Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by Tim Jensen

GL, GL, GL… - Posted by JHyre in Ohio

Posted by JHyre in Ohio on March 06, 2002 at 17:06:06:

Man, sometimes it sure is hard to agree with you. Nevertheless, I’m 90% with you. I do not like bandit signs. I think they are seriously ugly and certainly wouldn’t want to live in a neighborhood that permitted them, either at law or in fact. I also have a very high respect for property rights, so you are not likely to find me putting signs on someone’s private property, no matter how overgrown and poorly maintained it is. That just BUGS me. I agree that bad actors reflect bad on the rest of the class(es) to which they belong…trust me, as an attorney, I have lots of experience with that phenomenon. And I DO judge people by what they do…I am a leery of those who take too many shortcuts. I accept that most people take some, but really tend to get on with those who only take very, very tiny ones (jaywalkers & guys who only go 5 over the speed limit). Once the shortcuts get beyond that, the potential for rationalizing anti-social behavior increases dramatically. Fortunately, I know Dave & Tim pretty well, so I take their advertising with a grain of salt…even though I probably wouldn’t engage in it (at least I don’t now, never say never?). It’s ugly and it’s litter…so I disagree with most people who engage in it, though I usually manage to do so without thinking they are scum. One exception: In Houston, there is NO enforcement of any laws that may exist on the subject…to NOT do it there puts one at a competitive disadvantage…so there, I might hold my nose and do it. Maybe. It’s so ugly, I might as well toss a McDonald’s sandwich wrapper out of the window of my car for a similar effect…and litterbugs REALLY burn me up. Who’s rationalizing now, LOL!

Be nice to Tim, he’s a good guy, a distasteful habit notwithstanding.

John Hyre

Re: Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by Tim Jensen

Posted by Tim Jensen on March 06, 2002 at 14:26:01:

GL,

That is an interesting point. I don’t believe thats their motive.

That explains the signs, which I might add I only have one up in the city, but what about me placing business cards out at the meeting or the grumbling that I get my press releases published?

I hope you don’t take this as me being antagonistic. I really would like to hear your point of view.

Thanks,
Tim

Re: I like it… - Posted by JohnBoy

Posted by JohnBoy on March 06, 2002 at 19:05:09:

I don’t know how you could think seeing a bunch of cars and trucks with signs plastered on them any better looking than you-know-what. What difference would it make?

BTW, there are some cities that don’t allow advertising on autos either. They will fine you the same as putting up any other signs. The only exception is for autos that have signs where they own a retail business in town and they use the vehicle for deliveries. That puts us back to that being a law breaking citizen thing again! LOL

Re: My Brilliant Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by brad

Posted by brad on March 06, 2002 at 19:28:02:

oh yea, well i’m going to go one step further.

i’m going to put “WE BUY ALL HOUSES” on my jet.

I fly almost daily between tampa and baltimore and new york and i think this would be an attention grabber at the runway.

you know you’ve been sitting in your plane when its about to take off and have to wait in line and what do you do? you look at all the other planes and jets.

and you’ll see my jet w/ the we buy houses logo on.

brad

Re: My Brilliant Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by Heidi W

Posted by Heidi W on March 06, 2002 at 18:00:23:

Hi Jim,

Are you using Magnetic signs, or what?

I like the idea of no monthly out-go, if I can get enough people interested. I thought about giving a mini - be my bird dog seminar to the folks that sign up as well at that meeting. Since my website has a place for people to submit leads - I could use it for finding VACANT and BOARDED UP properties, or other distressed properties people run across.

I’m not close to actually doing this yet - though…

Have to think through some more.

I do think that Magnetic signs will spend more time off car then on, however…

Re: Why do you care? NT - Posted by Tim Jensen

Posted by Tim Jensen on March 06, 2002 at 19:10:06:

Andrew,

It really was just a topic that pop into my head. I thought I would try and see what others think. It was a spur of the moment thing. I was going to write about something else, but I thought this might be interesting instead.

Jim, had the best way to handle it. I usually take the eat-em and smile approach.

