In Real Estate, The Last Investor Standing Wins!

I just got another executed contract this week here in the market, and I thought I would share with everyone the long time table it took to generate this lead. For this particular case study I won't focus as much on the interactions between myself and the seller, but rather how being consistent in this business has a big payoff. Many times who gets the deal comes down to this simple fact, who continued to mail the seller consistently and never gave up? This lead has been in my probate database for almost TWO YEARS. And it was just this month that the seller contacted me and invited me to come out and take a look at the house. But this sort of thing isn't uncommon if you have been in the business for awhile.

Post Cards on the Kitchen Table

While walking through the house I noticed something on the kitchen table that looked familiar out of the corner of my eye. As I turned to get a closer look I could immediately recognize the my own post cards sitting on the kitchen counter. The stack of my businesses post cards littered the countertop, piled high while I could only see a few other cards from my competition. _ Related: _ In addition to that, it was really easy to distinguish my  professionally branded, color on one side, thick card stock, glossy cards compared to the multiple other cards which looked quite generic, had no branding and were using the same color tones mostly (pollen yellow or a manila shade) . Branding is a HUGE factor that  I think other investors often times pay little attention to, but that's a subject for another blog post. As we continued through the kitchen I saw cork board on an adjacent wall with a featured "to do" list. On this board the seller had tacked on the different companies post cards that had been mailing her including my own. The interesting thing on the cork board is there were some sticky notes next to a few of the cards, by my post card it had some brief notes. It had some brief bullet points and said something to the effect "very friendly, personable, seems honest".  After catching a glimpse of this I smiled too myself as we continued to walk through the house. This sort of situation isn't uncommon. Often times when I go on appointments to buy a house I will notice this: somewhere in the house there will be a pile of my cards, and a few other cards from my competition, but the vast majority of the time I am the only one that continues to mail them after X amount of months and everyone else just stops.  I sort of think of it as a game, "the last investor standing" aka  be the one who never stops mailing. I was the first one they called to come by and look at the house, not only because I consistently marketed to them when others had likely given up or removed them from the list, but I also answer my calls immediately if possible and take the time to LISTEN to the sellers situation to see if I can help them. Since I am both a realtor and investor, I usually can.

Being Consistent With Your Marketing Efforts

The problem with Real Estate Investing it can often times be a slow process, there is no magic pill, and that can be frustrating at times trust me I understand. _ Related: ")_ But the lesson here is too continue to mail until the seller either asks you to remove them from your list or the house sells. By being consistent with your mailing you will keep your pipeline full and get deals that no one else has a chance at securing. By implementing these techniques maybe the next time you meet with a seller at a house you will encounter a large stack of post cards (or yellow letters) of your own. Oh and guess who walked out of the house with an executed purchase and sales agreement that day? Be sure to leave your comments below!