**Scroll down for my update**
Hello everyone I hope life is treating you well and you are embracing it for all it’s worth.
I wanted to share the marketing strategy I will be implementing starting this week but before I do, I wanted to bring a few things up that may possibly help some of you newbie’s and perhaps even some of you who like me, have been working to be successful in real estate investing and become discouraged.
I’ve been slacking big-time with my marketing and it’s bugging the heck out of me but I know how to fix it and will. I’ve posted articles on how you must be consistent with your marketing or plan to fail and obviously did not heed my own advice. To the folks new to investing, please know having a website is simply not enough. Networking on Facebook is great but you will rarely, if ever get a motivated seller to contact you that way. You’ve got to implement a direct marketing plan and keep it going. Look at your budget and be realistic about how much you can afford to spend monthly. At first, it’s not so important how many postcards or yellow letters you send out, you’ve got to consistently send them out and make sure you followup.
While I’ve been somewhat successful in making some money with the virtual investing out of my area, that’s been sporadic which is why I’m moving my focus back to my local area of Hampton Roads Virginia at least for the time being.
Here are my resources and the game plan to implement a consistent monthly marketing campaign:
I will be using postcards and split testing with yellow letters and of course doing testing and tweaking to see what works and what doesn’t. I’m a Cris Chico Virtual Wholesaling student and have been tweaking some of his postcard templates he has in his course. I got a new toll-free number (888) 91-SELLHOUSENOW through Grasshopper.com, (Thanks for the resource Shae Bynes). What’s cool with Grasshopper is that I can create unlimited extensions so I can create different messages for motivated sellers, another message for cash buyers, ect…
I am signed up with Usleadlist and receive their list every 3 months. For those of you who don’t know, Usleadlist specializes in targeting estate homeowners with equity.
I’ve been receiving lists from them since Summer of last year. Each list varies in size but the total number of leads I have through them currently is 1418.
400 of the newest leads will go out this Thursday, 22 July with the following batch of 400 going out 5 August, the next 400 will go out 19 Aug, then the remaining 218 on 2 September. By the time September rolls around it will be nearly time for the new fall list to come out and I will also do follow-up mailing with the 400 leads I’d sent out in July.
I’ve also just signed up with Realquest with their Unlimited county data access plan. Under this plan I can download up to 4000 absentee owner records monthly and unlimited access to comps. Hell no it’s not cheap and not to mention being locked into a contract for a year. But considering the fact that I will be getting all those leads monthly, I am determined and confident that I will find more than a few deals.
So add an additional 400 mailings to absentee owners for 22 July along with the Usleadlist mailings which will be 800 direct marketing pieces every 2 weeks.
I’m in the process of teaching my daughters and nephew how to upload lists and create postcards through Click2mail so there are my “Virtual” assistants. They need the money and know that I am not treating this as a hobby and happy to help. I’m also training them to be property locators.
Lastly, I’ll be stepping up my game with making offers on REO’s. I’ve got the awesome resource of my buddy Steph Davis Flip This REO eBook and her expertise in that area, plus a great realtor who is also an investor and understands the mentality of a wholesaler.
I’ll make sure to update ya’ll on the struggles as well as the successes. Of course, with persistence and determination will come success! Thanks for reading.
To Your Ultimate Success
Bill “Dollar Bill” Lassiter
**7/27 Update**
I received 4 calls so far from the 400 postcards I sent out last Thursday, 7/22. One call was to ask me to remove them from any future contact and I did, the 1 call was not a motivated seller who wanted full market value, (I referred her to a realtor and asked that she call back if anything changes). The remaining 2 may be potential deals and both have lots of equity. I’ve scheduled appointments to take a look at each home and meet with the homeowners. The interesting thing to note is that with each seller I spoke with, I shared the fact that they or someone in their family was retired military.
Here is an excerpt of the postcards I just recently sent out:
“I am a private real estate investor. Retired from the US Air Force with 20 years of service. Local homeowner and member of the Hampton Roads community since 1976.”
