Know Your Market

Marketing is THE KEY to success for any business. Successful note brokers can answer these four important marketing questions. 

1. Who is my target audience?

A note is usually created at the time of sale because either the property or the purchaser did not qualify for conventional financing. Research shows that approximately 6% of all residential real estate transactions involve some type of owner financing

While this percentage may fluctuate based on the geographic location and property type, it identifies a crucial component of your marketing. You must target your marketing to that 6% owning the product you desire.

You will be wasting a large amount of time, energy, and money, plus encounter tremendous discouragement, if you spend all your time marketing to that 94% of the population without a note to sale!

2. What marketing methods work?

Most note buyers utilize a combination of these primary methods:

• Print Advertisement – classified ads, trade journals, free want ad papers, reverse ad marketing, etc.
• Direct Mail – postcards, letters, or brochures mailed to a database of targeted note holder leads
• Networking and Referrals – presentations to potential customers, business networking, and cultivating repeat business
• Internet – creating a website and securing search engine rankings

3. What is my marketing budget?

An investment of capital will be required to market for leads.  Your marketing budget may limit the amount or type of marketing that is used.  If the budget is tight it might be necessary to focus on methods that require a greater investment of time than capital, such as networking, referrals, and reverse ad marketing.

4. What is my marketing plan?

Your approach will depend on your individual skills and budget.  The final marketing plan should be written down outlining the action necessary on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.  It is helpful to break the plan into three-month increments to analyze the cost effectiveness of each marketing method.

An effective marketing plan will make or break your business.  So target your market, make a plan, and implement.