This checklist is loaded with information, but it was not designed as “start to finish” comprehensive material. It’s a checklist of “laws” that we follow with every single private client who works with us to create their Motivated Seller Lead Acquisition System.
You’ll get MUCH more out of this checklist if you follow along with the “How We Generate Motivated Seller Leads Right Now” training presentation that goes with it.
That presentation has examples, stories, and a lot more detail that will help explain how these pieces fit together.
Check out that training here.
TRAFFIC IS NOT CREATED, ONLY ATTRACTED. Investors often think they can create traffic from thin air, simply by showing up online. But that isn’t how it works.
In order to be effective – to generate leads at a profit, and to dominate a market – we have to go where the leads already are.
This could mean choosing an online marketing channel (AdWords, Facebook Ads, Google Organic/SEO, Bing Ads, etc) where there’s a lot of activity…
Or a channel with low competition.
You have to know which channels work in your market…and these are NOT the same across markets, or even from investor to investor!
How can you find this out?
Query data.
A “query” is the search phrase someone types into a search engine in order to try and solve their problem.
It is NOT THE SAME as a “keyword” – there are relatively few keywords investors want to target, but there are an infinite number of queries.
For example, the keyword “sell my house” might trigger several different queries, such as…
….etc.
If you know the queries that are popular in your market, you will know where to target local sellers, and how.
The best query data can be gained from running an exploratory AdWords campaign, or by examining your Google Webmaster Tools search console.
For an exact walkthrough on how to do this, check out the Online Training Presentation for this checklist.
THOU SHALT KNOW THY NUMBERS. What gets measured, gets managed.
The primary strength of online marketing is the amount of data it generates, which allows you to improve over time: costs go down, leads go up.
If you don’t do this, your online marketing will never be effective. It’s that important.
So – what numbers should you look at?
In the end, only a handful of KPI (key performance indicators) really matter to your bottom line:
Average Deal Value = what you take home, on average, per deal.
Close Rate = how many leads you need to close a deal on average.
CPA = cost per acquisition = what you pay, on average, to get a lead.
Conversion Rate = the percentage of people that contact you after landing on your website.
This Data allows you to calculate your Real ROI.
Without this data, you will give up on or miss profitable opportunities.
EXAMPLE:
You have spent 2 months working on your organic rankings.
You currently rank #1 for the keyword “sell my house fast CT”.
It is generating 1-2 leads a month.
You haven’t closed any deals.
Should we continue to invest time or money here?
To decide, we need to know the Real ROI of this keyword.
Many investors will feel that the ROI is 0. “I put in the work, but it hasn’t generated any deals!”
But what happens when we actually run the numbers?
Average Deal Value in this market = $10,000
Close Rate = 1 out of 15
CPA = 0$ (organic clicks)
Conversion Rate = 10%
This keyword should generate an average of 1.5 leads a month.
That means in 13 months, it should generate 20 leads.
20 leads, on average, should produce 1 deal.
1 deal, on average, is worth $10,000.
>>Therefore, this single keyword generates $769.23 in ROI every month ($10k divided by 13 months)
The ROI on this keyword is actually higher than many rental properties!
If you can get 4-5 of these keywords going…that’s a massive windfall.
Many investors will miss these opportunities because they are not calculating their Real ROI. They’re relying on feelings, not facts.
This is one of the fastest ways to start seeing an improvement in your online marketing: focusing on your Real ROI.
We track this extensively with our private clients to make sure that when they start scaling up their marketing, it actually works.
THOU SHALT USE THY NUMBERS. What gets measured, gets managed.
People often don’t know their numbers…
…and even when investors DO know their numbers, they often don’t know how to use them.
Data is only useful to the extent that you can use it to achieve your goals. Otherwise, it’s noise.
For each number you track, you should have one or two processes that will eventually lead to improvement.
Note that I said “eventually.” No one gets it right every time. You will run into many obstacles along the way….but if your process is solid, you will get there eventually.
Online advertising, for example, has 4 critical performance indicators:
IMPRESSIONS (views of your ad)
CLICK THROUGH RATE (the percentage of people that click the ad after viewing it)
COST PER CLICK (how much did you pay, on average, for each click?)
CONVERSION RATE (the percentage of people that contact you after clicking your ad)
If you know these numbers, you know everything you need to be wildly successful in online advertising for motivated sellers.
But if some of these numbers aren’t performing up to your standards (almost always the case), what do you do?
We need processes that will lead to improvements in these areas.
Our primary processes for common issues are:
LOW IMPRESSIONS —–> raise bids, more keywords
LOW CLICK THROUGH RATE —–> test different ad copy
HIGH COST PER CLICK —–> test new keywords, lower bids
LOW CONVERSION RATE —–> test different landing pages
All of these processes, given time, will produce improvements in their corresponding numbers.
You can find or develop these processes for any marketing channel. The numbers and processes will differ; the overall framework will not.
Know the number, apply the process.
THOU SHALT USE MULTIPLE CHANNELS. What gets measured, gets managed.
Having only a single marketing channel is extremely dangerous.
Even if your other channels are not as profitable as your primary marketing strategy, relying on just one channel for your entire business is a massive risk.
This does not just apply to online marketing. Offline marketing channels – like direct mail – can be disrupted overnight by market fluctuations, suppliers going out of business, a flood of newbies into your market, etc.
Your business is your biggest asset. You must protect that asset by minimizing the risk of losing your only source of leads and deals.
To see how we break down the strengths and weaknesses of the different online marketing channels, go here and watch our free training (and if you want to know how to apply these to your specific marketing, take us up on the offer to talk at the end!)
THOU SHALT INTEGRATE THY CHANNELS.. What gets measured, gets managed.
Systems in isolation can be powerful.
But integrated systems can have massive effects – far greater than any system by itself.
Charlie Munger – partner to Warren Buffett, and one of the most successful stock investors of all time – calls this a “Lollapalooza Effect”: feedback creating a complex adaptive system.
Combining systems and allowing them to interact produces big results. This is when 1+1 really can equal 3.
As a Real Estate Investor, how can you effectively integrate your marketing systems?
There are 3 primary integration methods: