Author Archive
Not too long ago, I wrote a sweet 3-part article on how to fill your pipeline full of leads & deals. I hope by now that you’re using that advice to get lots of leads coming in that you can work with. If not, then go back & read it again!
And now that you (hopefully) have leads coming in, it’s time to introduce you to a new technique to make money. I’m going to try to keep this brief, because this technique is very simple, and we don’t want to complicate it. Don’t do like I did in the beginning & over-think this.
It works & it works well – IF you simply take action & DO it!
Here’s The Problem: As you begin to market for sellers of houses (motivated or not), you’re going to come across a lot of various stories, situations, and circumstances. Sometimes, you might find that you’re not able to buy the seller’s house or do business with them. There are a lot of reasons why this is possible. Read More→
How to Make a Website For Fun or Profit – Part 3
Posted on December 6, 2013 byHello – Nice To See You Again! Here’s what you’ve learned in the first 2 parts of this article:
- How important it is to have a website, if you’re in business in the 21st Century.
- There are so many things you can do with it, like get more business, educate your consumers, entertain an audience, inspire your community, link it to Facebook, etc… and that’s just scratching the surface.
- We also discussed HOW and WHERE to actually get a website up & running quickly – all for either FREE, OR almost free (inexpensive).
- We identified the first few steps you need to take on the road to having a nicely-performing, lead-generating website for your business.
Ok, with the quick review out of the way, I have a question for you: Have You Done Your Homework? If you recall, I’d given you two choices: 1. The free route (to learn how to get started), or 2. The paid route, if you’re running a business or want a ‘legit’ site.
If you’ve wisely chosen the legit/paid route, you should have picked a domain name and bought it by now! Remember? You should also have gotten your Hosting Account set up.
You… did that, right? Read More→
How to Make a Website For Fun or Profit – Part 2
Posted on November 6, 2013 byWelcome back! In Part 1 of this article, we covered how crucial it is to have a website if you want to sell/educate/entertain/enlighten/etc. just about anything to anyone in the world in the current century. We also discussed HOW to actually get a FREE, performing website up & running quickly.
Having a free website is great! You get to put some content up for the world to see. You start to learn how to add images, videos, etc. to your site. You can get people to add comments to your site. And you can quickly gain confidence on how all this internet “stuff” works.
This is particularly an attractive option IF you don’t run a “real” business, or if you’re only concerned with sharing your thoughts or ideas with the world. So if you’re happy with that, great! You can stop reading now.
However, if you DO run a legitimate business, or if you’re interested in making money or being perceived as legitimate… or if you want to learn how a true website is made these days, then keep reading! Read More→
How to Make a Website For Fun or Profit
Posted on October 9, 2013 byIf you want to sell/educate/entertain/enlighten/etc. just about anything to anyone in the world these days, you can and should have a website. No matter what you do, you will be able to reach and communicate with anyone you desire with this incredible tool.
But how do you make one? What do you put on it? What do you say?
And how do you add those cool videos and funny pictures of cats on there that everyone loves?
Yes, these are the questions I often hear people ask. And today, I’ll do my best to answer them for you!
To begin, you need to ask yourself: WHY do I want a website, and WHAT will I be doing with it?
Well, I’m happy to say that I have the answer for you, and that answer is: “It depends.” Read More→
How to Get a FREE Phone Number to Use in Your Business – Part 2
Posted on September 6, 2013 byWelcome back! Here’s what we covered in the last article: Why the PHONE is an essential element of your marketing and why there’s a big need for several different phone numbers for various reasons and functions for your business.
We also mentioned how having several phone numbers can add up to be an expensive ongoing cost that adds to your monthly overhead business expenses.
I then showed you an incredible FREE solution: Google Voice (GV)!
Finally, we talked about HOW to get your own GV number, and a few business applications & uses. Do you remember all that? If not, go back & re-read that article!
And if you haven’t already gotten your own Google Voice number, what are you waiting for? Go get it NOW – it’s FREE!
Here’s What We’re Going to Cover in THIS Article:
- A quick & easy shortcut to get to your GV options. This makes it really easy.
- A few secrets. You’ll need these.
- How to get SEVERAL Google Voice Numbers. Use ‘em for home or office!
- Some limitations (and how to overcome them).
- And finally… How to get a FREE home phone LINE (and number). Yes, it’s true!
So, let’s begin with this… Read More→
How to Get a FREE Phone Number to Use in Your Business – Part 1
Posted on August 6, 2013 byToday, I’m going to combine marketing & technology to share an extremely powerful tool that you can use for a TON of different uses in your home or office – all for absolutely FREE!
As anyone in marketing knows, the PHONE is one of the strongest weapons you need to use. Making calls, taking calls, and sending or receiving text messages or even broadcasting voice blasts are all things we need to do to reach and serve our customers.
If you’re buying houses, you need a phone number to use in your marketing to get your motivated seller prospects to contact you. If you’re selling houses, you should have a separate phone number for that. If you’re offering any other type of services, such as consulting, etc., guess what? You should use another number for that!
The trouble is, getting all these phone numbers & systems can add up to be substantial sum, and can add to your overhead expenses very quickly.
