| What Good Is a Real Estate Investing Course If It Doesn't Contain A Marketing Plan? |
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Thursday, January 10, 2008
Are you doing a bit of advertising and just hoping that a deal will fall in your lap, or are you operating in a way that makes certain it will happen. If you don't have a process for making sure deals happen, you don't yet understand the importance of having a marketing plan. The sad fact is that even after all their training, less than one percent of all real estate entrepreneurs and investors actually have a marketing plan. Even though it's very simple, don't underestimate its power. The most important thing about marketing is to have a marketing plan! Why? A) It's a concrete result you put out for your mind to seize on and strive to achieve. B) It allows you to clarify exactly what you want to achieve in the coming 30 days. C) It allows you map out the activities needed to achieve that plan. D) It allows you to plan in advance to delegate off the lower paying activities, so you don't end up doing them. E) It allows you set time deadlines, to hold others accountable so everything gets DONE! F) It results in you being free to concentrate on your highest payoff activity: Making Offers On Great Deals! G) You have a business that operates consciously, not by accident. More people fail in real estate because they simply do not have a plan or goals. You should have a detailed marketing plan of what you want to accomplish and how you are going to accomplish it. And, don't be vague, either. Things like, I want to make more money than I can ever spend, and I want to be rich, and I want to make $10,000 a month, are not plans. They are too vague, and they won't help you get there. Be as specific as you can possibly be. In planning for monthly revenue, try to put your money goals in cash income, not gross revenue. I know gross revenue is what you're used to thinking in, but cash is obviously more important. It's what you take to the bank, and it's what pays bills. First, examine your current numbers. More than 80 percent of all real estate entrepreneurs know how many houses they are buying each month, but they don't know where those houses came from and how many leads they had to process to develop them into the single deal. And, this is a deadly sin. You simply must know how you are currently doing. You should know: 1) the total leads that call each month (each week is more manageable), 2) where those leads come from, 3) how many "qualified" seller prospects (i.e. those that you are willing to invest follow-up in if they don't sell now; they have motivation, you are interested in the house.) you get each month, 4) the ratio of total to qualified, 5) the number of deals you close, 6) the ratio of closed deals to qualified leads for each lead source 7) how much you make from each seller, 8) and how much it cost you to acquire a new seller. With this information you can look at your current resources, look ahead, and then plan out what you want to have happen. The number of deals you want to do, the amount of money you want to make. For example, let's say you are bringing in around $10,000 a month and your average deal gives you $5,000. Yes, I know that's low, but for the sake of example. That's two deals a month. These are cash proceeds and after expenses you net 50 percent of your gross or $5,000 a month. And let's say that you want to double your net income next month. You will have to get twice as many deals to double your business. Goal? Four deals a month, or one a week. Let's say you currently gets one deal a month from a classified ad, and one deal a month for mailing expired listings. But, you get ten qualified calls a month from his classified ad and 10 qualified prospects calling a month as a result of mailing expired listings. So, you currently close ten percent of your prospects. Firstly, you can improve on this situation by improving that twenty percent close ratio. By improving your closing ratio by things like more precise targeting, the present lead-flow would stay the same, you'll get your same twenty real prospects and achieve your goal of doing four deals next month. But assuming that's not something you have control over right now, the other way to double your income in the next month is to double the number of qualified prospects you talk to and make offers to. So instead of getting 20 qualified leads to call, you would need 40. Your plan to get forty qualified prospects would need 10 to come from expired listing mailings, 16 to come from flyers in target neighborhoods, 4 from business cards handed out everywhere, 6 to come from signs placed in the ground at high traffic count intersections, 10 to com from classified ads that drive people to the website. Total: 46 prospects. Cool! That's six to spare. With this number of leads coming in you have what is needed closed four deals and reach your goal of doubling your net income. Actually, it's more than doubling because your fixed expenses don't increase with the income. You should have a monthly plan. Schedule thirty or forty minutes out of one day to make up your monthly plan and see how you did last month. Schedule this time and keep to it. Don't do any work or take any calls during this time. Keep it strictly for planning. If you do this and you allow yourself to get into the whole spirit of planning, and making things happen on purpose, you will easily double your income in twelve months. Your monthly plan should include the following: 1) A goal for total net income. 2) A goal for number of deals signed up 3) A goal for number of appointments made. 4) A goal for number of qualified, interested sellers. 5) A goal for total number of leads. 6) Average net income from each deal. 7) The number of prospects you have to generate to reach your goal. A detailed plan to generate the number of prospects you need. Your plan doesn't have to be typed out or put into a computer. It can be handwritten on paper. It doesn't have to be pretty. Scratch pad plans are good enough. The important part is that you do a plan every single week and keep on top of things. This is a simple thing to do, but it is just as easy to not do. Blowing it off is the equivalent of you absolving yourself of responsibility for your business. On the other hand, taking the time to think through your goals each month, both for income, and marketing activity, then committing them to paper will make things start happening by plan and put you in control of your business. About The Author: Why The Vacation Home Sale Market Is Unsustainable Why The Vacation Home Sale Market Is Unsustainable Article Description: The rental market and Vacation Home sale market is unsustainable. Vacation rentals are a business and like everything its supply and demand. It only takes one owner to drop the price below realistic levels to create a precedent. Additional Article Info: Word Count: 566 (not including resource box) Category: Travel/ Rentals Spam check rating: Low Written By: Stewart Granville Contact Email: admin@lastminutevillas.net Article URL: http://http://www.lastminutevillas.net Article Autoresponder: Why The Vacation Home Sale Market Is Unsustainable ?Copyright 2005 Stewart Granville Copyright ? 