Knocking on Doors........ - Posted by James

Posted by Joe on March 27, 2006 at 16:11:34:

I’m not a fan of bandit signs, for real estate, products, or anything. Besides the fact that they litter the area, coming off in the wind and the rain, they almost force people to look at them because they are usually placed in the line of sight of people driving down the road. I’d rather have optional advertisement like the newspaper where I only see it if I want to open up the newspaper and see it.

Otherwise, I think you have your bases covered except for the newspaper ad. You should probably just stick yours in there with everybody else’s. Or, if you don’t want to do that, try to seek out the newspapers that don’t have many in them yet. Find the less obvious publishings and stick yourself in them.

Knocking on Doors… - Posted by James

Posted by James on March 27, 2006 at 11:47:47:

HI!!!I’m a newbie to real estate investing. And I am looking to start in wholesaling. I have been at it for about a week by mailing letters and tryin to find telephone numbers to call people. I just wanted to know have people really had sucess with knocking on people doors…?

The more I think about it the more I think people will get upset if I show up at there front door… Or I might just be wasting my time?

Re: Knocking on Doors… - Posted by RogerTX

Posted by RogerTX on March 27, 2006 at 18:31:00:

Some of the local mentors hire people to drive neighborhoods. Another does 8000 mailings a month. Another does phone calls. Each of them are very successful.

Take a look in the yellow pages. How many doctors do you see? Lots right? So what. Advertise anyway. So what that there are others there. A certain amount will call your ad. The big players keep their ad there regardless of the response. The tire kickers advertise for awhile and give up.

If you’re out contacting people you’re not wasting your time. Sitting at home watching the game is wasting your time.

Put on a ball cap, bring a metal clipboard, and knock on that door. People aren’t too upset with business people at the door. Dress the right way, stand in the right location, say the right thing and you’ll be fine. I learned this stuff from my mentor. He spent years learning and perfecting this. That’s why I consider mentors so valuable.

Re: Knocking on Doors… - Posted by John

Posted by John on March 27, 2006 at 13:09:30:

I have gotten several good deals by knocking on doors. I have also been threatened and alot of rejection. The profits more than made up for the greif I got. You have to remember it is a numbers game and you will get more no than yeses. You have to have a thick skin and don’t take anything personally.

Re: Knocking on Doors… - Posted by Joe Kaiser

Posted by Joe Kaiser on March 28, 2006 at 24:36:24:

What is the right thing to say?

Joe

Re: Knocking on Doors… - Posted by james

Posted by james on March 27, 2006 at 13:27:17:

Your right I do have to have tough skin… I think I will knock on some doors today… I just don’t feel like I’m doing enough by mailing letters… thanks a lot for the advice!

Re: Knocking on Doors… - Posted by RogerTX

Posted by RogerTX on March 28, 2006 at 19:41:32:

To give away what he charges for? I can tell you some of what not to say. So many people ask something like “I heard about the trouble you’re in, can I buy your house.” Don’t do that. Helping a distressed seller is a process, not an event. A lot can be learned from the insurance industry. They learned through long experience how to put people at ease from the beginning. That should be you started.

Re: Knocking on Doors… - Posted by Joe

Posted by Joe on March 27, 2006 at 13:52:07:

Mailing letters may very well not be enough. Your mailings could easily be swimming with 100 other mailings in the owner’s mailbox. But they are cheap and easy to do, so supplement your current marketing with other different kinds of marketing.

Re: Knocking on Doors… - Posted by Rich

Posted by Rich on March 28, 2006 at 12:36:44:

Agreed. We get a huge pile of mail every day. Much of it does not make it out of the post office - going unread into their recycle bins. That’s one reason it takes so many mailings to get a single response. One note: I do read the stuff on post cards before tossing it and keep interesting looking ones. Opening an envelope takes a lot more time than glancing at a post card.

Just a thought.

Re: Knocking on Doors… - Posted by james

Posted by james on March 27, 2006 at 14:31:00:

So far i make calls, let everyone I come in contacts with know what I am doing, and do mailings, does anyone have any other strong ideas for getting in contact with people. The material I have read said to get signs and put up. But it seems that they get takin down fast in my area. Also it says to place ads in the paper. But when I look its already a lot in there… so I’m tryna figure out some other ways to get in contact with people…