People who think they are smarter than "cause and effect" are for sure going to lose everything.10.

Is the whole "dropping in to a random office with donuts" thing REALLY still effective?

I'd say the easiest and most effective way to get started is grab a duplex and rent the other side while also renting the spare bedrooms in your unit or finding a 4+ bedroom single family and renting out all of the other rooms that you aren't using.

Not all PM companies are effective at selling real estate.

Most markets are seeing full price or above for listings, so I am not sure this strategy is going to be very effective. 

Do you have any tips on how I can properly analyze my deals effectively?

(still a good option)Bandit signs can also be pretty cost effective but just be ready to hustle and put these signs all over town (not a big fan of this approach, but I know many wholesalers get massive deals from these) In the beginning I had more hustle than money, so I hustled more using cheaper marketing methods such as these.

I am an infantryman in the Army (so not much I can transfer over to the civilian world other than being able to manage people effectively).

If he/she thinks they can help, I would be happy to reach out myself.The basis of my questions is rooted in which approach would ultimately be more cost effective.

With COVID and politics not effecting the market YET, there are numerous more changes coming to the market that NO lender has experienced.