Can’t afford marketing? Do THIS instead...

Don’t have a lot of money for marketing? Don’t have any money, period?

You don’t need it to do deals. I’m totally serious and here’s why....

Networking...

Yep, I said it. I know it’s a word people hate hearing anymore, but I think that’s because it’s way undersold these days, and people don’t really understand the sheer power of doing it right.

I see networking as super important if you want to do a lot of deals and make a lot of money. I strongly suggest you begin proactively doing it.

Here’s how to start…

1) Talk To The Players

Find other investors in your area and ask them if you can help them grow their business.

I DON’T mean inviting them to coffee and picking their brain. They don’t want that. Don’t. Do. It. :/

You need to show them the value you can bring to them… how you can help them make more money and do more deals.

“Mr. Investor, I want to help you grow your business. What areas are you looking for deals, and what kind of deals do you want? Can I bring you more deals?”

Know what they’re going to say?

They’ll say: Yes!

And in the beginning, don’t even worry about commissions. Maybe ask for $500 per deal to start. Once they see that you’re a serious player and you hustle to get deals, they’ll want to keep you around and pay you more.

At some point, as you gain experience, you should be able to split the profits 50/50.

So, once they tell you where and what kind of deals they want, you move on to the next phase of networking…

(Remember, your goal in all your networking is this: Collect as many phone numbers and email addresses as possible - so you can stay in touch and follow up with them.)

2) Call Realtors

You need good Realtors in your network. Start calling them about their deals.

Look on the MLS or RedFin.com for listings that are "Pending" (under contract) in the specific zip codes your new local investor-buyers want to buy in. Position yourself as the buyer (because you are) - and call those Realtors:

“Mrs. Realtor, I realize the listing is under contract, but could you give me a call if the contract falls through? I’ll make an offer and you can represent me and get both sides of the commission. Can I get your email address and send you my contact info?”

And just like that you’ve gotten their email address. Goal accomplished! Now, just rinse and repeat. Call Realtors of Pending listings - every day.

Also, start calling Realtors of fixer-upers who have properties that have been on the market more than 30 days. Tell them you are interested in their house, but the price is too high. Ask them why they think the property hasn't sold yet. Ask them how negotiable their clients are on their price. Get their email.

Here’s another solid gold networking idea…

3) Call Property Managers

Look on Zillow for rental properties and reach out to the Property Managers:

“Hey Jim! I was looking at this rental on 123 Main St. I am an investor looking for properties in that area. I was wondering if your client might be interested in selling that property? Can I email you my contact info so if any of your other owners are looking to sell, you can call me? You can represent me and get both sides of the commission.”

4) Network With Investors

Call all the investor FSBO's you can find on Zillow and Craigslist. Also, go to your local REIA meetings and - you guessed it - collect email addresses.

Then What?

Here’s the point of all this networking…

If you do what I just described, in just 2-3 weeks, you’ll have well over 100 email addresses.

Once a week, email everyone on your list.

“Hey, this is Joe. Got any deals?”

Keep these emails very simple... no website link... don’t make them jump through hoops. Just a simple question.

Do this long enough and you’re going to land deals.

I did it this way and it works. Check this out...

A while ago, I hired an acquisitions manager. We did a bunch of direct mail campaigns, and seller leads started coming in. But it was frustrating dealing with a ton of un-motivated sellers.

So we started focusing on networking with other Realtors, Property Managers, Investors, Wholesalers, etc. From all that networking, we soon had lots and lots of email addresses…

Then we started sending direct mail to Buyers - investors who had recently bought investment properties in other markets.

After we built a healthy buyer's list, my acquisitions manager started emailing our networking list once a week, asking if they had any deals.

Guess what happened?

People started bringing us their deals. We didn't have to go out and find any deals. They were bringing them to us!

In fact, we actually stopped doing any outbound seller marketing because of this.

REMEMBER THIS: He Who Has The Buyers Has The Power.

In summary: 

1) Know where the demand is. Where are the buyers buying?

2) Start calling people who are active in your market and get their email (and / or phone).

3) Once a week, send a simple email to your list, asking them if they have a deal. Tell them what you're looking for.

So…

Make it your goal to network.

If you do, you can totally get away without spending any money on marketing if you want to. :-)