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It’s awesome because once you know the formula of how to do this, its just do it again and keep going and going and see how you can grow it.Brian Rockwell
I always get excited when I get to do these types of CarrotCasts when I bring on a client of ours who has a great, great story. And the client that I’m bringing on in this episode is Brian Rockwell. This CarrotCast is pretty compelling and hopefully, it’s going to speak to everyone about patience and swift and focused execution when you decide to make things happen.
He didn’t use the excuses of, “There’s way too much competition.” He didn’t use the excuses of, “I already see Carrot sites everywhere.” He didn’t use any excuses of “I’ve never done a deal.” He went out there, executed according to what we laid out, our plan for him. He executed it. He carved out time to study. He carved out time to implement, he carved out a budget, and he did $80,000 in wholesale fees in March.
You’re also going to be able to learn how he’s executed like mad as a newer investor, not having all the advantages that you do with experience and credibility and how he went after and executed with one marketing plan, on one way of getting clients now with building up momentum over the long term with another way of getting clients, and how he’s turning those into profits.
He eliminated emotion from his wholesaling real estate decisions by setting a solid marketing budget that is 100% based off of data and math. Magically that turned into amazing results for him.
You’re going to love his story, how he went from junior high teacher and baseball coach, and a 12-year journey on starting being a real estate investor from thinking about it to taking the action on it.
So listen to this episode of the CarrotCast and check out the other episodes at carrotcast.com.
Listen to the Podcast
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Listen in and hear how Brian took action and within three months he’s doing $80,000 a month in revenue from online marketing…
1:35 – Who is Brian Rockwell? 3:00 – What originally got Brian locked into real estate and his 12-year journey. 7:20 – Closing the first deal and what his business strategy looks like right now. 12:25 – Breaking down the online marketing mindset. 14:45 – Dissecting Brian’s formula for wholesaling real estate success. 18:05 – Why his About page on his Carrot site has been effective in building credibility.
Rockwell Homes LLC Our Company Page
20:55 – The importance of integrity and customer service — building a set of strong core values.
Rockwell Homes LLC Core Values
23:55 – Why it’s so darn important to utilize testimonials to build credibility. 27:00 – Going from an SEO mindset to PPC in one of the most competitive markets in the country. How long it took Brian to start closing PPC deals. 30:30 – Brian’s PPC budget and the formula he uses to expand upon that budget. 36:05 – How he found Carrot and why he decided to commit to the Carrot system. 38:25 – What is Brian’s “Why” and some of his big goals. 41:25 – “Having a greater impact on the world” – Entrepreneurship done right. 44:35 – Why sellers have chosen to work with him and how his website has factored. 45:45 – What hesitations he had with Carrot before joining. 48:30 – Brian’s final advice for someone searching for wholesaling real estate success – “Trust the Carrot System.”
Think of the companies that you admire. Think of the companies that you work with all the time. Oftentimes, the ones that you really admire and you keep on buying from over and over again — think Amazon or Apple or name the local one that you really appreciate — each and every time, they all have something called a unique selling proposition (USP).
USP: Their unique advantage that they serve in the market. It’s something that no one else can claim but them.
One thing that a lot of real estate investors and agents don’t do is they don’t come up with their own version of their USP real estate pitch.
They put out the exact same message that every single person in their market is putting out. If you’re a real estate agent, “Hey, we can sell your house. We can show you homes.”
Everyone Is Saying The Same Thing
What are you doing to separate yourself from the 400 other agents in your market?
If you’re a house buyer or house flipper, what are you doing to show the sellers or buyers or tenants that you guys are different?
The thing is you go to nine out of 10 real estate investor websites are going to be showing the exact same message.
They’re going to be saying, “Hey, we can buy houses. We can buy them fast.” You know, “Fast cash closing.” Those types of things.
If you’re saying the same thing, how is it that someone is going to choose to work with you versus working with someone else?
That’s what we’re going to be talking about today on this Whiteboard Strategy Sketch is a unique selling proposition.
Especially in the cluttered market right now. The market’s going up, which means a lot of investors want to pile in and start flipping houses or wholesaling. A lot of real estate agent prospects are piling in there, wanting to sell houses, because it’s easy today. How do you stand apart?
The Solution: Having A Unique Selling Proposition For Your Real Estate Business
The people who are doing that are the ones winning the market. The people who are not doing that are going to close some deals probably, just by the sheer mathematics of getting leads, but the ones who are actually coming with a unique selling proposition are going to be here through the market cycle.
They’re going to be here in the next cycle. They’re going to be here in a year, in two years, in five years. All right, so a unique selling proposition is the key.
What’s Your Unique Advantage?
The first thing is, what’s your unique advantage? What is it that you have that no one else can claim? This goes directly into the next one. No one can claim the same thing. Okay, so this is something where it could be your experience.
It could be a unique process that you have in your business. It could be the credibility that you have based on the experience that you have. What is it that no one in your market can claim the same?
As an example, we’re working with a local real estate brokerage here. They are the number one, the largest, privately-held brokerage in Douglas County which is sweet. No one can claim the same thing.
That’s one of their unique selling propositions. They probably have several others. One of the other unique selling propositions, they’re amazing at commercial real estate.