2005 Stewart Granville The rental market and Vacation Home sale market is unsustainable. Property prices are still rising by appalling amounts. Yes that!/s great on the surface, but match today!/s house prices with what people are quoting for rentals. Anybody seen a 20 or 30% rise in their income from guests? Anybody seen flight prices coming down? Anybody seen car rentals coming down? Anybody seen attraction prices coming down? Any form of economics will show that if you have a home and have a mortgage of anything in excess of $1000 with all the associated costs like utilities, management, taxes, replacement and upgrades, and if a home is being rented for anything less than $80 a night based on 35 weeks rentals that home is being run at a loss. There is ample evidence to show that that homes are being rented for less than that. Fortunately there is also evidence that owners are sticking to their guns and getting what their home is really worth. This is not a Last Minute syndrome. Because our site is so popular it!/s easier for owners to stick out for the rates, but there are other rental sites that lead owners to desperate measures. This is not to suggest that a market economy is wrong but too many have been left in desperate situations by false promises by a whole myriad of people. The first reaction by owners is to cut prices. Unfortunately all that does is delay the final sad outcome. It!/s a fascinating insight as to how people operate their homes, and interestingly, its usually owners of less than 18 months who offer low prices. The long-term owners, even though they could afford it in the main, are not lowering their rates unless it!/s a special one off deal. The long-term owners, feel they have seen it all before - potentially supply outstripping demand (C so they wait until all the other homes are filled with cheap rentals, till they know they can get the price they need to survive. Is this a good strategy? That!/s for you to decide. Although Florida has being full this year, experiencing what is probably one of the best seasons in the past 5 years, not too many owners are taking advantage of this. Disaster looms ahead and the only winners in this situation are the realtors. The very people that probably got many owners in to the situation they are in now. Luckily at sites like ours, the owners are in control. If the enquiries come through, its up to the owners to convert them to bookings, its up to them to decide on pricing, its their web site that is the brochure for guests to view, its their techniques for making sure converted bookings are satisfied. As one of the most popular sites, our focus is on getting visitors, getting enquiries and not having too many owners competing for the same enquiries. And this we do quite well. Vacation rentals are a business and like everything its supply and demand. It only takes one owner to drop the price below realistic levels to create a precedent. As always it should be your decision, because you know what works for you. Hopefully this helps clarify a situation, which will cause a lot of heartache for people in the future unless rental rates improve. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- Stewart Granville is a Florida vacation villas rental agent and operates the Florida Villas Rentals and Orlando Vacation Rentals The Best Retirement Communities in Florida by CRF Communities At CRF Communities, we consider all our active adult communities to be among the best retirement communities in Florida, just suited to different budgets and style requirements. To choose a few that we consider the best retirement communities built by us is difficult, if not impossible. Therefore, think of this list not as what we consider our best Florida retirement communities, but as a sample list drawn from various budgets and styles, indicative of the high standards that we aspire to. Walden Woods One of the Finest Active Adult Communities in Florida If you're looking for the best retirement communities in the best place to retire, stop by Walden Woods. Walden Woods is situated approximately 45 minutes north of Tampa, in beautiful, unspoiled surroundings. Birds fly overhead and the area's crystal clear natural waterways are very close by, where dolphins and manatees can be found frolicking. Equipped with a host of luxuries, like a heated pool, whirlpool spa and courts for racquet games, Walden Woods is where luxury meets affordability, where the rugged outdoors meets the comfort of home. There are not many retirement communities like it in the world, situated as it is near the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, the Chassahowitzka National Refuge and in close proximity to seven of the country's sparkling spring-fed rivers. Lake Ashton The Best Among Florida Retirement Communities for Avid Golfers The beauty of Lake Ashton and the breathtaking array of amenities available are enough to quicken the pulse of any half-serious homebuyer. Situated on 700 acres fronting the sparkling waters of Lake Ashton, this community is the last word on a comfortable, luxurious retirement. Amenities include a heated pool, lighted tennis and, amazingly…an entire 18-hole golf course! Other attractions include a sprawling clubhouse, dock and a movie theatre, not to mention a library, billiards center, bowling room…the list goes on and on. Suffice to say that the residents of Lake Ashton have a lot to keep themselves busy with through their retired lives. Mt. Olive Shores North Where Retirement Communities Meet Recreational Vehicle Lifestyles Mt Olive Shores North is a distinctively designed retirement community, which welcomes residents who want a comfortable site-built home, but also enjoy the thrill of the recreational vehicle (RV) lifestyle. The homes come in various styles, colors and sizes to suit all kinds of tastes. In addition most models are equipped with unique RV ports to accommodate the large vehicles. Spanning a wide price range, every at Mt. Olive Shores North receives the painstaking attention to detail that is characteristic of homes built by CRF Communities. About The Author: |
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