I never negotiate over the phone. I go to their house, I sit down with them, I have a cup of coffee, and I build rapport.
– Edward Beck
What I Wish I Would’ve Done Differently in 15 Years of Wholesaling & Flipping – The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of Investing w/ Edward Beck
What I like so much about Edward Beck is that he is the kind of guy who tells it like it is. There are so many gurus out there telling people how to get rich quick while they pose in front of cars that aren’t even theirs.
Edward despises this side of the industry, and just like we’re doing at Carrot, Edward is determined to change the way real estate investors are perceived. By leading with his heart and having a true intent to help people, success will inevitably follow.
Read the Full Show Notes Below…
I love it when we have a guest on the podcast who is really out there to help people, it comes from the heart.
Edward isn’t in this to make as much money as possible, (although being so genuine helps him close more deals, rather he is out there to truly help homeowners when they need it.
20 years ago, wholesaling was a different ballgame. You could put out 100 signs and get 100 calls. Wholesales were few and far between, and people didn’t really understand what they did. Today, things are much different.
In some places, the market is saturated. You can put out 100 signs today and maybe receive 10 calls if you’re lucky. The old ways of marketing aren’t what they used to be. With so many people in the business, it is more important than ever that you provide high-quality content and truly find ways to help and connect with your audience.
Thinking He Needed To Do More
Direct mail, cold calling, PPC, SEO, text, door knocking… These are all great ways to get leads, but they aren’t right for everyone. Edward knew he didn’t want to market in this way any longer. He’s been creating great content and letting the leads come to him. He’s building a name for himself as a trusted resource, creating authority in his market.
Instead of making seven calls to a potential lead, he will meet with them directly. He never does any negotiations over the phone. He likes to sit down with people, get to know them, and have a real conversation.
He is the kind of guy that would rather be having a cup of coffee with someone than sitting behind his computer desk. He’s found out what works for him and ran with it, not giving in and doing all of the things investors assume they should be doing.
Knowing Your Audience
As an investor, you really need to know and understand your target audience. For Edward, he has an older audience. He works with many people who are downsizing or who have lived in their homes for a long time.
At the moment, a lot of them are scared to move, let alone have strangers come into their house to view it. What Edward and his team do is work to alleviate all of these fears.
His older clients aren’t always on social media. They get their news from the mainstream media and sometimes have irrational fears about selling. If they are online searching Google for help, they’re likely to click the first result, whether or not it is an ad. Edward aims to hold these top spots so he is able to help these people first.
He isn’t trying to score one big deal out of this. His goal is to do a few deals each month and make sure everyone comes out ahead. People know when you are trying to take advantage of them.
Edward can sleep well at night because he knows everything was done right. Without this purpose and mission to genuinely help people, you will burn out as an investor.
Leading From The Heart
Edward is in this business to help people. A couple of years back, he became so frustrated by what he was seeing in the industry, that he wrote a book of his own to help other investors get into the business. As he puts it, the book was written out of pure anger and resentment!
He did not like the phony side of the industry and was tired of seeing the same regurgitated material over and over again. His book is titled “Get Rich, but Not Quick,” and it keeps things real for new investors getting into the business. It is a straightforward, step-by-step guide to help you get started, even offering scripts of the exact things you should be saying to your potential clients.
Not Being Evergreen Sooner
During COVID, Edward doubled down and has been making a TON of videos. Finding content has been pretty simple. He will take a look at some of the titles from our automated articles, then make a video that dives into a topic even further.
He has also created videos around common seller questions and objections heard when speaking to homeowners about selling. Using his content, he is able to build authority, rapport, and lay any concerns to rest. Now, because of these videos, he is holding the top ranking for many of the best keywords for his market.
Looking Ahead
As demand for a fast sale goes up and down, it’s important to be prepared, making sure you are out there and in front of your potential clients when the time is right. It isn’t about the number of leads you bring in, but rather finding a way to connect with real people.
At Carrot, one of our core values is to be a beacon of positivity. One of the ways we do this is by delivering a “wow” through great service. In an industry where there is so much mistrust, I love when investors like Edward act as a force to uplevel our sphere.
How Townsend Realty Group is Predictably Growing Business with Carrot
Georgia-based Townsend Realty Group uses Carrot’s training and resources to gain clients online within their community.
Within 5 months …
190 Leads Generated
25% Conversion Rate
6 Keywords Rankings in Top 3
Snapshot:
Industry: Agent
Location: Cherokee County, GA
Clients Served: served 1,500+ clients
Year founded: 2002
All other marketing channels are just tactics, Carrot is the big chunk in the middle that was just missing.”
Tom Townsend is a real estate agent in Georgia. In 2002, he decided to pursue a career in real estate, fueled by a desire to work on his watch and spend more time with his family.
He started out flipping houses. But in 2013, he pivoted to buying and selling homes, uniquely using his expertise as a Certified General Appraiser to serve his clients. Now, he’s a Keller Williams agent with a four-person team. They aim to close 53 deals this year (they’re on track!) and, for the first time in a long time, Tom feels clarity and peace of mind about where his business is headed.
The growth is steady and predictable. But it wasn’t always that way.
“All other marketing channels are just tactics, Carrot is the big chunk in the middle that was just missing.”
– Tom Townsend
The challenge: Marketing his business was difficult and produced unpredictable results.
Before joining Carrot, Tom will be the first to admit that marketing his business was difficult and produced unpredictable results. He would cold call, send mailers, network, and do anything else that came to mind. Some of it worked. Some of it didn’t. That was the problem. Rather than planting seeds and harvesting leads, Tom hunted for his deals. And while that worked for a while, Tom realized that if he ever stopped working, his business would crumble… he hadn’t created processes to predictably generate leads and close deals.
His business was successful. But it was also exhausting, unpredictable, and dependent upon him working long hours. Tom knew he had the knowledge and the skill to be one of the best real estate agents in his market, but he struggled to consistently get his message out about his business. There was a gap.
He knew how to serve clients… but he didn’t know how to find them in a sustainable and scalable manner. His Keller Williams website wasn’t supporting his other marketing efforts like he needed it to — people might visit, but they rarely turned into leads. Even his paid Google Ads traffic was converting poorly. And SEO seemed like something he’d never be able to figure out.
That’s when he discovered the power of Carrot: search engine optimization, predictable lead flow, consistent business growth… allowing him more time for the things that matter most in life. And he decided to give it a try. That’s exactly how he uses Carrot.
The tools: Carrot features
For Tom, Carrot is the central hub that combines all his marketing efforts. He’s running PPC ads to drive traffic to his site in the short term while leveraging Carrot’s easy content marketing tools and strategy to build his SEO for long-term lead generation. And since he’s driving traffic from all of his marketing efforts to his Carrot site, he can track performance across all campaigns and channels, giving Tom the clarity and comfort he needs with his marketing strategy.
Here’s how Tom is using Carrot as the central hub to tie together all the marketing efforts they were once doing on their own to become the authority in their area:
Trainings & Resources
Tom says he’d be lost without all the content and resources we’ve created and shared to help him build his strategy as an agent.
Automated blogs & VideoPost
Carrot keeps Tom from having to outsource content marketing to become the authority in his market by making it easy to schedule and post content to his site with pre-written automated blog posts and our VideoPost feature that transcribes your video content into long-form articles.
Campaign Tracking Links & Lead Manager
Tom sends traffic from all of his marketing channels to his Carrot site and can track the performance of his marketing campaigns using campaign tracking links. Instead of guessing what he should try next, he now has the visibility to see where he should put his marketing budget for maximum ROI.
Landing pages & Location pages
Tom can niche down his marketing with hyper-targeted landing pages and location pages, allowing him to beat the competition and improve his SEO rankings for people searching for homes with specific parameters.
The results:
Tom Townsend has been a successful real estate professional for quite some time. But it wasn’t until he learned about online marketing for Real Estate Agents through Carrot that he was finally able to consistently grow his business and create predictable lead flow.
Now, he knows what the future of his business holds and he knows where he wants to take it. More importantly, he knows how to take it forward.
What about you? Are you ready for consistent and predictable growth in your business? Click below to learn more!
“Clarity is power. I know and can see where we’re going and I feel confident in where we’re going. And I finally know how my marketing is doing.”
– Tom Townsend
Ready for Predictable Growth Like Tom?
Start generating consistent leads and building your authority in your market today.
The pandemic is pushing the need to get online and understand technology like never before.
– Tom Townsend
Tired of Tire Kickers? Get This Agent’s Step-by-Step Strategy for Consistent, High Quality Leads w/ Tom Townsend
Tom is a seasoned real estate agent w/ Keller Williams, who was burnt out on cold calling and struggling to compete with the big guys when it came to SEO. By shifting his strategy, and maxing out his AgentCarrot site, he is completely confident about the next 12 months.
Today, we’re looking at what messaging is working best, how Tom is using his Carrot site to convert more leads, and we will even make some tweaks to his site right here on the podcast to make his site perform even better.
Read the Full Show Notes Below…
A month or two ago, my team hit me up and said “You need to check out Tom Townsend.” I was blown away when I saw the data for his site and how he was implementing our training into his business.
Tom hasn’t been with us for a long time. In fact, he has only been a Carrot member for a few months. But in that short amount of time, he is already holding the top 1 and 2 spots for many keywords he is creating content around.
Where He Started
Tom has been in the real estate business since 2002. He began as an investor, flipping properties and holding a few here and there. He then took his real estate skills a step further by becoming a certified appraiser.
He was always heavy on the phones, chasing down leads, and setting up meetings. A few years ago, Tom and his team began utilizing Facebook Ads, but they weren’t directing them to any particular landing page or call to action.
