Once you have a basic plan of attack for you bandit signs (marketing to find deals so you can buy, fix and flip houses), here are some set up steps for your marketing campaign.
Get a local phone number specifically for your real estate marketing (don’t use your personal cell phone, home or work number). You can get one free. It takes about 15 – 20 minutes to get one activated. Currently Google www.google.com/voice is a source to get one free of charge if you have a Gmail account. There are other providers that offer free trials for a few weeks to a month and then roll into a small monthly fee.
Get your signs from online retailers, office supply stores or home improvement stores. Get some professionally made 18″ x 24″ signs (they convey more professionalism that handwritten ones). Budget around $2 – $4 per sign depending on where and how many you buy and don’t forget to factor in wire or wooden stakes so you can plant them into the ground. I suggest at least 50 – 100 signs to start out. Shop around for the best deal for you. I don’t endorse these but here are few sites to get you started:
Design your signs to be highly visible. They must be simple and bright. Yellow with black letters/numbers test out the best. Red or blue signs work very well also. They should simply say, “We buy houses” & your phone number – that’s it! Don’t over think or design these! The only option to even consider (to make your sign stand out where there’s lot’s of signs in one area) would be to add some symbols e.g., $$$ or a short tagline like “Fast Cash Offers”. Don’t use any branding during this part of your marketing – you are simply trying to get your phone to ring as much as possible, with deals at this point.
Plant em, track em – be strategic about placing your signs. Have a well thought out route to plant and pick up. Track results of inbound calls to fine tune your areas. Plant them yourself, hire a teenager (you’ve trained) or use a sign placement service. Always, always know the local sign codes/ordinances. Place in areas people have to stop (so they can see and read your sign). Stay away from areas the have lots of signs already.
Answer your phone. Seems obvious but don’t do this if you aren’t going to answer calls as they come in. Going to voicemail is OK but catching live is the best. When opportunity knocks – answer the door!
Remember these tips and get your marketing machine ringing your phone with deals.
- Answer your phone – seems obvious but you would be surprised – you best bet is to catch ’em live. Trading messages does always go so well.
- Make your signs “pop”. Highly visible colors, easy to read letters/numbers | eye catching symbols or taglines are optional (e.g., $$$ or “Fast Cash”)
- Get traffic counts for your targeted areas from the Department of Transportation, to help fine tune your sign placement
- Research area regulations for sign placement on public and private property
- Use in conjunction with other marketing methods such as direct mail
Next we’ll talk about what to say and ask, when you get calls from you signs.
