Best website to find leads!

[larolargo]

I was wondering which websites you guys are having the most success finding leads. Here in Vancouver, my favourite is craigslist. Kijiji is good sometimes but the only problem you can`t tell the difference if it`s FSBO/listed.
Lately I have been working on "usellahome.com" but it`s full of UNmotivated/UNflexible sellers asking retail price.
So I was wondering if you guys have any suggestion.

BTW, any REIN member doing quick turn investing in Vancouver?

Thanks!

Mario

 

[JimWhitelaw]

I think you`ll find that most sellers on FSBO sites are like that. Not usually much motivation or unrealistic ideas about what the house is worth. I don`t do any FSBO prospecting, I use my own website mrhousebuyer.ca and my own marketing to have sellers contact me. They are usually quite highly motivated. Those that contact me online generally provide quite a bit of info - address, mortgage balance, details of their situation and timeline, etc.

 

[larolargo]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Dec 8 2010, 10:20 PM) I think you`ll find that most sellers on FSBO sites are like that. Not usually much motivation or unrealistic ideas about what the house is worth. I don`t do any FSBO prospecting, I use my own website mrhousebuyer.ca and my own marketing to have sellers contact me. They are usually quite highly motivated. Those that contact me online generally provide quite a bit of info - address, mortgage balance, details of their situation and timeline, etc.
Hi Jim!
Are you using the yellow letter?
Would you mind share what type of marketing is bringing you the best results?
So far I`ve been only calling online FSBO and posting online adds on craigslist/kijiji to drive traffic to my website. However, most of the time
my adds are ghosted/flagged/removed.
I`ve been somewhat successful finding "potential" deals calling FSBOS but haven`t been able to get one under contract yet. Gotta kiss some more frog!!!
I`d appreciate a few inputs on how to drive traffic.
I plan to do the yellow letter but i`m not in a position to do so yet.

Thank you!

Mario

 

[RedlineBrett]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Dec 8 2010, 11:20 PM) I think you`ll find that most sellers on FSBO sites are like that. Not usually much motivation or unrealistic ideas about what the house is worth. I don`t do any FSBO prospecting, I use my own website mrhousebuyer.ca and my own marketing to have sellers contact me. They are usually quite highly motivated. Those that contact me online generally provide quite a bit of info - address, mortgage balance, details of their situation and timeline, etc.

Jim nailed the FSBO seller profile here.

People that sell FSBO are not desperate to sell and are not willing to sell for a discount.

- If they were willing to take less than absolute top dollar for their house they would hire a realtor.
- If they are REALLY motivated they don`t want to announce it to the world and would sooner go and find someone to buy their house like Jim suggests.

 

[JimWhitelaw]

QUOTE (larolargo @ Dec 9 2010, 12:43 AM) Hi Jim!
Are you using the yellow letter?
Would you mind share what type of marketing is bringing you the best results?
I did run a yellow letter campaign, but I wasn`t thrilled with the results. I won`t go so far as to say "it doesn`t work" but it definitely needs some modification to be effective. Search for some of David Sandbrand`s posts (or better yet, contact him directly) for advice on yellow letter campaigns.

The quick summary of my experience is that it cost me $108 each to get legitimate seller leads via yellow letters. The motivation level varied quite a bit, mostly not very high, more like "we`d thought about maybe selling in the spring if the price is right". I`m sure with tweaks and persistence, it can become effective. For me, I decided that I just wasn`t comfortable with it. Too much time spent alleviating suspicion and dealing with negative feedback.

I run a Google adwords campaign to drive traffic to my website where people fill in a form and send me their info. The motivation level is very high and people are happy to hear from me when I contact them. My cost per lead is much less than with the yellow letters. I also use some kijiji ads, but the responses from that are different - mostly investors and people that already have their properties on FSBO sites.

I have some bandit signs and signs on my truck with my phone number on them - don`t see as much coming in from those and I don`t have any good way to effectively measure the cost/lead for those methods. But I figure it can`t hurt.

 

[smmcguire]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Dec 9 2010, 08:32 PM) I did run a yellow letter campaign, but I wasn`t thrilled with the results. I won`t go so far as to say "it doesn`t work" but it definitely needs some modification to be effective. Search for some of David Sandbrand`s posts (or better yet, contact him directly) for advice on yellow letter campaigns.

The quick summary of my experience is that it cost me $108 each to get legitimate seller leads via yellow letters. The motivation level varied quite a bit, mostly not very high, more like "we`d thought about maybe selling in the spring if the price is right". I`m sure with tweaks and persistence, it can become effective. For me, I decided that I just wasn`t comfortable with it. Too much time spent alleviating suspicion and dealing with negative feedback.

I run a Google adwords campaign to drive traffic to my website where people fill in a form and send me their info. The motivation level is very high and people are happy to hear from me when I contact them. My cost per lead is much less than with the yellow letters. I also use some kijiji ads, but the responses from that are different - mostly investors and people that already have their properties on FSBO sites.

I have some bandit signs and signs on my truck with my phone number on them - don`t see as much coming in from those and I don`t have any good way to effectively measure the cost/lead for those methods. But I figure it can`t hurt.