They built a website via Wix, but it lacked flexibility and the ability to grow as the business did. The team moved the website to another platform, but it was cumbersome and time-consuming and wasn’t manageable while they were busy running on the hamster wheel.
The Lightbulb Moment
The pandemic has forced people to improve their online presence or get online if they weren’t already. For Tom and his team, it has allowed them to spend time creating evergreen content that will get them off of the hamster wheel. They are building their brand as the local authority and having the leads search them out instead of the other way around.
COVID has made a lot of people analyze what they are doing and what is important. For Tom, it was time. He wanted more time to do the things he loves, while still building momentum and credibility within the community.
The evergreen content Tom is creating is providing consistency and predictability, giving him the freedom he is after.
His Strategy Today and Why It Works
Many of the 100+ leads Tom has received in the past few months have been through paid PPC campaigns. This is exactly how we recommend agents and investors get the ball rolling.
In fact, Tom and his team have followed our advice and recommendations to a tee, thus bringing in more and more leads, creating more conversions, and closing more deals.
Next, they began creating content, with an emphasis on VideoPosts and our VideoPosts transcription service.
They have utilized our Advanced Marketer Articles, which only require a minute or two of personalization before posting.
They have modified their Facebook and Google advertising, directing people back to their website… err authority portal.
Tom and his team have spent time niching down their content to become the local experts.
They use our Campaign Tracking Links tool to track all of their advertising – even links printed on mailers they are sending out.
The Campaign Tracking Links have become one of Tom’s most important tools. It gives him a clear and centralized place to see what’s working, what’s not working, and where he can improve.
The Power of Testimonials
Many people will seek out testimonials just because they think they have to. They don’t spend time optimizing them or using them to fight objections. My advice is to seek out 5 very specific testimonials that will fight objections and be relatable to the ideal client you are seeking out.
For example, if you are an agent, use a testimonial from someone who was friends with another agent, but chose you instead because of your experience. Or, you can find an FSBO client you were able to help by getting them more than they would have on their own.
Many people will try to avoid working with an agent in order to save money. A testimonial letting them know they will likely get more money when all is said and done is a testimonial that will actually help you to convert.
Because of COVID, so many agents and investors are working from a home office. They’re not out and about attending open houses and networking events.
Here at Carrot, we have seen many people using this time to amp up their websites. To change them from glorified business cards, and instead, turning them to authority hubs.
Go to Carrot.com to see what we are doing to help agents ramp up even more as we close out the year strong.
Let me start with a hard question: “Are you a realreal estate investor or a fake?”
Wait. Don’t answer that. The truth is… time will tell.
Unfortunately, time — as it relates to real estate investing — is pretty harsh. Most real estate investors get chewed up and spit out before they even know what hit ‘em. Upwards of 87% according to some estimates.
But it’s not just real estate wholesalers and flippers.
It’s been published that 96% of businesses go out of business within the first 10 years, and over half fold up their tent by the end of the first year.
But that number is even high for real estate wholesalers and flippers…
… because of the low barrier of entry to get into business. It requires hardly any capital to get rolling… and you can read a book today, register a business tomorrow, and be a “flipper” or “wholesaler” by the end of the week… which is AWESOME. Still, it also makes it easy for many people who haven’t fully adopted the mindset and skill-set needed to be successful in running a business.
So, wouldn’t it be nice if you could diagnose your real estate investor’s “realness” — your likelihood of success — before getting clobbered?
Wouldn’t it be nice if someone told you the brutal truth about exactly why many real estate investors fail?
Well, “nice” might not be the best word.
After all, the brutal truth is rarely “nice.” But, profitable, career-saving, and life-changing? Absolutely!
In my 10 years working with real estate investors, I’ve seen thousands of real estate investors come and go. And the deepest irony — the cold, hard, brutal truth — is that it all comes down to five things those who fail tend to ignore (and those who succeed master).
The good news is you can overcome these common killers by having your eyes wide open to them and digging into the concrete solutions and resources I’ve included throughout.
1. You’re Following Emotion vs. Knowing Your Numbers
Investors who fail tend to open up their wallets based on emotional decisions vs. actually nailing their numbers and trusting the numbers.
When emotion takes over you tend to stop investing in marketing before it has a chance to succeed… you tend to make offers based on your “gut” vs. a tried and true formula… and you tend to bounce around from one thing to another in search of that magic bullet like a pinball machine.
One way people constantly get caught up in the emotions vs. the numbers is in how much money you invest in your business.
How much money do you invest in a marketing strategy?
How much money do you invest in a property?
How much money do you invest in your education?
As soon as emotion creeps into the equation and a mathematical formula stops being used… you’re on the fast track to losing your butt (and not knowing why).
As a real-world example, let’s say two people are doing PPC marketing.
Investor #1: Likely To Fail…
Investor #1 started with their budget rather than knowing the numbers. They have set aside $2,000 for PPC marketing for motivated house sellers. Plenty to turn a profit, right?
They start their PPC campaign and quickly find out that the first few weeks of a PPC campaign are all about honing the campaign and tweaking it… so they end up spending $800 in the first 3 weeks. They have 7 leads to show for it, which they’re working on… but no deals yet.
By week 4 they have their campaign honed a bit more but have spent $1250 of the $2,000 they had set aside… with a total of 10 leads.
Bummed, they start to think, “Man, maybe PPC isn’t for me. I’ve already gone through my budget; let me stop this campaign and figure something else out”.
With that, they stop their campaign and chalk it up as a “failure” and a loss. $2,000 in the hole and now onto “focus” on a new strategy.
Investor #2: Likely To Succeed In A Big Way…
Investor #2 started with the numbers… not their budget.
This investor worked the numbers… and it looks something like this…
What do those acronyms mean…
APD = Average Profit Per Deal
CPC = Cost Per Click (for your PPC marketing)
LPD = Leads per deal (how many leads on average until you close a deal)
MIN = The minimum you’ll need to allocate for your PPC marketing to have it work well MAX = A number you pick that is the max you’ll invest before you close a deal
Investor #2 knows her numbers well and can see that based on those average numbers, they shouldn’t expect any deals until, at a bare minimum, $1,200 has been invested in a well ran PPC campaign.
But, she also knows that in the real world, things don’t always work out like we hope they do in our calculations… so she sets a “max” that she’d invest in that marketing channel to close a $15k deal (her average) before she seriously thinks about shifting focus to something else or stopping the money invested into that marketing channel.
Investor #2 launched her PPC campaign, and it doesn’t go as well as she thought… she blew past the $1,200 mark without a deal… but she followed her numbers and kept investing, and at $2,500 in… she closed a deal that brought in $17k gross.
Subtract out the $2,500 in PPC costs, which turned into a nice $14,500 profit. BAM!
Now she has more firepower to invest in this marketing channel and work on improving those numbers even more.
The moral of the story is?
Investor #1 followed emotion and started with their “budget”… Investor #2 followed the numbers and started with knowing her numbers then set the budget that’ll lead her to success.
Investor #1 is already onto another marketing strategy and discouraged… Investor #2 is ready to scale things up and happy as a clam.
Here is the PERFECT example of Investor #2. Adam Mitchell could have easily let emotion hold him back…
If you haven’t seen this section of our SEO vs. PPC Infographic… it maps out how PPC and SEO work regarding timelines and expectations. Remove emotion from the equation and stick with the numbers.
If you don’t know your numbers and create your marketing budget… you’ll stop investing your money too early and quit before it has a chance to work.
I know that sounds obvious but stick with me. On the real estate front, I hear this all the time:
However, every time I dig deeper, “doesn’t work” means, “Well, I tried it for two weeks. Dropped $500. But didn’t see any results.”
You see the problem, right?
While it might be cliche, the old truism is true: “It takes money to make money.” Simply “trying out” one so-called success method at a time, dipping your toes in but not investing in it — i.e., putting your money where your mouth is — is a sure way to sign your real estate investor death warrant.
Ironically, this same fatal mistake kills even more real-estate investors when investing itself.
It’s strange to think, but many still expect to get something out of nothing. That’s one of the reasons many folks get involved in real estate investing. As BiggerPocket’s points out, “How can I get started in Real Estate Investing if I don’t have any money?” is one of the most common questions they get asked.
And their answer?
You can’t.
That’s it — it’s that simple. You cannot invest in real estate with no money down. It is impossible; in fact, it is antithetical (big word) to the definition of “investment.”
I really want to encourage everybody…that when you are having things come up against you, you’ve got to make it happen. It’s right at that moment when you’re so close. You’ve got to double down. You gotta punch the gas and not pump the brake…
2. You’re Not Putting In The Time
This second failure is so similar to the first that I almost left it off my list. But there are subtle differences between the two that add up fast.
Why?
Putting in the time doesn’t mean physically “being there” doing busy work. Putting in the time means you purposefully cut out the crap in your life between you and your goals…
… so you have so much ample focus time that there’s no way you won’t succeed.
Putting in the time doesn’t mean…
Carving out 30 mins here and there when you can fit it in
Hopping on the forums and endlessly reading and “learning” stuff you may need to know someday
Going through 3 training courses before you get off your duff and start doing the business (making offers, looking at properties, etc.)
Saying, “I’ll give this a try for a couple of months and if it doesn’t work, I’ll move on”
Putting in the time means you’re getting serious with yourself and saying…
“I know this works. Others have done it before me. I’ll work it until it works and relentlessly hack out anything that doesn’t help me reach my goals. It’s not a matter of ‘if’… but a matter of ‘when’ it’ll happen. The only variable is time, not my effort or ability to make it happen”.
If you feel you don’t have enough time to invest in yourself and your business, you’re likely thinking too short-term and not long-term.
