All Forum Posts by: Ray Lai

@Account Closed 

The top dog question depends on what market you operate in. Since you're new, if you're in a competitive market it ain't going to happen anytime soon especially in super competitive markets like LA where people are dropping 5 figures a month on just direct mail marketing not to mention their other pipelines.

If you do direct mail correctly with enough targets then you can expect solid results. I have a game plan, checklist of things to prepare before DM, and scripts to practice for talking to sellers and listening for distress and motivation if you want, just hit me up.

That is a rough rule of thumb that is as helpful as the 2% rule lol - very debatable. Conversion rates differ greatly between someone that knows how to talk to sellers and communicate key info, and is terrible for newbies who start out and have no idea how to talk to sellers. Solid leads fall through the cracks when people make 3 common mistakes

1) not pick up right away or let calls go to voicemail routinely 

2) not knowing that most sellers lie and that by educating them you can get some of them to reach a reasonable price

3) NOT FOLLOWING UP PROPERLY - many people don't even know what a CRM is... 

We got first-class postcards for as low as 40 cents - that's with printing and mailing and also letters for as low as 50cents full service as well. Our prices are good, but are service is unbeatable. We have a long list of testimonials you can check out from satisfied customers that got solid results using our postcards and letters. We can also get leads for as low as 12 cents if you need help creating a list.

Why choose us over the many competitors out there?

- We don't charge BS hidden fees like our competitors: *NO* membership fees, jacked up pricing with discounts, printing fees, extra custom template fees, all our prices are straightforward and inclusive. 

- Mentorship and help with direct mail is priceless. We've helped multiple new players in our industry go from 0 to pulling down 5 figure wholesale deals within their first 3 months.

- Responsiveness - Sharad and I live and breathe for our business. We take great care of our customers and have been getting excellent referrals and testimonials.

Some come join the reSimpli family and get your direct mail done right - great quality, great response rates, and great service. What more could you ask for?

@Erica Shaunta Thompson

Awesome job taking action! I got scripts on how to talk to owners depending on the scenario. Also a game plan if you are going to start up your direct mail and a checklist. Hit me up if you want any of those. Also let me know where you're at, sounds like you purchased a list and haven't started mailing yet? Lots stuff you should prep prior to mailing if you want to maximize response and conversion rates.

Strongly disagree with this. Check out this thread:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/87/topics/494...

If too lazy to click on link I've copied and pasted what Dane Peterson wrote in that thread below: 

"Dilemma!

Been using Vista for over a year. Have spent well over $15,000 on postcards in that time period and average around $.44 printed/shipped so an average 1000postcard campaign is running about $450 with my own list uploaded. (cards are double sided/color and 4.25"x6"

Over the weekend I had an item not arrive on time so I pull up my account to see they have had 3 batches of postcards going back to mid August just "PROCESSING". Customer service had no explanation besides something happened on their end with my account and I never got notified. Hour and 1/2 of my time on phone, email & password change to account and they tell me they can now place my orders. TOO LATE! I ask for a discount on the printing of the Postcards for money I've spent and the time/leads lost. NOTHING! time to move on...

So.. this leads to the BIG question. Who is everyone using with success? I know the VistaPrint, Click2Mail, Postcardmania (have a call with this company in 15min) are a few names but any companies or suggestions could be helpful.

Thanks!"

Not only are their prices higher, their service sucks and when they screw up you get screwed. 

@Jonathan M.

For every person that's had success door-knocking on this forum, I've read multiple posts from others saying how they failed. I think it comes down to a person's skillset. Talking with people and facing rejection and insults takes a thick skin, and not everyone can develop it. Also learning to listen for distress and motivation, communicating key details on costs it would take for someone to bring a home up to the market value, and also working to problem solve to help the seller aren't things learned overnight. Also, other avenues like DM are more scalable than doorknocking.

@Mitch Smith

I feel ya, part of Dale Carnegie's golden rules is "Never criticize, condemn or complain" and blasting someone in our industry could construed as violating that. 

Although I don't think the wholesaler should've split the cost with you because it's not their job to do your due diligence for you, I do think think that there is a chance they are in cahoots with that contractor and are selling 'fake deals' to other newer investors and by not outing them they'll get away with it. Then again, it's no your responsibility either to protect others on here, but that's why I've been up-voting your posts because you're a good guy for doing so.

@Gregory J.

I think you should split test what you think is better versus what works for people that are truly distressed/motivated.

What do I mean?

Your letter may get a higher response rate because people are seeking top dollar, but what about your actual conversion rate? Is it good to spend lots of time talking to unmotivated sellers?

I don't judge though before testing data, so just split test it and switch up your content to see what works best for your area.

Also, another assumption that affluent areas don't have people in distress is false. People lose their jobs or have health crises, maybe the amount of people is less in an affluent area because they have more savings.

You want an awesome response rate and waste a lot of time? You can always say

'Paying top dollar for your home!' - newbies have done that and bragged about their 40% response rates but response rates aren't the end all and be all. Look at the ROI of your whole campaign.

@Aaron Peterson

Check the marketplace and then ask for testimonials and samples of the work. Compare the price and quality of the different companies that are providing the service. There's a tremendous different in price, quality, and service between the providers. Also different companies cater to different investor levels. Some are more newbie friendly and some cater more to wholesalers that send out thousands of letters a week.

@Devin Mann

No one can tell you for your specific area, unless they have mailed that area and why would they tell a competitor what's working best for them just for you to copy and compete against them?

I can tell you though what to expect if your area is similar to how other areas we and our clients mail to. Typically absentee owners have lower response rates but the lists are great because there is such a large quantity of high equity/absentee to mail to that although the response rate is lower, the large size makes it great for scaling.

Typically tax liens, probates, and pre-foreclosure lists are much smaller but have higher response rates. Unless you've gone through the process of closing deals, they aren't good to start with because they are time sensitive and when you make a mistake, especially if you do assignments, you could get in trouble. Better get your process down before mailing to those.

@Joe Davalos

I think you should track your data since you're going to mail it during Thanksgiving versus when you don't. I do know for a fact that when mail lands on heavy mail days then the response rate plummets because it's likely people don't want to open that amount of junk mail. During holiday weekends many people are out of town and when they do come back, they have a huge pile of letters. Sure some people might go through it all, but it's like mail landing on Mondays ^2. 

End of the day though, it only takes 1 person out of the 4000 you mail to actually open it and the profit you make from that more than makes up for that batch of mailing.

Since you're smart and running a long campaign, even if one batch gets a lower response rate you're still cultivating the seeds you planted many batches ago. Not a big deal even if the response rate is a bit lower for one batch.