A very common question I get from investors is "You cover a lot of ways to get sellers calling you in your tape course. What methods are you using now?" It varies and I can't use all these methods each month because I have plenty of leads. But these are my top picks:

1. Classified Ads

These are low cost and targeted. I run classified ads "til further notice" in my local weekly community newspaper and the local regional "Thrifty Nickel" ad paper. My current ad:

HOW TO SELL YOUR HOUSE "AS IS" FOR A FAIR PRICE
on the date of your choice...We buy houses.
No fee or commission. Quick, easy, professional.
24 hour recorded info 1-888-555-5555 Box 2251

2. Large Newspaper Display Ads

Each month I publish my famous "advertorial" once in a local weekly paper. Owners of my tape course have a free license to use this ad. Cost is about $450 for 8.5" x 12" ad. The cost is low because it has a small circulation, but it targets the neighborhoods I want to buy houses in.

3. Flyers

I put my "advertorial" on one side of a flyer. I put several houses for sale on the other side. Have flyers delivered to areas where I have houses for sale by inserting into newspaper. Cost is $75 per thousand plus printing. Look for a number of easy, low cost ways to distribute flyers to targeted neighborhoods. 

4. Small Display Ads

I run smaller display ads driving traffic to a web site and/or free recorded message. It may be an expandeded version of my classified ad. The ad highlights the best reasons why they should respond for more info. I run ads in local phonebook, local community map, chamber of commerce directory, residence guide and soon Better Business Bureau directory. You can also use local weekly newspapers, "for sale by owner" magazines, etc.

5. Signs

Yard signs always work if you get a lot of them out and they don't disappear too fast. Many communities have problems with signs, including mine. So I strategically locate only a few here and there and they still work. Billboards and bus benches are a solution but you need to test before signing long term contract. Vehicle signs should be large and noticeable, designed to capture attention. I like bright yellow signs with black letters, and a free recorded message.

6. Referrals

Network, tell people what you do, pass out business cards. Ask people you do business with for referrals. Develop an "elevator speech." That's a 30-second "commercial" you have memorized when anyone asks you what you do: "You know how people with a house for sale usually try to sell it themselves, or end up listing it with an agent? They never know when the house will sell. I'm a private investor. I'm always looking to buy more property. 

I help sellers avoid putting their homes on the market because I buy them. It doesn't matter whether they need work or if they're in great shape. I close quick, take them "as is," and can pay a fair price. That way, sellers don't end up making payments on an empty house, or suffer through the uncertainty of when they'll find a buyer. Do you know anyone trying to sell a house?" 

AND THE NUMBER ONE WAY TO FIND DEALS...

7. Postcards!

Last month I reported how I got $110,000 in equity from a postcard mailing costing $2,200. I will provide a complete, updated report on how to use this in marketing system in my next eLetter. We're about to use it again. I am going to get a few of my consulting clients up and running, working out all the details so it can be used in any market throughout the nation. You can publish my entire "advertorial" on an oversized postcard, up to 6.5" x 11.5" double-sided for under 13 cents each postage. 

Because I got my entire marketing message in seller's hands very cost effectively, I bought one out of seven houses! Stay tuned.

About the Author
Full-time investor Richard Roop has been called The Marketing Consultant for Real Estate Entrepreneurs. He is the President of Bottom Line Results, Inc., a real estate acquisition company located in Woodland Park, Colorado since 1996. As a successful marketing consultant since 1984, Richard specializes in providing innovative business and marketing advice to real estate entrepreneurs. He is the author of the "How to Sell Your Home in 9 Days" book. Richard Roop's articles have appeared in various entrepreneurial, real estate and marketing newsletters across the nation.

When trying to get Motivated Sellers to call you, these tools work incredibly well...

Postcard Power - Investor Marketing


Online service that will hold your mailing list, maintain all of your postcards, Print, include postage and mail your postcards for just a couple of pennies more than postcard postage.