You’re thinking about how you can make a quick buck and have that instant gratification vs. building something that’ll truly last, make an impact, and leave a legacy.
If you’re not willing to bust your bottom for the next 18 months…
… (even if 12 months of it is utterly failing at every step), you may do yourself a favor and find something else you can invest 18 months into a full bore and switch to that.
Every day when I walk into my office here at theLoft where Carrot is based, I see this at the top of my stairs.
3. You’re Quitting Too Soon
I know what you’re thinking, “How is perseverance different from time?”
The short answer is that success regularly takes longer than we expect… it also takes a lot more blood, sweat, and tears.
In other words, the reason real estate investors fail when it comes to perseverance is the same reason why 95% of dieters fail to lose weight and keep it off, why people always say they’re going to start exercising and then give up after a few days, and why so many people make new year’s resolutions that never see the light of day.
Are You Closer Than You Realize?
Psychology Today blames much of this failure to persevere on our brain chemistry:
“Neuroscientific research shows that higher levels of dopamine might separate the internal drive some people have to persevere while lower dopamine levels cause others to give up.”
So does that mean some people are just built to take the hard knocks necessary for success, and others aren’t?
Absolutely not.
The brain is an amazing organ, and — thanks to what’s known as “neuroplasticity” — if you haven’t been the person who perseveres up to now, you have the power to change that.
The key to becoming a person of perseverance are to increase dopamine levels by:
Achieving at least one goal or mini achievement each day, no matter how small.
Be your own best cheerleader. When you achieve something, be intentional about celebrating.
And just in case all that feels a bit too touchy-feely for you, consider the words of Ben Horowitz in The Hard Thing About Hard Things:
Great CEOs face the pain.
They deal with the sleepless nights, the cold sweats, and what my friend the great Alfred Chuang (legendary cofounder and CEO of BEA Systems) calls “the torture.”
Whenever I meet a successful CEO, I ask them how they did it. Mediocre CEOs point to their brilliant strategic moves or their intuitive business sense or a variety of other self-congratulatory explanations. The great CEOs tend to be remarkably consistent in their answers.
They all say, “I didn’t quit.”
4. You’re “Focusing” On Too Many Opportunities
I once got an email from a former member of ours.
His email said…
Carrot seems like a good product, but I have been focusing on too many marketing strategies.
In case you missed that, the words “focus” and “too many” are opposites.
The official definition of “focus” is…
This member led himself to a sure and swift “business death” by “focusing on too many things.”
As long as we’re quoting brilliant thinkers, Confucius once said…
When real estate investors — or any entrepreneur for that matter — focus on doing too many things — i.e., chasing too many rabbits — they end up sucking at pretty much all of it.
And ironically, early success is often the biggest hindrance to future focus.
For instance, I had some big early wins when I started my business. This meant lots of people wanted to do business with me. However, most of the propositions were in areas not core to the business I had created.
As a real estate investor, you may experience the same thing. At times, I found it hard to give a resounding “no,” but I knew that if I didn’t, I would spend a lot of time on things that were not a priority and didn’t fit into my long-term plan.
Today, I am glad I was so hard-assed about my priorities. And that’s exactly why a laser-focused, long-term vision is a must; otherwise, you are likely to sway this way whenever something else comes along, or you get distracted.
In addition to learning to say “no” to opportunities that don’t align with your focus, discipline is another ingredient needed. Afford Anything puts it plainly when talking about getting rich by saying, “Focus on what’s important. Ignore everything else.”
Grab our free Real Estate Investor Business Plan to overcome this lack of focus. Inside, you’ll find everything you need to build a solid foundation to sustain your business over the long term and zero in on what truly matters.
5. You’re Just Learning Real Estate Skills, NOT Business Skills
We’ve found that newer real estate entrepreneurs are under the impression that to be successful, they only need to understand things related to real estate.
But any seasoned entrepreneur will tell you that to succeed, you need other business skills like communication, persuasion, team building, marketing, etc. Real estate investors who don’t have the right business skills are far more likely to fail than their counterparts who invest across the board.
For example, you may be brilliant at what you do, but if you can’t market yourself, you’ll never make money.
From these statistics, you can see that most businesses fail due to a lack of business skill
Chris Ducker says it like this:
“Most people seem to think that being a successful internet marketer is as easy as getting a website built and getting their own domain name and they could not be farther from reality.”
This mindset is developed from hearing how “easy it is to make money on the Internet” by scaly online entrepreneurs whose sole aim is to line their wallets with the profits of gullible opportunity seekers.
The reality is that no real estate agent just closes sales… and no website just gets traffic. Both need to be marketed. From a real estate investor point of view, Inman reports that physical brick-and-mortar walk-ins now account for fewer leads than websites. Now, you should know that in their findings, a dismal 3% of leads were generated via walk-ins and 4% via online methods.
But what you need to understand about this finding is that the numbers for online lead generation are so low. Although most real estate investors agree that a website is essential to their business, they don’t fully realize what an online presence entails, nor how to generate leads online.
For the sake of clarity: if real estate investors knew how to market their website, their website would generate a lot more leads than the 4% they currently are.
Bigger Pockets confirms this finding and adds, “Only if you create that awesome, SEO-friendly website, along with citations, profiles, and videos, and start producing awesome blog posts centered around your community will you benefit from this form [online] of marketing.”
As an antidote, look at our 90 Day Action Plan, designed to “break down exactly what to do to get your first 100 cash buyer leads, and your first 30 seller leads.”
So, What Path Are You Headed Down?
I want everyone to know that it’s OK to fail.
Failure is good. I’ve learned the most when I’ve failed… not when I’ve won.
So failure is part of the process.
Failure shouldn’t be a door closing but it should be a shortcut to the next door that’ll open very soon that will get you closer to the success you’re going after in your life.
Yes, failure is OK but what isn’t OK is choosing to ignore these 5 sure business killers that will lead you to failure over and over and over again.
So right now, take stock of yourself and where you are.
Are you…
Leading with emotion or with knowing your numbers?
Putting the time in?
Persevering even when you feel like you should stop?
Focusing on one path or chasing multiple rabbits?
Learning how to build a business or just learning tactical “deal making” skills?
Oh, if none of those are quite describing you and the reason you’re not reaching your goals… here’s a bonus #6 that is often the most confusing and toughest one to own up to.
Brian Buffini, Chairman and founder of Buffini & Company — America’s largest real estate training and coaching company — nails it on the head:
“Strangely enough, the majority of people we encounter have a fear of success rather than a fear of failure.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Of course, there’s always a chance I missed one of the killer pitfalls you’ve seen in your career. If I did, share it in the comments below.
Also, share with me below if any of these hit you in your gut? Let’s squash these and make YOUR GREATEST IMPACT this year.
Hordes of people left and right are now bumping shoulders among you and trying to get to the same sellers — all screaming at the top of their lungs: “I can buy your house fast for cash!!!”
With more options for sellers and more investors on the scene, our efforts are becoming harder. So, what do we do in this populated market where our prospects are well aware of our message?
So, the following advice is taken straight from the methods and teachings of great and famous copywriters like Gary Halbert, Dan Kennedy, Gary Bencivenga, John Caples, David Ogilvy, and Robert Collier… names that have had a huge impact on today’s marketing methods and even Carrot’s own content.
But first…
The problem with REI marketing
If you Google “direct mail real estate investors,” you’ll get a host of articles and forum advice on how to get started with direct mail (DM). But who in their right mind would read through every one of those Bigger Pocket’s articles and forum topics? I did!
When I first wandered into direct mail (before I was aware of copywriting and direct response), I implemented all the advice I gathered from the forums. I even used a famous coach’s DM method exactly as he recommended.
The results?
After tens of thousands of dollars spent and hundreds of calls, I got ZERO deals out of it, maybe two motivated sellers. And yes, I did follow up relentlessly and yes, I did send mail for seven months.
But I wasn’t alone in this. I asked many investors in my area, and I quickly learned that the volume of deals required to obtain consistent results in my area is massive, and very few are successful.
What was the problem?
Fast forward to today, now being a young-schooled copywriter, following the masters of the past, and putting my knowledge to the test with Carrot as a professional copywriter, I realized an important thing… the advice given by coaches/gurus and forums in Biggerpockets is completely contrary to the advice of copywriting and direct mail masters; guys like Dan Kennedy, Eugene Schwartz, Bob Bly, and Robert Collier who all devoted their lives to “sales on paper” and squeezing as much money out of every marketing dollar.
Here’s the difference I found:
The World’s Top Copywriters say:
Create a laser-focused list and keep narrowing down that list.
Research and study that market relentlessly. Get in their minds. Find out what makes them tick, their fears, desires, etc… Find out what their main problem is.
Create a copy that focuses on them and their problem, agitates their problem, and then provides your solution.
Real Estate investors say:
Get a list of absentee owners with equity.
Send a simple letter saying, “Hi, my name is… and I want to buy your house at….”
Here’s the good thing about direct mail in real estate investing: you can generate $20,000 with one deal. So, a .02% response doesn’t really matter if you have the budget for massive volume while still generating a decent ROI.
Here’s the bad thing about DM in real estate investing: A .02% response can get you broke fast in a crowded market where the customer is well aware of your service.
If you’re advertising in a crowded market and you’re doing what everyone else is doing… then your prospects are getting the same message from multiple people.
At this point… your success is determined SOLELY by luck.
Let’s do better.
Let’s rise above the masses by learning from the pros who devote their entire lives to what we’re talking about.
Here are 5 things you can do to improve your marketing message by just looking at your audience.
Real Estate Copywriting Tip #1: Audience Comes First
“Tell me about my crabgrass, not your weed killer.”
