What if I told you there was a lab in Sweden that, for less than $400, will efficiently replicate you?
Imagine your marketing efforts duplicated to help you get more note deals.
Think about it. A single effort on your part is now reaching a multitude of people – all getting your message.
Would you be in?
If you were like most people (and me), you would say, “Yes, sign my up!” in a second.
The fact of the matter is we are not talking about gene splicing or genetic surgery. Nope, we are talking about something that all successful note professionals know:
You MUST leverage your Note Broker marketing efforts!
But How?
Replicating your marketing efforts may sound easier than it is, but the true solution to your problem may surprise you.
But first, let’s back up for just a minute and review two tried and true note marketing methods.
After over 20 years in the note industry I can tell you that the majority of your time should be spent marketing (i.e.: looking for deals). By “majority,” I mean 80% of your time.
Years ago, in my 500 square foot apartment someone gave me some great advice.
“It doesn’t matter how good you are at quoting deals or who you know in the Note Buying world. If your phone doesn’t ring, none of it matters.”
That is just as true today as it was then.
You need to get the phone to ring.
So, how do you do it?
You could go door-to-door; hoping the person that answers the door has a note.
Of course that would be a horrible use of time.
So the next step is to mail to a bunch of people using a list of seller financed note holders from the county recordings. It costs money, but you save time. Your message still gets “door-to-door” without you physically having to be there.
Now it’s time to address the “cost.”
Mailing is expensive – but you do reach a lot of people. (See how that pro and con thing works?)
Great marketing is a constant balance between efficiency and cost. Sometimes it is a tightrope walk to get them both. Finding that balance is key – you keep looking for better methods.
Another option to direct mail might be a print advertisement. (Not the big newspaper in your town. I am talking about the want ad type papers you see at grocery stores that are usually pitching ads, garage sales, free kittens, etc.)
These Shopper Paper ads are easier and often cheaper than direct mail, but not as targeted.
The person you are trying to reach (the note seller) has to pick up the paper AND read your ad.
One key in marketing for today’s deals is leveraging your efforts. In both cases, it was a lot better use of your time than going door-to-door looking for note sellers.
I am not going to suggest both direct mail and print ads are a thing of the past. Hardly. Both work in certain instances. But they both come with a significant expense.
For true leveraging today, Note Brokers can turn to Referrals and the Internet.
Referral Marketing
Many people ignore cultivating a referral network. I think, for the most part, it is because typically there are no immediate results. It takes time to cultivate relationships.
Referrals are people who, in the future, can refer you more than one deal. Referrers can be anyone, but typically in the note industry great referral sources are CPA’s, Financial Planners, Probate Attorneys, Bankruptcy attorneys, Land Developers, Builders, Realtors, etc., etc.
If someone else is out there talking about your services, you have essentially “replicated” yourself. (See where I am going here?)
We have also bought notes from a couple of “bird dogs” – people who found deals for us in their area. They were out networking and marketing for notes on a referral basis…and we only paid them when we purchased the deal. My marketing efforts were duplicated and working for me, in my absence.
How you compensate referrals is a whole other subject. Some were paid a flat fee; some were paid a percentage of the deal.
Some other referral sources were not really allowed to take a fee (conflict of interest with their clients they were helping). For those people you can usually send a thank you basket or a gift certificate for dinner somewhere.
Online Marketing
Dollar for dollar, there may never be a more efficient, replicable, lower cost form of marketing than the Internet…and it works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
My web team can build a full-blown note site in a matter of hours. Matter of fact, we even created turnkey web sites for note buyers and consultants complete with content and an online submission form.
With the Internet, I not only replicate myself, I am now working 24 hours a day.
On a side note, you would be amazed at the number of people who come to a website at 1:30am. Don’t know about you, but I certainly wouldn’t be answering the office phone at that hour.
Perhaps one of the best things about websites is that they are no longer expensive and complex. You can build them yourself. If you don’t want to build it, you can have someone else do it for under $400.
But there is something else that changed the Internet world…WordPress.
WordPress is simply a foundation for a website. It’s estimated that around 25% of all sites run WordPress and I would guess that percentage is over 50% for the new sites being built on the Internet. I don’t know that for certain, just a guess.
The best part is that with the advent of WordPress, you can finally go into your site, make changes, and have them appear on the site they way you hoped – no more paying a programmer $50 every time you want to change something.
If you want more info, check out this archived Webinar on “7 Steps for Building Your Business Online.” It is pre-recorded and you can see it now here.
Ok, maybe “leveraging” is a better term.
For now there is no lab in Sweden that will replicate you.
I hate to break the news, but it is all you.
The good news is that you can leverage your efforts AS IF you were more than one person.
One action equals… multiple results. The Internet Websites and Referral sources will pave the way towards more efficient marketing and better results.
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