Acquiring Deals Like a Boss

We all got into real estate investing because we want more money, right? We want more passive income.

But what we really want is control. It’s not about the money, when you think about it.

If you dig down deep to discover what you really want, it’s probably control... we want to be able to control our lives and spend our time doing what we want.

So, as real estate investors, the way that we gain control of our lives is to invest in profitable properties that bring us positive cash flow and long-term wealth.

And... to achieve those goals, we have to be consistently acquiring new property deals. So—that’s exactly what I want to talk about today. Think of it this way:

Acquiring deals = more income = more control over your life.

So, if you want control, you need to focus on deal acquisition.

Simple Success Shortcuts

My secret for acquiring deals and building a successful REI business is really the same secret to everything I do... simplify, automate, and accelerate.

Simplify your techniques and processes, automate them, and then accelerate and multiply your efforts.

When you accelerate your business, you do more deals and make more money.

So I'm going to take you guys through a number of what I call “simple success shortcuts” (SSS) for deal acquisition.

SSS #1: Leads

The first simple success shortcut is... you’ve got to have data at your fingertips. You need to have instant leads or instant lists of distressed motivated sellers, right?

Now, you can use any number of systems out there to pull lists full of data – and these can be very helpful and quick. I won’t go into all the details on those software options today, but—basically—you need to be able to instantly generate lists of leads.

And—here’s the important part—your leads need to have multiple layers of motivation. For instance, a absentee owner of a distressed property is going to have several layers of motivation to sell his/her property. And that is the type of seller you want to approach, so you can get the best property deals possible.

This SSS might seem fairly obvious, but it’s the foundational step to any successful REI business. If you don’t have a list of solid leads, you aren’t going to get anywhere.

SSS #2: Virtual Driving for Dollars

Driving for dollars can help you find promising property leads, but here’s the disadvantage: it’s a huge time hog.

The time that you spend cruising around neighborhoods could be better spent. It’s just not an efficient, streamlined way to go about the deal-finding process.

So, instead, I recommend virtual driving for dollars. In other words, if you have a lead on your motivated seller list—and the address of the property—you can just look it up using Google Maps (the street view). Boom. Tons of time saved.

Let's say that I want to get a street view of the property. So instead of driving out to the house, or sending my Realtor to see the property, let's say I do a virtual drive by.

I just Google the address, and when the map option shows up (it should be the first search result), I simply click on “Street View.”

Now I can see every angle of the property (except for the back, obviously). I can even “move” down the street to look at the neighboring houses.

In some cases, I’ve done this virtual driving for dollars and immediately noticed that the neighborhood looks kind of rough. Like, I might see row houses or a junkyard around the corner. If it looks a little bit like the neighborhood where Rocky Balboa lives – in Rocky 7 (“Creed”) where he lost all of his money – that might be a red flag.

And, just like that, I can instantly see what type of neighborhood I’m “walking” through. No time or gas wasted on literal driving around. Already, I know if this is a deal I want to pursue or not.

SSS #3: Proven Marketing Templates

The next simple success shortcut for scoring sweet deals is: using proven marketing templates.

So, let's say I have a list of 525 absentee owner, free-and-clear leads in the Philly area, and I want to build a marketing campaign. And let's say I want to focus on a direct mail campaign.

Now what I would suggest you do is a 5-touch mailing campaign over 5 weeks. Hit the houses heavy, early, and as much as possible in a short period of time. Don't drag out your marketing to, you know, 5 touches over 5 months.

Then, I recommend using at least one handwritten letter in your 5-touch campaign. And what I mean by that is—a lot of direct mail places will have a “handwritten” letter option that looks like handwriting, but it’s actually printed by a computer. But, I prefer the option of a real pen on paper.

So, if you don’t have a printing place that can do this for you, just hire an assistant, a college student, or the neighbor kid next door to hand-write some pieces for you.

Then, for the other pieces, you can do a mixture of yellow letters, postcards, and even another handwritten letter or two.

Now, I always, always, always recommend when you send out direct mail that you pay for first class mail. This way, you know which day it’s going to be sent and which day it’s going to hit the properties.

Another tip: Mail a copy to yourself, so you can double-check which day it’s arriving.

Once you get your process down (remember, automate!), you’ll start seeing a good ROI on your direct mail campaigns.

SSS #4: Custom Lead Capture Website

Now, if I'm going to set up a mailing campaign, what's the next thing I want to have? A custom lead capture website.

You website needs to be simple and to the point. There’s no need to get super fancy (and expensive) with it.

Throw some basic info in there, like: “Do you have a vacant house and need to solve the problem of owning it? We buy houses fast! Get a fair cash offer and close in 5 days or less.”

Bang. I just created my website.

Two other tips: Make sure your website is SEO and mobile-optimized. And, have a form where interested sellers can enter their contact info and some basic details about their property.

Once someone “opts in” by entering their info, you should have an email drip campaign that automatically starts sending to them.

On my website, for example, those who opt in are automatically set to receive a 10-step autoresponder email campaign.

Imagine yourself hiking in the mountains, going for a walk, reading on the beach, or going to a wedding and somebody actually responds to your marketing during that event, while you're gone. You’re creating property leads with NO effort.

SSS #5: Effective Phone Scripts

Now, here comes the final step: contacting potential sellers so you can acquire the best deals.

Have you ever been scared to pick up the phone and call potential leads because you're not sure what to say and you don't want to have egg on your face?

Maybe you’ve thought, “What if they actually respond to my marketing and I don’t know how to do my due diligence or how to justify my price to the seller?” Well, if that's something that intimidates you at all, you don’t have worry—you just need solid phone scripts in place.

You’ll want to come up with a script that works well for your business model, but—in general—here are some things to cover during the conversation:

Which property they’re calling about (get the full address)
Their name and contact info
When is the best time to contact them
How did they find out about you
Is the property currently occupied
Basic details on the property (beds, baths, square footage, etc.)
Any repairs or renovations that will be needed
Any existing mortgage info
How much they’d like to sell the property for (for an all-cash offer that closes fast)
If the property doesn’t sell, what will they do with it
Schedule a time to see the property and meet in person

Just like that... you've got a qualified seller, you know all the information, and you know exactly what they're trying to sell. Keep track of all the info—even if the deal doesn’t work out. You never know when you might come into contact with that seller again, or if they’ll change their mind and decide to accept your offer.

Summing It Up

And there you have it... 5 simple success shortcuts for acquiring deals like a boss. Remember: the more you can simplify and automate your processes and procedures, the less time you have to spend on tasks that don’t have a direct (or substantial) impact on your bottom line.