All Forum Posts by: Ryan Dossey

@Anthony Angotti Yeah with that volume it won't take someone any time at all. 

@Ramon Purifoy Great question! 

You should always disclose but this is really going to depend on your local laws. I would contact your headquarters or managing broker and ask if you're in doubt. In some states... You don't have to disclose on the marketing just when you meet with them. In others you just have to have your license # and status. In some though you need your brokerage office, address, and their phone number. 

@John Thedford 

I do something similar. Better safe than sorry. 

@Anthony Angotti

With a budget of 200-300 per month. I would do the mail yourself. It's not going to be the most fun thing you've done in your life. But you can get 2x as much mail out. If you want some help on how to do it just drop me a PM. I would have the goal of outsourcing it once you've got some traction but things like list fees and shipping can destroy that budget. 

@Kevin C. I would hire someone who specializes in PPC. You're going to want to make sure you also set up negative keywords so you don't blow your budget. With GDN it's very easy to do. 

@Matt Foster Happy to help. I'm going to go against the grain with what's been mentioned above. I think addressing it to the personal rep, heirs, or any of that is a mistake. We address it to the property owner on tax records. You also need to personalize it more with the property address. This looks like a blanket solicitation to Personal Reps. 

I understand his thought process. But if you're really offering 80%+ of ARV on stuff it's not like you're asking him to make offers at $.60 on the dollar. I'd pass and find someone more motivated to work FOR you.

@Jesse R. Great question! So here's my take. We do all of our stuff in house but I wouldn't recommend it for most people. The cost to get the equipment, maintenance, running it yourself (or hiring staff), and the learning curve are NOT worth it for most people. 

While I love the simplicity and integration of something Real E Flow I feel like you're losing out on a few things. 

When you work with  a mail house you're getting access to that person as well. When I was getting started @Jerry Puckett was the defining piece of my success. He's remained a great friend and mentor ever since. 

You also miss out on their expertise. They've sent more mail than you'll do in your entire life. This is where it comes to trusting the experts. Being able to get advise on lists, design, copy, frequency, etc is HUGE. 

In my opinion the trade off (cost) for their expertise and availability is WAY worth it. (Not to mention the time savings!) If you haven't stuffed and sealed thousands of pieces of mail while binge watching netflix I can tell you it's not fun. 

Personally  I don't like postcards. They end up in the trash of most sophisticated investors. Whatever you do... Do something different. Whether it's in your design or in your copy you want to stand out. 

@Matt Foster

First off.... GREAT job on having a VA dig them out of the local newspapers. That's got you 10 steps ahead of most of your competition. It blows my mind how many guys will buy these lists from a list broker when they're weeks if not months old and abused at that point.

Personally when it comes to any "niche list" you're dealing with some sort of a tragedy. I don't care if it's divorce, probate, jail, back taxes, etc. I tell people all the time... No one gets to a position where I need to buy their house from enjoyable circumstance.

With Probate you're probably going to have better luck setting yourself apart in the design or the copy. @Jerry Puckett has a great strategy which involves letting the probates "season". Basically you keep going once most other folks have stopped. 

I would check your copy and make sure you have the correct phone number... I know it sounds dumb but I've seen it
happen. 

We don't use the "I" word... (Investor.) What do Investors do?

Investor

inˈvestər/

noun

1. a person or organization that puts money into financial schemes, property, etc. with the expectation of achieving a profit.

If I'm a grieving widow/family you're coming across as a stranger who knows too much about my business and is attempting to turn a profit off of the death of grandpa. 

^
I know that sounds harsh but it's true. 

I would recommend removing the condolences and instead focusing on starting a conversation. If you haven't read How to win friends and influence people I would absolutely recommend reading through it. No one wants to get a letter from some Rando who apparently knows about their suffering. (Losing a loved one for instance). 

Lastly, 

Your sample size is relatively small. You're dealing with what sounds like around 1200 records some of which have only gotten one letter from you. Although I would have expected one call. At the very least telling you where to stick it. 

@Kevin C. GREAT Question. 

I'm sure you've heard the expression: 

"Quality, Speed, Cost. Pick two." 

Direct mail is so popular because it is consistent, scale able, and proven. 

In the same way I know guys who primarily do PPC and are getting 2-3 deals a month funneling them through an Oncarrot.com site. (Side note but our site is an IC site and the team at Investor Carrot rock!) 

I also know guys running a team of cold callers getting 4-5 deals a month. 

I've also got a good friend who puts out hundreds of bandit signs a month and is getting 2-3 deals a month+ from it. 

I want you to notice a theme though.... 

All of these guys are being consistent in their marketing and prospecting efforts. On top of that... They're spending some serious money. Pretty much everyone I mentioned above is dropping $2,000 (on the low end) + a month. 

What I would add to the above slogan is that in REI there's a cost/time trade off that you have to consider. If you've got tons of capital you can write a check and pretty much have a turn key lead generation business launched in under 30 days.

If you're just starting out you can still get deals... But if you're short on capital it's going to require much more leg work. 

Ex: The difference between dropping mail and cold calling. 

**Disclaimer: You also need to research the legality of bandit signs & cold calling in your market."

If you want my thoughts on any of the above alternative strategies let me know. 

@Cody Evans Feel free to drop me a line. 

@Jay Hinrichs Thanks for the bat signal!