Motivated Sellers: What's REALLY Helping You Find Them?

Question

About a year ago, we got hit with a substantial misdemeanor charge/fee for bandit signs.

As a result, we decided to stop with the bandit signs.

Unfortunately, bandit signs was our primary source of leads.

Since then, we've seen our numbers of leads take a nose dive.  We've been consistent with our out-of-state absentee owner and probate mailings, but our phones don't ring like they did back when we were active with the bandit signs.

We've tried the following to supplement our mailing campaigns:

- Calling landlords from the local newspaper

- Calling FSBO's from Zillow

- Paying a VA to send "are you interested in selling" messages to landlords posting their properties on "house-for-rent" websites

- "Driving for dollars"

...and a few other things that I can't think of at the moment.

I don't know if it's the seller's market we're still in in this area or what, but we're having a challenge right now getting leads coming in.

I understand that ideally you need to have a multitude of lead avenues working for you, however my question is:

What's working for you?

Account Closed · Answer

Bandit signs generate calls, but did they generate closed deals?  What are your numbers on calls v. deals, and where did bandit signs fit into that?

If bandit signs were really working as a deal source, can you hit those areas with bill boards or other paid for signage advertising?

Shaun Caldwell · Answer

@Alvin Grier, to @Rick Harmon's point, consider creating relationships where you are the center of influence. I've done just that for my real estate business. I created a mastermind group which facilitates knowledge sharing and leads. We have one seat per business type i.e. carpenter, painter, real estate agent, etc. It works well because the guy painting a house down the street may pass a distressed property on his way to a job which he would gladly tell me about :). Our agent runs comps when I need her to. If I want to sell a house, guess who I'm listing it with? Her! One hand washes the other...

John Thedford · Answer

In our market, it almost boils down to luck due to the number of buyers. Rarely a day goes by I don't receive a "we buy houses" type of advertisement. These are typically not from the same person. No doubt there are hundreds if not thousands of buyers seeking properties. I had one property under contract and saw three flyers seeking to buy it. They arrived in the mail on the same day. Though the costs can run up, I think consistency is the only way direct mail will pay off. Keep at it!

Alvin Grier · Answer

@Alvin Neal Detroit (brick only) and all surrounding suburbs.

Alvin Neal · Answer

Hey @Alvin

@Alvin Grier What areas are you focusing on in Metro Detroit? I have seen vehicles wrapped in graphics with "we buy houses". Check local ordinances  and find the areas that allow  bandit signs and create a referral program.

Alvin Grier · Answer

Thanks for all of the productive, thought-provoking replies.  I'll try to respond to everyone in a single reply...

- @Rene Martinez No, I've never tried pay-per-click ads, but I'll consider it.  Has anyone reading this used "We Buy Houses"-type PPC ads successfully?  If so, did you find it to be worth the investment?  Although they let you move at your own pace, so-to-speak, it seems like it can get pretty costly.

- Kristine Marie Poe , how did you go about creating such a group?  Did you create a limited seat Meetup.com group, or something like that?  Very interesting concept.  Do you guys meetup in-person to discuss business ideas as well?

Adrian Smude · Answer

@Alvin Grierto add to Kristine Marie Poecomment you could hire people to flyer those areas.  I hate it but it's like bandit signs it can produce leads if done right.  Make up a flyer and have people put them in the driver's door window in big parking lots.  Or you can do it more legit way by contracting with a concert hall or another large venue and have people passing out flyers on the way out/in.  I personally don't think the second works as well, but I have nothing to back that up.  Good Luck and let us know how things turn out.

Antonio Coleman · Answer

@Alvin Grier The simple thing to do is to get the leads from people who are online. Your targeted audience is hanging out online so get your website in front of them. Have you thought about building your online presence with seo and targeted keywords?

Yea think about it..people actually do search for help these days online when they need to sell or buy.

Shaun Caldwell · Answer

@Alvin Griershoot me a PM and I'''l go more in depth about the group.

Rick H. · Answer

@Alvin Grier Time to re-think your strategy.

Essentially, you have depended on a single lead generation device that is illegal in most locales.

The problem with turn-it-on, turn-it-off campaigns is that they have no lasting value. There is no "equity" created. This is the reason I changed to a referral based system many, many years ago.

Marketing with push/pull strategy might work better for you, however you need to be patient because it does take time to spool up and ramp up.

This would involve creating systems for reaching others who may or may not be involved in real estate where you become a center of influence.

There's a tremendous amount of waste in direct mail as well as online advertising. If you have the budget and can tolerate the expense while you sort out and determine an acceptable ROI from your online and offline efforts you may get past your dependency on bandit  signs and become part of a legitimate established marketing system.

You might find some useful material by searching Dan Kennedy's site or others known for direct response marketing.

Motivated Sellers: What's REALLY Helping You Find Them?

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