All Forum Posts by: Don Chambers

So far, all are lookie-loos or people with disasters and still want too much.  Like 40k for something I need to be at 2k for.

I don't know if I buy the instant response theory but I have heard it.    What do you think is the reason?

I also have a website, and in that case they are looking to sell and if i don't answer they probably just move to the next guy.  But if they get this postcard and it takes me a few hours to call back who are they calling?  The chances of another card hitting the same day is rare.    I guess it could get them in the mood to google it.

If a service answers and then I need to call back it seems to be the same problem.  They will just move to the next person while they wait for me to call.  However, I would like a service to pre-qualify them.  I am looking into that.  Any recommendations? 

I have never found it hard to get the really motivated people.  They really want to sell and it does not matter if I answer immediately or how I word my letter.  The clever wording and tricky envelopes just seem to get unmotivated people to call.

All that being said, I am a complete novice at direct mail.  This is my fist mailing.

I have only gotten 9 because i'm busy. I have a small software company that keeps me busy as a consultant and manging a few employees. I have been a real estate investor for 10 years. I have 26 rentals and have done a few flips. I have built a rental business thay will scale. I have employees and I am not required to run day-to-day operations. I just need a funnel to get more properties. I get leads from my website and also buy bank owned. A few directly from the banks buy most were listed. I wanted to build a pipeline so i could buy more houses. Buy i misjudged what direct mail is. Now i am scrambling to find a way to hire someone to help. 1. Buying bank owned a financial exercise. Work the numbers and be patient until something fits. 2. The website leads are helping people solve problems. The challenge is usually numbers - is there equity to solve the problem. 3. Direct mail is sales. Be vague enough to get calls and then use sales tactics to try to get deals. Most want market value and you have to talk to them, get them to meet you, make the offer. Eat up your time. I would apprectiate any tips you can give me.

I have just gotten caught up on the calls from my direct market campaign.  I need a way to make sure the leads get worked in a timely manner and I have a few weeks before the next postcards hit.  I

am thinking about using PatLive.  Does anyone have experience with that?

I am also looking into Michael Quarles call center but I'm having website issue (on my end - not his).  Has anyone used that?

Does anyone have a recommendation?  

I would like a CRM that let's me start with just a phone number.  Does anyone know of such a product?

I have a lot of calls from a direct mail campaign.  Most calls are missed and they hang up (I'm working on this).  I know they came from the direct mail campaign because that's all I use the number for.  I need a tool where I can store the number and then me (and some helpers) can go through the list calling them and adding the other details as we get them.

Here are my requirements:

• Create a lead with just a phone number.
• Allow import/export of data.
• Allow multiple users.
• Be mobile friendly.

Everything I have tried requires an address or a name to create the lead.

My direct mail response rate is almost 4%. This is my first direct mail campaign and i dont think there is much competition in my area. I've sent 1,100 postcards and gotten 42 calls. The mailings just went out and i don't think every card has been delivered yet. I have had a hard time getting all the calls. I have only gotten 9 and now I have brought in a partner to call the leads. The list is absentee owners with equity. The card is a handwritten font that just says i would like to buy the house, as-is, with cash. The main response is from people that have no motivation. They just want to see if I will pay market value or more. Should I make my intent more obvious on the card? There is a lot of discussion about what to send (yellow letter, zip letter, postcard), how to get them to open a letter, what to say, how to make it personal, etc. Are these things really important when they are motivated? I think its just ways to get the unmotivated people intrigued so they will call. I would like to try a mailing that makes it clear that I'm an investor. That I will buy fast in any condition but I'm not paying after repair market value. I am not sure how to word it. Any thoughts?

I do have a Google voice number for this and I already use VoiceNation for my rental line.  I have not used voicenation live answering.  I like that idea.  Have you done it?

Can the prople answering just have a conversation so it doez not sound scripted?  For example, can I tell them how to answer certian questions only if asked?

