Go listen to any group of real estate investors at any networking meeting in town and you will probably hear people lamenting the lack of deals. Yet we still see people posting how they just did this deal or that deal all over social media. So why is one investor going great guns and the other out there sucking wind? One has an effective marketing plan and the other does not.
We reached out to Kathy Kennebrook, who is known for her marketing skills to find out about building marketing plans. Here’s what she shared with us:
Developing an Effective Marketing Strategy is Essential
Educating yourself and discovering how to locate and motivate potential sellers to contact you is a must in making your real estate business a success. You must be able to locate prospects who want to do business with you.
Finding the Right Sellers
It’s essential to find sellers who need to sell, not just those who want to sell their properties. This is key to your success as a real estate investor in any market and will determine how your next 12-18 months look: will you get lots of good deals in this softer market or miss the opportunity?
The Numbers Game in Marketing
Know this: marketing is a numbers game. The more leads you generate, the more opportunities you will have to make deals. You won’t buy every deal that comes your way, but when you develop a “marketing machine” that brings in quality leads, you can pick and choose the deals you want to do.
Quality vs. Quantity in Lead Generation
Let’s talk about QUALITY leads. You cannot afford to waste your money-making time on unqualified leads! Using a shotgun approach, such as signage, business cards, or generic letters, will bring in a lot of leads, but very few will be qualified, motivated sellers.
Integrating Different Marketing Approaches
Using a highly targeted approach to locate motivated sellers will bring in fewer leads, but they will be much more highly qualified and lead to a higher number of profitable deals. One method is not necessarily better than the other; you need to integrate both types of marketing into your business to bring you the highest number of deals.
Developing a Marketing Strategy
The best way to do this is to develop three to five different marketing techniques that work best for you in your area and then integrate both the shotgun approach and targeted marketing into your business plan.
Consistency in Marketing Efforts
If you really have a marketing STRATEGY, you will be consistent in your marketing. Remember, you want to reach your marketplace in as many ways as your budget will allow since not every motivated seller will see every type of marketing you do.
Testing and Tracking Your Marketing Efforts
Try various marketing techniques and see which ones give you the best results, and capitalize on them. However, do not keep changing the way you market. Develop a marketing strategy that works well for you and stick to it. This will “crank up your buying machine” like nothing else can.
Make sure you give the market a fair test before deciding on a strategy that doesn’t work. This period should be at least sixty to ninety days. Be sure to track the source of your leads by simply asking the sellers how they heard about you. This is imperative to creating and tweaking your long-term marketing strategy.
As you market and begin to purchase properties, you will also want to consider the cost per lead. How much is each deal costing you, and what marketing technique did you use to acquire it? Continue to test and track as you go to ensure your marketing dollars are being used most effectively. This is how you build a successful business.
Adjusting Your Marketing Strategy
Also, remember that as the market continues to change, your marketing should change to continue bringing you the highest number of qualified leads possible. For example, if pre-foreclosures are suddenly at an all-time high, you’ll want to target pre-foreclosures along with the other types of marketing you are already doing.
Cost-Effective Marketing Techniques
If you are a beginner in the real estate business, there are many ways to get motivated sellers contacting you, even if you are working on a limited budget.
If time and finances are a challenge, there are many techniques that require very little time and almost no cash to implement. Using signs, direct mail, Facebook, running ads, distributing flyers, or using other people to “spot” properties for you are examples of some marketing techniques you can use to generate leads.
Leveraging Your Network for Leads
Other ways to use people to “spot” properties for you include talking with your mailman, pest control person, moving company, delivery person, or friends and relatives. These people see properties you would never otherwise come in contact with and can generate many leads for you at virtually no expense.
The Importance of Consistency
Once again, the most important thing to remember is to be consistent with your efforts. There is no single formula that works all the time.
Building Your Marketing Network
A successful investor has a network of people and strategies at their fingertips at all times.
Taking Action
Get your plan in place and get started.
The Path to Financial Freedom
Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned investor, developing a specific marketing strategy is an invaluable tool to generate leads and buy more properties. The more leads you generate, the more opportunities you will create to deal with highly motivated sellers. This will help you do more deals, make more profits, and set you on the road to financial freedom.
What are you waiting for? Develop a marketing strategy TODAY! Start the process by joining Kathy Kennebrook, at the MAREI Master Class on Saturday, July 13th. Click here to get all the details and to register to attend or get the replay.
