EP 212: The Biggest ‘Driving For Dollars’ Mistakes You Can Make + Creative Deals During COVID w/ David Lecko of DealMachine
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 … Continued