Statistics? - Posted by John Behle
Posted by John Behle on December 14, 1998 at 16:53:16:
I know of no damaging statistics about the note busines. There are some statistics related to some extremely high priced get rich quick programs - THAT IS NOT THE SAME.
There is a particular one that has been attacked a great deal lately. Let me be the first to say that there is some extremely valuable information in the 5 day presentation. I haven’t taken those seminars, but know their roots, background and success rates. I sat through some of the one getting the most heat right now because they were trying to get me to teach for them - so I can speak to the content.
There are a couple problems with the whole scenario - both on the side of the attendee and the seminar promotors.
Let’s start with the “pitch”. They sell it as so simple any one that can fog a mirror can do it. As an employee of mine used to tell people “if it were easy, the Girl Scouts would do it”. The fact that it isn’t as simple as promoted does not mean it can’t work.
Part of why I spend my time on this forum relates to this. Bring the potential “mortgage millionaires” that have attended the seminars here and they can get the tools they lack.
I originally started teaching people about notes for a couple reasons. One is that I do enjoy the teaching. Another is that I learn while teaching. The way my mind works is to come up with ideas and solutions when presented a problem or challenge. That solution then becomes a valuable and profitable technique. I also pick up some new ideas, tidbits and approaches from my students. It’s probably not proper to admit that, but being “politically correct” has never been a high priority to me. My ego doesn’t need to be boosted by pretending I’ve never learned anything from anyone else.
At first, I taught seminars because people asked me to and were excited about the information. Through the years it changed. Much of my motivation became “spin control”. Trying to undo some of the false, watered down, misleading information out there.
The funny thing is I think I respect the many thousands people have paid to learn this business from some of these traveling side shows more than the promotors themselves.
It’s a frustrating position. Someone like “Scott” takes a $7,000 seminar and does nothing with it for over a year. He pays $50 to come take a one day seminar from me on how to find notes. He comes back two weeks later to a one day seminar on how to “fund” notes. He’s puchased 4 notes and invested his daughter’s college fund at 31% yield.
Next time I see him? - On a new infomercial for the promotor of the expensive seminar. Ironic? People can succeed in this business if they are given the right tools. Another one of my students comes up to me at a seminar and tells me how he ran into Bob >>>>> in the same Hotel and was chatting about my student’s successes. He turned down being on Bob’s infomercial and told him he had learned it from me - not him.
Ok, back to the original point. The makeup of the students in these expensive seminars generally (not always, but most) are expecting to learn everything they ever could hope to know or need to know for success. They are then given a sample of the “Cash Flow” industry and a few hours worth of information on each type of cash flow. Not enough to be anything but dangerous. Not enough information to be successful.
The focus is on becoming a bird dog for the instructors or promotors. Some of which actually make some money in the note business and some of which NEVER have.
In one case of an informercial promoted seminar, (not the one Jane Bryant Quinn is attacking - the one she should attack) the so called note people have only been in the business a couple years and have little if any experience. Their funding company that is supposed to be one of the powerhouses of the industry has never been heard of by anyone in the REAL industry.
One early paper informercial promotor went into it solely for the profit of selling seminars at $7,000 a shot. Over several years I only ran into one person that had sold a note to his company. She said she would never go near them again.
SO, some of the so-called education in the area of paper is lacking in depth, reality, and experience and in some cases taught by instructors that have never even done the business. One was actually hired out of a “Silo” store and trained like a monkey to give a presentation.
On the other hand, some of the students at these seminars expect immediate success. “They paid their money - now where’s the profit?” is the attitude of some of them. Many never even make an attempt. Some try and fall on their face for lack of knowledge of the real world. Many fail for lack of learning how to find notes. They fumble around at the County Recorder’s office or sending mailers to lists. A waste of time and money for most. Yet that is all they know.
With what they know, success is like the old Farmer’s advice when asked directions - “YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE”.
It’s like they have been given an incorrect map. That doesn’t mean the destination doesn’t exist. Like the Wizzard of Oz, the road just leads to a huckster behind a curtain making a big show out of smoke and mirrors.
Most of these students have invested so much money they are reluctant to spend a dime more. We targeted some of these students for a series of $50 one day seminars one time. Many were angry at the thought of spending even $50 more - especially when they had been sold on the “fact” that they would learn everything in their expensive seminar.
We’ve even charged as little as $100 for a 5 day advanced course to help get these people going the right direction. I’ve even considered a “Trade in” program. Bring in your used ??? course as a downpayment on a new Behle.
Some that quickly caught the lesson of continuing education and the fact they didn’t know it all have gone on to be successful.
There are extremely successful people in this business. Nothing has changed and the doors haven’t closed for anyone. It just takes some real world education and works best with some day to day training and supervision.
As to a business plan, that is a very individual thing. I would have to know a lot about your circumstances. Like any business and marketing plan, it is best based on a S.W.O.T. analysis. You analyze Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. It involves getting to know your market and competition and looking at your individual strengths. Marketing is the same way. Study is the first step - particularly in the areas of finding and funding notes.
The second step is to study your market. When you’re ready, I’ll go into that with you. If you’re the Stacy that just ordered the video training, I go into all this in the 5 days.
The third step is to test and try things in a risk free manner. This is done through shadowing some deals, apprenticing with someone and “proficiency exercises” to further learn skills and deepen knowledge.
The business works today like it always has. What doesn’t work is sparse, hyped up, impractical information. What does work is learning how to find and fund notes, do your “due-diligence” and profit through creative ideas and techniques.
Proper training makes it so that you can effectively own your local market. You can learn how to make your competition work for you and be your employees.