I’m currently mailing out a yellow hand-written letter to people 3months behind on payments. I sent out 500 so far and have about a 5% response rate, but still haven’t gotten anything solid.
Anyone have suggestions?
I was told that I should include something in the envelope, such as a pen or souvenir, any suggestions?
5% is more than double the “normal” response rate.
The quality of the response is really the issue. I’ve sent 8x11 envelopes stuffed with pepto bismol tables asking “sick of paying for that house yet?”
They’re just bulky enough to be opened, but not too expensive.
The key is for it not to be FLAT.
I've sent 8x11 envelopes stuffed with pepto bismol tables asking "sick of paying for that house yet?"
:shocked Awesome idea!!
5% is awesome!
Try placing magnetic business cards in the envelope. People can’t resist opening something with something heavy kicking around in it b4 deeming it junk and tossing it. Postcards I have found to be ineffective b/c they get lost in the mountain of crap mail most people get.
U can improve the quality of response by having them call a rec msg 800# that in essence pre-screens them. If motivated they will listen to the message and leave name and address at the end for a free report or whatever. Motivated people ready to deal will jump thru the hoops of fire, non-motivated ones (aka PITAs) will not. :smile
whats PITA
Pain in the a**
sometimes i have learned motivated sellers are not willing to jump through hoops because they have so many options.
They run down their options like a quarter back does tiers. If they don’t find what they are looking for they start from the first call until they speak with a good salesman.
The idea is not to increase the response, but rather the quality of the calls. I don’t mind getting 0.05% response on my mailing if I know they are highly motivated and qualified sellers.
My issue with the hand written letters is that they generate interest, but most investors give vague interest. “Hello, I am interested in buying a house in your neighborhood…etc”, while this will create a desire to call and find out more, it does not screens the unmotivated from the motivated.
So you are getting 25 leads from a 500 mailing? How many of these 25 are actual leads that can be turned into a deal?
It seems to me it is not your response it is going to be more on presentation or maybe he list itself.
What do you do to qualify a lead? Is it based on equity, terms…etc.
Yellow letters are the way to go! When you say 3 months behind…are you sending to a 30-60-90 list or a NOD list? If you are sending to a NOD list then so is everyone else and that is why your response rate is 5%. If you are sending to a legit 30-60-90 list with a yellow hand written letter, then your response rate should be even higher. I know some people here will say BS but truthfully, I only mail to a legit 30/60/90 list w/ a yellow letter campaign and my response is somewhere around 8%.
Couple of tips which you may or may not already know or use:
Use a greeting card envelope, pastel colors work best.
Use a real stamp and not your generic flag stamp.
Don’t seal the envelope, just tuck in the flap in the back.
Hand write the envelopes (obviously)
Put you return address on the back tucked in flap. For a return address, only use your address not your name.
Not sure how you produce your yellow letters but I’m sure you don’t hand write them individually. Assuming this is the case, make sure you cannot tell that they are copies. If you don’t know how to do this then please let me know.
Lastly, if you, in fact, are using a 30-60-90 list then make sure it is legit and not just a hand-me-down from other investors.
Where do you get the 30/60/90 list?