So…MY PHONE IS RINGING!
October 7th, 2008 by Bernadette
Look at that….the PPNE marketing works! I sent out my postcards last week. They were mailed on Thursday, October 2nd. I got my first phone call yesterday! And, my second today.
Yesterday I freaked! I was working on my Deal Worksheet book on Sunday and hadn’t quite put it together. I remember Will Lansing saying “Build rapport, they have to like you and trust you to do business with…Ask lots of questions before you get to the numbers and ask about the house”….”But…but….but….where’s that $%@# Deal Worksheet????? “Hello, Mr. Homeseller, for some reason my cell phone isn’t coming in properly, can I call you right back from my land line? Great. I’ll call you right back. ” I make a Mad Dash to my office, grab the wholesaling book off the desk, turn right to page 29 (remember, I was working with it on Sunday, I just never got to the next step). To Self, “Ok….Ok….calm down. Take a deep breath!….Where’s the number…what was his name again, oh there’s my notes.”
“Phew!” “So, tell me, why are you looking to sell the property?……pause…..pause…..pause……Can you tell me more about that?” “How long have you been trying to sell the property…..pause…..pause…..pause…..can you tell me more about that? “What else have you done to try and sell the property?……pause….pause…..pause……Can you tell more…” You get the idea. I have to tell you it was great to have a script of questions to refer to. And per the book, every question is necessary.
The next call, I was a lot more calm and went immediately into, “So, you got my postcard, great. Where is the property? In Derry, great. Can you tell me why are you looking to sell the property? Can you tell me more about that? What else have you done to try and sell the property…..etc…etc…etc…”
I don’t know if they are deals…but…for me, feeling comfortable with the process and having a reference point is HUGE! I put pressure on the system and the system stood up! Way cool! Now,…I’m off and running, I’ve got some research to do! Happy Investing! :-)
Bernadette Trafton
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Talk about maximizing my marketing!
October 5th, 2008 by Bernadette
Well, as you all know, I did my “Intro to Credit Restoration the FDI Way” event on Thursday. My goal was 2-fold - first build my FDI business and next increase my Buyer’s List. Well….I think it was a smashing success! I had 76 people register for the event. That’s awesome! That means I added 76 people to my list. Very cool. Usually about 25% of the people who register for these events actually show up. Well…we had 36 people show up for the event! That’s almost 50%! I followed up with many people on Friday. I ended up having to leave a lot of messages, so my upcoming week will be busy.
I was going over some of the things in the PPNE course and everything they teach says that folks really want to hear a live person when they call vs getting a recording. Well, there’s a couple of options for that. You can have a virtual assistant answer calls, an answering service who has been given a script…but, I want to do this on a shoestring budget, just like many other students who are part of PPNE or who want to be part of PPNE…so, what’s my option? Well, on the marketing material I sent out, I put - www.FreeInfo4You.com, which is the website that I am working on and I have my 800 number - 888-334-7297 which is currently forwarded to my Voice Nation account, which I love because it has number capturing, shows how long someone listens to the message and allows the person to leave a message….
BUT…that’s not effective for this task. I need to talk to these people when they start calling…sooooooo……
First, I have to forward my 800 number to my cell phone so that I can receive phone calls as they come in.
Next, I have to use the script system that the program offers. I’ll set up a binder that has the script with the questions so that I am prepared when people call. I’ll keep the binder with me to ask the right questions and build rapport with the people who call.
Next, I need to get the graphics completed on the website. They are almost done…so, I should go do that…my little guy is with his Dad and I have to leave in an hour to go pick him up…so, I have an hour to complete it and get it on the website.
Have a great week and I hope you guys come for my marketing workshop at 5:30 on the day of the monthly meeting…I have lots of tips and techniques to share from PPNE. See you on Thursday, October 16th!
Bernadette Trafton
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Absentee Owners
October 2nd, 2008 by Bernadette
Hi folks…I’m having fun in real estate this week. I’m doing what I enjoy, marketing. I researched and found out there are close to 400 absentee owners for properties in Derry. So, I put together a post card and mailed it…took about 15 minutes. Now that’s the kind of marketing I like to do. Quick and easy. I’m using a postcard I got off of the PPNE Student area of the website. Hey…if it can work for Tom Zeeb in DC, it can work for me here.
I’ve been playing with my website too, www.FreeInfo4You.com . My thought is to create a lead generation site that can work for both businesses. I still need to work on the graphics. I threw it together quickly because I realized that I didn’t have my website for real estate set up and I wanted to get the mailing out. I will work on the graphic today before the ”Intro to Credit Restoration the FDI way” webinar.
So far there are 58 registrants. Looks like I’ve got some mortgage folks on and many other folks. New additions to my buyer’s list and perhaps my sellers list as well. People who will be interested in FDI for what it has to offer and interested in real estate. More bang for my proverbial buck. And actually the bucks for this have been short money. Cost me $58 to buy the leads, $100 to do the mailing (virtually hands free might I add). I already pay $99 per month for got0webinar because we do webinar meetings daily for FDI. So, scheduling this additional webinar is actually maximizing my marketing dollars. The more we use it, the less it costs. Does that make sense? If we only used it once a month, it would cost $99 for one webinar. As it is we do at least 24 per month. That’s about $4.13 to do a webinar. The more we use the system, the less its costing per use.
