First direct mail campaign

[Brian L.]

What's a manageable sized direct mail campaign for the first time?

I need to test my letter, test my business processes and properly follow/work every lead knowing that I am not an expert in ARV and repair costs. I want to effectively handle the flow as I will have a huge learning curve.

Basically what I'm asking is what should be a large enough mailing to get me leads to work on, while at the same time knowing that too many leads will go wasted. Is it 200? 500? 1000? 2000? Thoughts?

[Braden C.]

Since you're someone who hasn't done a mailing before I would suggest 250-500 per week to get started. There are plenty of templates on the web that you can use for your letter but you really need to critique yourself after each call. After a couple of hundred calls you will know what to say and what not to say. Reflect on each call and ask yourself at what point did the conversation get go in a good or a bad direction. That really worked for me when I was starting out. The first few calls will be terrible because you're so nervous but don't worry, they get easier.

I am to a point now that 99% of the time I can tell within the first sentence from the caller if it's going anywhere. I have certain buzz words that I love like, "it's a tear down" "I can't take being a landlord anymore" "I haven't seen it in years" "I just inherited it" ect. I know that I can almost always turn these into deals.

My favorite is, "it's the nicest house/condo in the entire neighborhood" Those sellers will NEVER be a deal for me. I hear this at least 3-4 times per week.