Take Care,
Tim

Re: Ha ha ha ha ha - Posted by garrison

Posted by garrison on March 06, 2002 at 19:30:20:

you can get a gas powered one for less than $300.oo.

sounds expensive but think about how much fun it would be…

g

Re: Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)

Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on March 06, 2002 at 18:50:34:

As an agent, when we put open house signs up, we are limited to how many, and how long they can be up. Regardless if it is a bandit sign, or a open house sign, each city is going to have it’s own sign code that must be followed.

As another pointed out with speeding. We know that if the speed limit is 25 mph and you do 26 mph, it is speeding. You take the risk of getting a ticket when you go over that limit. If you put up 1 sign in a low traffic area in a neighborhood that doesn’t care, that is a small risk like 1 mph over the limit.

However, if you drive 55 mph down that same street, you are going to draw attention and get some notice. Just as if you place 20 signs instead of the 1.

It is all risk when you go beyond any city regulations and you only have yourself to blame if you get cited.

The difference… - Posted by JHyre in Ohio

Posted by JHyre in Ohio on March 06, 2002 at 18:32:40:

in my opinion is that open house signs are removed after a few short hours…I VERY rarely see one up for more than a Sunday afternoon. Generally, each realtor only has one or two up at a time, avoiding the sort of absurd sign proliferation that was common in Houston. They are also almost invariably far less ugly than a piece of tattered signage lying on the roadside.

John Hyre

Re: GL, GL, GL… - Posted by GL(ON)

Posted by GL(ON) on March 06, 2002 at 17:24:18:

You make an interesting point. That even though you agree with me it’s hard to admit it because of my rotten attitude. I don’t know what to do about this. I tried to put my thoughts in a mild but clear form, and he couldn’t see what I was driving at.So I made it more emphatic and he suddenly got sore, after saying that he didn’t care what I thought. This surprised me.

Thank you for having the guts to stick up for me.

I suppose I could agree with everyone and simply repeat the same old ideas that everyone else has, but where would be the fun in that?

It is not my intention to hurt anyone. I’m not going to jump out of your computer and pull out your whistle. Why can’t we have a frank and interesting discussion? And why is it that every time I defend myself, I’m the bad guy?

Re: Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by GL(ON)

Posted by GL(ON) on March 06, 2002 at 14:57:16:

As a good landlord I have a bad reputation I don’t deserve. Every time some jerk landlord does something bad or stupid I cringe a little inside. Illegal bandit signs and trespassing on someone else’s property to nail up your sign without permission fill the bill. How would you like someone painting graffiti on your house? They have just as much right as you have, in other words none.

Now about the cards and the publicity.

A) You should be used to it by now. How many times have you been told by friends and relatives don’t do that, it won’t work, how can you take advantage of people in distress and steal their homes, hi slumlord etc. etc. It’s the same thing in a different form.

B) See first comment above. Maybe they are sore because you are giving them a bad name. On the other hand maybe they are jealous and resentful. In that case they won’t like anything you do because they have a grudge on you. They will do anything that might make you back off.

Re: I like it… - Posted by JHyre in Ohio

Posted by JHyre in Ohio on March 06, 2002 at 19:10:20:

Yeeehoo, here comes the cavalry! Wait, I’m the Indians!

The car signs are not as unattractive as bandit signs, at least not in my unartistic, knuckle-dragging, Phillistine eyes. They do not involve a trespass, and best of all, won’t end up in the gutter after the next rain. I suppose the only real issue is safety…wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt.

Man, advertising is a ROUGH business. But I still think you-know-whats are u-g-l-y, legal or not.

John Hyre

Re: My Brilliant Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by JohnBoy

Posted by JohnBoy on March 06, 2002 at 20:18:24:

Maybe you could do up thousands of little gizmos with “I BUY HOUSES” on them and drop thousands at a time from the plane with little parachutes as you fly over any metropolitan areas???

