Note Buying For Insomniacs

As the clock blinked 3:15 am, I only had two thoughts in my mind.

One, I am really glad I do not live in the Amityville Horror house.

Two, I can’t be the only one in the world that is sitting here waiting for the rest of the world to wake up and get some stuff done.

It also led me to thinking…

How can I create a note business that allows me to work whenever (and wherever) I want…even at 3:15 in the morning?

Fifteen years ago that was a much more difficult answer… especially  for the note buying business.

Today, we have the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Email, Turn-Key Note Websites, and (this week) millions of people playing something called Candy Crush.

You don’t need to look far into any of my writings to know that I have a love/hate relationship with technology.

On one hand, I think it is stunting humanities interaction and growth. People eat dinner and sit across from each other only looking up to order, eat, and acknowledge the other person forwarding them something via text.

On the other hand, more people are communicating with each other than ever before.

Sure, you can question the quality  of the communication, but there are going to be magical moments in this process.

For example, depending on whom you listen to, 23% – 37% of married people met online.

Who knew? I imagine most of them meet on some sort of matchmaking site, but that is a big number.

Ok, let me bring all this seemingly senseless ramblings to one focus…

• Millions of people are online.
• Millions of people are communicating with each other online.
• Technology allows me to live anywhere and still communicate with people.
• Deals can be found online.

This was an actual thought process several years ago and we repositioned our own business model to an online environment.

Make no Mistake; the Note Business is about PEOPLE

But…

You need to go where the people are. Talk to the people on their own terms.

I am not saying go on a random stranger’s Facebook page and start pitching that you buy notes.

I am saying that carefully targeted interaction…online…can afford you a flexibility and leverage we have never been able to enjoy prior to this time.

So how does the model work?

Well, at the end of the day, two things remain the same.

1. Nothing has changed in the note seller’s mentality,  and

2. You still need the phone to ring.

You can read about the seller’s mentality here. As for my second point that is something I learned from a good friend in the note industry long ago.

In the land before Internet…

Before iPhones and Mac Airs, we had classified ads, direct mail, and the telephone (that, for the most part, was connected to the wall).

The goal of any marketing piece was to get the phone to ring.

That was all.

You didn’t want to over educate someone…you wanted…no NEEDED…to talk to them to have a shot at putting together a deal.

The Internet is NO different.

On the other side of the computer is still a person. You still need to connect with that person. That’s why Note Business Websites are an awesome marketing machine:

1. They represent your business (info on your services).
2. They can answer some questions (like a FAQ page).
3. They can take orders (online submission forms).
4. They are a cost-effective way to find notes.
5. They work 24/7.

It is that last point that made me realize…

Lots of people out there can’t sleep (or just outright live in some time zone that does not coincide with mine).

Or maybe, just maybe, I felt like going golfing that morning but didn’t want my business to miss a beat.

• THOSE people online need someone to buy their note.
• THOSE people online need someone to broker their note.
• THOSE people online are looking for someone.

We might as well be the ones they are looking for.