Since this is a big military community I wanted to try and establish a thread of commonality with homeowners. Hopefully more leads will call. I’ll keep ya’ll posted in these 2 potential deals.
Bill
I wanted to share an article I came across a couple of years ago on a real estate website named DealMakers Cafe.
When I read this article, it absolutely resounded with me. I mean, I could back then, and still today relate with what’s being said and I think many of you can possibly too.
Bill “Dollar Bill” Lassiter
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Written by The Motivated One
Wednesday, 17 March 2004 00:00 – Last Updated Wednesday, 11 March 2009 19:38
Below is a comment that was posted on a message board in the past.
“Hey, I am not quitting, but it is getting a little discouraging…”
You’re discouraged because your ads are not pulling in deals and you need to get things going NOW because you’re not working, I understand, completely. There is a sense of urgency here and things usually just don’t work that way, meaning when you really need to get something NOW, it never comes. Let me explain. Let me share with you a TMO True Story:
Years ago, I used to sell Kirby vacuums door-to-door and lasted for over a year. Many months I would work 7 days a week, over 100 hours a week and as you could imagine, it was a tough sell. There were some weeks where I would sell 3-4 and at times up to 5. There were other weeks where I wouldn’t sell at all, and I even went a month without getting 1 sale.
Now, I remember the last week in particular where I was very low on cash and was week 4 without a sale. I was so low on cash that I had no money to eat, and being on the road ALL day, you eat out everyday. I was so discouraged and hungry for that matter. The more time went on, the more I wanted that sale… The more I needed that sale. Demo after demo I would not get a sale and I couldn’t figure out why. I was doing everything right, but couldn’t sell water to someone stranded in the desert.
I was about ready to give up. I even took a day off to go job hunting. When I came back to work the next day, there was a new sales trainer there, training the “newbies”. He asked me to speak about my experiences because I was there so long. Usually people last a week and at the most 3 months. I told him that I’d be a bad example because I lost it and I can’t sell anymore and was thinking about quitting.
He brought me into a room and sat me down and explained to me that the reason why I wasn’t selling was because of my attitude. He was right- my attitude was terrible. I was not only not selling a thing, but my girlfriend broke up with me, I was about to lose my car and was broke. He asked, “How was your attitude when you were selling and winning prizes and trips?” I said, Great! Back then I had a ton of money, my relationships with friends, family, and my girlfriend were great, and I was on top of the world.
He said, “The people who bought from you saw that. They saw that you were happy and successful at this business. People want to do business with people that are happy doing what they love to do- it makes the buying experience enjoyable and the pain from spending $1600.00 on a vacuum cleaner is gone. They will always remember the salesman they bought it from and not how much they paid. Right now, the fact that you’re unhappy and miserable is impossible to hide from customers. They can see right through it.” He basically said if I don’t start thinking “Positive” and forget about the fact that I need to sell to eat then I would fail. Well, things changed. I changed. I started selling again.
He told me to be like a Rhino, grow some thick skin, and not let things get to me. This is why I now collect rhino’s and have them everywhere as a constant reminder that I am strong and must keep going- no matter what!
You need to concentrate on what you’re going after and what the best route to use to get there. You already know that this business takes time and you are starting to over-analyze things. NO NO NO!
If you over-analyze things, you start to doubt yourself, your abilities and this business. It’s all about mindset, my friend. If you had a ton of cash in your bank account right now, and you were in the same situation now- no Motivated Sellers calling you, what would your attitude be like? You may say, “So what! I know it takes time and I know that if I just keep my nose down and work this business, things will start happening!”
You are being tested on your abilities right now to see if you have what it takes to become successful. Successful not only in this business, but in any business. If you can’t handle the pressure and stress here, you can’t handle it anywhere. We are all “tested” as we go along in this business. I’ve seen A TON of people at one point or another say that they are getting frustrated about something. Some of these people will find a way to work around it and become successful, and others will fail. I’ve heard that 90-something % of the people who get into this business fail. I truly believe it is because they failed “The Test” and they need to work on improving their skills. Success is saved for those who deserve it.
