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Door Knocking for Dealsconnectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community

As you’ve learned, there are a lot of effective ways to find great deals onoff-market properties. No matter if you are wholesaling, flipping houses orif you are into buy and hold strategies, door knocking for deals works. It'stargeted marketing at its finest - and simplest. You’re going direct to thesource, knocking on the door and offering to buy the house. We'vetalked about how Direct Mail, Craigslist and Networking can put you incontact with the motivated sellers. But we also know that most peopleget bombarded with ads, offers and junk mail. So when you really wantto cut to the chase and "get your foot in the door" (so to speak), doorknocking is the most effective way to meet potential sellers. It puts youfront and center, it adds a personal touch that mailers and ads can't- and it is the quickest route to making deals. You deliveryour message face-to-face and can start the buyingand negotiation process right away.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community1

RESOURCES:Just like most deal finding strategies, you need to identify your target areas.Once you do, you'll want to be prepared when you arrive. You're face to face withpotential sellers and future referral sources – like the neighbors, so have on hand: BusinessCards Fliers – Outlining who you are and what you do. Ifyou've seen any of the picker TV shows, you've seenthem approach homes, introduce themselves and handthe home owner a flier. It breaks the ice and gives theminfo for future reference. Your "script" – Even If you are a naturallyoutgoing person, you need to prepare your opening. Andif you are bit on the shy side, it's a great idea to work upall of your talking points and then practice. Once youknock on a few doors, you'll get even morecomfortable and your conversationwill flow easily.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community2

HOW TO:So before you head out, you need to think about your target areas,neighborhoods and homes. Just like when you’re using Bandit Signs andDriving for Dollars, you're not pointing yourself in the direction of theaffordable new starter homes. You're looking for the easy to sell areas ofyour community. Maybe in your area it's near a college or downtown area.And then within those areas, you're looking for the bread and butterneighborhoods - the ones where there's a good mix of homes that needwork and homes that have already been renovated or are in the process.You want to avoid the war zone areas - high crime areas with lots ofboarded up homes - properties in these areas can be hard to market andmove, no matter what your exit strategy.Many investors who use the Door Knocking are also buying or creatingtarget lists of homes to visit. It’s like Driving for Dollars with apre-determined destination. These lists may include properties that are inpre-foreclosure – the owner is in default but the bank hasn’t takenpossession, so there's still time to buy before the bank sends the propertyto the courthouse auction. These are pretty motivated sellers – so makingthem part of your deal finding is a good idea. Be sure to check out theForeclosure Chapter for more detail on Pre-foreclosure marketing. Goodlists can also include estate properties, delinquent taxes or code violators.Added bonus - you can use these lists for both Direct Mail and yourtargeted Door Knocking. No matterwhere your target propertiesare - you want to be readyso let's look at what youneed when you get there.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community3

Business cards are a must.Designing an effective business card is easy. There are a lot of greatexamples out there - but in essence your card should include these keymessages:- We Buy Houses- Your Name, Phone Number, & Email Address- Your Website (if applicable. If not, Connected Investorshas great website options for its members)- A Problem, A Solution and A Call to ActionYou’ll also want to be prepared with a flier to leave with the owner orneighbor – or if no one is home, leave the flier with a personal note jottedon it. “Sorry I missed you. I stopped by to talk to you about buying yourhouse. Here’s my contact information. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll stop byagain soon.” Give the flier your personal touch and sign your name. Thengo visit a neighbor to strike up a conversation about the house next door –your target property - and leave your flier and business card with them aswell.The goal with your fliers is not so much to establish your credibility – youcan do that in person when you meet. The goal is to get them to call you.Your flier should answer this question for the home owner – “What’s in itfor me?” The home owner needs to know that you can provide them somebenefit – you can solve their problem by buying their house. Keep thefocus on THEM and include a call to action.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community1

I BUY HOUSES!FAST CASH QUICK CLOSINGS555-555-5555JOEY HOMEBUYERCASH4HOUSES@EMAIL.COMNEED TO SELL FAST?FACING FORECLOSURE?DIVORCE?BEHIND ON PAYMENTS?BAD TENNANTS?Here are the components to an effective flier:Your headline is the most important piece of real estate on that paper. Keepit short, simple and to the point. It will grab the reader’s attention and getthem to read on. A sub heading is a great idea too. Here are some tried andtrue headlines and subheadings:connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community5

