Got my call from the police today...

[JimWhitelaw]

I`ve sent out about 600 yellow letters so far. Today I got a call from a Constable with EPS. Someone that got a letter called and somehow the call was dropped or something and he was suspicious, so he went to the police. I actually had a good talk with the Constable. He mostly just wanted to confirm that I was a real person. I explained what I was doing and why and he was completely understanding. I already own property in that area and I`m familiar with a couple of the officers in that detachment. Anyway, it didn`t amount to any more than a friendly chat, no investigation, etc. I guess it was just my turn.

 

[CarlaJohnson]

I wish my friend had called the police when she got a letter from a psychic telling her she had been specially chosen. Instead, she paid the amount requested so she could get more "insight" from this individual. You guessed it... nothing came.Not only are you real, you are really friendly and have a real charm to you, so you now are familiar with another officer in that detachment. You turned something rather awkward into an opportunity to make more good connections.

Bravo!

 

[TodorYordanov]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Jan 13 2010, 10:03 PM) I`ve sent out about 600 yellow letters so far. Today I got a call from a Constable with EPS. Someone that got a letter called and somehow the call was dropped or something and he was suspicious, so he went to the police. I actually had a good talk with the Constable. He mostly just wanted to confirm that I was a real person. I explained what I was doing and why and he was completely understanding. I already own property in that area and I`m familiar with a couple of the officers in that detachment. Anyway, it didn`t amount to any more than a friendly chat, no investigation, etc. I guess it was just my turn.

Welcome to the club

 

[GStroud]

Not that this is a competition or a club I necessarily was wanting to join but I just answered my third police call in three days. I had chosen three separate areas on the Island - hence 3 detachments.
I would like to know if the reaction from the police and concerned citizens is something to contemplate to change in the approach so that I elicit interest not "scare" people. If starting a new company means building trust and reputation in the community shouldn`t I be reflecting on the reaction - one negative has more speed than 10 positive. What do you think?
Possibilities:
1.not address to specific name - but to Homeowner
2. ID myself as a private investor
3. YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS or ideas HERE
Gail
GumBoot Properties Inc
Vancouver Island

 

[gwasser]

QUOTE (RJackson @ Jan 14 2010, 12:15 PM) Not that this is a competition or a club I necessarily was wanting to join but I just answered my third police call in three days. I had chosen three separate areas on the Island - hence 3 detachments.
I would like to know if the reaction from the police and concerned citizens is something to contemplate to change in the approach so that I elicit interest not "scare" people. If starting a new company means building trust and reputation in the community shouldn`t I be reflecting on the reaction - one negative has more speed than 10 positive. What do you think?
Possibilities:
1.not address to specific name - but to Homeowner
2. ID myself as a private investor
3. YOUR THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS or ideas HERE
Gail
GumBoot Properties Inc
Vancouver Island

Not that I know a lot about marketing, but I can tell you what I think if I get a sloppy yellow note in the mail. A note that in handwriting claims someone I never met wants to buy my house. That screams "Crook, rip-off artist and e-mail from Nigeria"

I suspect those calling the police may have found the letters suspicious. What is the hook? Looks like some sheister who with cheap notes tries to buy my place for next to nothing. Canadians in this regard may be different from Ron Le Grand`s target: Americans. Canadians in my opinion, are `gentler` and more formal than Americans, unless it involves Molsons and hockey.

Try a more professional note with a nice looking house on it. And with privacy being such an issue, how would you feel if you got a yellow letter addressing you with your first name from a guy or gal you never met before? How do they know my name? Am I in a database that sells my name?

I think Canadians like a more formal and professional approach. Try a glossy 8x11 brochure folded in three with a nice looking house on it, stating that you are a real investor that likes to buy real estate without a realtor for investment purposes. That you can be flexible and wish to create win/win situations for people who want to or need to sell their house on more flexible terms than the standard Realtor inspired deal. Give an example without real names and explicitly state that these are not real names.

Just a thought - I may be out to lunch. Hope this helps.

 

[tonypeters]

Godfried,

Extremely well put! Thank you for your input!

If the forum would like to hear my "personal" opinion of what adjustments are required in order to attract more "positive" and less "negative" attention, I would be happy to provide it.

With this in mind, can I have a show of hands please?

QUOTE (gwasser @ Jan 14 2010, 05:10 PM) Not that I know a lot about marketing, but I can tell you what I think if I get a sloppy yellow note in the mail. A note that in handwriting claims someone I never met wants to buy my house. That screams "Crook, rip-off artist and e-mail from Nigeria"

I suspect those calling the police may have found the letters suspicious. What is the hook? Looks like some sheister who with cheap notes tries to buy my place for next to nothing. Canadians in this regard may be different from Ron Le Grand`s target: Americans. Canadians in my opinion, are `gentler` and more formal than Americans, unless it involves Molsons and hockey.

Try a more professional note with a nice looking house on it. And with privacy being such an issue, how would you feel if you got a yellow letter addressing you with your first name from a guy or gal you never met before? How do they know my name? Am I in a database that sells my name?

