helping other people succeed

[Alex E.]

Hi everyone,

I have been thinking about this for some time. The culture in real estate investing seems that everyone is out to help each other succeed.

But with wholesaling whenever someone asks me how I create my letters I feel as though I should not tell them because if they have the same success rate as I do, then all the houses around the neighborhood will be flooded with letters asking if they want to sell their house.

In the short term I might be helping out a fellow investor, but in the long run the market is going to get saturated and everyone is going to start finding less deals because the competition will be so high. Every house will be getting like a ton of letters from numerous investors and no one will be getting any deals.

Anyone have a different perspective?

Thanks.

[Joshua Dorkin]

I had this discussion with someone just yesterday; they were concerned about sharing their secrets with others.

The reason that this site is so valuable to investors is that many people already realize that there aren't any secrets. Everything you or someone else can or will do has likely been done before -- that doesn't mean that you won't be able to outsmart or out hustle your competition. You may think the idea is new, but with millions of investors and others in the business, don't fool yourself into thinking that your competition doesn't have access to the same ideas as you do.

The investors that I see growing to become the most successful are also the ones who I see aren't afraid to share their "secrets." As in any industry, you need to be flexible and be able to change your strategies and tactics as market conditions change.

If investors come together and help one another, they can better their own businesses and expand their lead base. Ultimately, most investors come to a point where they can handle only so many deals . . . who are they going to share their excess leads with -- their competitors or colleagues?

Befriend and work with other investors and you will expand your opportunities.

Back to my point about outsmarting and outworking others:

A tried and true tactic for real estate agent marketing, for example, is door knocking and sending regular mail. We all know it, but not everyone does it. I haven't had an agent knock on my door in 5 1/2 years. I rarely get a market update in the mail, and believe that only one or two agents have sent any to me in that same 5.5 years. I also haven't had a single door hanger placed on my door, haven't gotten any swag on holidays, and so on. Is it a secret that these are valuable ways to build your business? No. Why aren't people doing it, then?

Even though the agents around here know about these tactics, they aren't using them. Perhaps the techniques they are using are working, but there are always other things you can do for your business. I wish investors would get past this "secrets" mentality already . . . in my opinion, it just doesn't hold water.

Speaking of which: remember the famous saying, 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.'

Don't fear your competitors -- work with them -- help them --and you will see the rewards of your efforts.