Next you want to describe that itch that needs scratched – in essence, theproblem that you propose to solve. Here are some examples: No cash for repairs? Need to sell quickly? Facing foreclosure or behind on payments? Are you getting a divorce or relocating? Inherited a house that you need to sell?Next, offer up solutions. You’ve grabbed their interest with your headline andconnected with their problem – so now it’s time to answer the question“what’s in it for me?” Show them how YOU are uniquely qualified to solvetheir problem. Here are a few examples: Save thousands when you sell direct to us –no realtor commissions or fees We can close in days not weeks or months We pay cash and close on YOUR timeline We buy houses as-is, where-is. All cash.Finally include a call to action. You want the potential seller to call you orcontact you immediately about their property. Tell them what to do and whatto expect. Here are some examples:· Call Now – No fees No obligation· Call Today and get your house sold tomorrow· Call to get a written offer in 24 hours.You’ll want to use brightly colored paper and you also want to remind them to“save this with your important house papers.” It’s not uncommon to get a callweeks or even months later from those sellers who aren’t quick to take action.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community6

Now that you have your supporting materials ready, it’s time to get YOUready. And that means being prepared to talk to your sellers. No matter yourlevel of confidence, you need to prepare some talking points and even writeout a script. The key here is your mindset – don’t anticipate that the personopening the door will be angry. Instead, assume that you will be greeted asthe person who has arrived to offer help – in the form of buying theirproblem house.Go in with the attitude that you’re just going to have a conversation. Whenthat door opens, it’s your window of opportunity to introduce yourself assomeone who genuinely cares about their situation and can offer themsolutions. Your goal is to create trust – so don’t wing it. Even the best closershave learned from scripts and perfected their approach.Here’s what you might say, “Hello. I’m Terry Smith. I’m looking to buy a homein this area and wondered if you or any of your neighbors might beinterested in selling. Do you have a couple minutes to talk?” If they say no,simply say something like, “I understand. I’ve shown up unannounced.”Make it sound like it’s a scheduling problem,not that you’re getting rebuffed.Next say, “If it’s okay with you, I’dlike to leave you business card anda flier” and extend your hand withyour materials. They will almostalways take it. Thank them andencourage them to give you acall, visit your website or sendyou an email – whichever is yourpreferred method of contact.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community7

If the property shows potential, don’t give up. Add them to your follow uplist and include them in future mailing or door knocking campaigns. It’salso a great idea to place a few bandit signs in the area – if you’ve found apromising area, go ahead and double down - door knock and place signs.So, when they say yes, you need to beprepared with your talking points. Onyour business cards and fliers, the focuswas on what’s in it for them. And it still is– but you also need to build rapport andestablish your credibility. Casually handthem a flier and start the conversation.Now is when you’ll take “off ramps” and talk about unrelated things thatallow you to connect with the seller. Arethey wearing a sports jersey? Talk about the team. Do they havelandscaping or a car in the driveway that’s interesting? Take the initialconversation off the subject for a moment to create a personalconnection. Then simply turn the conversationto the house. “I really like this area –and I also like to work directly with theowners when I buy a house. It saveseveryone time and money. Have youconsidered selling? ” Let the sellertalk, find out what itch needsscratched and begin the buyingprocess.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community8

Look non-threatening and casual. When ahome owner looks to see who's knocking,don’t hide your face. Take off thesunglasses and ball cap. And keep yourhands in plain view. After knocking, step away from the doorfive to six feet and casually look around.Stepping away allows the seller to look youover and get comfortable before they openthe door. Never look through the peep holein the door, through windows, do anythingthat seems too familiar or intrusive. Don’t show up in your finestcouture. Skip the suits and fancybling. The home owner doesn’twant to be reminded that as aninvestor, you stand to profit frombuying their property. If you drivean expensive vehicle, you maywant to park across the street –not only does it keep your car outof view, some owners areparticular about who parks ontheir property unannounced.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community9

ACTION STEPS COMPLETED:So that’s the basics of door knocking for deals. It’s not rocket science – infact, it’s more art than science. The science is in identifying your targetproperties. The art is in finessing your approach. It’s all about connectingwith your seller. So, find your target investment areas. Create the idealbusiness card and flier. And get yourself ready to talk to sellers with acasual presence, a seamless introduction and your talking points.Door knocking works. You can combine it with Direct Mail – using yourlists to identify and cherry pick your best target properties. You cancombine it with Driving for Dollars and your Bird Dog leads to fast trackyour way to talking with sellers and getting deals to the closing table. Youcan farm your target neighborhoods. Armed with the right marketingmaterials, the right mindset and a casual, yet polished approach, you canfind great off market deals to fuel your investments.connectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community10

Notesconnectedinvestors.com: the real estate investors marketplace and community11

if you are into buy and hold strategies, door knocking for deals works. It's targeted marketing at its nest - and simplest. You’re going direct to the source, knocking on the door and offering to buy the house. We've talked about how Direct Mail, Craigslist and Netw