I think Canadians like a more formal and professional approach. Try a glossy 8x11 brochure folded in three with a nice looking house on it, stating that you are a real investor that likes to buy real estate without a realtor for investment purposes. That you can be flexible and wish to create win/win situations for people who want to or need to sell their house on more flexible terms than the standard Realtor inspired deal. Give an example without real names and explicitly state that these are not real names.

Just a thought - I may be out to lunch. Hope this helps.

 

[gwasser]

QUOTE (tonypeters @ Jan 14 2010, 05:58 PM)
Godfried,



Extremely well put! Thank you for your input!



If the forum would like to hear my "personal" opinion of what adjustments are required in order to attract more "positive" and less "negative" attention, I would be happy to provide it.



With this in mind, can I have a show of hands please?





QUOTE (cmattric @ Jan 14 2010, 06:25 PM)
Hi All,



An interesting event happen to me today. Some guy with my yellow letter showed at my door, asking question about how I found his mothers name, if I am a stalker/scam. And he was quite angry. Yelling in the appartment complex. Things get to tense, I try to talk him out and make complaint to police if he wants. He wasn't using a nice language, but apperantly he wouldn't stop. That's too funny, I guess without being aware he belongs another ethnic group which I don't name, he called me a "sand nigger, arab" because of my nicely tanned mediteranian skin.

I closed the door eventually.

Any comment is appreciated



Lesson learned, Get a PO box, or UPS box.




Yes Tony, it would be great to learn from your marketing know how.



I am trying to connect these two posting streams - they hit the same topic: http://myreinspace.com/rein_members_only/Canadian_Quick_Turn_Real_Estate/108-15016-Yellow_Letter_turn_out_Lemony.html=

 

[JimWhitelaw]

Sure, I`d be very interested, Tony!

||||
||||/ <--- This is my hand raised!
&#092; /

 

[Dejavu]

QUOTE (tonypeters @ Jan 14 2010, 07:58 PM) Godfried,

Extremely well put! Thank you for your input!

If the forum would like to hear my "personal" opinion of what adjustments are required in order to attract more "positive" and less "negative" attention, I would be happy to provide it.

With this in mind, can I have a show of hands please?

Tony,

It will be great to get your opinion on this.

Thanks,
Vitaly

 

[Lucas]

Hi Tony,

I too would like to hear your opinion...

Thanks,

Lucas


QUOTE (Dejavu @ Jan 14 2010, 08:06 PM) Tony,

It will be great to get your opinion on this.

Thanks,
Vitaly

 

[GaryMcGowan]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Jan 14 2010, 08:50 PM) Sure, I`d be very interested, Tony!

||||
||||/ <--- This is my hand raised!
&#092; /


Nice one Jim,,

Another hand is up,

Thanks Tony!

 

[Jeffrey2144]

QUOTE (tonypeters @ Jan 14 2010, 07:58 PM) If the forum would like to hear my "personal" opinion of what adjustments are required in order to attract more "positive" and less "negative" attention, I would be happy to provide it.
With this in mind, can I have a show of hands please?

Ohhhhh... a sneak preview of the upcoming Toronto seminar perhaps? January 30th is a long way away and I am already registered so let`s hear it! Please!!!
Thanks Tony!

 

[DavidMacDonald]

Yes please Tony!!

I`ve had some very negative reactions from they yellow letters too. Some people have used the word "creepy." I don`t like that reaction and I don`t like freaking people out. But without the capital to advertise on a billboard, taxi cab, bus, or any other form of advertising...I`m a little strapped for ideas to get people calling. The bandit signs are great as long as you don`t get caught. Yes...I`m afraid of getting caught and having to pay a fine.

ANY advice you can give, Tony, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[JimWhitelaw]

What I`ve found most interesting is the difference between the contacts I get from the yellow letters and those I get from my online leads. There is zero negative encounters via my online leads as everyone who fills in my form is already strongly motivated. When I call them, they are happy to hear from me.

Starting from the best responses and working down, what I`ve experienced is this:

- The most positive encounters have been from other investors. They seem to not be put off by the letters and are generally eager to talk about one or more properties they have. A couple have been frustrated landlords that may turn out to be decent JV partners.

- There`s a fairly large group of nice and polite folks who say "thank you for your interest, we`re flattered, but our house isn`t for sale".

- A few people who respond with (paraphrasing) "sorry, my house isn`t for sale and I think you`re a weirdo". I don`t really mind that because I`ve got fairly thick skin but the letters have my wife`s name on them too and that might not be good for her professional career outside of real estate...

- A slightly larger group who just want off the mailing list.

- People who are angry. There`s more of those that I expected, certainly. People who call the police, leave angry messages, etc. One person found my profile on facebook to send me a message calling me a liar and some other unpleasant things. No one has confronted me on my doorstep yet; not looking forward to that one.

I`ll publish the detailed data on my yellow letter campaign once I`ve completed my first batch of 1000. I`m tracking 7 different types of responses and comparing weekly mailings. Bottom line for me at this point is that I think my effort and marketing $$ is better spent online. I`m not saying "yellow letters don`t work here!", just that from what I`ve seen so far, my other marketing works better.