You need to work on your mindset my friend. Just keep the ads going and get your attitude back up. Get FIRED UP and MOTIVATED! When you do, you become bulletproof to most of the distractions and most of the “discouraging moments” that you are feeling now.
I’ve missed a few deals and STILL have not bought a house yet! HA HA I can laugh! I really can! This is why: I am doing all of the marketing I can right now and devoting EVERYTHING I have into this business. I know that I will be successful. I know that I will be successful with the same confidence, as I know my own name. Even if I miss a hundred more deals, OH WELL! Yes, things are happening all around me that could distract me from my goals- some small things, and even some things that have changed my life forever. I know that if it happened to some people, they would just stop dead in their tracks- I’ve seen it and been here before. I’m just like everyone else… Things happen in life that just plain stink and we always ask, “Why ME?” I used to be that way, too.
I worked and continue to work on my attitude towards life and this business. I know that this is the single most important skill to develop of you will fail in this business. It’s SO easy to put a couple ads out there, make a few calls, get a motivated seller and come here and post all the info. YOU are walked through EVERY step through the Cafe; how easy is that!? BUT, if your don’t have the right attitude and are unable to keep yourself motivated, you’ll fizzle out during one of the tests.
It’s a numbers game. The numbers just take longer for some people. Once you pass these tests, you will be rewarded a degree of success then, more tests. Again, get by those and you will be rewarded. Some of the most successful people in the WORLD failed the most times! DID YOU KNOW THAT? Could you take failing 100′s of times before it works? Thomas Edison could and went on to become a VERY successful entrepreneur and inventor.
It’s ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE. All of these books, courses, and REI meetings don’t matter unless you have the mindset needed to succeed. Forget about having to learn all about Real Estate Investing. Why care about the details when you don’t even care about improving and strengthening your attitude?
Have you talked to successful Real Estate Investors throughout the US? I have. How many do you think were saying “woe is me”, or I’m discouraged”, or “I can’t!? None of them. In fact Successful Real Estate Investors are the Most Motivated, Driven, Focused and happy people I’ve ever talked to!
That should tell you something! They didn’t become focused, motivated or happy AFTER they become successful. They did it before they become successful and passed the tests. It’s your attitude that will make you or break you. It’s your choice: Find out how to pick yourself back up or just lay there and not become successful. Today is the day to decide. Success is saved for those who deserve it. Don’t you think that you deserve it as well? Or course you do. Now get out there and make things happen!
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 March 2009 19:38 )
All Rights Reserved © Copyright 2009 by DealmakersCafe.com
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“WholesaleDealsUSA does not claim to be the owner of all of the properties for sale. If we are not the owners then we simply have an equitable interest in the property. WholesaleDealsUSAis a real esate investment firm and does not claim to be licensed real estate agents or brokers.
Dallas, TX 75220
3 Bedrooms / 2 Bathrooms / 1 Car Garage / Pool
Total SQFT: 1,698
Lot SQFT: 7,710
Year Built: 1952
Construction: Brick
Foundation: Pier & Beam
ARV = $135,000
Repairs = $28,500
Price = $69,500
This single family home is located in Brownwood subdivision just East of Webb Chapel and South of Walnut Hill.
ESTIMATED BREAKDOWN OF REPAIRS
Exterior Paint – $1,500
A/C Condenser – $1,500
Pool $1,500
Interior Paint – $2,200
Floors – $4,200
Kitchen $3,500
Bathrooms – $3,500
A/C Handler – $500
Foundation – $3,500
Garage – $325
Water Heater – $500
Demo – $1,000
Miscellaneous – $4,750
Total – $28,500
PROPERTIES CAN ONLY BE PURCHASED WITH CASH OR HARD MONEY.
Contact Information Bill Lassiter (757) 504-4660