Features VS. Benefits
Your prospects need the utmost attention from you. So, stop talking about what you have and start talking about THEM and their problems.
Every time your message says something along the lines of “I want to buy your house,” all it says to your prospect is “me, me, me, me!”
This message only has what’s called a “feature” in your product. And listing a feature right off the bat doesn’t grab attention.
Now don’t get me wrong, this can work and has worked in a market where your service is brand new and not really heard of. But things are heating up and there are tons of new investors and more options to sellers.
Instead of talking about your features, re-write them in a different way that places the sellers in the middle: This is called a “benefit.”
a) Time is easy to see at a glance—even at night.
b) Tired? Just hit a button for 10 more minutes of sleep.
c) Alarm wakes you at precisely the right time
See how Bob changed a simple, boring alarm clock feature into a customer focused benefit? This can be done with any product or service. Take for example the features we use as house buyers, rewritten as a benefit:
Features
a) All-cash offer
b) Fast close
c) No hassle
Benefits
a) No more hoping and wondering if you have a sale — A guaranteed sale with one offer.
b) In 5 days you can wave goodbye to your troublesome house and stressful situation.
c) You’ll literally never have to leave your couch until you sell your house.
Here’s an excerpt from one of my blog articles listing benefits of selling to a buyer…
“You can have your home sold in 1 week to a buyer today.
Get the assurance your house is sold and never risk the mobile sitting for months just losing money.
Never deal with headache buyers who are just flakey and disappoint you
Never deal with the agent calling you saying, “only one person showed up to the open house today and they weren’t interested”.
Never deal with the realization, months after, that you listed the house for $10,000 more than it should’ve (it’s happened to me and it’s not a good feeling).
Pay nothing out of pocket
Never deal with picky buyers (they don’t like the paint color, or the floor, or they wanted a new a/c, etc.)
Sell your property as-is (bugs in all, investors usually take it)”
Focus on the problems
Other than listing benefits in the message, you should also be agitating the central problem of your prospects.
For example:
If you sell a plumbing service, talk about what mold can do when it builds up due to a leaky water pipe.
Or, if you sell a roofing service talk about what a complete roof replacement costs if you wait until the planks get rotted out.
And, if you sell a house-buying-service, talk about how a foreclosed home due to tax delinquency can mean 7 years of ruined credit, losing all your equity in the property, and the embarrassment of losing a house.
The key to all this is to add emotion.
Features like “Cash-offer” and “Fast close” don’t trigger any emotion. But benefits that solve a problem and storytelling of emotional real-estate problems can pack an emotional punch.
The famous negotiator, Jim Camp, once said, “you’re always safe when you’re in the customer’s world.” Meaning? Always go back to the market. Find out what they want, who they are, what they like, what they need, and what they desire and you’ll be better off than most.
As the marketing giant Dan Kennedy has said in the “Ultimate Sales Letter,” “The goal is understanding. To persuade someone, to motivate someone, to sell someone, you really need to understand that person.”
If you get this part right, it doesn’t matter how bad the rest is, you’ll do fine.
But how do we find out what our market wants?
Here’s an excerpt from one of my blog articles listing problems that communicate emotions…
“But if…
you have another mortgage to pay
have no money to pay that rent space
having medical issue and need to move ASAP
risking eviction
risking foreclosure
need to move out of area for another job you just got
need to pay debt that keeps piling up
need to move in a week for whatever reason…
Than, that offer that’s less that what you expected is much better than paying all that money out of pocket AND suffering through all the pain of staying in the house.”
Real Estate Copywriting Tip #2: Research, Research, Research
“If I have 4 hours to chop a tree, I’ll spend 3 hours sharpening my ax!”
Top copywriters spend hours researching, profiling, and diagnosing their audience. To them, this part is THE most important part of marketing. Exploring and getting in the minds of your sellers is a must.
But how do you do this?
The best way is to talk to motivated sellers. If possible, talk to your previous sellers. Or go door-to-door knocking and spend time face-to-face with them. In other words, spend time with the market.
Copywriters like Ben Settle also take time to find out who their audience is in terms of political affiliation, age, gender, race, TV show interests, hobbies, etc.
The bottom line is that you must find out what they truly desire, what they fear, and what they really want. A “cash offer” is not what they really want. What they may truly want is security, or they may truly fear a complete loss of equity or ruined credit from foreclosure, or they may want convenience and not to deal with anything else or to move forward with life away from their stress—in other words, get into the mind of the seller.
The Hidden Benefit
Ted Nicholas (sold over $200 million worth of “how-to” books using direct-response ads in magazines, letters, and newspapers) discusses the importance of emphasizing what he calls the “hidden benefit.” It’s not the obvious benefit, nor is it the first benefit you think of, but the most profound benefit to your prospects.
He describes how he had to come up with a marketing campaign for a presentation called “How to recruit more insurance agents under you.” He spent a lot of time amid these insurance agents.
One day, he was listening in on a conversation between two agents and noted that they had A LOT of interest in golf. Most of the time, they were talking about golf, not recruiting… thus a marketing message was born.
His new message to the insurance agents? “Puts Recruiting on Auto-Pilot, So That You Can Go Play Golf!”
That’s genius! What these insurance agents really wanted was NOT just to recruit. It’s to have more time to golf. Recruiting wasn’t their true desire. He asked, “Why do they want to recruit? What do they really want?” It’s to be able to make money while doing what they love: golf.
Getting to what your prospect really wants is key.
But that’s easier said than done if you don’t know who your prospects are, where they’re at, and what they TRULY want.
I know what some of you might be thinking: “Well, that’s hard to do because I only advertise to a large list of homeowners with different interests.”
Well then, my answer to that is…
Real Estate Copywriting Tip #3: Narrow Down Your List
“The only advantage I want is a starving crowd.”
This is my final piece of advice from marketing expert Gary Halbert.
We know that we must center the ad on the customer and do some research beforehand. But before you do your research, you must have an audience… a very targeted audience.
Gary Halbert had once said in his book “The Boron Letters,” “I only want a starving crowd.”
A list of absentee owners is not a starving crowd. What does a BIG list of homeowners with equity have in common? Nothing… except that they have equity.
Are they “starving to sell their house at a discount for cash and a fast, as-is sale”? Who knows if there are any motivated sellers on that list? It’s a dice game.
Combining multiple lists creates a better list that narrows in on problems rather than equity.
An example would be absentee owners who have inherited a house and have had eviction or credit problems. A probate list containing an out-of-state heir/executor and the property going through probate was owned for at least 20 years.
Now, I understand these are probably difficult lists to obtain, but the main idea I’m illustrating is that almost every single person on that list has a serious problem with money, a tiresome house, or doesn’t want to deal with unwanted property. If you need a simpler approach, just take an eviction, divorce, or tax delinquency list.
Does it seem like it’s a little too much?
Well, Gary Halbert, in the same book, gave away his method for determining a list. In doing so, he cut it down 10 times! That’s right, he used 10 different layers (criteria) to narrow it down to a hotlist.
A list like that is much easier to research. Now, you can speak directly about their pain points.
Plus, this produces a MUCH cheaper marketing budget.
Real Estate Copywriting Tip #4: Unleash the Power of AI, But Don’t Get Lazy
Listen, I get it. You’re a busy investor, juggling a million things. Writing compelling copy can feel like another mountain to climb. But fear not! AI-powered copywriting tools are here to be your secret weapon. Imagine having a 24/7 virtual assistant who can:
Craft Initial Drafts in a Flash: Are you stuck staring at a blank page? AI tools can churn out initial drafts based on your targeted seller’s unique selling proposition or property details (square footage, bedrooms, amenities). This gives you a solid foundation to build upon, saving you precious time.
Keyword Magic Trick: The right keywords are like gold in the online real estate world. AI can analyze market trends and suggest keywords potential sellers and buyers use in their searches. This ensures your copy gets discovered by the right audience, not lost in a sea of generic descriptions.
SEO Optimization Made Easy: Crafting SEO-friendly copy can feel like deciphering an ancient language. AI tools can analyze your content and recommend tweaks to boost your search engine ranking.
Grammar Police on Patrol: Typos and grammatical errors can scream “amateur.” AI acts as your virtual editor, providing real-time feedback on grammar, clarity, and sentence structure.
AI: Your Partner, Not a Replacement
Now, let’s be clear: AI is a powerful tool, but it’s not here to replace your savvy as an investor. While AI excels at data analysis and technical stuff, it lacks the human touch.
Storytelling Sells!
AI can’t spin a captivating yarn that tugs at the heartstrings of motivated sellers or paints a picture of a dream home (or a high-ROI rental property!). That’s where you, the savvy investor, come in. Use AI-generated drafts as a springboard, but infuse them with your unique voice and storytelling skills. Highlight the emotional connection your audience will have with you.
The Winning Formula: Human + Machine
The key to success is leveraging the strengths of both AI and human expertise. Use AI tools to streamline tasks, research keywords, and get a jumpstart on your drafts. Then, unleash your inner wordsmith to craft copy that showcases your skills, offers, and solutions.
Remember, you’re an investor, and every detail counts. Make your copy work as hard as you do!
Real Estate Copywriting Tip #5: Expanding Your Copywriting Arsenal
Crafting compelling copy is just the first step in effective marketing. Here’s how you can leverage your copywriting skills to attract the right sellers and buyers and maximize your return on investment (ROI):
Targeted Website Content:
Your website is your digital storefront for attracting qualified leads. Compelling copywriting is key to converting visitors into offers:
Headline Hero: Craft clear, concise headlines that grab attention and instantly communicate the property’s potential.
Data-Driven Decisions: Include data and market analysis to showcase your market knowledge and support your offers.