Re: My Brilliant Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA)

Posted by Tim Fierro (Tacoma, WA) on March 06, 2002 at 19:59:31:

We don’t have a logo yet, but putting it on a jet would be kind of cool. GEE! Having a jet would be cool!

If you did do it, you would need to set up a referral network for the leads.

Attention St. Louis investors, I just flew by St. Louis international and got a lead, do you want it?

4 Hours Later
Attention Atlanta investors, I just flew by Atlanta International and got a lead in Sandy Springs, do you want it?

PS: For any lead that you make a deal with, please send the referral fee to my P.O. Box. I travel a lot. :slight_smile:

Re: My Brilliant Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by Jim FL

Posted by Jim FL on March 06, 2002 at 18:48:51:

Heidi,
I agree that magnet signs are less likely to remain on the car.
But, here was my thinking.
A magnet sign can be removed, so if someone wants to take their car somewhere and not advertise for me, they have this option.
Also, the vinyl letters being “Stuck” to the vehicle may very well turn off some potential ad carriers.
Plus, the magnet signs can be moved to a different vehicle rather easily, and used over and over.

Not to mention the fact that I got all the sets of magnets for a GREAT price from my sign maker.
They can be placed on any size vehicle, and not block the windows as well.
With the variety of vehicles people drive these days, I would have a hard time getting a vinyl set of signs or letters to fit them all, unless they were small.
The magnets stick out as well, because no matter the color of the vehicle, my signs all the look the same.

Again, this is a new thing for me here, so we shall see how it works.
As always, it is a work in progress.

Good luck to you,
Jim FL

And fully deductible! (nt) - Posted by JHyre in Ohio

Posted by JHyre in Ohio on March 06, 2002 at 19:36:14:

nt

Re: Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by Randy_OH

Posted by Randy_OH on March 06, 2002 at 20:03:52:

Not sure I see your point, but why couldn’t bandit signs be handled the same way as open house signs? And if they were, would that be okay?? If you want to answer, please skip the part about speed limits.

Re: The difference… - Posted by Randy_OH

Posted by Randy_OH on March 06, 2002 at 20:07:16:

Well, if bandit signs were handled the same way, would you have a problem with them?

Re: GL, GL, GL… - Posted by JHyre in Ohio

Posted by JHyre in Ohio on March 06, 2002 at 17:31:43:

Cause you are as smooth as 20-minute old rotgut…and as you point out, people remember things. I could probably say the same thing that you did to Tim and catch less flak…he’d probably wonder if I had a lonely night or urine in my cereal. That’s life. I think that you add to this group and inspire lots of fun debate- at least fun for everyone but you. Try a spoonful of sugar, it makes the medicine go down. I learned this the hard way…I disagree with EVERYONE on SOMETHING, and usually managed to focus on the disagreement. I now focus more on common agreement and try to depersonalize (NOT de-emphasize) disagreement, except where pretty serious issues are at stake…probably explains why I have a hard time being nice to left-wingers. Hey, I HAVE standards, dogone it!

John Hyre

Re: Marketing Idea Of The Month - Posted by Tim Jensen

Posted by Tim Jensen on March 06, 2002 at 15:27:41:

GL,

There is a big difference between graffiti and a sign. Signs can be taken down with no problem. Graffiti requires painting over. Funny thing about the signs. NOT ONE PROPERY OWNER CALLED. Thats right not one person I put a sign on their property called. Now, these were not properties that were newly boarded. They had boards on them for years. I guess my sign really made the house and neighborhood bad. After I took the signs down, you really couldn’t notice the tall grass, garbage and deteriorating buildings as much.

I can see your point about the signs, but let face facts GL. Do you really think that these other investors were really concerned about the image of the industry? Hardly. I am not sure whether or not you are playing devil’s advocate, but we are grown ups here. In an area where there are rundown slums, drug dealing, shootings, and crime. Do you really think these investors are caring about image? Bottom line, they are a upset because another investor is aggressive and probably getting more calls then they are.

If the owners of these properties called. I would have apologized to them, tell them that the signs would come down that day , then ask them if they wanted to sell.

Take Care,
Tim