Postcard/Letter Mailings
Hi to all,
Hope everyone is having a great New Year.
I just sent out 150 directed postcards using the USPS site on January 2nd, and this morning just talked to a friend trying to sell his house. I did not market to him, just a friend that has been trying to sell his house. It has been on the market for about 120 days and was discussing options with him. He is open to Subject To.
My question is, he has received many postcards aparantly from investors offering to buy his house. How do I differentiate my postcards from the many he is receiving? I assume that others trying to sell their house, pre-foreclosure, or other circumstances get loads of letters or postcards from people just like me. How do you experienced people get them to respond to you instead of the other 20 or so investors marketing to them and their house? Thank you.
You may get some ideas in the Marketing Forum
http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/ViewForum30-941.html
See if he will get you the ones he got from other investors and go from there.
Good luck
Otaymesa,
I run into this all the time, especially dealing with pre-foreclosures. I can't tell you how many times I go to meet with a seller and they show me a stack of cards and letters a foot high.
I was always curious myself as to what made them call me over the other guys so I would ask. The answer almost always is the same.
"I don't know, yours was just the one on top when I decided to try and do something" is the usual answer I got. That was followed closely by, "Well, I called a few others but they didn;t sound like they knew what they were talking about."
Bottom line is most times it is just chance. There are a few things you can do to set your mailing apart (hand address letters, use brightly colored card stock, some use LumpyMail, etc.) but the bottom line is you just have to be the message they see when they are ready to call.
Sounds like a case for getting your message out there often.
William Tingle
WilliamGA
Otaymesa,
I've also had better response ratio's by hand addressing my postcards - it's more personable.
You check with the most active Trustee in your area and see what his Notice of Default looks like.
Then you duplicate it and inside the envelope you put the big time banger. The letter that looks like a Notice of Default but directs them to call you as The Designated Councellor to Help. No charge for the consulting. Be sure your telephone is set up to receive this call. Nice soft femine non threating voice. "Hi there, you have reached the office of Real Estate Councellor Lucius Foster, I am sorry, your call is important to him and he will call you the minute he returns. right now he is attending a meeting of unwed mothers all of which he saved from a fate worse then death."
Whatever, make it low key and appealing. Find the right soft femine voice. You know like an Angels voice from Heaven.
This is the most effective method I know. I only give it to you guys cause I am up to my neck in Container Houses.
Your friend Lucius
Lucius,
Are you saying that you make the evelope look the same as the NOD letter that was sent?
Yes I am saying it is almost an exact duplicate, same color envelope and same window view of inside contents. I take the NOD format and I almost duplicate all the foolish boiler plate. Except utilizing the 2/5 3/5 rule of composition I position the call back information where the eye automaticaly goes when it scans a letter. How do I know all this stuff?.
I am the person who designed the leaflets in Korea which entitled a North Korean to one free surender. Which entitled him to rice, kim chi and everything but a promotion if he surrendered.
I am the person who designed the PsyWar leaflet which resembled a fallen leaf and which had written on it in Korean, "Now is the time of the falling leave it is the time of dying. It is the time of leaving. A most well timed endeavor the largest surrenders we ever had.
I am the person who single handly increased the sanitary conditions on those battle fields. What we lacked in toilet paper I furnished in leaflets.
In the process I learned and you dear friends get these years of motivating experience for free. Why you may ask? Cause I am too busy with turning metal ISO containers into the modern housing of the year 2004.
I could go on with lots of other little goodies which I have used and have found helpfull. I approached my Real Estate Career in the same manner as my military career. Inovative creative and the unexpected.
I am the first Fighter Pilot who found a use for old Beer bottles, I dropped them at night from my flare chute and they make the strangest whooooing sound you ever heard in your life. I dropped them at night on German Fighter Bases. It had an effect on the anti aircraft gunners, they became confused and left their posts to look around. So then I came in and straffed the field and guess what nobody shot at me. It worked. Besides I have always been keen of recycling. The first of the PsyWar events of WWII.
During the Battle of Britain I found the channel on which the German Fighters conversed and everytime they would start to dive and attack I would broadcast in German on that Channel Actung Actung ein Spitfire. Etc. etc. So they thought they were being attacked from some other group of www.fighters.They would break away and climb weaving around looking for the fighters that should be diving on them. It Worked, I am here.
