Direct Mail Campaign Results - Comments & Suggestions Welcome

[Chris Bounds]

Hey everyone.  I did a lot of research on BP about direct mail before I started my own campaigns last November. I figured some people might get some value if I posted the results so far. I'll appreciate any comments or suggestions too.

1. Target Market: Absentee owned 15+ years, Below average ARV
2. Campaign Type: Postcards
3. Total Prospects: 854
4. Total Mailings: 6
5. Frequency: Monthly
6. Total Leads: 13
7. Total deals: 2
8. Deal types: 1 flip (back-end sale pending) and 1small wholesale. One other seller backed out at the last minute and breached contract.
9. Comments:This was my first mailing and surprisingly the first deal (the one pending back-end sale) was the very first call I received. Lucky, but I'll take it!

1. Target Market: Absentee owned 15+ years, Average ARV
2. Campaign Type: Mixed Mailing (Postcards, White typed letters, Zip Letters)
3. Total Prospects: 899
4. Total Mailings: 4
5. Frequency: Monthly
6. Total Leads: 9
7. Total deals: 0
8. Comments:I'm pretty disappointed with this campaign so far. The area is nearby the above postcard campaign. I'll ride it out up to 7 mailings and see how it goes.

1. Target Market: Absentee owned 15+ years, Average to Above Average ARV
2. Campaign Type: Mixed Mailing (Postcards, White typed letters, Zip Letters)
3. Total Prospects: 905
4. Total Mailings: 2
5. Frequency: Monthly
6. Total Leads: 7
7. Total deals: 0
8. Comments:This is a hot area in town with a lot of tear downs and rebuids. I expect fewer deals from this campaign, but the profit margin should be much higher.

1. Target Market: Probate
2. Campaign Type: White typed letters
3. Total Prospects: 544
4. Total Mailings: 1
5. Frequency: Every 6 weeks
6. Total Leads: 12
7. Total deals: 0
8. Comments:Overall, this has been the most impressive campaign. The response rate to the first mailing was more than I expected. No deals yet, but I have several warm leads that I am working on. We'll be add new probate to the list monthly.

Overall Comments: DM is generating leads, but I would have expected a few more deals by now. Is that an unrealistic expectation? Houston is a hot market and very competitive. Most of the motivated sellers I've spoken with mention that they receive multiple letters/postcards a month. Call volume is picking up more now so hopefully a couple of deals are right around the corner. We're going to start supplementing DM with bandit signs periodically until more deals start to roll in. 

[Sam Craven]

Hey Chris, 

You sent 3200 mailers and got 2 deals, that's not bad at all.  If you averaged $1 a piece your CPA is $1,600.  That's not bad at all.  Ours hovers around $1,000-$1,800 and we aren't just doing direct mail.

The only thing i would change is to work a larger list, and mail more.  As you scale up you should find more consistent success.

Something else to think about...Most land lords burn out long before the 15 year mark.

Keep it up!  This business rewards the consistent.