So what can you do? Well, the major phone companies don’t want you to know about your options, because they want your money – as much of it as they can squeeze out of you! That’s why companies like Vonage & MagicJack have gained so much popularity recently – because they essentially give you the same services for a much cheaper price. Read More→
More Marketing Mistakes Most Marketers Make
Posted on July 5, 2013 byWelcome back! If you’re joining us from last time, you’ll remember that we talked about the “Biggest Mistake Most People Make in Their Lead Gen Marketing”. Whether you’ve read it or not, I’ll just re-cover it here, so that we’re all on the same page.
The biggest mistake is that most people try to SELL something too early in the process, rather than just get the prospect (reader) curious enough to take action and request more information.
Most of the time, we want them to either call us or fill out a form on our website.
By simply getting them to take that ONE, easy action – The First Step, you give your sales process the chance it needs to succeed. Of course, after the first step has been taken, the second and third steps are next. These steps should be a natural progression down a “slippery slope” that eventually leads to you closing the sale/deal. Read More→
The Biggest Mistake Most People Make in Their Lead Generation Marketing
Posted on June 10, 2013 byHas This Ever Happened To You?
You spend a good chunk of time writing what you think is a KILLER ad. You’ve picked where you’re going to advertise (Offline? Online? Both?). You set aside some marketing money, and hope that it works out by bringing you back some leads, which should turn out to be a deal or two.
Then you place the ad. And wait. And wait some more. You stand by the phone – or look at your inbox to see when those leads will come rolling in… And THEN what happens? Nothing! Nada. No calls. No email submissions. No love. Sound familiar? If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve been there. It sucks.
No leads. No phone calls. Money down the toilet. Worst of all: No Leads = No Deals. And No Deals = No Income!
WHY did that happen? And what can we do to FIX it so it doesn’t happen again?
Well, there’s actually a lot of different things that could have made this marketing disaster. Here’s a couple example of some of these things may be beyond your control: Read More→
A Fast, Easy, and FREE Way to Fill Your Pipeline Full of Deals, Part 2
Posted on May 6, 2013 byIn our last issue, I’d promised to deliver to you a fast, easy, and FREE way of getting a good chunk of motivated Seller Leads, so that you could start filling your pipeline full of deals, in order to avoid the dreaded condition known as “One-Deal-Itis!” Sound familiar? Great! We’re all caught up.
In this issue, you’re going to learn exactly what information you need to compile about each lead you’re going after. Remember, we’re targeting For Sale By Owner leads (aka FSBOs), and we’ve also selected Craigslist.com as a source for those leads.
But let me also point out that there are many other sites you can use to gather a nice list of leads, such as Fsbo.com, ForSaleByOwner.com (yes, they’re separate sites), Owners.com, and others.
You’re also about to get a sweet script to use when calling these FSBO leads.
Ready? Here we go… Read More→
A Fast, Easy, and FREE Way to Fill Your Pipeline Full of Deals, Part 1
Posted on April 5, 2013 byHow’s it going? I was recently talking with someone about a real estate deal he was working on. After listening to him for a couple minutes, something became painfully clear to me:
He was obsessed with this ONE deal because he didn’t have a good, consistent, reliable SYSTEM of bringing in more real estate leads for him to work with.
As a result, he was trying to beat a dead horse, or, for those of you who are sensitive to that kind of talk – he was trying to put a round peg in a square hole and pushing to make a deal out of one that really wasn’t.
Ever have that happen to you? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
There’s a Terrible disease that can infect a real estate investor, new or experienced.
It’s called, “One-Deal-Itis.” This is a condition that will kill your wealth, sap your motivation, and suck up all your time and energy faster than a visit from your in-laws.
One-Deal-Itis is when you don’t have (m)any leads coming in your buying pipeline, and you’re stuck on ONE deal, trying to make it work, when your time & efforts would be much better invested elsewhere. Don’t let this happen to you! Read More→
The Best Deals To Do in Real Estate in 2013 & Beyond! – Part 3
Posted on March 11, 2013 byTo Deed…Or NOT To Deed? THAT Is the Question
(When Buying Real Estate)
Welcome back again! If you’ve been keeping up with my last 2 articles, you’ll remember that we’ve been discussing one of the best strategies for doing deals in 2013 & beyond – Wholesaling Pretty Houses!
This type of deal is most advantageous for you, the investor, to do when you’ve come across a house that’s overleveraged or has very little to no equity. Rather than walk away from the deal because you believe there’s no money to be made, you simply get an agreement from the seller to find a qualified tenant buyer to occupy the property on a rent-to-own basis (aka lease purchase) & have the tenant-buyer make the mortgage payments until such time as they’re able to buy the house outright with a new loan and there’s enough equity in the house to justify them doing so. You would collect your money from the tenant buyer as an assignment fee for getting them in to this house buying opportunity that you’ve negotiated. Make sense?
Naturally, you would then be completely OUT of the deal from that point on. Why would you want to stay in? There’s no more money to be made, so it’s best that you collect your money (usually $5k+) and get out quickly.
