Results From Direct Mail

[Scott Showers]

I'm curious as to the success rate of everyone's direct mail campaigns. 

Do you use postcards or letters?

How many do you send per month?

How many times are you hitting your list?

What is your response rate?

How many deals do you get per call?

What strategy do you use? Wholesale? Fix and Flip? Etc...

Looking forward to the responses!

[Claire Trammell]

@Scott Showers

Awesome questions. In fact, I'm also curious to hear other's answers as well, so I will definitely be following this thread. 

However, here are my answers to add to your compilation of info:

1- I use both. Mixing up the type of mailer seems to help keep things fresh. However, i like to start with a small text postcard for a few reasons: cheaper per piece and  First Class postage. Especially when starting with a new list, going a cheaper route with First Class postage is a great way to "test" the list. First Class postage is guaranteed return mail (according to the Post Office) and therefore I can spend less initially and get back the addresses to be skip traced or run through the NCOA (National Change Of Address).

2- The quantity varies, however I wouldn't recommend anything less than 1,000 pieces a month. 

3-  As for the amount of touches to the potential lead, I would say 5-7 times, sending each lead one mail piece a month. So, a campaign of roughly 5-7 months per list.

4- Response rates are very, very dependent on your specific market, however here are the average response rates we have seen based on our customer feedback as well as our own mailings throughout the years:

Yellow Letters- average response rate of 8%-9%, all kinds of calls (angry calls, curious calls, tire-kickers, quality calls)

Postcards- average response rate of .5%, mostly quality calls.

Zip Letters- average response rate of 2%, mostly quality calls. (Great for follow ups)

Greeting Cards- average response rate of 2%, mostly quality calls. (Great for follow ups)

5- It is a lot of folks opinion that direct mail is a numbers game. And, to some degree, I guess that can be true. For example, it seems to take a few touches to really get a good response from a campaign, but, in my opinion, the ratio of responses to deals depends on your ability to make the deals. It will be helpful to you to research how to talk to the potential sellers before they start calling. Even if you get just a rough script together with questions you really need to know.

6- The purchasing strategy totally depends on the deal and what will most help the seller. Whether that be wholesaling, wholetailing, buy and hold, sub-2, you name it. I would recommend finding out the sellers need and finding the right way to structure a deal to benefit you both.

Hope that was at least a little helpful! I hope to hear what others have experienced.