious sellers to call so you should get more quality leads. There is also a call to action in the message to hopefully get them to call.
I have definitely seen a difference in the calls with both methods.
Developer · Austin, TX · Member since 2011 · 286 posts · 88 votes
13y
I literally just got off the phone with a fellow BP member and we were talking about this very thing. I am very interested to hear about the experience of those who have done yellow letter campaigns. Here is my thought:
Is an unmotivated seller going to become motivated suddenly when they read your yellow letter? Or are you just going to get curiosity calls and/or labor intensive sellers trying to convince them to sell to you at a wholesale value.
This approach vs. a letter/post card that markets your company and what you do with very little mystery to the seller. So, if your letter/card gets in the hand of a motivated seller they would surely call.
Flipper/Rehabber · Lake Isabella, CA · Member since 2011 · 969 posts · 488 votes
13y
As they say....quality is in the quantity. Advertising is a numbers game. Targeting likely motivated sellers is great and can save time and expense but ultimately the response rate is still going to be pretty low and you are going to get a lot of non-deals for every true prospect.
I work to maximize my odds for reaching my target audience but at the end of the day I still use a shot gun approach, and embrace it as such.
Developer · Andover, MA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 489 votes
13y
Using invitation style envelopes, red handwriting, and first class postage will all help your open rate but I think if you want to get more quality leads it's going to be in the message of the letter.
For example, the standard "Hello, My name is Justin and I want to BUY your house at Address." letter will get you a lot of calls. Most will be curious and some will be good. If you want less call but more quality, how about adding something like "If your serious about selling, call me today as I only have so much cash to buy houses." You are telling them you only want serious sellers to call so you should get more quality leads. There is also a call to action in the message to hopefully get them to call.
I have definitely seen a difference in the calls with both methods.
Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
What I want my letter to do:
Get noticed.
Get opened.
Get read.
Be simple, clear, and to the point.
Trigger call to action (call me).
That's it.
I don't know that I should ask my letter to do more. I could put disqualifiers in it, but that might weed out someone I want to call and add unnecessary content. I don't mind getting extra calls. I just want deals. If I have to do a little more qualifying/disqualifying on the phone, that's OK. If I could increase quality I would, but I don't think the letter should be asked to do that.
I like Justin's first example. Simple, direct, clear, and gets the phone to ring.
Developer · Austin, TX · Member since 2011 · 286 posts · 88 votes
13y
Justin Silverio What your saying makes sense to me. I personally don't want my phone blowing up. I know that sounds crazy, but I would rather have fewer more qualified calls and miss a deal here and there then not have time to do other things because the phone is glued to my ear.
Jon Klaus Can you share what kind of response rate and conversion rate you might be getting on your mailers?
Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
I got just a bit more than 10% response on my most recent malinng (last month). I did 3 mailings earlier in the year with 4-5% response. Different area. I mailed 3600 prices total this year and bought 3 properties from those mailings.
My conversion ratio is going to be different (lower) than a wholesaler's though, because I have strict criteria as to what I'll buy. I let some go that could be deals because I want to maintain focus on my niche. Maybe we could partner on some that I let go.
Orlando, FL · Member since 2012 · 113 posts · 26 votes
13y
Jason - I just sent out my first yellow letter campaign (400) and received 4.5% response rate but they were not motivated sellers. It's a numbers game so I will continue to do follow-ups letters. I did postcards to a list of 1000 absentee owners for six months and had a .8% response rate, but did a deal with one of the responses.
RE Investor & Broker · Huntington Beach, CA · Member since 2011 · 60 posts · 22 votes
13y
Originally posted by Samantha M.:
The yellow letter no doubt increases your call quantity, but does it increase your call QUALITY
I'm pretty new to direct marketing, but earlier this year, I outsourced a yellow letter campaign to 1000 abscentee owners with equity. Each owner got 2 yellow letters and then 2 postcards. Off the top of my head, I spoke w/ 75+ people and probably had another 10-15 calls that were hang ups w/ blocked caller ID, etc. The vast majority of my calls came from the first 2 letters, the response on the postcards was not so hot (less than .5% on the last postcard) Couple of observations:
1. The vast majority of the callers were just curious about who I was, how it works, what I would give them, etc, etc. Some were possibly interested in selling, but most expected a near retail offer or had unrealistic expectations as to what their property was worth.
2. A few of the people thought the Yellow Letter was ONLY sent to them. I would take the call and it would go something like "I got your letter, what will you give me for the house". When I would ask them for the address, they didn't understand why I didn't have the address when I had sent them a letter already. It mostly went down hill when they realized they weren't the only person I sent a letter to.
