Here’s The Best Way To Market For Buyers

There are many ways that you can (and should) market for buyers.

You should have your own website or blog.

You should be building a presence on social media – such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

You should be actively connecting with a community of people online, such as at BiggerPockets.

You should have an email marketing strategy.

But what’s the VERY BEST way to market for buyers?

I want you to go look in a mirror. Now smile. Now stick out your hand like you’re going to shake someone else’s hand.

BOOM. There you go. That’s the best way to market for buyers is to meet them in person, shake their hand, and get to know them. Build a relationship with them.

Face to face is the best way, in my opinion. The second best way is by phone. You might not call this “marketing”… you probably call this “networking” – which it is. The problem is, people tend to separate networking from marketing and they think they can just get buyers by hiding behind their computers and doing online marketing work. But ultimately, I believe both ways are marketing… AND both ways are indispensable to your business. Truthfully, I don’t think you’ll create as strong of a business without networking-style person-to-person marketing!

So now you’re asking me, “okay, Joe, where do I meet these buyers?” and my answer is EVERYWHERE!

• People who have bought from you in the past (your “previous client” list is probably your best source of future buyers)
• Referrals from people who have bought from you in the past
• Your past and present coworkers (if you had a non-investing job)
• Your local Real Estate Investor Associations (join ALL of them in your area, not just one of them)
• Anyone you come in contact with in your day-to-day life (friends, your mechanic, the other parents on your kid’s soccer team) – chances are, they’re potential investors with 401(k)s who are worried about the economy… that’s an amazing buyer and those people are everywhere

I’m just scratching the surface but if you start with this group of people and you start listing them out, you’ll likely end up with HUNDREDS of names. What a great start. Not all of them will be buyers right now (not all of them will be buyers ever) but if you share the value that you offer and build a relationship of trust with them then here’s what will happen…

1. Some will buy right now
2. Some will buy later
3. Some will refer you to other people

So make the list and start getting out there and networking. Meet people. Get friendly. Ask how you can help them. (You might not be able to immediately help them with a real estate deal but maybe you can help them in some other way… and that will build trust that could eventually lead to a real estate deal).

All the other ways of marketing I listed earlier – they’re important to do and you should do them. But in my experience, there is absolutely no substitute for the person-to-person marketing to find buyers.