Posted by leapfrog on May 20, 1999 at 11:30:13:
It sounds like a solid action plan. One of my specialities as a business consultant (in Canada–but do business internationally) is marketing. Direct mail even for excellent peices only produces 1-3% at best response. As Bill has mentioned and done, by further targetting, you will definately receive an even better response and from that reponse hopefully you’ll be able to make a deal or sale or whatever.
The doorhanger idea is fabulous! Giving lots of information on the brochure/letter isn’t necessarily a bad thing----make sure you have sub-categories with captions—so a person can scan the peice and read whatever section interests them first. If the person reads the piece and makes an effort to contact you, you know the person is serious.
Have you thought of marketing on the net? Have you thought of putting out-- say a monthly newsletter & distributing it either in your preferred area or say to “for sale by owners” Just a thought.
marketing - Posted by A.W.
Posted by A.W. on May 19, 1999 at 15:37:11:
I am just starting with REI and I’d like to focus on flipping and lease optioning. I’m going to start with lease optioning. I would like to run an ad in the paper saying something like this: Can’t sell your home? Lease/Option it. Call 555-555-5555 for a free report. Then they call and listen to a short recording and then leave their name and address. Then I send them a brochure I’ve created that talks about the pros of using lease/options to sell or buy a house. It then explains that I may be able to help them by doing a lease/option on their property and that they should call to discuss it. I may also run a similar ad geared towards buyers.
I have three questions. One, does this sound like a good idea? Two, how much of the whole lease/option process should I put in the brochure? I don’t want to mislead anyone, but I don’t want to give away too much either. And three, are there any legal disclaimers I need to put in the brochure? Thanks in advance!
My Experience - Posted by Bill K. (AZ)
Posted by Bill K. (AZ) on May 19, 1999 at 15:58:01:
A.W.,
You have a good plan there.
I’m in a hot, seller’s market. I found my newspaper ad generated 16 buyer leads for every seller lead. So, it may not be necessary for you to run a separate ad for buyers. After a month of running my “seller” ad, I received 33 buyer leads and only 2 seller leads. The seller leads did not pan out. So, I’m not terribly impressed with the response.
At the same time, I mailed my “Lease/Option” brochure to 134 out-of-state owners of single-family homes in my town. I received 2 responses, and recently completed the purchase of 1 of those properties.
I’m now concentrating on distributing door hangers. The door hangers address sellers, buyers and referrals. I’ve received a much better response rate from sellers with this method of marketing. My seller response rate has increased, and I’m sending out more brochures to interested owners.
Finally, my “Lease/Option” brochure is 3 pages long. It describes the program in detail. That way, when my phone rings, I know that the seller on the other end understands the program completely, and there’s very little selling for me to do. I simply work on getting an appointment to sign a contract.
Don’t worry about “giving away too much”. Few folks would know how to complete a lease/option transaction even if you spelled it all out. Many folks just want to sell their home, and you can make that happen. Additionally, the more exposure this technique receives, the easier it is for your next seller to understand.
I hope this helps.
Bill K. (AZ)