Quickest way to scale?

Question

Despite my efforts with direct mail, staying in contact with wholesalers & agents, monitoring the MLS and auction websites, I'm still not scaling very quickly. Any suggestions for ramping up results?

Braden Smith · Answer

You're not scaling because you're working the wrong leads and your list is very small. Direct mail has a conversion rate of 1-3%. If you are mailing just 900 addresses that equates to 9-27 leads you will make contact with. In my market (which is very competitive), it takes me talking to about 50 or more leads, to get 20-25 appts, to get 1 deal.

Absentee owners is the absolute most heavily worked list in all of REI, and because of that it is the worst list to market to in my opinion. Every guru out there tells people to mail absentee owners because it is easy to do. And If it easy to do, you can be sure that there are many other people doing it.

Craigslist is useless in my area. It worked to some degree a few years back, but it is nothing but trash now.

Most wholesalers in my area are also useless. They overinflate the ARV, and severely underestimate the rehab costs. They put out "deals" that are far from an actual deal.

Auctions in my area, whether online or in person are also a waste of time. Too many bidders driving the price up to where it's not even a deal.

Direct to seller is where it's at, but you have to find a way to make contact with these sellers. And not just any seller. You need MOTIVATED sellers in some sort of DISTRESSED situation. A seller that has a real NEED to sell and not just a WANT. Most absentee owners don't have a real NEED to sell. They may have a WANT, but that doesn't mean they are going to sell for below market value.

Try coming up with your own specialized niche lists and your own unique marketing pieces, with whatever marketing method you choose. Some people like direct mail. Some like cold calling. Some like internet marketing. Some like to do a combination of things. Figure out which type of marketing you want to do and which type of seller you want to go after, then focus all your efforts on that until you get it down pat. Then begin to add other lead gen avenues, one by one. That is how to scale...

Justin Silverio · Answer

@Austin Works got it.

I would have to piggyback off @Braden Smith said. Direct to seller marketing is the absolute way to go. Not only will you have the opportunity to get better spreads, but you also won't be relying on someone else for deal flow.

If you want to stick with direct mail, you definitely need to ramp up your list count and target a better list. Niche lists and layering lead lists on top of each other will provide the best quality leads but it will be more difficult to build a large list. I would recommend that you create a list of 3k-4k if you do niche lists. The only time I recommend that people use general lists like an absentee list or an equity list is if they are going for volume and are mailing 20k+. Otherwise, it's very hard to get any traction with these leads at a small volume.

To do any marketing correctly, you need to be CONSISTENT. Marketing takes time to build momentum and if you start, stop, and start again, it will make it feel like nothing is working. Remember, DM is only one form of marketing, figure out what will work the best for you and just execute consistently.

Ehsan Rishat · Answer

@Austin Works putting efforts in all these don't mean you're making any progress toward your goals.Try to find out which marketing strategy is giving you more return and focus on that. If you're doing direct mail, talk to people who have been successful with direct mail. Lastly, don't compare yourself with others. That will only make you feel bad about your progress, you will definitely succeed if you're doing marketing the right way.

Jarrod Covey · Answer

Time spent in the market will open up new contacts and eventually a thriving network. Finesse the mailers, put some bandit signs out, and shake some hands at local meetups and you should be good in due time

Austin Works · Answer

@Braden Smith mind. blown. You just put things into perspective for me, and I really appreciate your help!

Jason Quero · Answer

Finally...someone who tells like it is. Thank you for the refreshing, direct, no frills answer. Been reading a lot of posts on marketing and it was a welcome response.

Ehsan Rishat · Answer

We tried out cold calling but didn't seem to work well. I'm not saying cold calling doesn't work, maybe we didn't put the same effort we did on direct mail. Direct mail is giving us good leads and has been keeping us busy for the last few years.

McKinley Crowley · Answer

@Austin Works Would you mind providing more details? How much direct mail are you sending monthly? Are you mailing the same list multiple times? If so how many times? Are you using any other form of marketing in addition to direct mail? Let me know on these points and I can give you some thoughts. Cheers!

Austin Works · Answer

@Justin Silverio I have done just over 20 deals in roughly 2 years of investing - I'd like to close 2 SFR's per month and at least 1 MH park or multifamily every six months.

Ian Walsh · Answer

More marketing.

Quickest way to scale?

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