You can buy all the distressed properties that your little heart desires, but if you don’t have a buyer when the time comes to sell, you are out of luck my friend.
Fear not.
You’ve stumbled upon the complete list of everything you need to take your buyer’s list from sad and empty to the most booming list in town.
#1 NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK (FREE)
When it comes to network marketing, the opportunities are endless. You can broaden your exposure, find more leads, and meet some really cool people in the meantime. The good news is, most every investor is super passionate about what they do and can’t wait to talk to people about it. So don’t hold back.
Friends, family, contractors, attorneys, bankers, lenders, city officials, agents and brokers, talk to them all! Keep your business cards on hand at all times and make sure your website is on point because right after you talk to these people they’re going to want to learn more.
Go Forth and Network
Take every opportunity to network and be proactive. Attend local Real Estate Investor Association (REIA) meetings, go to auctions, visit home improvement stores. Anywhere you go just talk about what you do and let people know how to contact you.
Bring Networking to You
Host an educational event where you share your knowledge of what you do. This will give potential buyers a chance to understand your working knowledge and your personality. Becoming a talking head instead of just a bunch of print ads makes a huge difference.
#2 BE ALL OVER THE INTERNET (Can be FREE or PAID)
A recent study from the National Association of Realtors revealed that 92% of buyers use the internet to house hunt. Without an established online presence, you are throwing 92% of buyers out the window. Don’t do that.
So if you aren’t the most tech-savvy guy or gal in the business, make sure to grab the nearest millennial to show you a thing or two so you can conquer these:
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram…if any of these don’t sound familiar to you, open up your browser and research them. Then create and account because these are AWESOME ways to find buyers. You can advertise your properties and share that advertisement in minutes all over the web. Most people use a combination of all five of the bigwig social media sites so make sure to add hyperlinks and #hashtags to all of your postings and connect one to the other.
Whoa! Did that just sound like a foreign language to you?
Click here to find out how to navigate the world of social media.
Blog
Here’s an idea… blog about a house that you are rehabbing and update it each day…or pay someone else to do it for you. Either way, this is awesome to do because you’re constantly speaking with your potential buyers. You’ll quickly realize that people LOVE following rehabs (for further proof flip the channel to HGTV). By getting people excited about a property that they’ve yet to step foot in, you can create a buyer frenzy!
Craigslist
The online classified site sees over 50 billion users each month! It is just foolish not to take advantage of it. If you’ve never used the site take the time to play around on it or get the help of someone who has. You can repost and renew your postings frequently to make sure that you pop up on the top of the search when someone checks on Monday, and when they check on Friday too. Use lots and lots of pictures and remain professional. No one wants to buy a house from some creepy dude on Craigslist.
Websites
A website can showcase your company and your properties. It is a good idea to have a separate website for your buyers and a separate website for your sellers. By directly speaking to your buyers, you eliminate distractions.
Your website needs solid content, simple navigation, video content so people don’t get bored, and of course the ability to capture leads. It’s a good idea to offer a free newsletter and real estate information so that you can collect email addresses.
Squeeze Page
Then you also need a squeeze page. Your market is one giant orange and you want to squeeze all that juicy business out of it to create a nice cold glass of leads. Wait what? When a person visits a squeeze page, they are required to put in simple items such as first name, last name, email, and zip code. Once the information is submitted, it goes in your list and they receive an email. They’re all yours.
#3 HAVE A BLAST SENDING EMAIL BLASTS (PAID)
An email blast is simply an email that you send to a mailing list or large group of people. For you guys and gals, you want to send to other investors, realtors, mortgage brokers, and title agents. It’s best to use a professional email broadcast service to do the job here. This will help to remain in compliance with the laws, stay off those nasty blacklists, and basically maximize your effect. You want to make sure to include a ton of links to your websites and squeeze pages here.
#4 USE REVERSE BANDIT SIGNS (PAID)
Wait what? Reverse bandit signs? Does that mean you turn it around so no one can see it? No, silly! Reversing a bandit sign campaign means that instead of looking for houses to BUY you are advertising to SELL.
We all know exposure provided by a bandit sign campaign is effective. Use many of the same techniques as your typical bandit signs (black and yellow wording, placed in areas with high traffic) but change it around to say Investor Buyers. Include your website and phone number.
Ghost Ads
If you don’t have a real property for sale yet, you can create a ghost ad using a photo of a generic house. You can gain a lot of cash buyers this way.
Call Other Investors
OH…one more thing. You know all of those “We Buy Houses” bandit signs from your competitors? You can call those too to see if there are any investors wanting to buy your property.
#5 DIRECT MAIL YOUR WAY TO THEIR HEARTS (PAID)
When it comes to direct mail campaigns for buyers, remember that even when someone is looking to purchase a home, they have a dream home in mind. If you want to use direct mail, which you should, make sure to use postcards and mailers that explain you as a company and also the types of homes you sell. When it comes to sending mail, consistency is key. If you had to choose between sending 300 letters once to different people, or 100 letters three times to the same people, choose the latter.
With these 5 proven ways build a sky-high buyer’s list, you’re staring success in the face my friend.
Have some ideas or personal experiences with any of these strategies? More to add to the list? Add it to the comment box below and share the wealth!
