Dung Beetle Meets Honey Badger

My plan for 2014 is to spend a lot of time traveling the country teaching real estate investors how to knock on sellers’ doors and creatively structure and fund deals.

The Alpha and Omega of successful real estate investing is to get face-to-face with sellers on a regular basis and make lots of written offers. Nothing an investor does is more important than this. And for the past nineteen years, I’ve proven time and again that the fastest, cheapest and most effective way to get face-to-face with sellers is to simply knock on sellers’ doors – eight out of ten sellers will invite you in!

The skeptics – and there are many – say, “Bill, that door-knocking thing may work in Georgia, but it won’t work in (insert whatever state you want).” The thing is, since 1978, I’ve traveled around the country (and most of Canada) making a living by knocking on homeowners’ doors. The truth is, people are the same everywhere – wonderfully kind wherever you go!

I told some investor friends in Tampa, Florida that I’ll be heading down there soon. A texted message came from Timber Benning, a real estate investor in that area. Her text read: Hey Honey Badger, when you come down, please keep me in the loop for your door-knocking extravaganza.

Honey Badger? What in the heck is a Honey Badger? I called Timber and she explained that at Wayne Arnold’s Exchangers meeting in St. Pete, he told his folks that I was coming down and that they should spend some time door-knocking with me. He said that when it came to door-knocking, I was like a Honey Badger.

So why a Honey Badger? Wayne explained that according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Honey Badger is the most fearless animal on the planet, and when it comes to knocking on sellers’ doors, I am the most fearless investor he has ever met.

You probably think Wayne’s compliment went right to my head. And you’re right! But thankfully, I have my mother to balance things off.

About ten years ago, my mother called to tell me that I reminded her of a Dung Beetle. As with a Honey Badger, I had no idea what a Dung Beetle was – I just knew that I didn’t like the sound of it! She explained that it was a bug that formed poop into a ball, and then rolled the poop ball to its little insect hacienda.

She’d just watched a show about a Dung Beetle. This little dung bug had faced all kinds of obstacles while trying to get the poop ball to its dung-bug home, but no matter what got in his way, he wouldn’t quit. This is when my mother gave me the best compliment ever. She said, “Son, you are not the brightest of my children, but you are the most tenacious!”

This leads – finally – to the point of today’s column: To be successful at anything, brainpower is often overrated. I’m proof positive of this! What matters most – is your willingness to be fearless and tenacious. Just get out there and do it!

Why not go out today and meet with just one seller? Bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised!