Ready Set... Action

[Tony Cavalli]

Hey fellow BP members! I am going to start this thread and add to it frequently.

This is my step by step process for wholesaling.

Things to know: I have never done this before, I do not have a mentor other than everyone on this site who has been so kind, I have pretty much have no idea what im doing but i kinda do.

What I hope to accomplish: 1 wholesale transaction completed by September 2013

Im going to be posting my madness, my successes, and my failures for all of BP to see. Im doing this because I think it will be entertaining for some of you, but mostly because I believe it will help a lot of beginners and newbies like myself.

Plan: 1)To buy a list from a listing website (absentee owners) 2) Send 100 absentee letters by USPS by next tuesday

Supplies: 2) Find Red Pen in my junk drawer 3) Find yellow paper booklet under my bed 3) Buy Envelopes 4) Buy a roll of stamps

Yes I wrote 100 letters out by hand and write on the envelopes. I did this for a few reasons, first of all I had most of the supplies besides the stamps ($46) and Envelopes ($18.21) so I was able to save a bit of money not printing them but lost a ton of time and my fingers hurt from holding the pen hahaha. This will probably be the last time i write that many by hand. But what was nice about the whole experience of writing all these letters is I got a lot of thinking time about what I'm doing... I started thinking each one of these letters could start my career in the direction i want to go.

I will be sending these yellow letters out next Tuesday! Thanks and I will keep you updated with more information!

[Rick H.]

Tony - The harsh truth is that sending out a few letters (yellow included) or postcards does not make for a strategy and will probably not lead to an ongoing, viable enterprise.

Consider that most successful direct mailers that I know must sometimes mail for years to a lead before the lead responds (becomes a prospect) and even then requires further nurturing until they are ready to take action, let alone consider your proposal or engage in negotiations with you.

I started mailing NOD's in 1978 after taking Ken Roberts Foreclosure Training (before he was a commodities guy). In the 1980's, I developed a mailing involving nine sequential letters, each having a specific USP and appeal.

I had a full time job so was not dependent upon the income, however when I got fired (!) in 1989 I had to get serious about operating as a business, not a sideline. I had been given the "gift of desperation."

About the same time, I had some stinging lessons about real estate title along with many in the marketing area. Understand, I have a degree in Int'l Marketing, taught it at one if the largest biz schools in the country, but was, in fact, clueless in how to make it work for me.

Again, when I was sufficiently open-minded and desperate enough, I discovered how real direct response marketers work. In fact, one of my mentors lives in Santa Barbara in his 15,000 sqft mansion about a block from the mission.

Once I stepped back and reflected, I changed my whole marketing approach and became much less dependent upon a direct-to-consumer (seller) strategy and focused on positioning myself in the marketplace differently. It did not happen overnight, however my business quadrupled in the two months that followed the decision and implementation.

My point is to consider stepping back, reflect on an implement able strategy (for example, are you going to become the next Kerry Morman land developer in your area) or do you want to do a volume of small deals to learn the biz first. Define your ideal transaction and the numbers that go along with it. Find a suitable geographic and demographic market that matches that. Market heavily via multiple forms of media targeted toward your audience. Spend less time talking (posting) about your efforts and more time engaging prospects.

Plan your work, work your plan...and don't plan the results.