Great info. ! I know you kind of mentioned the information i’m about to ask, but I’ll ask away anyway just to make sure I fully grasp the info.

Here are my question:

(1) Do you still do direct marketing and what is the number of leads do you send your postcard to on average?

(2) What is your response rate?

(3) You mentioned in the interview about Cris Chico, do you also incorporate Cris Chico’s in finding probate deals as well when you do direct marketing?

Thank you very much and I look forward to hearing from you.

Actually the postcard I used to get my first deal was so awful looking! I designed it online somewhere and had no clue what I was doing. I wish I still had a copy so I could post it here and we could all get a good laugh! Although, I guess I did get a deal from it, so at least it was effective in it’s ugliness.

And funny you bring up having to chauffeur your seller to the closing- I had to do that once as well on one of my first wholesale deals. The lady (who was totally crazy) lived like an hour away from the title company, and when we got ready to sign all of the papers and disburse the funds, she said that she would not accept a cashier’s check from the title company because it might bounce. So the owner of the title company had to drive to Bank of America and get a certified check made out to her. Then I had to drive her to her bank right after the closing so she could deposit it, and then all the way back home. It was an interesting ride, that’s for sure.

Definitely check out freeconferencecalling- it’s super super easy to use (even for me), and it’s free, which is also a bonus.

And one more thing about Garageband- I love it! I’ve got it down to science and can edit audio in there like a pro. It took me some time to figure it out, but now it’s smooth sailing.

Nice chatting with you.

I want to reduce the fear and skepticism that so many feel when they receive the letter but don’t want it to stop working!!

Hope that helps!
.-= Julie Broad´s last blog ..Living Life on My Terms =-.

Even this week, I got a call from another investor who left a msg (I try to answer my calls when I can but I was in the middle of doing an inspection) who said, “Hey Rachel, I’ve got a doublewide for you. Give me a call, you’ll probably get my voicemail because I won’t answer it but just leave a msg and I’ll call you back” – And, that was just this week! It’s pretty amazing how some people can be….I never did call this person back b/c it just didn’t seem like he really cared enough to even pick up and answer the phone!!

Oh, I can really relate to you with direct mail – it was such a pain to keep up with. Wow, that’s cool how your first deal came from a direct mail postcard (was it yellow? just kidding!) My first wholesale deal was from going out and scouting vacant properties – it was a landlord. He was really difficult to work with. And, I guess that’s why not many people were able to work with him. I got a bit frustrated myself. But, I kept in touch with him. Took me a few months and a crazy letter to him trying to set the scene for him imagining what life would be like without these properties (they were vacant) and how he could just move on and retire (that’s what he wanted to do). It was a pretty wild letter, but finally he caved and we were able to deal. But, the kicker was how he wanted me to drive him to closing and be his chauffeur! (Oh, the drama!) It was nice once it was all over with

Oh, cool about freeconferencecalling.com – I’ve never heard of that. I’ll have to check it out. I’m playing around with Garageband for some audio stuff, it’s not that hard once I get the hang of it. It’s actually pretty cool. Thanks for your help, it’s nice to exchange stories with you!

That’s an interesting perspective on the yellow letters from the other side of the fence. Did someone really write that they probably wouldn’t answer the phone? That right there would be enough for me not to even call, although I guess if you’re motivated enough to sell you’ll try anything.

I was like you with my direct mail efforts- totally unorganized, and not consistent at all. Although now that I think about it, my very first deal ever came from a postcard that I sent to someone who had their property listed in the paper (I could have just called the # in the ad, but I was too chicken, so sent a postcard instead!) Ha!

Thanks for the thoughtful (as always) comment,
Steph

Oh- regarding the audios, I don’t use a microphone at all, I use freeconferencecalling.com, and just call in on my home phone. Have’t had any problems doing it that way yet. Knock on wood.

Listening to your story, it really reiterates the importance of you being able to gain the trust of the seller. And, it’s funny because when this happens nothing else really matters – the important thing is your intent to make this deal work for both you and the seller. I see a lot of investors out there who make so many promises to sellers yet end up backing out of deals on promises they couldn’t make only to leave the seller at ground zero again. Not a good thing – this really has damaged and given the word “investor” a bad name.

Oh, and it’s funny you gals mention the “yellow letters.” I got those letters when I was liquidating. From a seller’s point of view, a lot of them were really quite offensive and annoying. Just receiving a letter like that from a complete stranger who says they want to buy my house (even though they have never seen it before) and to call them so they can pay cash and close quickly in bold and all caps was a bit ridiculous in nature (it sounded like an advertisement). What’s even more amusing is when it says, “Oh by the way, just leave a message because I probably won’t answer it.” So, basically this stranger is telling me to call them and saying my call is not important to them since they won’t even take the time to answer the phone? Wow, amazing.

So, that’s kind of my experience with those types of letters. And, I remember going to a few sellers homes who had stacks of them (we even read them together) and telling me I was one of the few who even bothered to call and care about their situation. I should have made photocopies of those letters, pretty crazy stuff!

Great tips on the IRA and private money stuff, Shae. And, I also like the end on your tips to get started. I agree, we’ve all made mistakes. I even did some of that crazy stuff, Steph mentioned like sending out letters to owners on the MLS – they were expired listings but it just was too much for me to keep up with. I think direct mail works but you really have to have a system and be really organized to keep up with it and be successful (sounds like Julie has a pretty good system!) For me, I found what worked best was just talking and meeting with these people – it was the fastest and best use of my skills (I’m not that much of an organized person!)

I really enjoyed the call, thanks for sharing!

p.s. I’ve been doing a little experimenting with Garageband for some audio stuff – my microphone produces a bit of an echo. The call sounded pretty good, is there a certain type of microphone that you gals use or recommend? I’m looking for a good one, thanks for your help!