No one can claim the same, that they have two CCIM-accredited brokers that are specialized in commercial. That’s something that’s an advantage to them.
If you don’t pull that out and put it in your marketing, put it on your website, then you’re not using your unique process, your unique selling advantage, as an advantage.
A Few Examples
Another one, your unique selling proposition creates a massive advantage in the market. With Carrot, let’s kind of bring it home to us.
We don’t just put out websites or software, okay? If we did that, we would be one of the many others who do that, but we have a unique selling proposition. Our unique selling proposition is you get better results when you work with us.
You get a higher ROI with your ad spend. You get a higher ROI with your marketing. Okay, we’re going to help you with our software and our training and our support to get a better result, so you have less of what we call phantom expenses: fewer things where you get a lower ROI because of underperformance.
That’s one of our unique selling propositions out of many.
What is the one advantage that you have? One company that you guys have probably heard of, it’s a national company. It’s actually a Silicon Valley-funded company called Opendoor.
Many of you guys have heard of Opendoor. They’re in Phoenix. They’re in LA now, in Las Vegas I think too. If you go to their website, and people are wondering, “Why is Opendoor doing so well?” They’re doing a lot of direct mail. They’re doing a lot of online marketing. What is it about them that’s doing so well? If you go to their website, number one, they’re insanely, insanely transparent about their offer process.
There are no questions on exactly how they come about a price to offer the seller. That’s a unique advantage because all of their competitors are hiding the way that they come up with their offer.
If you’re one of the people who is just saying, “Oh, I’ll offer you money. I’ll offer to buy your house,” but you’re not uncovering the process in how you do that so they know that it’s a fair process, then you’re at a unique disadvantage to a company like Opendoor. They’ve got that unique advantage.
Another thing on their website if you check it out, they’ve been a part of over 4,000 transactions.
No one can claim the exact same number because that’s unique to them.
Put that on your website. If you’re an experienced investor and you’ve done 20 transactions or hundreds or whatever it is, use that unique advantage to your own benefit. Put on there, “Hey, helped hundreds of local home buyers, helped hundreds of local home sellers,” that’s unique to you specifically, or use the exact number, even better.
Maybe you have an insanely high rating on Zillow. You’re the number one agent on Zillow. No one else can claim that but you.
Maybe you are the number one commercial or you’re the number one North Umpqua River, that’s a river that we have here, one of the rivers here in Roseburg, you’re the number one river real estate agent in the entire area. Claim that if you can claim it.
Then challenge your other competitors to come over the top of you and claim that space.
It’s Hard To Win Without A USP
What is your unique selling proposition? If you don’t have one, the likelihood of you crushing it in this market and being here through the market cycle is probably pretty low.
If you’re a new investor, you might be going,
“Oh my gosh, I don’t have a unique selling proposition. Does that mean I should quit my business right now?”
The answer is no. There is something unique about you that you need to put out there. If you don’t have something, you really do need to work on it. You should also look at your business model. Don’t just copy the business model from your coach.
Find a way that you can make it better. What in your process can you do that’s different? What in your process can you do, in your offering process that you can do that’s different or better?
Express Homebuyers out of Baltimore, okay, they have done over 2,500 real estate transactions buying and selling homes themselves. One of their unique selling propositions is they’re going to get you an offer within like seven minutes, I think it’s something like. Don’t quote me on that, but it’s something like that. All their advertising hones in on this one USP: get an offer within seven minutes. That’s their claim to fame.
What is yours? Find your unique selling proposition.
Put it into all of your marketing so you have something that’s clearly, clearly different than your competition.
How serious are you to build your business? You have to have a unique selling proposition.
Otherwise, no one’s going to think you’re unique, and you’re a commodity, so go out there and do it today!
What if you could read the mind of the motivated seller? Meaning, what if you could send the right message to the right person at the right time?
Unfortunately, the internet provides a threat to match its opportunity. While powerful, the internet’s power can easily be strangled by its formidable size. Quickly, it becomes a source of crowded destruction instead of open possibility.
The real estate market is increasingly competitive because it’s increasingly cluttered, making the dream of reading the house seller’s mind, at the least, difficult, and at the worst, debilitating.
But here at Carrot, we hate letting dreams die.
Every year, our clients pull in over 400,000 online leads, giving us a very special position to speak to what’s happening in the real estate market.
Even though the market is more crowded than ever before, by accepting this density and optimizing your customer experience for the motivated seller, that crowded room becomes a pleasant dinner party. And you’re the host.
So, how do you cater and attract a motivated house seller?
Well, you need to know what the motivated seller thinks, wants, and does. Lucky for you, we crunched some numbers, ran some tests, and stepped into their mind… using a significant and varying sample size, specific to all seller websites we host.
And we want to share what we learned.
So, before we finish wiping off brain matter, here’s how the motivated seller makes the decision on who they’re going to work with when selling their house… based on our years of research and understanding the “decision lifecyle” of the average motivated house seller.
Let’s Get Inside The Mind Of A Motivated House Seller On Their Path To Choosing A Company That Can Solve Their House Problem
Step 1: Problem Aware
The house seller knows they have a problem… but aren’t sure how to best solve it. This is where you come in…
At this stage the motivated house seller is thinking…
“I need to get this house sold, like soon.”
This is the birth of the motivated seller.