Compelling Case Studies: Feature past success stories with before-and-after testimonials and showcase renovation examples to demonstrate how you’re uplifting the community.
Clear Calls to Action (CTAs): Make it easy for interested leads to connect with you. Include CTAs like “Get an Offer Today” or “Download our Free Guide: The Pros and Cons Of Selling A House To A Professional House Buyer.”
Social Media: Engaging with Potential Leads
Social media platforms are powerful tools to connect with motivated leads:
Captions that Convert: Write compelling captions highlighting your unique selling points (USPs) and using relevant hashtags to reach your target audience.
Targeted Ads: Craft engaging ad copy with clear CTAs to drive traffic to your website or landing page with detailed information.
Behind-the-scenes Content: Share behind-the-scenes glimpses of renovation projects or neighborhood highlights to build excitement and showcase your expertise.
Building Trust with Consistent Branding:
Maintaining a consistent brand voice and style across all your marketing materials establishes you as a professional and trustworthy investor:
Define Your Investor Persona: Are you a quick-flip specialist, a buy-and-hold investor, or something in between? Tailor your brand voice to resonate with your ideal buyer.
Develop a Style Guide: Create a style guide that outlines your preferred voice, tone, and formatting to ensure consistency across all your written content.
Tailoring Your Copy for Different Property Types:
Adjust your copywriting approach to highlight the specific benefits of each property type:
High-Demand Rentals: Focus on strong rental income potential, low vacancy rates, and desirable amenities for tenants.
Fixer-Uppers: Emphasize the property’s potential for value-added renovations and highlight the cost-saving benefits.
Commercial Properties: Showcase the property’s location, traffic patterns, and potential for increased business activity.
By mastering these copywriting strategies, you can effectively market your investment properties, attract qualified buyers, and achieve your real estate investment goals.
Every good advertiser starts with their audience
I know that I’ve mentioned direct mail quite a bit. However, all this info applies directly to any marketing channel, such as Facebook, TV, Bandit signs, and PPC.
Simply put…
Narrow down your list to hit specific pain points.
Research that list to learn more about your audience, hidden benefits, and pain points (including interests, hobbies, TV shows, age, gender, political affiliation, desires, etc.).
Focus on the prospect and their pain points in the message.
Use AI-powered copywriting tools as your secret weapon.
Expand your copywriting arsenal
Applying these tips doesn’t matter if you’re in a crowded market or not.
Imagine your prospect who is tired of her rental and having money issues, and she’s holding two letters in her hand:
One says, “I will buy your house…” a message she gets every week. The other (yours) speaks of the problems of evictions, the cost, and how difficult it is to sell a house with tenants and then introduces a solution.
It’s obvious which one grabs more attention.
However, this is nothing new. This has been tried and made true by hundreds of copywriters who help 8-figure businesses increase their revenue.
If you implement these, you can put yourself ahead of the game by increasing your ROI (and your success). While others spend $10,000 a month for seven months on a huge equity list, saying, “I want to buy your house…”
As announced in August 2020, a new Google Ads Housing Policy, affecting accounts for real estate investors and agents, will change service policies on October 19th, 2020.
Demo Carrot: How many deals are you losing to your competitor’s website?
Carrot members have started to receive emails and notifications within their accounts with this “Update to Personalized advertising policies: Housing, employment, and credit” title.
We wanted to get the jump on the potential changes you’ll be facing and the mindset leading into October.
This is a pretty significant change for Google Ads. Following Facebook’s move to special ad categories in 2019, Google presents its housing policies.
The New Rules
Potentially impacted members will receive notifications in their Google Ads account, prompting them to acknowledge the housing policy changes and to agree to comply with relevant local laws. If you had not acknowledged these changes when the policy was enacted on October 19, accounts cannot create any new campaigns until they click to accept the changes.
Additionally, when the policy goes into effect, real estate advertisers will no longer be able to target audiences based on gender, age, parental status, marital status, or ZIP code. Any existing campaigns targeting newly restricted audiences will no longer be eligible to serve.
For more information about the policy and how to acknowledge the changes in your account, you can refer to the upcoming policy for housing on the Personalized ads page or on the Google FAQ page.
What This Means for Real Estate Agents and Investors
Advertisers will need to update their campaigns before this policy goes into effect to ensure they aren’t negatively impacted.
It will be determined how this policy affects accounts, but early indications are:
Zip Code targeting will no longer be available
Zip Code exclusions will no longer be available
Demographic exclusions will no longer be available
Some of the restrictions advertisers can use for excluding certain audiences based on age or income might also be affected. If you’re currently excluding specific income levels or ages, be aware that you might need to remove those restrictions in October.
Some of those accounts are already seeing warnings.
What Should I Do Now?
For now, there isn’t anything to change unless you want to get ahead of the game. You can accept the policy and make the necessary changes to your targeting and/or demographics.
You’ll see a message in your account like this:
Changes to Consider Making Now
Zip Code Targeting/Excluding
If you’re currently using a zip code based targeting strategy, now might be the time to get a headstart. Removing your zip codes and moving into a town, city, or county strategy.
Here’s What We Recommend: As you make this move, think about taking advantage of the county or city-specific landing pages, as well as adjusting ad copy to match the new locations.
Age Exclusions
Accounts using age exclusions will also be affected. From what we know, this won’t be an option if you’re currently excluding such age groups as 18 to 24 or 25 to 34.
Here’s What We Recommend: We might find something different come October, but for now, there might be an opportunity to add more negative keywords, update ad copy, and utilize ad extensions to make it clear who your audience is.
Income Exclusions
There’s also a potential that Google won’t allow for income exclusions. Some accounts have excluded such income levels as “Top 10%” due to the level of houses.
Here’s What We Recommend: Again, you can focus more on the ad copy and utilizing your ad extensions to communicate the type of homes better you’re either willing to buy or sell. If you’re an investor with motivated seller campaigns, you can also take advantage of better images and niched copy on your real estate landing pages.
Moving Forward
We’ll continue to monitor these new policies and send updates as they become available.
For now, it’s essential to be aware of these changes. This at least gives you an idea of what changes will be coming and how your mindset might have to shift come October.
We won’t see the full impact until the new policy is implemented, but we can start adjusting both the ads and the website to further speak to the audience.
The COVID-19 crisis is impacting all of us in some way, shape, or form. So what I wanted to dive into is what data we have in our system with over 10,000 real estate investor and agent websites.
What data are we seeing right now and how the lead flow has been impacted by COVID-19 for real estate buyers and sellers?
[Updated August 6] New Data Pointing to Conversion Rate Increases
New Research
There has been a clear shift towards new lead generation, and how our members are acquiring those in the past two months during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to our Google Analytics data, when comparing April and May to June and July, there has been a conversion rate increase of 10.92%.
Paid Search has seen the largest shift, jumping 39.48% over the past two months. Compared to what we reported in April, it seems paid traffic has begun to normalize.
Sessions are coming down as more people are feeling confident in the house selling process.
Here are the numbers for the eight common channels:
Organic search: 3.21% increase
Direct: 7.84% increase
Social: 10% increase
Paid Search: 39.48% increase
Referral: 21.23% increase
Email: 36.72% decrease
Other: 0.26% increase
Display: 21.43% decrease
In May, our data was showing sessions steadily increasing:
We also saw conversion rates have begin to increase since a dip in mid-April:
Here’s what one Carrot member said recently…
Some of the main changes we’re seeing are:
Overall traffic from all sources has continued to increase week over week… meaning there is more demand right now for buyers and sellers needing solutions to their problems than before.
Conversion rates stayed low for a few weeks but are now on the uptick as the overall sentiment in the US is improving and people are starting to get out more.
Predictions: I predict once the stay at home orders lift we’ll see conversions go up above where they were for a short period then settle into normal zones.
Double down on why it’s important to NOT stop your marketing even if lead costs are higher from lower conversion rates… because the people are still searching… so you need to be getting content in front of them NOW while they’re researching and followup w/ them through retargeting so you’re in front of them when they’re ready. This should create a surge in demand once stay at home orders lift… but only those who stayed in front of the market will capture that demand.
I pulled up our own Google Analytics account, which is a master account for all of our member websites that are generating the top rankings in Google for motivated house sellers.
So we have crazy, crazy cool data from every major market in the country.
The first thing to notice is a report from March 1st through the time that I’m diving into this data, which is April 7th.
Number one, we’ve reported this data in the past, Monday’s tend to be the hottest time when your sellers and buyers are hitting the internet to search.
Now this includes Google searches. It does include some direct search, where people are typing your URL directly, but mostly Google search and Google pay per click. When people have that pain point the most, is your Monday or Tuesday.
Monday and Tuesday have the highest demand for searches.
Now here’s one thing that we saw as soon as the stay-at-home order took place in most of the cities around the country in early to mid-March.
Image Explained:
From March 1st – April 7th. On the right, sessions are “visits to our member’s sites” from sellers and buyers. Notice only about a 10% dip for a couple of weeks then it’s climbed back to normal numbers by April 1st.
On the left, is the conversion rate on that traffic. While the traffic remained essentially the same… buyers and sellers are STILL searching for solutions. Some of them aren’t submitting their contact info because they’re unsure how to buy or sell during the Coronavirus stay at home orders.
This EQUALS a huge opportunity.
While you may be seeing your conversion rate dip on your marketing, the SEARCH volume is still there. You need to create content (VideoPost, our automated content, retargeting ads, around how you can help them during COVID still, etc.) and get it in front of them on your site, update your hero section to link to one of our COVID-19 automated articles (Content Pro and Advanced Marketer) and place retargeting content on FB specific to how you can still help them during COVID.
