Marketing for the new Wholesaler

[Jim Shoemaker]

Hello Everyone.

I'm new to the site, so if this is in the wrong place, please forgive the fact that I'm a newbie and just point me in the right direction as to where it should go.

I am in the process of trying to start my investing/wholesaling business and my first big challenge seems to be generating leads.  I have sent out a mail campaign (1000 pieces) a few months ago to some out-of-state absentee owners, but the response that I got back was 12 calls from owners simply asking to be removed from my list, and 0 leads.

I have since then tried some bandit sign marketing.  From that I've gotten a couple of calls, but one was a short-sale lead that I then passed on to another investor, and the other looks to be in an area where nobody seems to be looking for investment homes (Globe, AZ).

So, I'm not the kind of person who's going to try 1 or 2 things and throw my hands up saying "it doesn't work". I understand it's a numbers game and it takes some time and patience to get moving.

One of the other challenges that I've been facing lately has been time to spend on my business.  My 9-5 job has been more of a 7-7 job lately, and I have a 5 month old daughter which is making my life wonderfully interesting.  We also just recently sold our home and moved closer to family to help with the new baby, so the last few months since April have been a blur.

So because of that, I have recently decided to leave my 9-5 job and pursue my business full time.  Given that decision, come 8/11 I am going to have a lot of extra time on my hands if I can't start generating leads.  I have some tentative plans to send out some new direct-mail campaigns, and while I'm not thrilled about them, I will probably continue trying the bandit signs for now.

My short term need/goal is to get the business at least functioning in the next 3 months, that will keep me from having to retreat to my 9-5 career.  I do have a marketing budget to work with, which is around $1500/month for now.

So what I am looking for is any advice or information you guys can point me to in order to maximize the budget that I have so just simply get things moving.  I know it's a numbers game, but I want to make sure that I'm not throwing my money at something that is known to be something that doesn't work (if that makes any sense at all).

I look forward to hearing from you guys and getting to know all of you as I move forward.

Jim in Queen Creek.