Well, I’m off to work on some graphics. Wish me luck. Then I need to plan next weeks marketing focus. You have to market every week to get your pipeline full. I’ve determined that I don’t want to spend more than $500 per month right now on marketing. That’s TOTAL for both businesses (Remember, I have 2 kids). So, I need to be frugal next week and find some low cost ways to get the message out, Craigslist, some free online applications and what not. The week after I will target another list and do another mailing. And I will put an ad in some of the papers. The key to that is being consistent.
Happy Investing!
Bernadette Trafton
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I’m combining all my worlds to maximize my marketing dollars!
September 21st, 2008 by Bernadette
In my last installment, I talked about some ideas that I had for marketing for pre-foreclosures and increasing my “Buyer’s List”. I’ve begun the planning phases. First things first….when can I do an “Intro to Credit Restoration the FDI Way” Seminar online? You would think that I would be able to pull something like this off within a week or so. Easy enough to do some online marketing and throw a couple of quick ads in some of the local newspapers and on Craigslist. No chance. I don’t have an open evening to do something like this until Thursday, October 2nd.Now that I’ve got my date set. How do I set up the webinar. What pieces of information do I want to capture when people register. Let’s see….I definitely want their name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. I may come up with some exit questions. For now, that will do.
What are my best marketing strategies? Well, I could do a fax blast to mortgage brokers and Realtors suggesting they view the presentation and send their credit challenged clients to the webinar. I’ll make sure to send out an e-mail blast to my database. Hmmm….Craigslist is always a good place to market and it’s free. I can put an ad in a couple of local papers and perhaps I can buy a list of 30/60/90 day to do a direct mail campaign. I created some flyers and passed them out at the Boston AREIA meeting and will pass some out at other meetings. The goal is to get as many folks on the webinar as possible. It’s the best way to increase my list. And, the more people who see what I’m doing, the more people will either call or refer folks that they know. And, with the information I’ve asked for, I can market to my potential clients in a number of ways. It’s good to hit people using a couple of different methods. Chances are you will need to market to them 6-7 times before they respond to your message. So, I’ve set the groundwork. Now, begins the real work. I’ll keep you updated. Until then, Happy Investing!
P.S. If you want to register for the seminar ( ), click on this link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/858251496
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Will and Tom are coming back on Saturday the 13th!
September 9th, 2008 by Bernadette
And I plan to get re-energized! I’ve sent lots of mail out to probate and I will continue to do so. However, I think I’m going to start marketing for shortsales. There’s a lot of short sales out there…I’m also really interested in the Bulk REO lists that we have. It takes some due diligence on the properties, but, there’s quite a list out there.
I’m also looking for ways that I can increase my list using my other business (FDI). I’m planning on doing an “Intro to Credit Restoration Seminar, the FDI way” via webinar. I’m sure there are alot of folks out there who want to refinance their homes, but can’t right now and they’re in a situation where they are looking for something like this. Some of them may want me to shortsale their homes because they can’t qualify and don’t have another option….just a thought. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make this happen. So, I’m putting on my creative marketing thinking cap and finding ways to maximize my marketing dollars. Just like you folks who have J.O.B.s can’t quit your jobs to focus on real estate, I can’t (and won’t) quit what I’m doing with FDI to focus on real estate….this idea seems like the best of both worlds. It’s going to bring me people who need FDI and who are good candidates for real estate. It will also bring me people who want to buy homes, so, I will be increasing my ”Buyer’s List”. So all of you investors out there who are looking for retail buyers…keep my number handy…I’m sure that I will be able to make a connection for you. There’s lot of things I can do via webinars….ok…now that my thinking cap is on….I’m going to sign off so that I can plan and strategize when and how I will market…have a great week, see you at Will and Tom’s on Saturday and at the monthly meeting on the 18th….
Oh yeah…and if you haven’t signed up for Lou Brown on the 20th, DO IT NOW! He started the flippin’ GA REIA. He’s been investing longer than many of the newer speakers have been alive! He’s got some tricks up his sleeves and his forms are the best in the business! See you there!
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Ok…I fell off the wagon a little
August 24th, 2008 by Bernadette
Hi everyone,
OK…so, I got a little discouraged and let the situation get to me…I admit it….I was completely frustrated with what happened with the short sales. I pretty much fell off the wagon for a couple of weeks. No real estate, no blogging, no nothing. Hey, I’m human, just like everyone else. So, for a few weeks, I’ve found every excuse in the book to be doing……SOMETHING ELSE! LOL. I’m sure a few of you can relate to that. I was feeling guilty about it. And, because I felt guilty, I did everything I could to avoid it. Like it’s the plague or something. I better not market, someone might call and I might have to go through THAT again. Then, I realized I was doing what I hate most to hear from other people. I wasn’t sharing my feelings with others, I was internalizing it. Now, I almost think that it’s worst to internalize it. Because, I hate hearing people whine about what’s NOT working. My usual response is, “So, try this and see if it works! I mean we know it works, we know it can be done because others have done it. Try something else and keep plugging away.” That’s what I say to others….so, time to look in the mirror and say it to myself! So…it’s back to probate…and I think I am going to start marketing for shortsales….go figure….just gotta jump back on the horse…have a great week…I’M BACK!
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Lessons Learned…
August 8th, 2008 by Bernadette
Hi all,
So, the last couple of weeks have provided me with lessons that I didn’t know were out there to learn. That’s not exactly true, it’s more like