The Key to Real Estate Success: A Marketing Plan by Ben Innes-Ker, IN Part 2

OK, so marketing, what does it mean? So far it's just a word I've said ten or twenty times, right? Well, there are two types of marketing people typically use. The traditional approach, which for want of any better way to go, usually involves just going out after randomly selected sellers.

They haven't been screened or qualified in any way. We just know they have a house to sell. We run up big phone bills and classified ad bills to get to talk to them. In communicating with them, we usually talk to them about our financing and how great it is. And if they will just sell to us their problems will go away.

We do it manually; call by call, door by door. We talk about us, rather than inquire about them. We chase, they run. When we stop, the marketing stops. The cost per deal is very high, both financially and emotionally.

The second approach is the targeted, low-cost, systemized, response-oriented approach that, through a variety of media (such as direct mail, lead-generating classified ads, flyers, signs, radio, cable TV) states a benefit for the seller, calls for a response from them, and positions you as "the solution" for the sellers who want that.

The sellers step forward and select you. The marketing is automated, and it is an operating system that works whether you are there or not.

I don't want to shock you, but we are not going with the first choice here. Pick up just about any book or course about real estate investing, and you'll find the choice #1 approach to finding motivated sellers, if any. What you will find in few books or courses is the choice #2 approach, which is direct response marketing.

Direct response marketing targets a specific group of most-desired prospects that you have defined as those most likely to respond to your offer (e.g. out-of-state homeowners or expired listings), then it advertises for or delivers a message to only those people via a media (e.g. personal-looking hand-addressed #10 envelope mailed first class) that will reach them and get their attention. Once in front of the target, direct response delivers the following;
1. A benefit-telegraphic headline
2. A true marketing message
3. An offer or offers
4. A reason to respond immediately
5. Precise response instructions and mechanisms
With these five elements in place, you set yourself up to be called only by motivated, partially pre-sold sellers, continually, day after day! So now you can be freed to do the most productive thing possible for you as an investor--make offers to motivated sellers!

Hopefully you can see the picture here. Direct response marketing cuts your advertising expense in half. It sifts, sorts, and screens your prospects so that only the most qualified and most motivated respond and get to talk to you. In short, it allows you to make more while working less, with more predictability, consistency, and control than anything else you could do to find deals.

Is that something you want? Think about it. Is there anyone you know of who is buying and selling a boatload of houses every month? Now, why is that? They don't offer sellers anything more outstanding than you, do they? They certainly don't offer sellers anything more creative than you are capable of offering. They don't have any better phone manner than you.

Not at all. The only thing that successful real estate entrepreneurs do better than anyone else is:
Create a reliable, consistent flow of motivated sellers calling in each day!