3. ALL of the calls I received with real potential had some other pressing issue (or catalyst as @Rick Harmon calls it). From this mailing there were 3 properties that I thought would work for me. One was part of an estate and needed to be sold as-is asap, 2nd one was going through divorce and tenant wasn't paying rent, 3rd one wasn't bank financeable and they had bought another property out of state.
I think the response rate was good, but I don't think I would repeat the YL mailing without further refining the list. I probably got 10 calls that would have been a good listing, but not enough calls from people who needed to sell. I would personally prefer to be less "shotgun" in my approach.
Flipper/Rehabber · Lake Isabella, CA · Member since 2011 · 969 posts · 488 votes
13y
Originally posted by Jason Grote:
Justin Silverio What your saying makes sense to me. I personally don't want my phone blowing up. I know that sounds crazy, but I would rather have fewer more qualified calls and miss a deal here and there then not have time to do other things because the phone is glued to my ear.
If that is really an issue you should consider hiring an assistant or an answering service.
Developer · Andover, MA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 489 votes
13y
You could also have a google voice number take the calls. Voicemails are transcribed to your email and you can call them back. I have a voicemail recording that explains how I buy homes so they understand what I'm about. The motivated ones leave a message. Others don't.
Landlord · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 505 posts · 34 votes
13y
Scott Williams Seems like your experience confirms what I already had in mind. Yellow Letters will increase your call count because people are curios, however many of those calls will be junk for our purposes. You could likely double your marketing budget for what you pay for yellow letters and switch to post cards. Post Cards likely will not have the response rate but the people that NEED to sell will likely call.
Justin Silverio One of the most successful wholesalers in our area tells us the sellers that dont leave a voice mail can often be some of your best leads. Think about it like this, its 2am and your pipes break. You need a plumber, fast. If the first plumber you call doesn't answer, you hang up and call the next one. In our case, they hang up and pick up the next marketing piece besides ours in the mail. When a trigger event happens, sometimes your best leads dont leave voice mails.
Developer · Andover, MA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 489 votes
13y
Samantha M. - I generally call most/all missed calls during lunch or after work (I have a full time job). I was making a suggestion as to the options people have if they want to only focus on highly motivated prospects. Depending on your area and your deal volume some people will want to call people back and others have enough deal flow to disregard the missed calls.
Wholesaler · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
Originally posted by Samantha M.:
You could likely double your marketing budget for what you pay for yellow letters and switch to post cards. Post Cards likely will not have the response rate but the people that NEED to sell will likely call.
I couldn't disagree more. I don't care how motivated your seller is, he or she does not simply wait by the mail box anticipating investor mail such that they read everything in the box. Their mail habits very likely stay the same, which means that the bulk of your cards will hit the trash, unread.
In order for your mail piece to work, it must be read. People must understand your message, and call. Post cards do not work as well because they do not get read. They get thrown away with the junk. .
If those cards were getting read, you'd have the same volume of calls, the same curious people calling, the same tire kickers....Those people didn't call you because the letter was yellow....they called you because of what you had to say. And of course they knew what you had to say because they opened and read your letter.
In a numbers game like this, the higher your call volume, the more likely you are to find a deal. To that end, if you don't follow up with the people who do call from time to time, you're really wasting your money. Peoples circumstances change. If you position them as warm prospects rather than as a waste of time, your chances of conversion go way up.
Also, you may want to consider alternate exit strategies for yourself. Scott Williams, you said your campaign turned up 10 listings...to me that sounds like enough to pay my marketing budget for 6 months or so.
Landlord · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 505 posts · 34 votes
13y
Jerry Puckett Good Post Jerry. I am keeping track of all my responses, and I just need to point out that's how I initially FEEL about yellow letters. I have a group of leads im only mailing post cards too and a group of leads im only sending yellow letters too. I will see where the numbers are after several months. Numbers so far definitely favor yellow letter mail, but I want to see how they average out over 6 months to a year.
Also
"To that end, if you don't follow up with the people who do call from time to time, you're really wasting your money. Peoples circumstances change. If you position them as warm prospects rather than as a waste of time, your chances of conversion go way up."
That Or you can have your mail groups on rotation. If you mail them again every 2-3 months you don't necessarily have to give them a call, because if this is the 2nd or 3rd time you have consistently mailed them their circumstances may have changed by then and now ready to sell.
