I agree 100% that, as you said, you should not compromise on your numbers, which is why vetting 100 properties, then making strong (ie, not a prayerful lowball) offers on the top 4 or 5 will be much more effective.In a down market, the spray and pray approach can be somewhat effective because you have a large crop of desperate or motivated sellers. 

I am getting some motivated seller leads coming in from areas that I am not interested in, including Northeast Omaha.  

Al things being equal, they probably are not motivated to sell, so Getting seller financing might not be in the cards.  

I am a motivated newbie investor looking to get started.

Some people however, need the personalized attention to become motivated enough to complete things and might have never gotten through the book themselves.  

But that was my "why", back then.I don't know what would be a good "why" to buy 1,000 houses now...but then again I'm not the one proposing to do so--and everyone's motivations are different.  

I'm 23 years old and highly motivated to this business. 

Even if someone has received direct mail several times, if you happen to be the person who drops them that piece of mail when they are really motivated to sell, you could end up being the lucky chap who gets the deal. 

I recommend: go find MOTIVATED Sellers, who will sell for 20%+ genuine discounts!

I want to give the listing agent more motivation by giving them the offer personally rather than go through another Realtor and having the commission split up.