Maybe they received a job in a new state, a family has fallen sick, foreclosure, inherited a house, going through a divorce, or just simply have a house that needs lots of repairs that they don’t want to deal with. Regardless of the reason, life circumstances spiked their curiosity in the selling process and they start exploring the possibility.
First and foremost, the seller wants to know how much they can likely sell their house for. They’ll likely visit Zillow, update their house information, and then check out their Zestimate.
But, while Zillow offers convenience, John Wake’s guess work, on Real Estate Decoded, estimates that Zestimate’s typical error is plus or minus 14,000 dollars.
And whether the motivated seller has run their own tests or not, their trust for this system is limited. It offers a curiosity-sating foundation, but not a real-time solution.
Which is good. Because you are the real-time solution they are looking for.
That takes us to the seller’s second dig: they contact someone who can answer their questions in greater depth.
Likely, this is someone the motivated seller’s acquainted with, whether it be a friend, a Facebook ad, or a Twitter feed. Whatever the case, they are looking to make phone calls and get answers.
It’s your job to (1) get them to call you, and (2) provide those answers.
Here’s how.
1. Get In Front Of Them Where They Search… Google
House sellers will hit Google to search things like “how to sell my house fast” or “selling a house in divorce in dallas” to find basic info about their options.
If you’re ranked high in Google with SEO or PPC and you deliver great content on your site that clearly shows them that you have a service that can solve their problem… you’ve just met them exactly where they are in the decision cycle.
2. Direct Mail
At this point, your prospect is also now receptive to marketing messages that look like they’ll solve their problem.
You dig through the mail. After tossing the credit card offers and ripping up the bills you’ll just pay online later, you come across a handwritten letter. Whoa! That’s unusual, you think. You quickly check your mental calendar to see if today is your birthday. Maybe your aunt has sent a card with $5 inside. Nope. What’s going on?
Maybe the letter is from the local movie theater, maybe it’s from a church, or maybe it’s from a local real estate investor.
Maybe it’s from you.
The point is that everyone gets a lot of mail, but if you make your letter stand out from the rest, people will feel that much more a part of your tribe.
Direct mail isn’t dead. In fact, since it is slower than nearly every other medium of communication, that snail-like pace has romanticized its effect. Like candlelight and bathtubs, the receiver feels like they’ve been transported back to better, more personal, times, and because of that, it has an intimate feel… if it’s done right.
12-point Direct Mail Checklist for Real Estate Investors and Agents
A checklist to ensure consistently remarkable mailers that generate leads, grow your business revenue and make your campaigns more sustainable.
3. Social Media Presence
Don’t break the bank for Facebook advertisements. But do maintain a social media presence — post on your account regularly — as a preemptive strike to the motivated seller’s subconscious.
When trying to decide who to contact with all of their questions, the seller thinks, “Hey, I remember seeing real estate investor, Joe the Pro’s [this is you], posts on Facebook. He seems like he knows what he’s doing. I’ll contact him!”
In fact, second, only to Direct traffic, Social Media wins when it comes to acquiring new sessions on your website.
Some ads that just let them know your service exists will be perfect for this phase. Like…
or…
Play with the endgame in mind. The more people who notice you on Social Media, the more people who’ll contact you when they decide to sell their house — which we all will at some point.
Marketing Tips For This Phase:
Do more broad marketing as targeted as possible
Focus on just letting them know you have a service that can solve their biggest needs (speed, convenience, no fees, no agents, etc.)
Bonus: Have your ads drag them to the next phase (Solution Aware and Vetting / Verifying) w/ testimonials in your ads
Step 2: Solution Aware
They know their basic options, agents vs. investors… they just need to research more to see what’s best for them.
At this phase the house seller is likely thinking…
Ok, cool… it looks like there’s options… but how are agents different vs. investors and which is best for me?
At this point, the motivated seller Google’s phrases such as, “Sell my house fast [insert their location],” “Agent vs. Investor,” or “Professional home buyers.” They’ve decided to sell their house, now they’re deciding the best way to go about it.
It’s critical that you get noticed.
Why?
Because our data shows that motivated sellers aren’t wasting any time. They make a decision on who to work with faster than you can paint a bedroom: 0-days fast.
You need to be prepared for this. When the motivated seller decides who to work with, if you’re not able to answer their questions, someone else is, and they’ll choose that someone else.
Here’s how to raise your hand first.
The One Mindset Difference Between Top-performing Real Estate Investors and Everyone Else
Learn the dead-simple difference between those who build thriving businesses and those who never fulfill their dreams or goals.
4. Content Structure That Pulls The Prospect To The Next Phase Effortlessly
Most websites and marketing don’t think through the order that their prospect thinks when making a decision. They don’t take into account what info the house seller needs to have before the next piece of info will be useful to them.
Take a look at this Carrot site as an example… from a client who has been a part of over 3,000 transactions.
This Content Flows The Way Sellers Make Decisions: Does Yours?
Notice the order of the navigation on the site. First we meet the seller at “problem aware” (hey, we can buy your house!), then educates them on the solution, then builds credibility and guides to the call to action. Bam.
Does your marketing skip phases and leave your prospect hanging with questions?
Or does your site only focus on making sure they know you can buy a house but not on pulling them through the next phases proactively?