I am that crazy American who when the British prisoners of war would not let him join in digging tunnels to escape.. Just figgered out a way to walk out the front door. Which I did. Walk out the front door of a Stalag impossible. Yet here I am. Why because I think about it and am willing to take the unconventional step.
This is what you must all do.
Yes these envelopes and their contents work. You are the assigned Counsellor, and who assigned you? Why you of course this is still a semi free country.
But when I hit the door, I have all the tools to help. I mean all the tools. I can pick up the phone and put a hard second and cure that foreclosure. I have a private lender wired in to accept my decision to make the curing loan. He has full recourse with me and that lender knows I will perform.
If that person in foreclosusre is in Joint Tennancy with a spouse and that spouse has left. I will find that spouse even if I have to go to the local slammer. I will get that Quit Claim Deed so the party still in the house can do something with whatever equity there is.
I tell you nothing that does not work. It requires that you be properly prepared and trained when you hit that door.
I do not write books and list masses of stuff most of which is no longer applicable. Laws and situations change.
In the Preforeclose contact you are fighting masses of mailings. I am trying to discover if I can find the time, a method of contact thru the E.Mail. There has got to be a directory somewhere which is attempting to take Names and Addresses and match them with an E.Mail. Now that's the path for the year 2004.
Enough enough the maiden cried. I have ranted enough. Back to my containers.
Go get em tigers. Lucius
A personal touch is more accepting.
Yes the pre-printed postcards are simple and easy. They even muster up responses, however, hand written notes seem to work best for me.
As far as your friend, Why not just joke around an tell him, I'll buy your house if the price is right. (This cound mean his terms @ your price, or his price @ your terms)
p
Post card are for ads. letter are for personal dealings..post cards can be sean by everbody ,that great for ads.
LETTER are the best and only way
to do persoanl dealings . we use
letter with return requested to see
who is get there there tax notices at
the tax sale.. i we get a return there
a great change to get the property
with a tile acting.
Quote:
On 2004-01-07 19:13, fruend wrote:
p
Post card are for ads. letter are for personal dealings..post cards can be sean by everbody ,that great for ads.
LETTER are the best and only way
to do persoanl dealings . we use
letter with return requested to see
who is get there there tax notices at
the tax sale.. i we get a return there
a great change to get the property
with a tile acting.
Could u repeat that in English?
I've never used post cards. I've considered them but just use letters.
The only benefits post cards present are that they probably are read by everyone- before being discarded and they're cheap The only disadvantage is they are read by everyone so they must be generic,general ,and respectful of the defaultees financial distress. I've seen post cards which stop only an inch short of reading, "Hey loser. Lost your job?. On
drugs. Why don't you get out and take your dead-beat husband with you. I can provide you wih a hand truck and a U-haul for your equity".
I have read a couple dozen letters written by "marketing experts" and find them generally to be deficient regarding the psychological condition of the defaultee and their knowledge of the foreclosure process..
I think that when the people are ready to deal they may read a letter or two. If yours happen to be in that pile, they may call you. I have been at homes where they have a couple 40 gallon garbage bags full of solicitaions and dun letters from the collection service.
I consider having my letter selected something like winning the lottery. Also, the luckiest thing that could happen to them also.
Lufos, once you get your metallic, residential containers in production this year perhaps you can help me. I'm contemplating doing the same thing using recycled sardine cans.
I use letters also. But I fold them and stuff them in greeting card envelopes. My responses have gone way up because of it.
Quote:
On 2004-01-06 17:09, Lufos wrote:
You check with the most active Trustee in your area and see what his Notice of Default looks like.
Then you duplicate it and inside the envelope you put the big time banger. The letter that looks like a Notice of Default but directs them to call you as The Designated Councellor to Help. No charge for the consulting. Be sure your telephone is set up to receive this call. Nice soft femine non threating voice. "Hi there, you have reached the office of Real Estate Councellor Lucius Foster, I am sorry, your call is important to him and he will call you the minute he returns. right now he is attending a meeting of unwed mothers all of which he saved from a fate worse then death."
Whatever, make it low key and appealing. Find the right soft femine voice. You know like an Angels voice from Heaven.
This is the most effective method I know. I only give it to you guys cause I am up to my neck in Container Houses.
Your friend Lucius <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_cool.gif"> <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_cool.gif">
Lucius,
You have a great strategy in my humble opinion. What is really a Trustee in this context?How could I find the most active Trustee in my area (so that I can copy their NOD)?
