Real Estate Genius Investment Software Blog

By Chris Parks

What is one of the best ways to approach taking control of your life? Many feel it is having your own business. To be clear, I am not advocating quitting your job tomorrow to start a new business as this would not be wise. You most likely would not be able to replace your current income right away. What I am suggesting however is “building” a Real Estate Investing business in your spare time, which is different than “starting” a business.

You see, starting a Real Estate Investing business implies that you will finish it or simply give up. When you build a Real Estate Investing business you are doing it the right way, at a pace you are comfortable with. Building conjures images of growth, and that is what you want. Right? So how do you build a Real Estate Investing business?

First you need to choose a Real Estate Investing vehicle or strategy that you can work in your spare time, without jeopardizing your current job. Ideally you would be able to begin building your Real Estate Investing business with very little money. You would not cause financial hardship to your family.

You would be able to use resources that you already have. You must have a product that is desirable and that you can build upon. The Real Estate Investing business has to have the ability to begin earning money quickly. There must be enough growth potential to eventually allow you to quit your job and regain control of your life.

I know this may sound like a pretty tall order, but remember we are talking about your financial future. Would you want anything less? You will have to steadily work towards your goals (you must set goals), and it requires a different way of thinking.

Change is not easy, but it is necessary. Are you currently living the life you have always dreamed of? If not, you need to change something. Remember, regardless of the economy, a Real Estate Investing Business is a perfect product people simply because people will always need a place to live.

About the Author:

Chris Parks is a Real Estate Investor who has been involved in Real Estate in one capacity or another since the mid 1980s. As a member of a small group of Real Estate Investors and Entrepreneurs, and always having the knack for explaining Real Estate Basics in an easy to understand manner, Chris created Real Estate Investing for Newbies http://www.REIforNewbies.com in order to teach and assist new Real Estate Investors in a step-by-step, easy-to-understand manner.

(c) Copyright - http://www.REIforNewbies.com All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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By Brandon Cornett

Attrition is the enemy of real estate marketing.

So to be successful in your marketing, you first have to understand the concept of attrition. You also have to work hard to reduce it. This article will help you understand attrition and give you tips for reducing it within your real estate marketing program. Let’s begin with a basic definition.

What is Attrition?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines attrition as “a reduction in numbers usually as a result of resignation, retirement, or death.” Don’t worry, we’re not talking about retirement or death here. But we are talking about a reduction in numbers — and the size of that reduction has a direct impact on your real estate marketing success.

Now let’s convert that definition for real estate marketing purposes.

Real Estate Marketing Attrition
In your marketing program, attrition refers to the number of people who do not take the actions you want them to take. At each step in the marketing process, you stand to lose some people. The more people you lose along the way, the less successful your real estate marketing program will be. So let’s talk about minimizing attrition by using the following example.

A Real Estate Marketing Scenario
Let’s consider a marketing campaign that combines direct mail postcards and web-based lead generation. It’s a solid marketing strategy — one that I’ve seen used successfully many times in the past. But like any real estate marketing strategy, it has attrition points:

• Attrition Point #1 - When you mail the postcards, a certain percentage of them will not reach the intended recipient’s due to bad addresses and the like.
• Attrition Point #2 - Of those people who do receive your postcards, only a small percentage will respond and visit your website.
• Attrition Point #3 - Of those people who visit your website, some will not find what you want them to find. Or they simply won’t be interested and they’ll leave.
• Attrition Point #4 - Of those who visit your website and take the action you want them to take (perhaps signing up for market alerts), some will mistype their email address.
• Attrition Point #5 - Finally, of those who (A) get the postcard, (B) respond to it and visit your website, (C) take the action you want them to take, and (D) have no technical issues … only a portion of them will be qualified prospects.

I don’t tell you all this to discourage you. On the contrary, I want you to understand the concept of attrition so you can build a real estate marketing program that minimizes attrition as much as possible.

Attrition is a fierce enemy that cannot be defeated entirely. But you can certainly reduce it, and thereby minimize the impact it has on your real estate marketing success. For instance, let’s refer back to the marketing scenario above. Here are some ways we might reduce the amount of attrition at each of the five points listed:

• To Minimize Point #1 - You can optimize your postcard deliverability by updating your mailing list, or by purchasing a fresh list from a reliable vendor such as InfoUSA.
• To Minimize Point #2 - You can increase your postcard response by adding value to your offer (even in a non-monetary way) and strengthening your call to action.
• To Minimize Point #3 - You can help people find what they came for on your website by adding a graphical link to it on your home page.
• To Minimize Point #4 - You can minimize the number of people who mistype their email address by using double-entry verification on your web forms.
• To Minimize Point #5 - You can increase the percentage of qualified prospects who respond by using an offer that will only appeal to certain people (sellers, for example).

These are just some of the ways you could reduce the level of attrition in this particular real estate marketing scenario. You could do many other things to optimize your results as well, but they are beyond the scope of this article. My goal is simply to get you thinking about marketing attrition and the various ways you might reduce it.

Understanding marketing attrition is the first step in reducing it. So think about your own real estate marketing strategies. Map out the various steps in the process, and jot down the attrition points. They should be fairly easy to spot after reading this article. Then think of all the things you can do to minimize each point of attrition, and work hard to do exactly that. Good luck!

* You may republish this article online if you retain the author’s byline and the active hyperlinks below.

About the Author
Brandon Cornett is the author of several real estate marketing guides. He also provides a variety of Internet marketing services for real estate companies and individual agents alike. You can reach the author and find a lot more marketing tips at http://www.armingyourfarming.com

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