5. Blogging
The sheer amount of blogs on the internet is debilitating. It seems like everyone and their pet blogs.
But, as you know, since everyone else is doing it, it’s hard to get noticed if you’re not.
The good news, though, is that even with the massive amount of online content, the motivated seller isn’t threatened. They still view blogs and spend an average duration of 1:05 looking.
Due to the increased visibility it creates, your blog is a great way to answer the motivated seller’s questions as they type them into Google, increasing traffic, forcing you to learn your stuff, and building relationships with the people who want to help you make money.
If you want to take up blogging — which you should — check out our post on how to do that, with actionable examples.
When the motivated seller searches, “Sell my house quick in Roseburg, Oregon,” you’ll be at the top. Because other real estate investors aren’t including “Roseburg, Oregon” in their content.
Unless, of course, they also work in Roseburg…
But it’s a whole lot easier to compete with a few local real estate investors than it is the whole nation. Since you’re not selling or buying properties in every state, don’t create content that competes nationwide. Create content that competes locally and you’ll be more visible to the people who matter.
7. Ads That Compare + Educate On The Options + Process
In this phase, you can’t keep on sending people ads and direct mail that just tells them that you can buy their house. They already know. So here’s where you need to retarget your prospects w/ ads that educate and compare… while at the same time adding credibility to pull them to the next phase.
Like…
… and one of our own (one of the highest performing ads we have, it drives to a blog post of ours)
Marketing Tips For This Phase:
Start to retarget your prospects on Facebook with a mix of ads that educate and compare. Comparing your USP to theirs is critical
Build your website and your marketing so it flows the way your prospects decide
Bonus: Again, if you can have a testimonial do the heavy work for you, educating your prospect for you… it automatically pulls the prospect past the next phase… building credibility for you in the process
Step 3: Vetting and Verifying
The seller recognizes their problem, they know the basics of the options… but who should they work with?
In this phase the seller knows they have a problem that they want to be solved fast, they basically know the options and how they work… but now their main question is…
Which company should I work with? Which is the most credible?
They’re asking if they want to work with you. Your job is to convince them that they do.
How?
The homepage is where the motivated seller often lands, and not just lands, but commits… or at least turns into a lead.
If they’re not ready to become a lead… they then explore the website to find answers to their questions or verify suspicions.
What Pages Do Most Most Leads Come From? [our data]
Notice that of the 16,000 seller leads in this data set over a period of time for Carrot clients, 5,000 of those leads weren’t ready to opt in on the home page. They searched for more info instead…
Since the homepage is playing such a significant role in determining your leads and, thus, your conversions, here’s a few things to think about when trying to attract motivated sellers.
Don’t just cater for those ready to opt in right now, include robust content that builds your expertise, credibility, and makes it easy for them to contact you
But how can you best build credibility and get an edge on your competition since your prospect already knows that you both can provide essentially the same service?
Let’s start here…
8. Easy Contact Options + Great About Page
The ease with which you create this page is not equal to the breadth of its importance.
Overall of the seller websites we host, the “contact us” page sports compelling numbers.
For an even faster transition from homepage to lead, provide the option to bypass the “Contact Us” page with a “Call Us: XXX-XXX-XXXX” CTA.
Notice The Interaction With The Easy Opt-In Form And Phone Number
As you can tell, a Christmas tree would have trouble competing with that red-hot dot. Consider putting your phone number on the homepage to reduce the number of clicks needed to go from viewer to lead. Fewer clicks mean more conversions.
During this beginning phase, the seller has a lot of questions. Your “Contact Us” page, or “Call Us” corner, gives them the opportunity to get in touch with you and inquire. You’ll be positioned like a pro and, more importantly, make a valuable connection.
Also, as the seller does their research… they’ll hit your about page.
A Heat Map Of A Carrot Clients Site: Our Company Is Hot
This is very common… actually we see this on almost every test we’ve ran over the past 4 years… and that’s a lot of tests. The Our Company page is where your prospects go to see who you are.
A Heat Map Of Our Site (previous version) Shows The Same
Yep, we use data for our own business just like we do to help you get better results in your business as a Carrot client :-)
Get faces on your About Page like Carrot clients CR Homes of Maryland.
Show them ads that build your credibility… seller testimonials are great for this.
On this website, our heatmap shows that testimonials are playing a critical role.
Notice the red spot over the “testimonials” link. Time and time again we see heavy engagement on testimonials on sites across our system.
Like…
Notice how this investor filmed a video of their client and put up a well formatted testimonial on their site. Turn this into a Facebook ad and you’re golden.
And make sure to use credibility badges where you can to add that 3rd party validation to your credibility profile.
And last, make sure to control your brand conversation online when people are verifying and vetting your brand through Google searches. Like…
Your Sellers Are Actively Searching For Reviews + Your Reputation… What Do They See?
Hopefully you’re controlling the conversation around your brand so your sellers don’t bail at the last moment in this phase. Control it like this…
Notice How Their BBB Profile, Facebook, And Carrot Site Control The Brand Convo
The biggest missing factor in your ads, your direct mail, and your online marketing strategy is credibility. Credibility trumps any marketing tactic out there.
If you’re offering the same service as the next guy, it’s going to come down to credibility and your offer. That’s it.