I dont see how to upload an image on the mobile version.  Ill try later from a desktop.  The postcars uses handwritten font and says:

I would like to buy your house at 123 thierStreet, if you woukd like a quick, no-hassle sale please text or call me.

I can pay cash and will buy as-is.

Then my Google voice number.

I have to hire someone.  If I can't find anyone I'll go back to bank REOs and abandon this as a lesson learned.  

I run a small software consulting company.  If I have to have a job I would rather it be writing code than being a salesman.  I have 26 rentals and have done 4 flips and until yesterday I never thought of real estate investing as being a salesman.

I expected 1 or 2 leads a month and maybe 1 deal a year.  I feel like I have tricked a lot of people into calling so I can make a sales pitch.  Leads from my website seem more motivated - I guess it's because they were seeking me out.

I have had 29 calls in less than a day.  Probably more this weekend and the middle of next week my second batch of mailings hit.  There is no way I can call all these back, in fact I have stopped trying.   

If #4 is to high would uou still go see it?  Hoping they would take even less.

I need to hire an acquisitions person to handle leads as they come in.  I just started using direct mail and got 23 responses today for my first batch of 600 letters and another 400 are already in the mail.  I saw 7 properties and talked to 2 more people.  All wanted to sell but they wanted near market value.  I have 14 missed calls that I could not get in touch with.

I am the bottleneck here and I need to delegate this.  I need someone that will answer the phone and work the leads.  Preferably they will go to the property and make the offers.  I can go the first few times to help them estimate repairs, or maybe I should hire a handyman type person.

• What skillset am I looking for?  I am not sure how to find someone that can do this.
• How should I pay them?  It's not enough work for an hourly rate - some days there is nothing to do.  

I don't want their incentive to be to close the deal and get paid - even if they pay a little to much.  It's easy to over-estimate comps and under-estimate repairs to make a marginal deal work.  Probably a percent of profit is good on a flip but then their payoff is far out.  If it's bought as a rental I don't know how to pay them - I don't want a long term rental partner.

How do I find an acquisitions person?  And how should I structure their pay?

I just started a direct mail campaign.  I sent out 1,109 postcards in 2 batches.  The first 600 hit today.  I expected about 3 calls - 1/2%.  I have gotten 23 calls - almost 4% and I could not get to all the calls.  

I sent to absentee owners with equity.  About 400 directly from listsource and 200 that are absentee with some custom equity calculations.  The next 400, which are in the mail now, are all absentee with custom equity calculations.  I spent about $2,000 on the lists and the mailings.  My intent was to mail to this list every month for at least a year.

Today, I have seen 7 properties, talked to 2 more people, and I have 14 missed calls where I could not get in touch with the person.  Of the 9 people I talked to (including the 7 I saw) they all want to sell but near market value.   Some need extensive repairs so they will discount a little, but not enough for a deal.  I know I'll need to see about 20 properties to get a deal.  I also know from past experience that some of these may become deals on follow up.

1. Should my mailing be more direct?  It has the hand writing font and just says I am interested in buying the house.  Seems like I am tricking them into calling expecting to get market value.  Maybe I should explain more and only target those willing to give up equity to sell fast or avoid doing repairs.  That seems more ethical and saves me time, but I miss out on the deals I get later from follow-up.
2. How do you qualify the seller on the initial call?  Once I confirm they have equity I try to meet them, establish rapport, and make an offer.  I hate to cut out this rapport step but I am not sure how much it helps.  I would never give up equity because of rapport, only because I had to for some other reason.
3. I would like to hire someone to do this but I am not sure of the process.  I don't know the best way to pay them or what skillset I am looking for.  I would like a profit split on flips and a flat fee if I buy a rental.  They need to be vested in the deal and not just trying to get it to close and get paid.  How do others find and pay acquisition people?

I am trying to build a funnel of leads but I need a systematic way to work them.  I was trying to grow a business, but I seem to have created another job.  It's probably best if I am not in the process at all.  The leads will be wasted if I remain the bottleneck.