You can see traffic to our client’s websites, agents and investors, has not really gone down much. There was a slight blip by about 5 to 10% in traffic volume with house sellers and house buyers.
Now you can see it started to climb back up. So right here at the start of March before the shutdown started to happen, on a normal Monday it’d be just sub-50,000, between 45,000 and 50,000 people hitting our client’s website each day. And then you can see right there, somewhere between that week, week and a half, we started to see that drop-off.
Image Explained:
This is organic traffic (traffic from google searches) from March 1st – April 7th. You’ll notice that initial “shock” of COVID dipped organic by 10% or so the 2 weeks after it hit.
But, the past 2 weeks of organic traffic is increasing week over week again for motivated sellers and buyers (including land). We see this getting stronger as more sellers have more motivation the longer it goes on.
Now towards the end of the month and even into the first part of April, we started to see traffic go back up a little bit. We think that that’s probably because that initial fear, that initial, “Hey, let’s wait and see what’s going on,” started to fade off and we came into that new normal.
Here’s the thing that’s really, really important. That data shows that the traffic really has not gone down in a measurable way from your sellers and buyers.
Now, if I map back to the start of March, the conversion rate of one of our homepages which are geared for lead generation, those range usually between 5 and 25%.
So when we’re looking at gross conversion rate, that’s all traffic, all sources, any page that they landed on, even non-conversion pages, what percentage of them became a lead?
And this is a really respectable percentage, between 2 and 4% of all traffic comes to a lead on the Carrot system.
If you’re driving to a landing page, there might be a 20 to 30% conversion. If you’re driving to a rent-to-own page, it might be between a 30 and 40% conversion rate.
But here’s what’s interesting.
Right when the stay-at-home order started to hit around the middle of March, in California and Oregon and Washington and a bunch of other states, conversion dropped off by about 20 to 30%.
So what does that mean? If the conversion rate of a website for buyers, sellers, for agents and investors, dropped off by about 20 to 30%, while the traffic of the demand from buyers and sellers didn’t really change much, what does that mean?
Well, one thing that we’re hearing a lot of, or a good number of even experienced agents and investors say, is you might see your lead cost go up a little bit, possibly.
Some people are seeing their lead costs down right now because competitors have pulled out of the marketing spaces. You might see your conversion rate of PPC, of SEO, of direct mail, of cold calling, of any of those, you might see that actually go down right now even though the demand is still there.
What Should You Do Right Now?
Here’s what I want to give you guidance on. The demand is still here, but many sellers and buyers aren’t sure what to do right now in the midst of the Coronavirus. Do they reach out to you and try to elicit your services?
Many of them might be nervous about…
“Well shoot, I don’t want to have someone come to my house right now. Maybe I’ll wait until this is all over.”
Or, “How can I still sell my house if this person can’t come in?”
Or, “Where am I going to move if we’re in a stay-at-home order in my state of California?” as examples.
Direct Action Items
Here are some direct action items for you right now.
#1. The demand is still there y’all for buyers and sellers, that’s not going away.
Actually, even more so you’re starting to see it pick up here and get back to pre-Coronavirus numbers because people are in that new normal. They’re at home on these cell phones and they still have the problem or they have the desire that they’re searching out.
Image Explained:
Paid search-demand through Google Ads hasn’t changed much at all. It dipped less than 3% after the stay at home order… but now is growing to more google ads clicks than before Coronavirus.
The opportunity here… in many markets we’re seeing paid ad costs dip as less savvy investors or agents pull back their marketing budgets (the worst thing you can do).
Now, many motivated house sellers actually have even more of a desire and even more of an acute problem because their financial situation might be worse now.
As an investor or as an agent, you can really step up and help them right now and show them that they can still be helped during this pandemic.
#2. What can you do if you are seeing a softening conversion rate right now?
Having a lower conversion is natural right now because of the “wait and see” attitude from some buyers and sellers.
So what can you do?
Right now you should be creating more content!
We talk about that a lot, but you need to be creating content and local authority right now as people are still doing their searches. As soon as the Coronavirus is over and we’re back to life as semi-normal, demand is going to pop back and they’re going to be reaching out to the person or the people that they want to have help them.
So right now, they’re doing the research. They’re digging in and saying, “Who do I want to work with?” As soon as it’s all over they’re going to be moving fast as a buyer or a seller to solve that problem.
The way that you become the one that they’re working with is by putting out content, put out VideoPosts on your Carrot website to where it’s a short YouTube video.
You can do it with your cell phone, talking about how they can still sell their home during the Coronavirus. Do a walkthrough in the house through Facebook, or through FaceTime or Zoom or whatever it is.
You can still protect their safety and their health. Or if they’re a buyer, how can you start to work with them now to ensure that when they’re ready to buy or maybe they are ready to buy right now, that you can pull the trigger on it?
If they’re a seller, they might be thinking…
“Well, you know what, I kind of want to wait to sell.”
What happens if they wait until everything is back to normal and then reach out to you?
Then they’re going to be behind the eight-ball by two, four, six weeks, and there’s going to be buyers that are hungry and ready to go at that point and they might miss some of that high demand window to get the most out of their property.
Talk with them with your content and videos. Put the content on your Carrot site using our VideoPosts feature. Put them on Facebook as retargeting sequences so they can shift they’re thinking into…
“I’m going to start preparing right now and I can still get this taken care of during the Coronavirus pandemic, and I can work with these investors or these agents even right now and we don’t have to meet in person.”
🔥 Diving Into More Data 🔥
Let’s dive into a couple of other cool pieces of information.
Social Media TrafficData
Let’s hop over to social media. Social media is actually even picked up a little bit. There are a lot more people on your Facebook as well as other social platforms.
That’s where you need to be putting those videos about how you can help them during this crisis, or how you can still help them buy or sell. That content needs to be going on social media right now. We’re seeing traffic picking up on social media over the past month.
Direct TrafficData
Let’s take a look at direct traffic. Now a hunk of this is actually organic search that Google lumps in, and a hunk of it is somebody actually typing in your URL. You can see the same thing. The demand for that has not really gone down at all.
Paid TrafficData
Looking at paid search, that demand hasn’t really changed, either. It’s actually gone up. On Monday, April 6th, there were 7,730 sessions to our websites through Google paid traffic. A month later we’re actually seeing more traffic.
So while there’s a lot of agents and investors pulling back their marketing right now, what’s happening is we’re in this interesting window where oftentimes your paid traffic through Google and through Facebook is a little bit cheaper because there’s less competition.
Some are even stopping their marketing. You should not. You should be leaning into your marketing because we’re starting to see that data come back.
Time Lag Data
There is a situation called “time lag”.
Image Explained:
How many visits it takes someone to turn into a lead. Why is this important, those people who are not sure about how to sell/buy during Coronavirus who are searching but not acting, they need content and YOU to be the trusted Authority.
Create a COVID-19 update on your home page that links to our new COVID-19 articles (content pro and adv marketer upsell. Link direct to those packs in the article) and also create video posts right now, one per week on how people can sell or buy right now.
41,628 opt-in conversion leads, not including the 40,000-plus phone call leads that came in through the same time period.
Look how long it took some of those people to become a lead. The vast majority, become a lead on the first day.
But then, some of them, it takes weeks if not months to become a lead for you. So this is where putting in really good retargeting campaigns is very, very important, especially right now while some people are waiting it out.
Length of the path for visitors to actually interact and engage with you
How many times does it take them visiting your website, especially right now during this time period, to become a lead?
Right now that time period is lengthening versus our normal because some of those sellers and buyers are unsure how they can best be served during this Coronavirus time.
How they can get people into their house right now
How they can still stay safe and healthy during this process
From the last image above, 86% of people on the very first interaction become a lead on your website, agents and investors.
But then it takes some people over 12.
So one half of 1%, it takes over 12 interactions. But the sweet spot is six or under.
The vast majority of people take between one to six interactions on your website to become a lead, and that’s actually lengthening right now.
Organic Conversion Data
The one single most consistent, predictable, and highest converting lead source, is organic. It’s putting content online and getting high rankings in Google, which we specialize in. It converts the highest.
On average, no matter what page they land on, there’s a 5.54% conversion rate percentage and very, very low bounce rate on Google organic search.
Whereas, social has the lowest conversion rate. It’s lower by almost two thirds. But it still converts well. That’s because people are seeking a solution to their problem in Google organic. Social, you’re kind of interrupting them with content but it still works. Keep that in front of them.
Paid Conversion Data
Let’s look at paid traffic. Paid traffic on average is about a 2% conversion rate. That’s still great. You can still make an amazing, amazing ROI with that.
Create evergreen content
I want to come back to evergreen marketing because that’s what is going to be around in a year, two, three, four years from now.
How do you do less marketing that performs better?
How do you do marketing that is consistent, predictable, and momentum-building?
That’s with evergreen marketing.
Publishing content online that builds authority, that attracts people when they’re seeking out solutions to their problems, and then once they land on your website, it’s not just the normal broker-provided website or a custom website that looks pretty but doesn’t convert well, or a Wix site that performs terribly.
It might look pretty but it doesn’t convert well. You need to be delivering amazing authority-building content, which we do with our content marketing tools where we have COVID-19 automated articles now.
If you’re on the Content Pro plan or Advanced Marketer, we have COVID-19 articles written for you to publish on your website. You can go right now into your system and schedule to tell people how you can help them. Share those on social media.
Use VideoPosts right now. Create a video every single week. I’m creating a podcast every week about COVID-19 and how you can wade your way through that. Do the same thing with your buyers and sellers.
We’re here with you. We want to see you start to thrive and crush it in this market. We’re starting to see the traffic grow. We’re starting to see conversions start to go back up.