10. Clarity
Stumbling upon a cluttered website is an immediate no-go for the motivated seller. Where clarity communicates professionalism and ease of use, clutter communicates a lack thereof.
But what is clutter?
Clutter might translate into the too-much-stuff-on-one-page category, but not necessarily. Consider the apparent “clutter” of a top online store, Amazon.
What Is Clutter? It’s Not Clutter If It Get’s You What You Need…
Amazon is the world’s most optimized ecommerce website. It’s also one of the most “cluttered” according to people. Clutter is only cluttered if it doesn’t help the prospect find what they want.
As you can tell, there’s a lot going on. And this goings-on could easily be classified as clutter.
And yet, they’re winning.
Don’t think of clutter as having too much on a single web page, think of clutter as having too much that distracts from your CTA. Amazon wants you to get lost in the shopping experience, and thus it shows you a plethora of items you may or may not be interested in, much like browsing at the mall.
But you’re not trying to sell products ranging from laundry detergent to Harry Potter collectibles.
Your product is an easy and fast process for the house seller.
To sell that, you don’t want a lot of action items.
As a bad example, consider this website… for whom the brand name has been blocked out.
This website is a disaster. Most importantly, It has painfully positioned CTA’s…
With this many Call’s To Action, you can be sure that none deliver. This is clutter. Clutter means that when someone visits your website, they’re not sure what you offer, or where you want them to click.
In contrast, clean and clear as a windexed window, check out this example.
Full Of The RIGHT Information But Not Devoid Of The Info
Your Prospect Needs To Advance To The Next Phase
This homepage immediately communicates what it offers, whether or not I — the motivated seller — am in the right place, and what I should do if I am (fill out the information).
A website this clean will perform better simply because it communicates better. Get harsh on your own website and, if needed, ask for an opinion from a friend — a friend who’ll be honest.
Because having a mobile-friendly website is as important for visitors as having toilet paper for house-guests. It’s just expected.
Marketing Tips For This Phase:
After someone opts into your site, retarget them on Facebook with testimonial ads
Build a physical credibility packet and mail that to your prospects overnight, email it to them, and take it to your in-person meetings
Add at least 5-10 great testimonials formatted correctly to your site
Build reviews on 3rd party sites like the BBB, your Facebook page, and Google local.
Step 4: Making The Decision
Here, they’re ready to decide. Are you making it easy?
At this phase the motivated house seller is likely thinking…
Ok, lets get them to give me an offer… then I’ll pick the best fit.
Are you making it easy and are you reinforcing their decision to work with you EVEN AFTER THEY CALL YOU OR OPT IN?
The motivated seller has taken the first step, but still, they could abandon.
However, it is too early for you to give up.
There are two primary tools in your arsenal to make them comfortable, and they both focus on transparency: honesty about what you offer, what the seller should expect, how a price is decided, and who you are.
The two tools are (1) the How It Works page and (2) the About Us page.
12. A “How It Works” Page
The “how it works” page is clicked wildly, so don’t hesitate to make this a priority.
See This Part Of A Recent Heat Map On A Carrot Site
The “How It Works” page is very active… your sellers in the “Solution Aware” and “Verifying” phases are really looking for clarity on your process. How you make your offers, what the process looks like, etc.
But, be careful that you don’t over explain. The seller has questions, but they aren’t in regard to the nitty gritty of your job. Their questions are in regard to how you will benefit them and what they need to do to make it happen.
It can be hard to anticipate all of these questions, so here’s a list of the ones you must answer.
How long until you contact me?
What happens when you contact me?
How is a price decided?
After we agree on a price, when do I get my money?
They make it easy to understand, quick to read, and, most importantly, only answer the questions that the motivated seller is asking.
13. A Strong Hero Section
Like every great story, someone needs to save the day… or rather, something. And that something should be your product.
Your hero should sit at the top of the homepage and quickly tell the visitor that (1) they’re in the right place and (2) you’re here to solve their problems.
As you can tell on the below heatmap, the hero is viewed as often as the bat-signal is flicked.
Don’t get creative at the cost of clarity. Your hero should be similar to the above. Something regarding selling fast, since you’re marketing to the motivated seller, and location, because the motivated seller is searching for someone in their area.
Once the seller is convinced that you’re the hero they’re looking for, it’s time to swoop in and actually save the day.
14. A Clear CTA (Call To Action)
Everyone loves this part of the story. This is where the motivated seller takes the first leap, which is usually providing you with contact information.
This is your first CTA, and arguably, the most important.
If the motivated seller doesn’t give you permission to contact them, they aren’t serious about working with you.
Since your business goes nowhere without this first step, it’s important to make it simple, directly after the hero, and, ultimately, the focus of your homepage.
Consider how your eyes flow first to the hero of this snapshot, and then seamlessly to the CTA.
Also, consider this example, differing in setup, but equally effective in conversion.
Whatever the hero to CTA transition on your website, make sure it’s obvious and smooth. Since the motivated seller is in a hurry, your homepage should be too.
Heck, even put clear calls to action in your Facebooks ads at this phase, like…
15. Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up
Often times they’re just not ready to make a decision yet.
So make sure you’re putting your leads into an email, text, and possibly direct mail followup system.
We see clients pulling deals out 6+ months later after the lead initially came in.
