Preforeclosure Marketing Strategies and Methods to Find those Clients!
Preforeclosure Marketing Strategies and Methods to Find those Clients!
Many investors have a hard time knowing where to begin in order to find their clients. Preforeclosure marketing is a cinch with the right tactics and good information, such as the lis pendens list. To start, there are three points to preforeclosure marketing that are totally crucial to know, realize and implement as a part of your business.
1) Importance of marketing: Marketing needs to happen at all times and use all tactics and resources you have available. Show you are a professional property investor and set yourself apart from the amateurs.
2) Competition: Preforeclosure investing is one of the most competitive real estate niches. Make sure your marketing stands above everyone else’s.
3) Multiple methods: There is no one true way of marketing to the preforeclosure market. Try to use at least three forms of advertising at all times when marketing to these preforeclosure owners. Where one method might not work, others might.
Now that you have known, realized and decided to implement the three points of preforeclosure marketing. You’ll need to learn some of the more effective methods of reaching that potential client.
There are two main types of marketing:
1) Shotgun marketing: This has a broad range with no specific target audience. It catches all types of people including some your competition might not be reaching. On the downside, many of the potential clients you reach might not be eligible or might not need your services.
2) Sniper marketing: A very direct purpose and targets a specific type of individual. It’s direct and you’ll know it will get to a certain type of homeowner. On the downside, many other preforeclosure investors are using this method, so you will have a lot of competition in this type of marketing.
Marketing to the List
Many people in preforeclosure marketing speak about marketing to the list. This is the lis pendens list. After a homeowner is 90 days behind on mortgage payments, the bank issues a Notice of Default or the lis pendens. This is the first time that the client’s situation becomes public. Now the investors know that the homeowner is having difficulty making payments and is in a preforeclosure situation. Everyone on the lis pendens list is definitely in trouble. On the downside, lots of competition is looking at the same list. It’s not unusual in high-density foreclosure areas to see 50 different individuals using the same marketing tactics.
Acquiring the List
Always go through the lis pendens list yourself first. Get used to the process then you can begin hiring someone else (try an ad in Craigslist) to find potential clients for you. The financial newspaper, published each day or each few days is a good place to start. It has all the homeowners published in the lis pendens listed by study and address. Pull new obloquy each day or so to remain ahead of the competition and get your marketing out first.
Preforeclosure Marketing Strategies
Now that you have the list, there are many marketing strategies you can use. One of the most favourite ways is direct mail. There are many types of direct mail campaigns.
1) Check letter: This is a letter with a perforated check on it including an amount such as 00. You will actually give the seller 00, sometimes more depending on equity, if you complete a successful deal with them. The check is not valid for deposit, but when they call, let the client know that you do pay them for the deal and follow through.
2) Greeting card: It comes in a colored greeting card envelope, such as red, blue, or green—something that will stand out among the white envelopes in the mail. The greeting card is a more individualized touch. The greeting can say, “we know what you’re going through and have helped out a lot of people in this process in the past. We are behind the phone, an actual person, not a massive company.” The homeowner will know that they are dealing with a real individual.
3) Postcards: These work very well because they are cheap and you can send many. Don’t just do postcards, but they are a great addition to other types of marketing programs. Postcards give the capability to have your message get to the homeowner at a very limited expense.
There are also many different methods of using shotgun marketing. You can find folks who might not be on the lis pendens list, but still need your help.
1) Post-It Notes: Stick post-it notes around a neighborhood. This also gives you very detailed results of what neighborhood to focus on, even though you won’t know if those particular homeowners need help.
2) Signs: These are costly and make sure to check with your municipality to make sure you are granted to do it. It works great for catching people’s attention.
3) Radio: This is great preforeclosure marketing to reach a massive amount of people. You might not want to do this as your first step, but if you want to take your marketing up a notch, its something to consider.
4) Newspaper Ads: Many other investors are marketing this way, but just because others are doing it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Many people do classifieds is it works. Newspaper ads can be costly depending on where you live, but if they get you one deal, ads make sense. Set yourself apart from other investors using newspaper ads is market to preforeclosure owners. Use fun slogans like “run away from your house,” “escape your debt forever,” etc. Let people know that they can place their debt behind them and move on.
5) Television: television can be very effective but it takes a tiny time to make sure you have a professional piece. It can be expensive. If you want to absolutely set yourself apart, no other medium can give you the kind of credibility commercials wage late night television has good advertising rates and reaches folks who are in trouble and probably have trouble sleeping. Just make sure your piece is professional, to the point, and gives the kind of image you need.
Preforeclosure marketing is really once you know the ideal methods for reaching potential clients. Next you’ll want to look credible and professional. Below are three additional tips to set yourself above and beyond for credibility.
1) Logo: A picture is worth a 1000 words and so it a logo. This brand image instantly gives you credibility that 95% of investors won’t have. Plus, it only takes a few minutes to create a easy logo on your computer.
2) Toll free or local vanity number: A 1-800 number is easily associated with professional, credible businesses and it will work to make your business look good too. A good vanity number can show that you are focused on preforeclosure marketing with something like, ‘1-800-Bad-Debt’.
3) Website: Website templates are acquirable for a very low cost. These grant your clients to check you out and see your testimonials from past customers.
That’s all you need to know to get started in preforeclosure marketing. From here it’s as easy as taking action to find those potential clients. Make sure you know, realize and implement the points above and you’ll have some success in your chosen preforeclosure market.
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Colin Egbert is an experienced Real Estate Investor with plenty of short understanding techniques to aid fellow investors in their quest to succeed and make massive profits. He’s the author of the ebook “Getting Started with Short Sales” providing the tools needed to begin your own real estate investing business. Colin is also the CEO of Realestateinvestor.com a website dedicated to helping investors make the most of their business.