Thanks!
Julio
I'm just starting out in Sub2's. How do you know where to send the mail to? I mean what makes one person more of a candidate than another?
I sent out 250 postcards last week and I received 6 calls for my free information.
My postcards are geared towards keeping your home. The reason why I switched up from "I'll buy your home" to "I'll show you how to save your home" was due to one of the homeowners called and said that he didn't want to sell his home, he wanted to keep it (bright light goes on) So I helped him (for a fee) to get a workout plan/forbearance with is lender.
I realized homeowners get postcards all day long from investors trying to buy their homes, so I switched my postcards to say "Stop Foreclosure, Save Your home" Free info!
If you send me a private message I will send you a copy of the postcards that I use. I have a 8 week mailing campaign, the first 3 postcards gear towards info on saving your home with a small line or two stating that if you want to sell, I also buy houses. The last 5 are geared towards me buying your home with a small verse on saving your home. I'll let you know how the rest goes!
The key is to get into the "foreclosure" victims mind as much as you can and they will remember you when it comes time they need to sell.
Thats just my opinion!
Lucius,
What do you tell homeowners when they question you about your relationship with the county for being designated as their Counsellor? In other words, what's your story when you have them on the phone?
Thanks
Julio
Great Stuff LUFOS!!! Honored to learn from an unique and experienced guy!!
Great Idea too Thomas!
Quote:
On 2004-01-23 13:15, carpediemi24 wrote:
Great Stuff LUFOS!!! Honored to learn from an unique and experienced guy!!
Great Idea too Thomas!
And rcummings, thanks, I will jot this down on my "to-do" list.
Very funny Lufos... I think it might work. We did something similar when my fiance graduated from law school. We took an official SUMMONS and doctored into a party invitation. Almost everyone who got one thought it was a real summons, and thinking that caused them some physical discomfort.
This may be a question for the Marketing forum, but wether or not you go wih Postcards or Letters, where can you get a list of these people?
THANKS!
It seems to me that it would be much more effective to go door to door. I mean I sent a few hundred letters out and only getting 3 unmotivated responses is really discouraging. Even though you wouldnt technicaly be reaching as many people numericaly you would probily be getting your message across to more people, following the old addage, quality over quantity.
Well anyways, Im gonna start trying the ad in the newspaper and going door to door on select preforclosures hosues in my farm area, probily 3 or more an evning. I just want my efforts to be more effective.
Greetings Otaymesa,
---------------You've asked: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I assume that others trying to sell their house, pre-foreclosure, or other circumstances get loads of letters or postcards from people just like me. How do you experienced people get them to respond to you instead of the other 20 or so investors marketing to them and their house? Thank you."
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You are absolutely correct and although I am not sure about Alaska, I believe I speak for the most of the country. The truth is you got to use some creativity to differentiate from the rest, like offering cruses to Bahamas and Europe or a large family water bucket full of Kentucky Fried Chicken, if you market to certain demographic groups. You have to know who is your target group and you have to play to their senses without braking the law. The fried chicken technique is actually working for an investor friend of a friend from Alabama. He say that since he started using this oversized postcard ad, his business almost doubled. Not bad for a single ad campaign.
[ Edited by omega1 on Date 02/03/2004 ]
I have to say Lucius or Lufos,
I am not the slightest bit amused by your rant about the Holocaust.
I have read some of your 2 page emails. Some are amusing and some are mind numbing and self indulgent.
But there is no reason you have to try to make some comedic parallel between Real Estate Investing, and the German guards choosing Jewish women to pass around as sex slaves.
you say "Remember Auschwitz". But it is pretty clear that you werent there or you wouldnt be using these scenarios as a punch line.
Stop trying so hard to be impressive.
N.
All I have to say is, Lucius is my hero. The man knows it all. I bow to thee O Mighty One!
Mitchell
Rcummings,
Great approach. That is truly helping the homeowner, which is one of our major goals and a great marketing plan as well.
Tim
The key is getting in the homeowners face as much as possible. Gear your marketing towards the homeowner keeping their home or selling their home to you. At least you catch them both ways. You'll get calls from the ones that want to keep their homes and you'll get calls from the ones that want to sell. (everything is timing - being there at the right time they decide to act) at least you hope!