The One Mindset Difference Between Top-performing Real Estate Investors and Everyone Else
Learn the dead-simple difference between those who build thriving businesses and those who never fulfill their dreams or goals.
Schedule The “8 Word Email” To Go Out In 6 Months
Don’t over complicate your follow up with a big pitch. Just ask them if they still need to sell. Your only goal is to engage them in a conversation.
Marketing Tips For This Phase:
Create a simple email sequence that goes out 6+ months. At month 4-6 hit them w/ the “8-word email”
Have Facebook ads that ask… “Still need to sell your house?”… then drive them to a testimonial on your site
Make it easy for people to get in touch with you… phone, text, opt-in online
Step 5: Turn Clients Into Testimonials Then Repeat The Above
At this point, you’ve got a client and closed deal! But the work doesn’t stop…
Right here your client is happy with the service, and this is the best time for you to ask for a testimonial or referral.
Adjust Your Marketing + Messaging To Pull Clients Through The Decision Lifecycle
Whew! That was a lot.
But this is the difference between the A Players in real estate marketing and the B or C players.
Most investors make all of their marketing focus on just one or two of the phases… and leave it open for their competitors to better connect with the prospect when the prospect needs it most.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
So… go out and find where you can better cater your marketing toward the phase of the decision lifecyle your motivated house sellers are in.
Here’s a recap…
And what to do about it…
SEO and PPC for problem aware people looking for solutions
Canvas direct mail to those likely to be problem aware
Engage on social (broad ads)
Structure content to pull people to the next phase
Blog (show your expertise)
Local content
Ads that compare + educate
Great about page and clear contact info
Build your credibility
Clearly, relay the message of how you can help them
Focus on mobile
Great How It Works page
Strong hero section on your website
Clear call to action
Follow Up, Follow Up, Follow Up
Don’t hesitate. Don’t procrastinate.
Go crush it like the mind-reading real estate guru you are.
Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below!
Add humanity back to business and help people regain more precious time for the things that matter in life. Carrot Mission
What is our vision here at Carrot for the next 5 years? In this short CarrotCast our CEO Trevor talks about the history of Carrot, our product, where we’re going, and the Advanced Marketers Plan…
1:15 – Brief Carrot history: The Carrot business model in 2013. 4:05 – Doubling down in 2014: Creating a platform for positive change and solving the lead generation problem. What has to happen to build websites that are based on performance? 9:40 – What Carrot has cooking in the kitchen now? 11:25 – Casting a vision for 2017. How to build more online credibility and bust through with SEO when markets are cluttered and inflated. 14:30 – [New Product Feature] – SEO Keyword Ranking Tracker. What it is and why we built it.
15:10 – Rolling out The Advanced Marketer Plan – Carrot’s first new plan in 3 years. As the market shifts, you need to be able to:
The Advanced Marketer Plan will help you with these tasks and much more!
17:00 – What Carrot is crazy excited about in the coming months and years. 17:45 – Adding to the Carrot Team. 18:25 – Rolling out AgentCarrot and the vision for our product for the rest of 2017.
Have questions? Reach out to us for more information about Carrot’s new products and plans at support.carrot.com.
Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below!
When you’re confident with whatever it is, you expect the result. You’re not hoping for it – you expect it. So you can say “hey, here’s what we’re going to do and you can just lead.” I think when you’re starting out, your confidence is more like you’re not sure what to do, and I think that is picked up on. Gary Horton
While most of the real estate market is flooding into flipping houses or wholesaling houses… savvy investors are looking at the gaps in the market where there is an outsized opportunity vs. competition level.
When Carrot client Gary Horton hit a wall wholesaling real estate in San Diego he tested out flipping vacant land… and hasn’t looked back since.
Now Gary buys and sells land all over the West Coast, from his house (or office), does 8-9 flips per month, and barely has any competition.
In this episode, Gary lays out his entire business model from start to finish. His marketing, how he targets sellers, how he sells his properties, his margins, how he does online marketing to drive consistent land deals… EVERYTHING.
Dive in and listen to Gary’s story and get inspired to go down the path less traveled.
3:20 – Gary’s backstory — Who he is and working a career that he didn’t love. 6:00 – Building confidence and credibility to leave his job and close his first deal. 9:30 – Why he decided to pivot from the truly motivated house seller market to flipping vacant land. 12:45 – Knowing your strengths and weaknesses can save you a lot of pain and time. Walking through the Kolbe Index test. 15:50 – The nuts and bolts of land flipping. 20:30 – Cracking the land flipping code — making the move and dealing with the responsibility that came with it. 23:15 – Gary’s land-buying business model: Buying Baltic Avenue instead of Park Place.
27:55 – What types of situations are the sellers going through to sell their land so cheap? And the strategy behind his direct mail campaigns. 32:05 – The leads from his Carrot website have been very good. Find out how that has helped him open the door for more investment opportunities. 34:35 – How searchers are finding his website: SEO and AdWords on a $1 per day budget. 38:25 – Find out his online stats, such as how he’s been able to profit over $40,000 and only spend $322 on AdWords.
