Wholesale Marketing Tactics

[Doug Price]

I have been wholesaling seriously since March of this year. I closed my first deal through networking with one of my cash buyers in February and immediately reinvested the money from that deal into marketing. Since March I have mailed a total of approx 1800 letters distributed pretty evenly across Mar/Apr/May/June/July. My letters are "handwritten" - computer generated font - yellow letters with actual hand addressed invitation size envelops and a first class stamp.  I have used agentpro247.com for most of my data collection. I've pulled lists based almost exclusively on absentee owners, but additionally I have gotten a tax delinquent list and a code violation list from the city. All totaled I have received 61 responses (my July letter is still hitting mailboxes) and I have closed three deals (although followup is still underway with several of those 61 responses that may turn into a future deal). My questions are, is this an acceptable response rate (3.38%)? And close rate (4.9% of responses)? Or is there something I'm missing on the lists I am mailing that would get a higher rate of conversions? Should I add a multistage mail campaign to hit the same lists with postcards and/or different letters?

It should be noted that what prompted this post is a review of the five total deals I have closed. Two of the five have come through networking and conversations. I am gearing up to get my real estate license because I have seen firsthand the value of being able to network with the people who have realtor in their title and the MLS in their back pocket. So my questions here are, those of you whom wholesale with a real estate license, do you still direct mail? Or do you rely more heavily or exclusively on networking with investors and sellers? And what is your primary deal source, direct mail or networking?

Thanks for any comments and thanks for your time, Doug (Journey Properties, LLC, Roanoke, VA)