I run a Google adwords campaign to drive traffic to my website where people fill in a form and send me their info. The motivation level is very high and people are happy to hear from me when I contact them. My cost per lead is much less than with the yellow letters. I also use some kijiji ads, but the responses from that are different - mostly investors and people that already have their properties on FSBO sites.


Jim, I`m back East in ON.. How do you do this and what is it do you say in the add.

Thanks

 

[larolargo]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Dec 9 2010, 05:32 PM) I did run a yellow letter campaign, but I wasn`t thrilled with the results. I won`t go so far as to say "it doesn`t work" but it definitely needs some modification to be effective. Search for some of David Sandbrand`s posts (or better yet, contact him directly) for advice on yellow letter campaigns.

The quick summary of my experience is that it cost me $108 each to get legitimate seller leads via yellow letters. The motivation level varied quite a bit, mostly not very high, more like "we`d thought about maybe selling in the spring if the price is right". I`m sure with tweaks and persistence, it can become effective. For me, I decided that I just wasn`t comfortable with it. Too much time spent alleviating suspicion and dealing with negative feedback.

I run a Google adwords campaign to drive traffic to my website where people fill in a form and send me their info. The motivation level is very high and people are happy to hear from me when I contact them. My cost per lead is much less than with the yellow letters. I also use some kijiji ads, but the responses from that are different - mostly investors and people that already have their properties on FSBO sites.

I have some bandit signs and signs on my truck with my phone number on them - don`t see as much coming in from those and I don`t have any good way to effectively measure the cost/lead for those methods. But I figure it can`t hurt.
Thanks for sharing Jim!

Mario

 

[rseiler]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Dec 9 2010, 05:32 PM) <br />I did run a yellow letter campaign, but I wasn`t thrilled with the results. I won`t go so far as to say "it doesn`t work" but it definitely needs some modification to be effective. Search for some of David Sandbrand`s posts (or better yet, contact him directly) for advice on yellow letter campaigns. <br /><br />The quick summary of my experience is that it cost me $108 each to get legitimate seller leads via yellow letters. The motivation level varied quite a bit, mostly not very high, more like "we`d thought about maybe selling in the spring if the price is right". I`m sure with tweaks and persistence, it can become effective. For me, I decided that I just wasn`t comfortable with it. Too much time spent alleviating suspicion and dealing with negative feedback. <br /><br />I run a Google adwords campaign to drive traffic to my website where people fill in a form and send me their info. The motivation level is very high and people are happy to hear from me when I contact them. My cost per lead is much less than with the yellow letters. I also use some kijiji ads, but the responses from that are different - mostly investors and people that already have their properties on FSBO sites. <br /><br />I have some bandit signs and signs on my truck with my phone number on them - don`t see as much coming in from those and I don`t have any good way to effectively measure the cost/lead for those methods. But I figure it can`t hurt. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

Who did you use for your yellow letters and how did you decide on what list to use?

 

[JimWhitelaw]

QUOTE (rseiler @ Dec 14 2010, 08:43 AM) Who did you use for your yellow letters and how did you decide on what list to use?
I used yellowletter.com to print the letters and address and stuff the envelopes. I paid one of my kids to stick stamps on. If I were doing it again, I`d get them done at yellowletterscanada.com.

I bought a list of addresses from infocanada.ca based on a postal code map of the area in Edmonton that I wanted to target.

That said, if I did another direct mail campaign, I would do it differently; not using yellow letters. I`d do flyers in newspapers or postcards or doorhangers with a more professional look and be totally upfront with the marketing message - professional investor wants to buy homes in your neighborhood, contact for quick sale, etc. And rather than casting a wide net, I`d hit the same neighborhoods 3-4 times a year.

 

[JimWhitelaw]

QUOTE (smmcguire @ Dec 10 2010, 11:30 AM) Jim, I`m back East in ON.. How do you do this and what is it do you say in the add.
I have about 40 different ad variants in several themed groups targeting foreclosures, quick sale, ugly houses, tired landlords and some with specific city/town names. Each ad group has its own set of keywords that I have selected and continue to refine over time. I monitor the performance of the ads and tweak the wording on the lowest performing ads, trying to increase their effectiveness.

I also run similar ads on the Microsoft/Yahoo network and though the overall volume is much lower than Google ads, the clickthru and conversion rates are much better, and they cost less. My ROI is significantly higher with the MS ad network (Bing), but the volume of leads is very low.

 

[Yasir]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Dec 9 2010, 02:20 AM) I think you`ll find that most sellers on FSBO sites are like that. Not usually much motivation or unrealistic ideas about what the house is worth. I don`t do any FSBO prospecting, I use my own website mrhousebuyer.ca and my own marketing to have sellers contact me. They are usually quite highly motivated. Those that contact me online generally provide quite a bit of info - address, mortgage balance, details of their situation and timeline, etc.


Hi Jim,
What marketing techniques do you use to drive traffic to your website? Thanks

Yasir Shad
Toronto, Ontario