I`m Looking forward to learning Tony`s direct mail tips.

 

[JanBowler]

I`ll publish the detailed data on my yellow letter campaign once I`ve completed my first batch of 1000. I`m tracking 7 different types of responses and comparing weekly mailings. Bottom line for me at this point is that I think my effort and marketing $$ is better spent online. I`m not saying "yellow letters don`t work here!", just that from what I`ve seen so far, my other marketing works better.


Jim, how are you getting your on-line leads? Kijiji, Craig`s List, business cards with your site, other? Thanks.

 

[ZanderRobertson]

Jim,

All of your posts discussing your marketing findings have been incredibly helpful. Thanks for sharing your information so freely.



QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Jan 14 2010, 09:59 PM) What I`ve found most interesting is the difference between the contacts I get from the yellow letters and those I get from my online leads. There is zero negative encounters via my online leads as everyone who fills in my form is already strongly motivated. When I call them, they are happy to hear from me.

Starting from the best responses and working down, what I`ve experienced is this:

- The most positive encounters have been from other investors. They seem to not be put off by the letters and are generally eager to talk about one or more properties they have. A couple have been frustrated landlords that may turn out to be decent JV partners.

- There`s a fairly large group of nice and polite folks who say "thank you for your interest, we`re flattered, but our house isn`t for sale".

- A few people who respond with (paraphrasing) "sorry, my house isn`t for sale and I think you`re a weirdo". I don`t really mind that because I`ve got fairly thick skin but the letters have my wife`s name on them too and that might not be good for her professional career outside of real estate...

- A slightly larger group who just want off the mailing list.

- People who are angry. There`s more of those that I expected, certainly. People who call the police, leave angry messages, etc. One person found my profile on facebook to send me a message calling me a liar and some other unpleasant things. No one has confronted me on my doorstep yet; not looking forward to that one.

I`ll publish the detailed data on my yellow letter campaign once I`ve completed my first batch of 1000. I`m tracking 7 different types of responses and comparing weekly mailings. Bottom line for me at this point is that I think my effort and marketing $$ is better spent online. I`m not saying "yellow letters don`t work here!", just that from what I`ve seen so far, my other marketing works better.

I`m Looking forward to learning Tony`s direct mail tips.

 

[JimWhitelaw]

David, I'm mostly using Google adwords and this site: http://mrhousebuyer.ca



I have a thread here that details some of my experience:



http://myreinspace.com/rein_members_only/Canadian_Quick_Turn_Real_Estate/108-14211-Online_lead_generation_-_my_experience_so_far.html



I turned off the online ads over Christmas break, I will update that thread in a few days when I've got another 14 days of data to add.

 

[JimWhitelaw]

QUOTE (ZanderRobertson @ Jan 14 2010, 10:25 PM) All of your posts discussing your marketing findings have been incredibly helpful. Thanks for sharing your information so freely.Zander, you`re welcome. I`m glad to know they are useful. I`ve learned a tremendous amount from the information that others have shared here. It`s nice to be able to give something back.

 

[TodorYordanov]

QUOTE (JimWhitelaw @ Jan 15 2010, 12:41 AM) Zander, you`re welcome. I`m glad to know they are useful. I`ve learned a tremendous amount from the information that others have shared here. It`s nice to be able to give something back.

Jim the time you`ve spent to collect, analyze and report on your marketing for our benefit is truly appreciated.

Thank you,

 

[TodorYordanov]

QUOTE (gwasser @ Jan 14 2010, 07:10 PM) Not that I know a lot about marketing, but I can tell you what I think if I get a sloppy yellow note in the mail. A note that in handwriting claims someone I never met wants to buy my house. That screams "Crook, rip-off artist and e-mail from Nigeria"
I suspect those calling the police may have found the letters suspicious. What is the hook? Looks like some sheister who with cheap notes tries to buy my place for next to nothing. Canadians in this regard may be different from Ron Le Grand`s target: Americans. Canadians in my opinion, are `gentler` and more formal than Americans, unless it involves Molsons and hockey.

Try a more professional note with a nice looking house on it. And with privacy being such an issue, how would you feel if you got a yellow letter addressing you with your first name from a guy or gal you never met before? How do they know my name? Am I in a database that sells my name?

I think Canadians like a more formal and professional approach. Try a glossy 8x11 brochure folded in three with a nice looking house on it, stating that you are a real investor that likes to buy real estate without a realtor for investment purposes. That you can be flexible and wish to create win/win situations for people who want to or need to sell their house on more flexible terms than the standard Realtor inspired deal. Give an example without real names and explicitly state that these are not real names.

Just a thought - I may be out to lunch. Hope this helps.

I remember Ron saying it many, many times: " Do NOT mess with the system. Do NOT change the yellow letter." I don`t remember him saying even once that we will be getting police calls and negative local media publicity and will be accused of being the next Nigerian scam. Things must be a bit different up here. Is it possible that Ron is wrong? Sometimes?