Just A Marginal Shift

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our every day problems, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees and a minor tweak in our business can have a major impact on our income.
I call it… A Marginal Shift

As I write this, two employees and myself are on our way to a two day seminar I’ve been conducting in L.A. One of the two is about to complete his first deal and get a check for $12,000, which is a lot less than he anticipated going in, but welcome none the less.

It’s actually hard to work at Global Publishing and not get infected with the real estate bug because the walls are lined with success letters with photos and checks. It’s tough to see so many people making so much money and try to continue to convince yourself it won’t work for you. The evidence is abundant.

So anyway, my employee was telling me all about his deal and how he was disappointed in the profit so I asked him what he did wrong. His answer was everything you told me not to do.

Here’s the list…
1) Paid too much
2) Personally guaranteed a new loan
3) Poorly prepared it for sale
4) Spent too much on rehab even though minor
5) Closing was delayed after finding a buyer

Keep in mind, he’s still getting a check for $12,000. So he got paid to learn. Never a bad strategy.

Now, here’s what he did right….
1) Had the guts to buy the house.
2) Got help to sell it and it moved fairly quick.
3) Put into a land trust immediately after the
purchase and loan closing.
4) Got $5,000 more because the buyer delayed the
closing, which worked out well.
5) Learned from his mistakes so he’ll profit much
more the next time.

I’m fortunate to be in a position where I get to talk to our customers on a regular basis and learn what keeps them up at night. Many companies make decisions from an ivory tower and never meet their customers.

Frankly, when problems exist in your real estate business, to me it’s the same ol’, same ol’. I haven’t heard a new one in years and almost all are self inflicted.

What surprises me sometimes is the difficulty seemingly intelligent people have solving rather minor problems that, to me, common sense would cure. I guess common sense isn’t all that common.

I’m also disturbed at how easy it is to steal the dreams of Americans and how we became a society of weak willed people who get deterred at the first road block and quickly take another direction with such little effort to persist and overcome obstacles.

Oh, if someone insults our country or tries to take our freedom, we’ll fight to the death and make any sacrifice necessary to put down tyrants.

But, if some moron tells us we can’t do something in business or it gets the least bit hard, a large portion of our population will play dead, believe everything they hear or read and spend ten times more time and energy watching sports than creating income and wealth.

Americans simply haven’t been trained to be problem solvers. When an employee goes into their own business they give up “Top Cover” – that’s someone else making the major decisions, solving the big problems, and taking on the majority of the responsibility.

Now, all of a sudden, you are the Top Cover, but still have all the old bad habits. Entrepreneurs quickly learn to solve problems or they go out of business and back to the ranks of employee. An absolute basic fundamental business principal that will never change is…

As Soon As You Solve One Problem
Another Will Quickly Take Its Place

So, you better get used to it and develop an iron shell and willingness to address problems head on and annihilate them quickly. If you do, you’ll become strong, a survivor who can weather any storm and blast away obstacles with a bazooka, as all successful entrepreneurs who survive learn to do.

Some get so good at solving problems they actually welcome a few just to keep the excitement level up. I’m one of those. Most people would be crushed under the gargantuan load of never ending crap I deal with in a regular day, most of which is quickly delegated to Tish and others who have also become very efficient and squashing problems quickly. They have to or they can’t survive around me.

That ability did not come from me being strong….it’s actually what made me that way. When you solve as many problems and make as many decisions as I do, not much bothers you and, in time, you develop an armor shield….if you survive the doofus test.

Here are a few things I hear frequently and my observations on the solutions.

PROBLEM 1
Not Enough Leads

This problem can only come from a few possible mistakes.
• You’re targeting the wrong market
• You’re using the wrong media
• You’re using the wrong message
• You’re doing too little and expecting too much
• You’re getting plenty of leads, but wasting them
• Your lead capturing system is faulty

If your lead flow is slim, the problem is on the list. Find it and fix it cause if you don’t, your business will continue to suck until it dies.

