The Marketing Tactic Every Wholesaler Needs to Stand Out From the Pack (& Land Deals!)

As a wholesaler or an aspiring wholesaler, you should understand by now that the life blood of your business is marketing. If you have not taken the time to process this and understand the concepts of marketing, you will fall short in your endeavors as a real estate investor.

One thing I would like to drive home is that marketing is more than just marketing for seller, buyers, flippers, and landlords. Many investors speak of marketing as if it only encompasses those audiences, but I would like to ensure you understand brand marketing.

Living and working in Phoenix, there are many investors sending mailers, doing PPC campaigns, hanging bandit signs, and using other creative strategies, so it really is difficult at times to pull a great wholesale deal. I noticed when I would speak with a seller, they would tell me, “I received eight other letters similar to yours.” Once I’d heard this and literally had seen the letters when I went out on an appointment, I thought about ways to differentiate myself from others. Yes, some may say, “There are more than enough deals to go around,” and this is true; however, I would like to remain in the mind’s eye of each seller. This is where brand marketing comes into play.

What is Brand Marketing?

Brand marketing is a concept that extends far beyond the marketing of “brand name” designer jeans or fashionable luxury cars. A company’s brand represents their market identity: who they are, what they do, what kind of quality they provide, their reputation for trustworthiness, and much more. This concept alone is essential in establishing your grind (wholesaling real estate) as a business.

I come from a long line of entrepreneurs, and one thing that I’ve noticed with my family is that your success does not always come from how hard you work. Although hard work is vital, when you are building a business, your name is the most effective resource you have. Some people may question this and say it’s actually money. I beg to differ, and here is my example: How many times have you heard or read where someone lost it all but within a few years, they were financially successful again? It could not have been the money because they lost it all; it was their brand. Everyone has a brand, even if they don’t have a business: It’s your name. Your name is one of the most valuable aspects of your life because your name can get you what money cannot buy you.

So how is brand marketing essential to real estate wholesaling? Simple, it will set you apart from everyone else. As I stated earlier, there are tons of people sending mail and performing other marketing efforts, but one thing I notice when I talk with sellers is that they often ask who are you affiliated with or what the name of the company you work for is. These questions, if not answered correctly, could equate to a lost deal. They are checking your brand, trying to see who you are and if they should trust you. This is what anyone should do; basically, they are checking your credentials.

So your question, I’m sure, is, “How do I differentiate myself from others, and how do I build my brand?”

Building Your Brand

Here are a few tidbits you can use to build your brand, but before I begin, I would like to inform you some of these things I will introduce to you are not always well received by peers, and they are not mentioned in order of importance either.

The first thing that can help you build your brand is to always be professional, including in your attire. Why is this important? Many times we as wholesalers are marketing to owners who have a lot of equity in their properties. Normally sellers with a lot of equity are either older individuals or business professionals, and they use the classic philosophy of “first impression is everything.” Sometimes these sellers will not pay you any attention if you do not look the part.

Yes, they judge you and rightfully so because you sent them a letter stating you can pay for their house in cash, but you pull up to the house late, wearing shorts and flip flops, and you do not look like you have two nickels to rub together (sorry, old person’s expression). That first impression can kill the deal. Your attire expresses your level of professionalism and attention to detail. Someone who is selling their house wants to make sure you are familiar with the process and can complete the transaction. Again, this is not a popular notion in the investing community because everyone want to do their own thing and says they do not care about impressions, but if an impression can help me get deals under contract, let’s get it done.

Next, please make sure people are able to find you. Once you have that initial conversation with the seller, many of them are going to do their research on you. Have business cards and a professional website. You want to make sure you are exemplifying professionalism to ease some of their concerns. If they are seriously trying to sell their house, they have spoken with or will speak with a lot of people, including real estate agents, and you want to put your best foot forward.

Also, have consistent branding on all of your content, which includes business cards, websites, social media sites, and other marketing material you may use. You need to have a professionally created logo (fiverr.com) that people can begin to identify with. These things that I mentioned are low-cost, high-result tools to help you carve out your own niche in the world of real estate.

Finally, have a physical address. I had a lady call me, and she stated to me the reason she did not go with another offer was because the person she was talking to could not give her the physical address of her office location. Again, this goes back to making yourself easily accessible. I do understand you may not want to have your home address on your cards or mailers. This is good logic; however, the UPS store has affordable mailboxes you can rent. These boxes will give you the impression of a physical address, and sellers will be able find your location if they search for you via the web.

Please use these little tidbits if you really are trying to build a business. Your brand will help you get noticed and keep you in the mind’s eye of sellers.

Have any other tidbits you would like to share with the readers?

Let’s help each other become great, and give advice in the comments section!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.