All Forum Posts by: Christopher Salazar

I asked this question to @Tim G. and he told me to spend 2 weeks listening to Sean Terry's podcasts. I did that and I learned so much great info for free. I still listen to them just to sharpen my skills and learn more every day. Good luck! 

There's many different options to look at when starting. I personally just sent out yellow letters and learned on the fly. I had no idea what to say to motivated sellers or what contracts needed to be signed or any of that. I found someone to mentor me and learned a great deal from him. No matter how you start out, be persistent and always be eager to learn more. 

I would say to max out one marketing channel and go from there. You will start to gain more confidence naturally and build yourself up. Do whatever you have to do to get that first check. It's a great feeling. 

I just recently started using social media. I have all my different social media sites linked. I use a Twitter account mainly to put provide valuable information to other people (articles, blog posts, motivational things, etc.). I have my personal LinkedIn account attached to my website so that people can put a face to the name. I use social media mainly to inspire and share solid info with others. 

I think that social media is very crucial for any growing business. For real estate specifically, you can do so much with it and spread the word about your company and the services and properties you provide. 

There's a few ways to manage your social media pretty easily so I've heard. I don't use it, but I have heard HootSuite is pretty good for this. But I wouldn't hire someone else to run it for me. 

Just curious how other investors track their wholesaling leads that come in. I personally have been using Google Voice and tracking everything manually and am looking for an alternative. 

What do you use? Do you have a number for every campaign? Thanks for the info!

It surely depends on your market, but in general, it takes roughly 25 leads to get 1 deal. If you are getting an 8-10% response rate, then you should send out 250 letters at least to get one deal a month. 

If you're getting a 6 percent response rate, you should be around 420 letters at least to meet this quota. But yes, I would definitely send out 1000 for the month. And hit each list once a month for 3 months to squeeze out every lead. That's what I would do. 

Be persistent and keep rolling! Good luck

Be persistent and tenacious. Good things will come. I agree with @Darrin Carey that you must be a problem-solver. You will be a lot more valuable to the marketplace and have the opportunity to close a lot more deals. 

One personal example is when I had a motivated seller on the west coast who had a property in the midwest. The owner's sibling was currently living in the home, and the owner's concern was the relocation of the brother. I found a place for her brother that was affordable and in their preferred location. I was able to solve the problem for that family and I made a better deal than I anticipated. 

I got a property under contract two days ago and assigned it yesterday. It can be done very quickly if it is truly a good deal and you go out there and take action. I took a couple of months to learn everything I could before I went and out did anything. But when I did, I was prepared for the most part and everything started to click. 

Educate yourself (I did through the forums and podcasts) and be confident. Go out there and make it happen. 

Good luck!

That is a very legitimate concern, but I wouldn't change your marketing campaign based on one caller who was mistaken anyways. I still would argue that the yellow letter works a heck of a lot better than a professional letter just because there is a higher chance of people reading it. 

But I do agree with Daniel as well, that the split test would tell you what works in your market. You just never know until you test out different marketing campaigns. 

I have found that even when I add 90-100% equity on Listsource, that doesn't hold true to some of the leads that have come in. I would take a gamble if you are simply trying to make the list reach the $50 minimum, but not on a larger number. You may be wasting some money there by having a lot of leads coming in that are not qualified. I've had to learn that the hard way. 

I think it's great that you outsource your tedious activities to make time for more major activities. I'm fairly new as well and I sometimes feel that I could be doing so much more to grow my business. 

I do not use a VA but I plan to once I establish myself in my market. But for now, I'm focusing on building my web presence as well as maxing out other channels of marketing other than direct mail. I am also networking a ton and assembling a power team. I've met with attorneys, realtors, contractors, other investors, accountants, etc. Building your network is huge and from what I've learned thus far, it opens the door to a lot more opportunity.

I look for any way I can gain an edge and make my business better, especially small things like reading books on building relationships with people (How To Win Friends and Influence People - I would definitely recommend it!), taking a member of my team out for coffee, or practicing my negotiating skills. I look for any opportunity to set me apart and help me provide value to the marketplace. 

Hope this helps! Good luck with your business.