Wholesaler · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
Originally posted by Samantha M.:
That Or you can have your mail groups on rotation. If you mail them again every 2-3 months you don't necessarily have to give them a call, because if this is the 2nd or 3rd time you have consistently mailed them their circumstances may have changed by then and now ready to sell.
I do call some of them, some I text, but the majority of them I email. Motivated or not, I get everyone's contact info off the top on every call. I might be in the business of marketing, but I save a stamp every chance I get.
RE Investor & Broker · Huntington Beach, CA · Member since 2011 · 60 posts · 22 votes
13y
Originally posted by Jerry Puckett:
Also, you may want to consider alternate exit strategies for yourself. Scott Williams, you said your campaign turned up 10 listings...to me that sounds like enough to pay my marketing budget for 6 months or so.
At the time of my mailing I wasn't licensed, so offering to list wasn't an option. I have since gotten my license and plan to follow up with some of the prospects. The response received from this mailing was one of the primary motivators for getting licensed and I agree that even one listing would more than cover the cost of this campaign.
Landlord · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 505 posts · 34 votes
13y
Scott Williams Once you have your license, and get prospects that are more geared towards a retail sale, is it a difficult process to list their property as a Realtor? And then market it?
Just curious what this process of listing a property looks like. Since I too am deciding on getting my license.
RE Investor & Broker · Huntington Beach, CA · Member since 2011 · 60 posts · 22 votes
13y
Originally posted by Samantha M.:
Scott Williams Once you have your license, and get prospects that are more geared towards a retail sale, is it a difficult process to list their property as a Realtor? And then market it?
Just curious what this process of listing a property looks like. Since I too am deciding on getting my license.
I haven't decided where to hang my license yet, so I don't have any first hand experience to share with you. I would imagine that it will be easier to convince a potential seller to list the property with you at or near the retail value vs. trying to convince them to sell to you at a large enough discount for you to then profitably wholesale or rehab the property.
Real Estate Investor · Entire state of Utah · Member since 2010 · 2 posts · 0 votes
13y
About 3 years ago this strategy would make your phone ring but today people have wised up. Its all in the list. Consult the SRDS directory and plan your mailing, do not use the shotgun approach, thats a waste of your time and money. Many other list concepts are out there. Do not expect the content to sell for you, create a curiosity sense from the receiver. After the lead comes in through various mediums then begin incubation. Crap I need to shut up, I hate tough competition:(
Developer · Austin, TX · Member since 2011 · 286 posts · 88 votes
13y
Gene Hacker I do not necessarily want to work harder, just smarter. We are trying to keep things fairly simplified in our business, so dealing with a bunch of unmotivated sellers would be a lot of extra work, even with an assistant, whom I would have to train and work with to be the 1st contact that my clients would make.
Justin Silverio I do like that idea... We have a land line forwarded to my cell, but I could let it take messages and then call back... but I have noticed that there is a lot of "momentum" missed when you let them go to your voice mail. Many times if they talk directly with you they will never look for someone else, whereas if they get your voicemail their mind is on to the next option...
Great thread... I think I have some clarity now! Thank you all for such great input! BP rocks!
Developer · Andover, MA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 489 votes
13y
Jason Grote I'm implementing the voicemail recording in my marketing starting the first of the year. I'm going to use the general yellow letter to get a lot of responses and will use the recording to screen callers. I'm thinking this should get a better response rate than using a yellow letter with prescreen language (i.e., if you are serious about selling....) but not as good as a response rate as a general yellow letter going to a live person. We'll see what happens. I try to report back with the results.
Real Estate Entrepreneur · Winston-Salem, NC · Member since 2008 · 101 posts · 40 votes
13y
Originally posted by Jon Klaus:
What I want my letter to do:
Get noticed.
Get opened.
Get read.
Be simple, clear, and to the point.
Trigger call to action (call me).
That's it.
I don't know that I should ask my letter to do more. I could put disqualifiers in it, but that might weed out someone I want to call and add unnecessary content. I don't mind getting extra calls. I just want deals. If I have to do a little more qualifying/disqualifying on the phone, that's OK. If I could increase quality I would, but I don't think the letter should be asked to do that.
I like Justin's first example. Simple, direct, clear, and gets the phone to ring.
Jon I could not agree with you more. The mailer's job is simply to get them to respond. It cannot create motivation, as others have mentioned here as well.
Thus, can ANY direct mail (YL included) increase quality as the title of this thread asks? I submit that it cannot.