How Much Should I Be Spending to Get Deals?

How much do I spend in my marketing budget? Today let’s talk about what the “magic number” is for you to spend to get deals every month (or maybe your first deal). The secret is: there is no magic number. And you probably have to keep spending it to get leads in the door. That’s why its called a “marketing budget.” I see people quit after one mailing of 1,000 postcards or letters. I’m going to be honest; a thousand postcard or letter campaign done once is probably not going to cut it.

I do 2,000 postcards sometimes and get no deal. The key to marketing is to keep doing it. If you can only afford one marketing strategy, stick to that. I know sometimes paying for marketing campaigns can feel like you are flushing money down the drain after a failed marketing campaign. Let’s face it — you are a business owner so you have to think like one and act like one.

Varied Results

I get people who tell me, “I put out 25 signs, sent 200 letters, ran Google Adwords for sellers, and drove for dollars,” etc. Then they ask, “When should I expect a deal?” I’m not saying you are not going to get a deal. I’ve seen some people get a deal after driving for dollars once; meanwhile, it took 8 months for me to get a deal. Remember, the purpose of marketing is to get a response. Once you get these people on the phone, it’s up to you to close them out. Is every lead ready to take your offer? Absolutely not. The key is to keep marketing, follow up with current leads and keep leads coming in. As a wholesaler, you need to be constantly evaluating deals and talking to sellers.

Now, for the people who have limited income like I did starting out, you need to ask yourself, how much can I afford to spend every month? Can you afford $50, $100, $500, etc.? Pick one marketing avenue and stick with it. Let’s say you only have $50 to spend. Well, that means you might need to write your own letters or postcards. Is it going to take a while to get a deal? Probably yes, but don’t come into any business expecting success in 90 days.

Find One Thing

IF you are going to put out signs, then you should stick with that until you get a deal. If you are going to mail, stick to that until you get a deal. My point is find one thing. I know I told you that already, but a lot of people seem to overcomplicate it. We are all marketing for deals, and sometimes your campaigns will fail. If you have to cry, go to your room, cry — and then tomorrow, do it all over again. Wholesaling is a business and needs to be treated like one if you want to become successful. Any successful business needs marketing.

Now, if you don’t have any money and you are flat broke, Craigslist, FSBO sites and cold calling might be your friends. I know someone in my local market who monitors the local real estate look up. She finds out who is an absentee owner. And then she goes to 411.com, looks them up and begins to cold call. It sounds easy, but it is not. You will probably talk to 100 people before getting a deal. That one deal may net you $10k. So is a $10k deal worth it to you? For me, it is because I used to work in a call center paying $10.00 an hour and we took 100 calls per day. But most people are not willing to do the work.

Conclusion

In conclusion there is no super secret marketing number to get a deal. You will get a deal when you come across a motivated seller. My suggestion is to stick to one form of marketing. Master one step before moving onto the next step. In my personal opinion, postcards are the best money spent. However, I have a friend who understands Google Adwords and does $250k a year off this avenue alone. At this point I don’t understand Adwords and have tried outsourcing it. I quickly learned that trying to manage something you don’t understand is not the wisest decision. I flushed $3k down the drain.

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