Disrupt or Face DISRUPTION

Convenience Makes It Easier to Fit in, Not Stand Out

Just over ten years removed from the infamous market crash, it seems we have entered what I would call the golden age for real estate investing. So much potential exists for everyday people to build real estate investing empires, that produce generational wealth. The emergence of Grant Cardone, Jay Morrison, Cody Sperber, Kenny Rushing and more have inspired a legion of people to get into the real estate investing industry.

Courses, platforms and tools have brought simplicity to the real estate investing industry. Not only has this made it easy for people to launch businesses but also to blend in amongst other investors.

My team and I research many real estate investing businesses in order to qualify ones that would make ideal clients. Part of this process involves analyzing an investor’s website, social media pages, experience and more. I have personally analyzed websites from quality real estate investing businesses from around the country and most look generic.

For example, I love investor’s carrot websites as much as the next person however, convenience has caused many investors to settle for templates that house (pun intended) generic language/content.

According to our research it seemed like individual companies were an extension of one business, just different franchise locations. Can you imagine the thoughts that flow through motivated sellers and buyers’ minds consciously and even worse subconsciously encountering this?

Visit 20 of your competitor’s websites and you’ll find that on average 1-3 have great websites, 8-12 have VERY similar ones and 3-5 don’t even have a website.

A month ago, I attended my friend’s REI meeting and I posed a question to the group of seasoned and new investors: “my company helps real estate investors generate more business and standing out represents one of the best ways we find for businesses to achieve their goals. What ways have you all found effective when you want to stand out in and disrupt the market?”

One of the top real estate investors in the area, my friend’s mentor, responded that it comes down to having a good reputation and doing great work, shaking hands and such (I nodded my head in agreement). Then he remarked that some of his friends were even taking down websites, not seeing a need for them (safe to say I nearly dropped my beer).

The Buyer’s Cycle

Understanding the total gravity of this situation requires understanding the Buyer’s cycle (applies to sellers too).

1. Awareness – your ideal client becomes aware of the problem or challenge. E.g. having a distressed property, growing family wants a single-family house, investor wants to acquire a property for more income etc.

2. Consideration – they do their due diligence, find a solution, then consider who they will sell to or buy from.

3. Decision – they decide to sell to or buy from a certain real estate investing business based on a number of factors.

When you fail to stand out, you make it hard for your ideal client to make a decision and this leads to confusion, which ultimately breeds inaction.

As a result, you deal with tire kickers, people shopping around for prices and other unideal clients.

Bottom line: fitting in eats at your revenue, team moral and most importantly, your time.

How to Disrupt Your Target Market

Start by creating a unique value proposition or UVP. Think how you can present yourself as a specialist of some kind. Remember heart surgeons make more money than general surgeons. Brainstorm irresistible offers so when people hear them, they treat it as a NO BRAINER.

A good formula to use is “The ONLY real estate investors that _____________.”

Position your business as the go to real estate investing business in your market. Use language and promote content that builds trust, authority, credibility and includes social proof.

Learn your clients in and out, in terms of their pain and speak their language. Do you know who your ideal prospect is? What does he/she do for a living? For that matter, are they a he or a she? Are they married? Do they have kids? What do they do for fun? Dive deep into this.

People do business with people and companies that they know. And that doesn’t always mean the best but the best known.

You need REAL clarity on your business’ mission, goals and objectives.

Let them into your life and help them feel like family. Then focus heavily on your secret weapon:

The Pattern Interrupt

Put yourself in the shoes of a motivated seller, renter or investor and imagine what they expect to see from you. They have noticed a pattern just as we have seeing terms like, “We buy houses” “fair cash offer” etc. Then incorporate content, images and ideas that COMPLETELY interrupt these patterns and you will win their attention and ultimately their business over your competitors.

Incorporate your passions/hobbies like my friend who has his Harley Davidson on his website. Another one of my investor friends plans to highlight his affinity for Skydiving. You can showcase volunteer work in your community and even choose a name that catches attention.

And finally, be the client you want to have. Not from a situational standpoint (please, don’t go into foreclosure) but from a psychological standpoint. If you want your clients to make decisions quick on calls, then you have to make decisions quickly on calls. Do this and you will gain a psychological advantage as you attract clients according to who you are.

Innovation at its FINEST

Think of the internet, metaphorically, as real estate. You want your business and brand to take up as much space as possible. Obscurity will endanger your business and legacy. Imagine 5-10 years from now - your kids and grandkids will emerge as future clients. What platforms and devices will they use and how can you adapt in order to reach them?

Radio  TV  Social Media

Do you realize the power and potential of social media marketing? To put it in perspective you can launch ads that people see on their phones while they’re in the kitchen or even in the bathroom.

Whether you focus on wholesaling, rehabbing or buying and holding real estate investing represents a personal industry built on trust. Even some of the top dogs have no fear of getting their hands dirty, which I respect. Sometimes this can make it easy to rely on grit, while overlooking the value of innovation and its ability to help you disrupt your target market. What do all these businesses have in common? They all went bankrupt and out of business!

Why?

For numerous reasons, but mainly because they overlooked all this "online stuff" and their competition, who knew how to leverage the internet to grow their business, CRUSHED them within a couple years. So, if these massive brands went out of business, what makes you think yours won’t too?