42:50 – Building up a seller financing land business that is consistent, predictable, and low-risk. 45:20 – His rule of thumb of pulling a list and what to look for when finding a sweet land buying niche. 48:50 – Diving in deeper into what one of those land buying niche opportunities looks like: From dream communities to land buyers paradise. 52:05 – Land SELLERS: How to market your land listings. 1:01:30 – What are some of Gary’s goals he’s pushing? 1:10:30 – Why he chose Carrot and what it meant to his business.
Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below!
I ask myself the question, ‘How can I be better?’ Because, if content is about cutting through the clutter and getting to the top of rankings, then I have to stand out when I write my content.” Mike Blankenship
How do you put together remarkable pieces of content as a real estate investor or agent on the web that are useful and effective?
How do you get people to see it?
Creating content can seem like a daunting task.
On this episode of the CarrotCast, Carrot Content Strategist, Mike Blankenship, and Trevor Mauch discuss the practical things you can do to seamlessly produce any piece of content, from the birth of an idea to the publication of a post. And, give actionable tips to make your content better, build more credibility and help more people with great content.
Be sure to listen to our other episodes of the CarrotCast at www.carrotcast.com.
Listen to the Podcast
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In This CarrotCast On Creating Remarkable Content For Real Estate Investors And Agents, we discuss…
4:30 – People say“content marketing isn’t going to work for me” – how to make content marketing work for your business if you’re in a market that doesn’t have a lot of competition. 8:20 – How do you make your content marketing effective in a competitive market? Cutting through the market by solving a problem for your audience. 11:00 – The first step to creating content. The process for coming up with ideas and tools to find those ideas. 13:45 – Why every piece of content should be solving a problem for your audience. 14:55 – After finding an idea to write about and performing some keyword research, what is the next step to crafting useful content that is also great for SEO and social shares? 18:35 – Do this one thing after you’ve chosen a solid idea. 22:30 – Before you get started writing, find out how to outline an article and why it’s important to write about topics you truly enjoy. Take a look at one of Trevor’s favorite pieces that he’s published:
27:30 – Mike walks through his process for writing long pieces of content. 30:15 – Don’t let your content creation drag you down. Why you should start short and explore different topics and processes. 34:20 – Don’t procrastinate and be afraid. Why it’s important to hit the publish button. 42:25 – How long should written content be and some shortcuts to speed up the content process. 46:25 – Thinking outside the box. Where to look for ideas to write about that are indirectly related your topic.
Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below!
I knew from my background that once I did the work, it would keep returning a benefit to me over and over again. Today, I’m reaping the rewards. David Brown
“You can’t do any deals with SEO”.
We hear that quite often from people who don’t want to put in the work and focus.
But for those who use a solid proven system and implement a plan with consistency… they see results.
Dave Brown fuels almost his whole 30-40 deal per year business with his approach to Real Estate SEO and in this podcast, he breaks down exactly how he started, what he did on SEO in the first days, what he does today, some tips… and his story as a real estate investor.
If you’re curious about pulling in deals with search engine optimization listen to Dave Brown’s story and how he does it.
2:20 – Find out what David has learned over his 2 decades in the real estate industry. 5:00 – How to build a business around your lifestyle and why David gave up his real estate agent license and never wants to get it back. 7:50 – Creating a business around leverage. The context of what David’s business structure and the organization looks like and why. 16:00 – David’s mindset around growth – doing more with less. 18:15 – What business systems he uses… CRM, Phone Tracking, Online Marketing. 20:05 – Unpacking his Real Estate SEO strategies — Why his website content has been so effective in cutting through the clutter. Keys:
Making basic customizations
Two months of creating location-specific page content
Building credibility
Link building
23:30 – David’s secret sauce he dashes on his location-specific pages — Taking it to another level! 28:10 – Why creating pages that target specific keywords have helped him command his market in search results rankings. 31:25 – How to increase your website traffic, in theory. We focus on some SEO math. 34:25 – SEO tactics you can employ to your website. 35:50 – David shares his off-page SEO strategy.
39:00 – Sharing heartwarming stories in a much needed time… Check out David’s other passion… americansnippets.com. A website and podcast about American stories that need to be shared. 41:10 – Top rules for your website… customized, clean, and credible.
The owner financing option is becoming more common. Which is why you need a strong online presence and a high performing website. The first thing your potential clients do is search for financing options online. And no matter how good of a broker you are, your hands are tied without clients to cater to.
You need to grab the browser’s attention by giving them a reason to work with you beyond the traditional bank loan. In line with one of our core values, “Consistent Improvement and Innovation”, we created our Owner Finance sites with your clients, your business, and above all else, the relationship between the two, in mind.
So, how can you soar a mile ahead of your competitors? Offer an optimized and mobile responsive website that encourages your clients to work with you.
All of the InvestorCarrot sites are mobile responsive so that your clients can reach you and your services on whatever they’re using: mobile or desktop.
In terms of usability, setting up and maintaining a website is simple. Even if you’re a beginner, you’ll quickly get the hang of it. But if you do struggle, it’s okay. Carrot support has your six.
Introducing Our New Owner Finance Website System
Over a two-month period, we researched and tested owner finance websites to create our first version of a high performing seller financing website that you, as our InvestorCarrot member, can access and setup in your account.
We’ve kept these owner financing websites simple… but effective. And we’re still actively testing the sites, so there’s more to come. As we continue learning, we’ll add elements to your website, each and every month, that increase engagement, conversion, and revenue.
