What do you use currently for off-market lead generation?

Question

Hi All,

Hope you're all surviving and thriving during the Corona-pocalypse! In an effort to spend my quarantine doing something productive, I am trying to teach myself how to code apps. I've decided to try and work on something that makes it easier or investors to find potential off-market deals in real-time. The early bird gets the worm, right?

What I am wondering is what technology solutions everyone is currently using to find potential off market deals. If not technology, do you rely on wholesalers? Word of mouth? Etc? What are some things that would make it easier to find, track, and manage these potential leads? Would a mobile app be more ideal than a desktop app? Is there an app you like that does all of this for you, and if so, what are the high and low-points of the software?

I'm not marketing a product or anything, just want to make sure the time I'm spending developing and learning is actually beneficial to someone if I can pull it off. Who better to ask than the collective Investor Brain that is BiggerPockets?

Thanks in advance for your time, everyone. Stay safe and healthy.

Justin Silverio · Answer

I like what @Patrick Jackson said about deals are made, not found. I am a real estate investor and also run a large direct mail company that is specific for investors so I know what the top programs most people are pulling their data from. I would say that the challenge with any new system that tries to provide off-market deals is that there is no golden list. Everyone can just about get any data that they want. It's more about how you interpret the data, how you execute on that information, and your ability to convert the deal. This is the area that I have always focused on in my REI business and it enables me to convert deals that my competition isn't because they are not focused on the high-quality leads. In general, most investors are not marketers and don't spend as much time on that piece of their business as they should. They have a list and market to all of their leads the same way. This is the critical piece that investors need help with and what I've spent the last year working on solving. If you knew what leads were higher-quality than others and could easily create and manage different marketing campaigns for each quality bucket (high quality, low quality, etc.) then you can focus your time and money on the best deals, thereby increasing your marketing ROI. The other piece is sales or conversion. For a newbie, their conversion rate is going to be much lower than a veteran. Therefore, a golden deal could be in front of the newbie but if (s)he doesn't know what to look for or how to lock it up, they say that their marketing or system isn't working. I know from experience that I missed out on a ton of great deals when I started out. Like a ton. But after 10+ years, I can analyze a deal in minutes. Many newbies will never get past that point because they think it's the marketing rather than their ability to understand a deal. I hope that helps. oh, and thank you @Joe Cassandra for the shout out. :)

Jonathan Greene · Answer

@Annchen Knodt the only people saying that texting is the best way to go right now are those who don't care about how people receive them and think that an errant text to someone who has not opted in is not that big of a deal. Everyone who hates getting unsolicited emails, hates getting unsolicited texts even more because they actually pay attention to their texts which is why marketers think it's ripe.The best way to use text marketing is to ask for permission and get it and then do the texts manually. The whole point of text messaging is to make it easier to develop a relationship without picking up the phone so why people think obviously-similar mass texts to a whole database work is beyond me.I adjusted all of the text features inside my system to let them know that it is an automated text and why. This breeds honesty and less angst on their end.

Jonathan Greene · Answer

Any product in this space would have to a Frankenstein model because in order to source off-market opportunities, you can't rely on easy to get data since anyone could do that. The system I use is multi-tiered and incorporates a response base and tracking. Basically, a postcard goes out with a phone number for them to call. When they call, we get the message automatically transcribed and their number is tracked and skipped for call back. Then a bank of VAs start calling until they get the person and ask them our lead questions about the property. Once that is complete, it is sent to me for in-person appointment of follow-up call. So, the best system or app that can be built is one that removes the grunt work and leaves an investor with warm leads only. There is no point to develop another system that is focused on cold calls, we can all figure out how to do that and fail at it any day.

Annchen Knodt · Answer

Thanks @Jonathan Greene, that makes a lot of sense!

Hannah Krebs · Answer

Thank you everyone for your awesome input! I am researching the software suggested and experimenting. I appreciate all of your time!

Patrick Jackson · Answer

@Hannah Krebs I use a system I have built on Podio. The design pulls off market leads from Craigslist based on certain search criteria and assigns them as a task to follow-up. The notification of a new lead is generated the moment the seller posts to Craigslist. Very robust yet easy to use.

Dennis S. Gelbart · Answer

I use a product which can grow as you do. It is free to start and if you add certain modules the prices are very fair. it is a CRM (customer relationship management system) call HUBSPOT> It takes time but has many great features even in the free version. But do not devote too much time to the software. More important is to find deals. Good luck.Dennis

Annchen Knodt · Answer

110% agree with @Jonathan Greene. There are already lots of programs out there designed to make finding deals "easy", and the problem with anything that is easy is that everyone is doing it. I'm a programmer myself and have considered ways to use my skills to help with lead gen, but have realized that just about anything I can think of has already been done. If you are just learning to code, it could be a great exercise but it probably wouldn't be the first way I would choose to spend my time. Not to discourage you - maybe you could really get creative and come up with something new that would be awesome! These are definitely different times and I bet we'll see folks operating in ways we hadn't thought of before.But the sort of things that consistently work are systems like Jonathan describes, which I've come to understand are pretty much always going to include a large financial investment to really get the lead funnel to the size you need to result in successful conversions.Good luck!

Kris Sachtleben · Answer

Thanks @Jonathan Greene sounds like you have a great system!

Annchen Knodt · Answer

@Jonathan Greene, would you be able to elaborate on why you redirected texts because you "found them too invasive"? I hear so many people these days saying that texting is really the way to go, but I've had the thought that it would be too much of a turn off for most people to make it worth doing. Would love to hear your take!