New Campaign

[Jason Morrow]

Finally. After a few months of studying for and getting my Real Estate license and countless hours setting up business entities, bank accounts, and the 1 million other things a new business needs I got to actually do some work! I just sent out my first batch of postcards today and they should hit roughly the end of the week. I can't even begin to think of how many different posts, blogs, tips, and any other piece of info I could find in regards to how to begin marketing. I decided on:

A targeted list that after address verification totaled 998 addresses which was perfect because I wanted a sample size of 1,000 but the list was 1,225. I made a very nice post card that I feel will at least get a quick enough glance to catch the name before being thrown away the first time and will be easily remembered the second time and on. I mailed 500 out this week and have the remaining 498 going out in two weeks. 

If you ask 10 people how many responses you could expect from a campaign you will get 10 answers and they will all be different and at least 9 will be wrong. My goal is only a 5% rate of calls and converting just 1 deal from those 50 calls. 

Is that a realistic expectation (my individual ability to close deals aside)?

What kind of response rates have other been seeing, and do you actually get a solid enough stream of leads to maintain throughout the year?

What kind of "buildup" or snowball effect of constant marketing have you seen? A slow ramp up or did it build quickly?

Finally how many leads is "enough"? Is only 1,000 the bare minimum? I have seen others using 6,000.

Thanks for the input. Now nothing to do now but just wait for the phone to ring.

[Joshua Martin]

Hey @Jason Morrow! Way to get the ball rolling, I'm about one month ahead of you, so I'm just going to tell you what I've learned thus far.

5% response rate on postcards sounds high. I had about a 1.5% response rate for the 1,000 I sent out (roughly, my tracking has since improved as I'm getting ready for next month). How many did I close out of that? None. Two are worth following up on, however, as they might become motivated in the coming months. Most, as seems to be the case with all marketing, are trash leads. No equity, merely curious, owns the house free and clear but it's so distressed the rehab would cost more than the house, etc.

I like that you're already doing two things: mailing those lists in separate bundles. I mailed on the 8th and got a lot of calls that week after, and then a few last week, and so far none this week. Staggering the mailings should make the leads a bit more workable and reliable.

I'm mailing 1,000, as aforementioned, but I'm also working a local probate list which yields about 60-70 leads a month, and a few other less consistent lists (city tax foreclosures, driving for dollars, etc.).

As for your goal, maybe. Depends on lots of variables. I probably could have closed a deal this month, but my ability to convert a good lead is still improving, and my poor negotiation skills put me right out of the deal.

In any case, are you planning to wholesale? That wasn't totally clear.

Keep on with it though, as every marketer says over and over, it's all about consistency, so I'm hoping by the end of a six month campaign the leads and conversion rate will spike. We'll see. Learn as we go.

Best,

JTM