I want to talk about ways to attract buyers and more importantly sellers into your buying or sales funnels. Why do I say that finding sellers is more important than attracting buyers? I say this because selling a home should be the easy part and it is, ifyou purchase the home at the “correct price”. There is always a constant flow of end-users (people who want to live their) looking for affordable homes. Finding a buyer for a home that you bought for too high a price is conversely very hard, unless you don’t mind taking a loss.
5 ideas that aren’t main stream yet:
Create Tee shirts: Creating a custom T-shirt or polo can be pretty fun and exciting. I remember a huge sense of pride when I wore my business logo shirt around town. T-shirts also give you a look of a company that is larger than yourself, which helps when talking to sellers and buyers.
Don’t be cheap here. Spend a little extra and use a nice T-shirt or button down. If using a screen printing service makes sure the print won’t fade too quickly or come off in the wash. Wear it with pride!
Social cards: If you have facebook, twitter, linkedin or any other internet social media site profile, list it on your business card. Social media can be a great tool to attract buyers and sellers. If you are looking for homes to buy OR sell blast a message out your whole group or list of friends.
And everyone reading this should “fan up” (thanks Josh) at MHM’s Facebook fan page. And while you’re at it add me as a friend @ John Fedro.
Meetup.com: If you haven’t been on meetup.com yet, go after you read this post. It’s a free site that shows any “meetup” (a group of people with a common interest meeting together) in your area of the world. From Harry Potter fans to wine aficionados to real estate investing meetup.com is a great way to meet new people and have fun doing it. Go to these meeting with your shirt and business card and be ready to mingle.
Now, if you’re one of the billions that has heard and/or currently use meetup.com on a regular basis then dig this. Host a meetup group of your own. At either meeting it is important to let other investors know your number and remember that you buy mobile homes. Tell everyone to call you with all their old and new mobile home leads they don’t want. Be ready to tell people exactly what you’re look for. Age range, park conditions, or any other specifications.
Yard Signs: This is a technique that I have used in the past that lasted for a little over one year. I bought 2 homes that I still have cash-flowing currently and wholesaled a third for 7K profit. Here’s how it works. Create a bandit sign that is 12×18 inches if you don’t have 1 already. I found that it is easier to use this technique with 12×18 vs. 12×24. Find a major road in your area, close to a stop sign or traffic light is preferable. Knock on the house door one Saturday afternoon and ask the owner if they wouldn’t mind if you placed a small advertising sign for your business in their front yard. You will pay them $20 ($10-$100 depending on the traffic volume) a month. I got a 30% yes rate a few years back. Now-a-days people are hurting for money; you can probably negotiate some great deals. Make sure to place your sign off the county’s land and inside the owner’s yard. We don’t want the nosey sign police stealing our sign. Drive by the home every few days to insure the sign is still there.
Paint A Roof: The awesome pictures I had of this advertising were deleted when my last hard drive crashed. I stopped at a home that had a large barn in the back yard that was next to a highly trafficked road in my market. I made an agreement with the owner that at $300 a month I would rent the top and side of his barn to say whatever I wanted. I wrote in bright white paint “WE BUY HOUSES” and my number on the side and sloped roof of the barn. I bought and have since sold 2 mobile homes from that 1 piece of marketing, well making my money back and more. I eventually had to cover the sign because of threats from the county and their advertising laws. Fun while it lasted!
The picture above is from Google earth. It was taken before I painted the roof, but shows the great view from the road. You can’t see it but there is a billboard right down the road. I called up the company that rented the billboard space and they wanted $2,500 a month for a smaller area than I had. Give me a break!
John Fedro
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