Wholesalers: Should You Target Sellers Or Buyers First?

Today I’m going to tell you how I got so many deals by marketing to buyers first - that I was able to stop my seller marketing because of it.

And I’m sharing this with you because of a great question I got on my Facebook page:

“If I only had $1k, what’s the highest and best use of that money? Targeting buyers orsellers or something else?”

Well, those of you who know me, know that I’ve done just about every kind of deal - and the core of my business is lease options - but I often get this very question about wholesale deals.

So…

For all you wholesalers out there - here’s my answer:

Find. Buyers. First.

Why?

See, I’ve been flipping lease options since 2008, but in 2012 I turned a corner for a short period of time, and went into regular wholesaling. What I noticed almost immediately is that the drawback to flipped lease options was that I always needed new buyers...

...but with wholesaling, I could really crush it with just a handful of solid cash buyers.

Interesting, right?

Live and learn.

Around this time when I began experimenting with the idea of finding the buyers first, I also happened to read an excellent book by Kent Clothier called Reverse Wholesaling that brought everything home for me.

Kent happens to be a friend of mine, and you should read his book or check out his YouTube channel and you’ll see better what I mean.

Anyway…

What I found from my experimenting is that wholesale deals I got from targeting buyers first were MUCH easier than doing deals when I found the seller first.

SO MUCH. So so much! :)

My next experiment was to figure out the easiest way to find those cash buyers. I recommend using Listsource.

With Listsource, I can zero right in on out-of-state cash buyers buying in a few target markets, like:

• Memphis
• Dallas
• Houston
• Indianapolis
• Atlanta

Here's the key... Look for buyers who are already buying in markets outside of where they live. 

So if you do this search in Listsource, out pops a good list of a few hundred cash buyer leads. And we would send those leads a short and sweet letter, something like:

“We are the premier real estate investing company in St. Louis.

We have a bunch of rental properties that we sell, and we can give you great returns. I noticed that you are an investor in the [CITY] market. If you’re interested in talking with us, give us a call: XXX.XXX.XXXX.”

What I really like about this type of letter, is that it’s a simple process for the buyers...

I do not want to make the buyers jump through hoops - I include my phone because it’s easy for them to pick up their phone right then and there and NOT have to go to a time-sucking website.

And here’s what happened when I sent these letters and started talking to these buyers…

I started having more buyers than I had sellers.

Yep, you read that right.

Then I simply began to spread the word around to all the investors I knew who had deals - and I basically became like the hedge fund buyers for those investors.

I also did something different than most…

I didn’t go to these guys and say,

"Hey, I have lots of buyers and need deals."

I framed it like this:

“Hey, I’m looking for deals in these zip codes that meet this specific criteria..."

Now get this…

I got so many leads and potential deals from these other investors, that I STOPPED doing any seller marketing. Full stop. Don’t need it. 

People started bringing me their deals.

Pro Tip: Make sure you’re NOT brokering if you don't have a license. You’re building a buyers list and finding out what these buyers want. And while you’re out looking for properties... for yourself... you then make the decision - depending on the deal you find - whether you want to keep it for yourself, or assign your contract to someone else. You are advertising the contract, not the deal. The difference is nuanced, but super important.

But anyway, I was definitely on to something. I realized who my ideal customer really is: buyers. NOT sellers.

Look, relationships are key and knowing who your customer is, is critical. Check out the book The Pumpkin Plan to understand why.

From my experience, I focus on building relationships with buyers - so when they’re looking for a deal, they call me.

When I turned my attention to buyers, it paid off for me BIG TIME. And it can for you to.

Remember, you should always, always, (ALWAYS) be marketing for buyers.