competing against the big boys

[David Lunsford]

In large markets what is anyone doing to compete with the guys that have a 20K per month marketing budget. Here in the Dallas Fort Worth area there are multiple Homevestor operations that spend this much or more. What are some of the more creative marketing things anyone is doing. It seems like everyone is mailing to absentee owners which is an area I have had very little success with.

[Richard Warren]

There is one way you can compete without a huge budget. Get out and network. I’m not talking about REI meetings loaded with your competitors. I’m talking about business networking, chamber of commerce, and various business organizations.

This is very much a people business. Get out there and let it be known that you buy houses. Have professional looking business cards. On the back of the card you should list the type of houses you are looking to buy.

Everyone who needs to sell a house knows plenty of people. When they talk to their friends, associates, etc, you want the person they are talking to to say “Hey, I met a guy who buys houses, let me get you his card.â€

Networking is very much down in the trenches activity and it works. I have personally built several businesses through networking without spending thousands of dollars on marketing. It’s not easy and takes a lot of effort. That’s why they call it netWORKing.

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