The best tool ever invented to get deals is the yellow letter. In my 30 years nothing has ever come close. Yet, I see so many people not using it or totally screwing it up. Your whole multi-million dollar business can be built overnight from this ugly letter you got dropped in your lap for free, but abuse and misuse. If you used no signs, ads, flyers, cards, etc, and did exactly what I teach you to do with the yellow letter you’d need nothing else.

But, you won’t! It’s ugly! It’s too simple, it shouldn’t work, and it can’t be that easy and besides you can invent something better, especially if you’re male. I know you just can’t help it.

Here are the mistakes people make that kill their results…
1) They eliminate the hand addressing and hand
written address in the letter itself. Deadly mistake.
2) They use a 6 x 9 envelope. No! Use the # 10
or invitation size.
3) The letter looks false, an obvious marketing piece.
Nada! It must look like you hand wrote it on a
yellow pad with a pen…use red.
4) They add a business card or other stupid warning
sign they are a business, not an ignorant potential
buyer who can’t even type a letter. Dumb! Dumb!
Dumb!
5) They mail to bad lists or only one list and don’t
bother to fix it, but expect good results. No, No,
No! The list must be fresh and you should use
three different targets at a time, not just one type,
i.e. Foreclosures, out of town owners, expired
listings, bankruptcies, divorce, tax liens, military
owners, zip code homeowners, etc. Once you
take the time to find and test a few lists, it’s a gravy
train and can be on auto pilot from then on.
6) Mail a handful and expecting miracles. You should
mail at least 200-300 per week, every week, and
ramp up as needed.
7) Do their own addressing and stuffing. No Go! If
you do, it won’t get done. If your spouse or kids
are doing it, don’t give up your day job, you’ll need
the income cause it ain’t coming from houses.
Do you really want your family to control the most
important piece of your business when they get
around to it, at a snail’s pace and only after a
brutal verbal beating from you. Job it out and let
the kids mow lawns.

A small marginal shift in attitude and application here can turn mundane results into a marketing machine driving in more business than you can handle, all from one ugly letter, but it must be done correctly…not your way.

PROBLEM 2
Looking For Deals Through Realtors

That’s like pushing a rope uphill with your nose. Get this…

The Easier A House Is To Find
The More It Costs

There are good deals with Realtors, but I wouldn’t count on them to make a living. Owner occupants and crazy seminar graduates will pay too much because they’re so easy to find and someone else does most of the work to negotiate and write agreements. Get this…

The Best Deals You’ll Ever Do
Are Not On The Market

The competition doesn’t know they are for sale, neither does the seller until you contact them. Ergo…The yellow letter. You simply can’t beat it.

If your whole business revolves around Realtors, a marginal shift to FSBO’s with a proper letter campaign will change your life.

PROBLEM 3
Everyone Wants Retail Price!

Wrong! Only suspects want retail price. Prospects will give away tons of equity in exchange for debt relief and peace of mind.

Marketing is a numbers games. You’ll always have to sift through the crap to get to the cream. You’ll make a killing on the minority, not the majority. It might take 30, 40, 50 calls from suspects to get a prospect.

So what? Why the big shock? That’s why I want PATLive taking the calls, not you. Let them talk to the suspects so you don’t have to (patlive.com/ronlegrand). You should only call the few survivors after the culling ceremony.

How many people drive by a restaurant every day to get a few inside?

How many people answer the letter from Publishers Clearing House? Less than ½ of 1%.

How many people must watch Ron Popiel’s infomercial before one buys a kitchen gadget? Thousands!

How many people come to a free seminar to get one to buy? About 20!

It’s all a numbers game. How many letters you send is irrelevant to get a deal worth $20,000 – $30,000 – $40,000 or more. Who cares how many or what each piece costs. Just keep mailing and fix what’s broke until you own the process. Just a marginal shift.

By the way! Don’t get mad at all those folks who want retail price. When you put a house on the market, you’ll be one of them. You just can’t do business with them.

We Don’t Buy Like We Sell

If you’ll get to my Boot Camp, I’ll teach you how to make a good living with all those unmotivated seller leads even if you never buy their house. They’re worth $10,000 – $25,000 per month if you know what to do with them. I do.

To Your Quantum Leap,

Ron