Let's Talk Real Estate Investing with Sharon Vornholt

I've been traveling a LOT in the past month. I have attended 3 live events during that time. So the focus of today's show is going to be on "why attend live events"? Exactly what are the benefits?

The main benefits are that they help you grow as a person, and they definitely help your business grow.

It's Been a Lot of Travel but So Worth It!

I started out with a trip to Chicago for a 3 day real estate conference called "Building an Empire" put on by Andrew Holmes and the Chicago REIA. This is an event that I truly believe has the power to change people's lives. I also had the opportunity to be one of the speakers on a panel so it was a lot of fun.

I was home for 6 whole days when I hopped on a plane and headed to Orlando for Podfest. At this event, I was asked to be on a real estate investor's panel so I was both a speaker and an attendee (mostly an attendee). If you even thinking about doing a podcast of your own, I highly recommend you check out Podfest next year. It's a great event. Besides, who doesn't like Orlando at first of March?

Now, I'm a podcaster as you know. However, attending a conference with 1000 podcast minded people was just amazing. I saw old friends from last year, and I made new friends this year.

After being home just one full day, I hopped on a plane to head back to Chicago to speak at two different events about probate investing and marketing and branding. (I'm actually still here in Chicago recording this show).

The Big Question: Why Should You Attend Live Events?

Listen in and discover all the reasons why you should attend at least one live event this year. Just getting out of the office and away from your normal routine will leave you energized and excited about your business again.

Be sure to get your freebie my "Probate Investing Roadmap". You can get that here: Probate Investing Roadmap

Also, be sure to stop by the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog where you'll find more great content.

Andrew Holmes "Building an Empire. Just Click Here to Learn More

My guest today is Chicago investor Brie Schmidt, and we are going to talk about making it big with small apartments.

Brie is a buy and hold investor, a speaker and the managing broker of Second City Real Estate.

Show Notes

Here's just a sample of what we covered in this show:

• The interesting way she got started
• What made her finally quit her "day job"
• Why she chose buy and hold apartments as her investing strategy
• Why she chose Milwaukee as her second place to invest
• The challenges of investing out of state
• Scaling her business and how she's helping other do the same
• How she manages 90+ properties as just one part of what she does
• Advice for anyone just starting out

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I have 5 tips for using ringless voicemail for probate marketing for you today. If you've been following me for any length of time now, you'll know that I've generally been against cold calling folks in probate. It's just insensitive to call them as soon as the probate is opened.

For most people, this is a really sensitive time in their life. They are grief stricken and the last thing you want to do is upset them at this very difficult time.

How to Increase Your Direct Rail Response Rate by Adding Ringless Voicemail

In this show you will learn:

• Should your first contact with the executors ever be by phone?
• How ringless voicemail greatly increases your direct mail response
• When is it appropriate to call the personal representative?
• What should you say in your ringless voicemail?

Bonus Script

As a bonus, I have a super short script that you can use. Here's your script:

"Hi. This is "(your name) with (your company). I've been keeping in touch with you over the past few months about the property located at (address). I just wanted to reach out to you today to let you know that I'm still interested in buying the property when the time is right for you.

You can reach me by phone at (your phone #), or by email here at (your email), or on my website here at (your URL).

Final Thoughts

As you've learned in this show, there is a proper time and a proper way to add this into your probate marketing strategy. I would recommend giving it a 6 month try to get a feel for how well it's working for you.

Remember that about 80% of your leads will come at or beyond the 5th mailing. Adding ringless voicemail at this time is actually the perfect time.

I would love to hear how this works for you in your business.

Probates have been my #1 source of leads for more than a decade. I love working in this niche, but that's not true for all investors.

There are a couple of reasons why real estate investors shy away from this particular niche. One of them has to do with mindset.

In this episode, I'm going to lay out the reasons that folks hesitate to work in what is one of the most lucrative niches on the planet. You'll learn how to overcome any hangups you may have, and learn what you need to do to become a probate investing expert yourself.

Would you like to become a probate expert too?

Check out Probate Investing Simplified. Learn how you can become a probate investing expert in just 6 short weeks.

Be sure to leave us a review and rating on iTunes. Thanks in advance for doing that.

For more information on marketing, probate investing and so much more, be sure to stop by the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog.

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By now you know how much I love direct mail marketing, but we all wish response rates were higher. Response rates are about 1% nationally.

What if I told you that by adding one thing to your existing direct mail campaigns, you might incease your results by 400% or more? That would get your interest wouldn't it?

My guest today is Justin Silverio the owner of Open Letter Marketing. Just is a full time investor that set out to solve the problem of how to get more leads in his own business.

Show Notes

Here is a sample of what we talked about in this show:

• What makes this company different from all the others
• Marketing strategies to get more leads in the door
• What's working now
• Ringless voicemail
• Why combining these 2 strategies gives you a huge bump in response rates
• Google street view postcards
• Other innovative ways of marketing your REI business

You can reach out to Justin at Open Letter Marketing. Be sure to stop by the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog for more great content.

Today's show is on strategies for closing off market deals. Where exactly do you get the money?

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been talking about off market deals like probates, absentee owners, code violations and all the other properties that aren't listed on the MLS.

When a property is listed on the MLS, thousands of agents (and investors) have access to these properties. There's a lot of competition! The reason I like off market deals, is there is so much less competition.

Some of the things I'll go over in this show are the reasons sellers choose investors over an agent (it has to do with our promise), and the 6 ways anyone can show up as a cash buyer.

Hint: You don't actually have to have the cash in your bank account. Be sure to head over to the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog for more great content.

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Marketing is not a one-time event. It's an ongoing process. However, what I've found over the years, is that for a whole lot of investors their marketing resembles a horse race; a one time or "some times" event.

Here's what I mean by that.

In horse racing, it's a sprint. The horses get to the starting gate then they rush down the track as fast as they can to get to the finish line. When a horse get's to the finish line, they are done. The event is over until the next week, and that's the way a lot of investors think about marketing. You need to remember that marketing is your number 1 job in this business. Without leads, you'll be out of business in no time.

You can read the article over on the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog.

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If you're not getting great results from your direct mail (and that has happened to all of us), there are 5 things you need to take a look at. It's likely due to one of these 5 things.

The first thing is your list. I point out some things that might be a problem, plus the other 4 thing.

If you want to check out the video or the article, you can do that here on the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog.

I talk a lot about off market deals, specifically probates. You know I've even written a course on probate investing called "Probate Investing Simplified".

Today I want to talk about another group of motivated sellers that are also off market deals, and those are absentee owners.

I personally only market to out of state absentee owners, and I will also tell you why I only market to those out of state in the show.

Here are some of the things I go over in this show:

• Why I like this niche
• The problem with absentee owners is...
• New strategies for increasing your direct mail results
• Where to get a list of absentee owners
• The criteria I recommend you use when getting a list
• The most important filter to include when you get your list
• And so much more

Be sure to stop by the blog for more great content here at the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog.

Probate investing is my #1 strategy and it has been for more than a decade now. One of the questions I get the most is about compiling probate lists, and whether you should go back in time when you first start to build your list.

The answer is yes.

If you don't do that, it will take you too long to build a list that will bring you deals. In this show, here are some of the things I will cover:

• How many months you should go back
• How to compile and separate your lists
• Why you need to go back this far
• Tips for scrubbing your probate list
• And much more.

To see the complete article and get a copy of my FREE probate letter you can head on over to the Louisville Gals Real Estate Blog.

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