The way you wade through this market is creating more and more content, becoming the authority. So when things get back to normal, you’re going to see a pop in demand when all your other competition’s waiting it out.
Lastly, check out our Authority Building Webinar to learn more ways to stand out in this market, build authority, and build momentum.
Most real estate agents can’t afford to miss out on leads and deals. They don’t know it but having the proper lead generation tools for real estate agents is the holy grail of their business growth.
You probably became a real estate agent because you’re a bit of a “people person”… because you’re great at sales and know how to talk to clients.
But if there aren’t leads to convert into clients, your business can’t grow.
No matter how good you are at sales — no matter how convincing, charismatic, or persuasive — none of that matters if you’re not consistently generating leads for your business.
Consistent, high-quality, and high-volume real estate lead generation is the secret to dominating your market and building the business of your entrepreneurial dreams.
More leads mean more closings, which means a more successful business.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
So how do you get leads in real estate consistently?
19 Lead Generation Tools for Real Estate Agents
Here are 19 of the best lead generation tools for real estate agents to help!
Many real estate agents start out by joining a larger real estate group or franchise. Their face gets added to the company website, and they receive a particular share of the leads.
But it doesn’t take long to realize that if you want to grow your own business, you’re going to need your own website.
Unfortunately, most agents think their website only exists to represent their business — as a sort of digital business card.
The most successful agents, though, know that isn’t true.
Your website is probably your company’s biggest lead-gen asset.
There are two ways that you can use your website to predictably generate high-quality leads for your business.
The first is paid traffic. Running ads on Facebook or Google is a great way to drive traffic to your website. But here’s the thing: that paid traffic isn’t worth a lick if your website doesn’t consistently convert that traffic into leads for your business.
(In fact, driving traffic to a low-converting website is expensive and usually a waste of money)
And our Carrot websites are built to convert and drive leads right out of the box therefore, can be one of the most productive lead generation tools for real estate agents.
We start with a compelling homepage header, which transitions into two separate CTAs for buyers and sellers. And we always include the agent’s phone number in the upper right corner for people who want to take action right away.
Take a look: the entire format is crafted to make taking action as easy as possible for visitors.
The trick to building a high-converting website is to give visitors exactly what they want, as quickly as possible… and to build trust along the way.
That’s exactly what Carrot sites do.
But that’s not all they do.
While paid ads are a great way to drive traffic to your website, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is just as powerful. SEO is working to rank in search engines (like Google and Bing) for keyword phrases that your target market types into Google. That way, those people click on your website and become leads.
And SEO leads are usually even higher quality and more consistent than paid leads.
SEO is a bit complicated but can be one of the best long-term lead generation tools for real estate agents.
This is why our Carrot sites make search engine ranking as simple as possible. Check out some of our best lead-generation features in the second point.
2. Carrot Features
Our Carrot sites convert better than any other websites in the industry.
We’ve generated more than 2 million leads for our members with conversion rates between 10% and 20% (most real estate websites convert at 2%)!
That means more leads and more closings for your business.
Here are some of our coolest real estate lead generation tools
Carrot Lead Manager — When you get a Carrot site and start generating leads, you need a way to keep track of those leads and organize them all. That’s why all Carrot members have access to our Lead Manager, where you can view mission-critical information, categorize prospects, and see how many leads you’ve got in the pipeline.
Campaign Tracking Links — When you run advertisements or post on social media, it’s nice to know how much traffic that content is driving to your website. With our Campaign Tracking Links, you can create a custom link with a single click, and we’ll track clicks and conversions from that link. This is super easy and a great way to test the effectiveness of your advertisements.
Visual Editor — All AgentCarrot sites are built to convert right out of the box. But you can still customize the site however you like, adding your logo, brand colors, and images and changing the copy to fit your business. Our visual editor makes this process super easy. It’s the best of both worlds: lead generation and website customization.
SEO Ranking Tracker — Want to know how your SEO rankings are performing? Just tell us what keyword phrases you want us to track for you, and we’ll give you regular updates on how your website is performing. That way, you can celebrate once you break through to page 1!
VideoPost — One of the most challenging parts of getting your website ranking in search engines is consistently creating content or blog posts. Because the more content your website has, the more keyword phrases you’ll be able to rank for. And with VideoPost, you can record a quick video and then, with just a few clicks, transcribe that into a long-form blog post that can rank on Google. SEO doesn’t get easier than that!
Carrot SEO Tool — There are a lot of rules to creating a new page or post for SEO. You should include the target keyword phrase a very specific number of times, you should have a certain amount of links, and you should use a certain number of images… all depending on the length of your content. It’s hard to remember everything, which is why we give all of our members’ access to our Carrot SEO Tool, which acts as an SEO checklist every time you create a new page or post. Just keep at it until the light turns green, and then you’re good to go!
Carrot IDX — IDX is useful because it allows real estate agents to automatically upload MLS listings to their websites. This saves a lot of time. And Carrot IDX allows you to upload listings and then customize those listings however you like.
Running Google and Facebook ads is much more complex than it probably sounds… especially if you’ve never done it before.
If you have tried your hand at paid ads, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.
You choose the targeting and craft the copy as carefully as possible, then hit launch with your fingers crossed.
But those ads end up far less effective than had hoped.
The truth is, it can take years to learn how to craft high-converting advertisements.
This is why we highly recommend delegating that part of your business to the marketing experts over at Silver Street Marketing if you have the budget for it.
They will manage every aspect of your PPC and Facebook marketing strategy so you can focus on closing clients and growing your business.
4. Citation Building Service
If you want to start building your SEO and website rankings to drive traffic passively to your website, then citations are a great place to start.
What are citations?
Well, first, you have to understand backlinks. Backlinks are the term used when another website links to your website, and they’re a critical indication to Google that your website is trustworthy. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the more that Google will trust your website (which means better rankings).
And citations are a type of backlink that’s easy to get.
You just go to sites like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc., and list your business information. Doing this on 40 or more sites will typically give you an SEO advantage over your competitors.
But it can take a while.
With our Citation Building Service, we’ll go build 40 citations for you so you can keep your attention on more important business matters.
Direct mail is one of the most common lead generation tools for real estate agents.
Any real estate agents in your market who are trying to grow their business are probably sending direct mail.
That’s for good reason — direct mail is a great way to build brand awareness and generate leads.
The problem is, everyone is doing it.
Which makes it difficult to craft mailers that stand out from your competitor’s mailers. Because of that, many mailers end up in the trash before even getting looked at.
But Ballpoint Marketing is solving that.
They offer robot-written mailers that look hand-written (the ink even smudges and indents the paper).
And these mailers get an exceptional response rate.
It creates a personal touch that feels authentic and is difficult for people to ignore.
Your email list should be the backbone of your marketing strategy.
By consistently growing your email list and interacting with those prospects on a weekly basis, you expand your reach, build brand awareness, and nurture leads.
It’s like this: your ads and SEO leads to your website, which leads to your email list, which leads to follow-up and eventually closing clients.
It might not always be a straight line, but that’s the general flow.
And perhaps the easiest tool for building your email list is Mailchimp, which won’t cost you a dime until you’ve reached more than 1,000 subscribers.
Plus, Carrot easily integrates with your Mailchimp account!
The bigger that your business gets, the more cluttered internal processes becomes.
It’s a natural part of hte process. Promising leads slide under the radar and important tasks don’t get finished… all because your business is growing.
Remember the old saying: what go you here won’t get you there.
And when your business gets to new heights, you’ll probably find that you need software to help organize and coordinate your leads, workflows, and other internal processes.
Many of members love using Realvolve for that. You can schedule a demo on their homepage to check it out for yourself.
What if you could easily get your business and website mentioned on local publications?
With HARO — which stands for “Help a Reporter Out” — you can.
And the benefits are twofold. First, local and even nationwide publications will mention you as an expert at real estate. This will grant you credibility and even give you the chance to put a trust-building bar like this on your website…
Just add the logos of the places that you’ve been mentioned and voila! You’ll build immediate trust with your website visitors.
The second benefit is in regards to search engine optimization, which drives traffic to your website when people type certain keywords into Google.
One of the biggest factors of SEO is how many reputable backlinks your website has — a backlink is when another website links to your website.
And when other sites quote you as an expert, they’ll almost always link to your website.
Win, win.
So how does HARO work, and how do you get leads in real estate from their services?
Well, you can sign up for free as an expert source for journalists. Then every day, you’ll receive an email with potential articles you can contribute to. Just follow the intstructions and you’ll start getting mentioned in no time.
HARO is most effective when you consistently and quickly respond to prompts over a long period of time.
Even dedicating 10 minutes per day to can help to win HARO backlinks, improve your domain authority, and enhance your brand’s visibility.
Answering the phone is one of the biggest, most unexpected challenges of growing your real estate agent business.
If you don’t answer the phone when it rings, then your chances of losing the lead skyrocket. At the same time, you obviously can’t spend all your time on the phone… between negotiating contracts, house showings, and client meetings, you’re busy enough.
So what do you do?
Well, one thing you can do is hire a salesperson to answer the phone for you and make follow-up appointments.
Once they’re trained, you can use a service like Aircall to create multiple phone numbers, ensure that the phone gets answered when it rings, record conversations, and even assign different leads to different salespeople.
You probably don’t need this service when you’re just getting started, but it’s something you might want to consider when your team grows and the phone won’t stop ringing (’cause that’s a good thing, after all).
13. CRM
Following up with leads is an extremely important part of running a real estate business.
Not just so that you can do more closings, but so that you make the most of each lead.
The fact is, most closings happen during the follow up… people don’t decide to work with you after the first call or even the second call… but after the 5th call.
