I just ran my first Lonnie test ad over a week ago, and it generatewd about 8 calls or so. I put it in the big newspaper here, and cost me $41 for a one day ad (I put it in Sunday’s paper, which is most read). My take on your situation is maybe you need to put the ad in a larger circulating newspaper. You said you put an ad in the local Penny Saver. We too have a free paper that comes in the mail called the Pennysaver. Not many people read it though, but the price to place an ad is cheap.
I also didn’t state the price in my dummy ad. I stated the down payment and “low monthly payments”. Lonnie stresses in his book that the 2 major things a potential customer is interested in are down payment and monthly payments. Sometimes, they could care less about the price.
Try running the ad again in a larger paper. It may cost more, but you may get calls.
My ad said:
WILL FINANCE - A nice mobile home in a beautiful park. $500 down and low monthly payments. Call Tim at xxx-xxxx. It got me 8 calls.
Then when people called, I told them that one was sold, but I am always getting new ones in. I then got info from them (where desired, down payment, monthly pmt, when they need to move, etc. Lonnies book has the form you can use.) You can do it. I haven’t done a deal yet, but my confidence level is a lot higher than it was a month ago!
Hello all, About two weeks ago I got Lonnies book deals on wheels. I was very exited to get started after reading all his articles so I put a Lonnie type “Test Add” in the local Penny Saver. I wanted to get a least a small buyers list before I spent all my cash on a old MH.
The reponse…NOT ONE CALL. The area I live in is a military town and most people only rent because they know they will be moving in a year or two. If I want to do lonnie Deals in this area I must be efficent at finding buyers. All Lonnie’s book really says about selling is putting an add in the paper (Owner Financing) and that should generate calls. Also he suggest putting a sign in the MH for sale but thats just not practical in my situation.
Should I move on and do something other than Lonnie Deals. Renting, L/O, paper? Or is there a way to make this work?
Steven
Re: Help with MH deals…should I move on? - Posted by Rodney (AZ)
Posted by Rodney (AZ) on May 11, 1999 at 23:25:12:
Hi!
I agree about leaving out the price. Too many people are just scanning the multitude of ads and will skip over it if they see something that they think that they “can’t afford”. Also, the Pennysaver is okay! I get far more calls from those ads than I do from the Sunday paper, although the Sunday ad will generate calls all week whereas the Pennysaver will have a “hot” period then drop off quicker. (Must find its way to the recycling bin sooner!)
Other tips include mentioning the area that the MH is located in (I initially found myself answering the phone a bunch of times only to hear, “Oh, that’s too far away”) if you are in a large metro area. Also, state the number of bedrooms and baths. More wasted calls if you really have a MH for sale and it is not just a test ad. But ALWAYS get their info to add to your database of potential buyers for future acquisitions. Try to get your ad to appear at the top of the listings. Use creative wording to start the ad with an alphabetical means to do this, if your advertising section uses that technique. (Study the existing ads to determine how it is done.) Have your rap together. This means not stuttering or stammering when you get calls. By all means, let them talk first, but I lost several people when I wasn’t ready with the specifics. Comes across badly. Avoid prequalifying! It’s hard to do when a prospect tells you something that you really didn’t want to hear, but the name of the game is to set the hook when you get a nibble. What else can I suggest? Ads that are too “wordy” seem to lose some people. Keep it direct and to the point. It’s cheaper that way, too!
Keep records! It can get overwhelming when you get a lot of calls and/or have a couple of ads running simultaneously in different places. Or, you’ve quoted different prices to some folks through conversations on the phone.