The Design
We’ve taken our proven “lead hero” and built that into the owner finance websites, as well. We found that when we utilized the “lead hero” on our home pages, the homepage conversion rate increased across the board.
Of course, we’ve built in our hidden Conversion Boosters that are infused into all of our InvestorCarrot real estate investor websites. The Conversion Boosters improve opt-ins, engagement, and one of the most important aspects of your business, brand credibility.
Let’s take a look at some of the pages on our owner finance websites…
Available Homes Page:
Why Use Owner Financing Page:
How It Works Page:
The Results Method
Our proven philosophy has been “Design For Results, NOT For Prettiness.” When Carrot first started, we were all about a pretty site. But it didn’t take us long to learn that results are what matter most…
InvestorCarrot websites are built from the ground up, backed by research and test data, to leverage SEO, produce loyal clients, and make your business into a brand client’s can’t help but connect with.
Plus, we’re always testing and adding new features to our websites and to our Carrot client dashboards.
Once we find what works best… our team goes to work to create a nice, clean look, all while retaining the current conversions (or, ideally, increasing website conversions even more!).
The Owner Finance Website Content
The content has been professionally written by people who know SEO, website conversion, and the real estate investor industry inside and out.
The words on a page can make or break your search engine results and directly influence how well your website performs once a visitor arrives.
Every page on our new owner finance website is written with four factors in mind…
Search Engine Optimization
Lead Conversions
Customized and Customizable
Credibility Boosters
There are many reasons why our members love us, but one of the main reasons is the quality and actionable content we produce. You can save time by leveraging writers to produce content rather than spending countless hours producing your own.
NOTE: All of our website content is Copyright Protected for use ONLY by active InvestorCarrot members, and may not be copied in all or part on another website. Any copyright infringements will be taken seriously. We appreciate you playing by the rules.
The SEO
Just like our other websites, we’ve done the SEO keyword research to find out what seller financing phrases are being searched for in Google. Then, we’ve built content and pages around those phrases that people are already looking for.
Plus, we even make it easy for SEO novices to help your content rank higher with our Carrot “SEO Assistant”. If you can read a traffic signal… you can optimize your pages for the search engines with our SEO tools.
The Lead Capture Process
One thing we’ve discovered over the years of lead generation experience (over 400,000 real estate industry leads and counting) is that the majority of your website visitors won’t opt-in immediately… they need a bit more information that compels them to trust you and then, give you their information.
Because of this, we’ve built in multiple places for your website visitors to engage in the content and convert into a lead when they feel comfortable.
Part of this is the custom lead pages we’ve designed specifically for those interested in seller financing.
And like all of the pages we create… they’re all based on the continual testing we’re doing to increase the effectiveness of our pages in converting website visitors into leads.
How To Launch Your Owner Financing Website With InvestorCarrot
If you’re an InvestorCarrot member, you can get your own Land Buyer website up and live in a few seconds.
Select “Owner Financing” website in the “Create A Website” list:
Name your site and click “Create Your Site”
That’s it!
Now you can log in and customize your owner finance website, attach a domain to it if you want, and get to work!
Not An InvestorCarrot Member Yet? Join Below!
If you’re not an InvestorCarrot website but want to leverage our tools, our system, our marketing knowledge, and our support to help you generate more leads to your real estate business… awesome! Simply take a demo or click the link below to get started!
Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below!
Know what you’re good at and know your cycle of confidence and stay in it. Really know what you’re going to good at. You don’t need to be good at everything. Figure out something… and nail it. Michael Rogers
When should you make the leap to full-time in your side business? It doesn’t matter what business it is, there’s a point when it makes more sense to leave your day job and go full-time into your passion.
Michael Rogers, a Carrot client and CPA of 12+ years walks through his journey on how he did his first deal, built an income producing portfolio while still working full-time, then how he slowly scaled back his hours at the CPA firm he was employed at and eventually dove in as a full-time real estate investor, just this past winter.
Now, Michael is still focused on building his portfolio for the long-term and doing wholesale deals for his active income. How did Michael do it? Listen in.
3:45 – What are some benefits to your mindset from short-term to long-term thinking? 5:40 – How we can all relate to Michael’s change from corporate CPA to real estate investing. 8:50 – What role Michael’s family played in his decision to become a full-time real estate investor. 12:20 – Michael shares the key lessons he’s learned in the first couple of years being in the real estate investing industry. 15:20 – What type of criteria does he set when looking at properties? 17:00 – His various type of assets he invests in and how he’s built a passive income flow. 19:00 –A$35k deal – That’s how he started 2017 off! What type of growth he has experienced over the past few months. 21:38 – Using his InvestorCarrot website to generate leads and build a legit and credible business. 23:15 – What marketing mix is generating leads for Michael and helping his SEO with quality backlinks such as being featured in “The Chattanoogan” newspaper.
38:00 – How Michael has grown as a real estate investor. 42:15 –InvestorCarrot vs. the other guys. How Michael’s life has changed by using the Carrot platform and where he thinks he would be without it. 44:00 – Why “family” and “freedom” are the core reasons he took the leap into investing. 46:00 – Michael’s projected 24-month visions for family and business. 51:15 – Why Michael truly believes in the InvestorCarrot process and websites.
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Just like our other websites, we’ve done the 