And while that might sound discouraging, it really just requires a little restructuring to be able to follow up consistently and effortlessly.
Really, it takes an effective CRM.
A CRM helps you organize your contacts, your leads, and your touch-points with them. You can keep track of how many times you’ve contacted each lead, when you contacted them, and tons of other person-specific details that make having a CRM one of the best real estate lead generation tools out there.
The first choice for most of our member is Realvolve.
But you know what really sets YouTube apart from other platforms?
Video.
More than any other media type, people love video content. It’s easier to consume and more entertaining than written content.
In fact, 54% of people want to see more video content from brands and businesses that they follow.
And by creating consistent video content on YouTube, you can establish yourself as a real estate expert in your market and encourage people to reach out to you when buying or selling a home.
But what kind of content should you create?
For inspiration, check out the Farr Group’s YouTube channel. They create videos about their listings, their business purpose, and they even offer educational advice.
Building your YouTube channel isn’t going to change your business or your life overnight, but it can make a big impact over the long-term.
The main key to building a following on any platform like this is to be consistent with your content creation schedule (publish at least once per week).
The more often that people see your videos, the more that they’ll view you as a real estate expert.
But YouTube isn’t just great for generating attention organically… you can also run YouTube ads.
And one of the greatest parts about YouTube ads is that your competitors are probably not using the platform at all (they’re probably just running Facebook ads). Additionally, you can target people based on location.
Which means that you can create a “YouTube commercial” that only targets people in your market.
Why not give it a try and see how it impacts your lead generation?
IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange and it’s the tool real estate agents use to bring listings from the MLS to their own website.
This is really important for a few reasons.
First of all, if people see house listing that they like on your website… they’re going to call you and maybe work with you.
(Especially if you have a high-converting Carrot site!)
If they see that same listing on Zillow instead… then who knows who they’re going to call for help? It’s just a roll of the dice.
And second, putting listings directly on your website gives you an excuse to drive people to your website, building brand awareness and generating leads.
Every you add a new listing, you can post on social media and email your list about it… just like the Farr Group does.
Facebook is one of the most popular places for real estate agents to do their online advertising… and for good reason.
It’s an extremely powerful platform with billions of people and remarkable targeting.
With just a few clicks, you can create an advertisement that targets first-time homebuyers, people interested in selling their home, or pretty much any other demographic that you can dream up.
And not only are Facebook’s advertising options versatile, but it’s also relatively inexpensive, costing between $1 and $3 per click.
Of course, before you run Facebook ads, you’ll want to make sure that your website is ready to convert that paid traffic.
Carrot sites are built to convert, but you’ll still want to make some minor customizations.
The best way to find out whether your site is converting as you want it to is to do a test run.
Use this calculator to determine what your budget should be in order to get a single closing, set that money aside, and run some advertisements.
If you’re getting closings while staying within your budget, then you have a winning system. If not, then tweak your ads and/or your site until you’re in the green.
It might take some time to get profitable with your Facebook ads, but stick with it and, eventually, you’ll figure it out.
You might be suprised at just how effective Instagram can be for growing your business and doing more closings.
At first, it seems like just another social media platform that’s easy to get distracted by, but it’s more than that.
Since Instagram is so visual and so full of images, it’s a great place to show your listings and to encourage buyers to buy and sellers to sell… through you.
As you can see below, their Instagram posts aren’t all that complicated, but they are quite effective lead generation tools for real estate.
They share new house listings, cool photos, and buying and selling advice.
And it’s working really well.
When I asked them about this, they even mentioned that some of their posts don’t get a ton of engagement, but then people will mention those posts as the reason that they reached out.
So your social media posts build brand awareness and might be having a bigger impact than you think.
We already talked about Canva, which is a great place to go design your own graphics.
But since you’re a real estate agent — and not a graphic designer — it might be safe to say that… well, you just don’t want to design your own graphics.
In that case, 99designs is a great website for hiring a high-quality designer.
Your first option is just to post a job, check applications and reviews, and then hire someone who you think fits the bill.
But another great option is to “host a contest”, which allows multiple designers to compete for the job. Each designer creates a graphic for the project, you review them, and then choose which one you like the most.
Pretty cool, huh?
That means you can see the designers work before you pay for it.
Social media is an extremely powerful tool for building brand awareness and marketing your business.
Unfortunately, it can easily turn into a time-sucking machine.
Posting turns into scrolling and scrolling turns into wasted time.
Why not avoid social media altogether — but still get all of the business benefits — by using a tool like Planoly to schedule your social media posts on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
This ensures that you won’t get distracted by social media when you’re trying to work.
And plus, it also allows you to create and schedule all of your posts at one time, so you don’t have to return to social media throughout the week.
Good for your business… good for your productivity.
Which of these lead generation tools for real estate agents is right for your business?
Hopefully, you now know of several lead-gen tools that you’ve never considered using before.
And more hopefully, you’ll give some of them a try.
Which ones do you think will be the most helpful for your business? Which ones are you going to use right away?
Which ones are you still considering? And which one do you think is the best lead generation tool for real estate?
Try what you haven’t tried before. Move. Get feedback. Then adjust and keep doing what works. You won’t get that feedback if you just wait and see.
– David Lecko
The Biggest Driving For Dollars Mistakes You Can Make + Creative Deals During COVID-19 w/ David Lecko of DealMachine
We’re all dealing with some crazy times right now, but that doesn’t mean business has stopped. Many of us are “locked-down” but that doesn’t mean people are hiding out in their homes all day every day. The world is still moving, just at a slower pace.
We’ve done some great episodes recently with top investors like Mike Hambright, discussing the ways investors and agents can change their strategy during COVID.
Today, we sat down with David Lecko to talk about some amazing strategies you can use when driving for dollars and how you can use DealMachine and Carrot to amplify your success rate.
Read the Full Show Notes Below…
I first met David about a year and a half ago and I am blown away by his app, DealMachine.
It’s one of those things that was created from necessity – David is an investor himself, who was looking for a way to simplify the driving for dollars process. His app does just that by quickly loading all of the data you need to learn about the property, find seller information, and even reach out to them right there on the spot.
Some investors and agents are pulling back, but it’s times like these when entrepreneurs, investors, and agents need to pivot. They need to take advantage of what is out there right now and find ways they can add value for the people who need it most.
What is Driving for Dollars?
Before diving in, what exactly is driving for dollars? It is a term used to describe a real estate strategy for finding deals on houses. The investor drives around neighborhoods until they find houses that fit the vacant or distressed category. They then attempt to buy that home from the owners.
The simple part is driving around looking for houses. The hard part is the process of buying the home. It can be difficult to find the owners of a vacant house. And, if the home is bank-owned, it is almost impossible to buy it and many homeowners do not want to be bugged.
Creative Strategies for Investors
Right now, some of David’s best clients are using DealMachine to find the worst looking homes out there. Whether or not it is an absentee owner or a vacant house, they are adding them to their list and getting in touch.
The use of direct mail through the DealMachine app is way up – savvy investors out there know that the competition has slowed down, people are feeling pressure to sell, and let’s face it, after sitting home all day, opening mail can be pretty exciting.
A few ways to up your game would be to:
Hire someone to “bird-dog” properties on your behalf. You can pay them by the hour, adding incentive for each qualified property added to your contact queue.
Change up your mailpiece, letting people know how you can help them during this scary time.
Use Zoom whenever possible and offer incentives such as staying in the house until the virus has passed.
Double down on your marketing efforts. Your competition is slowing down, advertising is cheap, and people are looking for solutions now more than ever.
Don’t quit right away. According to David’s numbers, if you are mailing to 200 homeowners, you will need to mail to them 3 times over 3 months before you begin to make something happen. It can take time to get a deal!
Remember you are building your pipeline now. In 3 months when the market is back and you aren’t closing deals, it will because you didn’t do the work today.
If the deals have slowed, find a skill you are really great at it, and help other investors who need to master it – cold calling, social media, negotiations, etc.
No matter what the competition is doing, it is important that you stay consistent and follow-up. You can be the perfect solution for a homeowner when they need your help the most.
Creative Strategies for Real Estate Agents
Just like investors, there are a lot of agents who are slowing things down now, when in reality, it is a great time to help those who need to buy and sell. DealMachine can also help agents find more clients with the implementation of a few creative strategies.
After selling a home, get in touch with the neighbors. You can find contact information and mail a postcard right from the app.
Adjust your content to be Coronavirus specific, letting people know how you will handle the buying and selling process.
Look for vacant or distressed properties and become a hybrid solution by either listing, investing, or partnering with an investor to help a homeowner in need.
Look for landlords or absentee owners who may be struggling to keep up with their own bills because their tenants aren’t able to pay the rent.
There are many ways agents can connect with the buyers and sellers who need them during these difficult times. By becoming a community resource and not shying away when others have stopped, you’ll be able to connect with and ultimately help more people.
Mistakes Investors and Agents Can Avoid
Right now, we are seeing two types of agents and investors. We see those who are crippled by fear and we are seeing those who have paused, pivoted, created a plan, and accelerating. Whether you are driving for dollars or launching a PPC campaign, now is not the time to sit around and “wait and see.” Don’t be afraid to double-down, capitalizing on this time when your competition has taken a break.
As things get back to normal, make sure you have taken this time to:
Get out the content that is going to connect with people
Get DealMachine and drive around your neighborhood
Find new ways to pivot within your business and get creative
Now is the time to try things other agents and investors are pulling back on. Try the things you haven’t tried before and take action. Then you can adjust and do the things that work best for you. Guys, we’re going to bounce back here soon, and it will be those who doubled down who see the most success as things begin to ramp back up.
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