So let’s take a moment to look at some types of deals where you WOULD want to stay in & why. Read More→
The Best Deals To Do in Real Estate in 2013 & Beyond! – Part 2
Posted on February 8, 2013 byWelcome back! If you read Part One of this article, you know that we covered the other different types of popular real estate deals that most people do, and the biggest problems with them these days. Then we talked about how advantageous it is to do the new type of deals: Wholesaling Pretty Houses!
But we still have a few important things to cover, so let’s pick up where we left off…
Once you agree on the deal & terms with the seller, you get all the paperwork signed & closed at either a title company or attorney’s office. No exceptions. You’ll want that legal backup in case the seller conveniently forgets what they agreed to later.
So now you’ve got a deal under contract & all the paperwork signed. What now? Simple. You get it ‘sold’ as an opportunity to a tenant buyer who: 1. Has a decent chunk of money to put down (typically $5,000+/minimum), and 2. Can afford the existing monthly mortgage payments. Read More→
The Best Deals To Do in Real Estate in 2013 & Beyond! – Part 1
Posted on January 6, 2013 byAs I write this, it’s coming up on the end of 2012. The real estate market is still crazy, and there are a lot of questions in people’s heads as to what the market is going to do. What else is new?
Ever since I first got in to real estate investing, back in 1996 (wow!), the market has ALWAYS been changing. So that’s NO excuse not to get involved & do some deals. The KEY is to just recognize WHAT the best strategies are to use at the moment, then learn all you can about them, and – most important of all – ACT on what you learn!
Winners with tiger blood running through their veins will tell you that CHANGE (and chaos!) just creates more opportunity, and the real estate market right now is certainly no exception. It used to be that the hot things in real estate were: Wholesaling, Short Sales, Rehabbing, and of course, the related “Get the Deed” system, where you take over existing houses ‘Subject To’ the existing mortgage. Read More→
Quick Start Guide to Real Estate Investing – How To Get Started… Again
Posted on December 9, 2012 bySince we just finished our 5-part journey of “Real Estate + The Internet = The Perfect Marriage,” (see previous issues) we’re going to do something a little different in this article. We’re going back to the ‘Old School’ style of real estate investing.
Specifically: How To Get Started in Real Estate Investing… Again!
The great thing about technology is that it really helps you leverage your time. When set up correctly, you can have computers & systems do a lot of the work FOR you, and that’s wonderful! However, it takes time, thought, money, and reliable technology. And that’s just to get it set up!
But what if you don’t have the time or money to do all that? What if you’re just starting out? … OR what if you’re just starting out… Again? Read More→
Real Estate + The Internet = The Perfect Marriage, Part 5 – Fast Traffic
Posted on November 3, 2012 byWelcome back! We’ve come a long way so far, and made a LOT of progress. But we’re not quite done yet, so listen up…
In our last article, you got a great introduction to Keyword Research, SEO (Search Engine Optimization)-both On-Page and Off-Page (remember?), and how to get started on getting a ton of FREE Traffic to your website.
Go back to last month’s issue for a refresher on that – it’s worth the read.
So now we come to the next part, and that is:
How to Get a Ton of Laser-Targeted Traffic to Your Site-FAST!
Before we embark on this particular adventure, I need to set the stage properly. It’s important that you have your On-Page SEO stuff taken care of first. Again, On-Page SEO is what you do ON your web page that makes it optimized for that particular keyword. This includes putting the keyword in the first and last sentence of that page, bolding it a time or two, italicizing it, underlining it, and all that other stuff we covered in the last article. Read More→
Real Estate + The Internet = The Perfect Marriage, Part 4 – Traffic
Posted on October 3, 2012 byOk, you’ve built your site. You have it all set up, targeting your proper audience. You have a freebie give-away, such as a report, video, or guaranteed offer on their house, and all they need to do to get it is give you their name, email, and phone number.
So you’re ready for the next step…
Now you just need some people to see it. This is called ‘Traffic.’ It’s the lifeblood of your website. It’s the first step in your marketing funnel – Generate Prospects. Without eyeballs on your site, you’re done. Might as well not even have a site to begin with!
But you do have a site, so let’s get you some targeted traffic, shall we?
“If You Build It, They Will Come,” says the mysterious voice from the movie “Field of Dreams.” Well, that quote was made well BEFORE the internet was really made available to anyone. If your site isn’t set up properly, no one is gonna come, believe me.
So how do you get the traffic? Well, that’s the fun part, isn’t it?! And I’m going to get you started. So, here we go… Read More→
Real Estate + The Internet = The Perfect Marriage, Part 3
Posted on September 10, 2012 byHello again! Picking up from where we left off last month, we were discussing how almost everyone now has a smartphone, email, Facebook, and they read their text messages within 5 minutes of getting it. We also discussed how most other types of traditional media are on the way out: Yellow Pages, newspapers, etc. Basically, everyone is using the internet these days.
So if you’re in business, you need to not only BE on there, you also need to position yourself correctly AND take advantage of the emerging technologies that your prospects are using to possibly find you. This includes having an optimized, converting website. Please look at Part 2 of this series to see what needs to be on your site. Contact me if you need help with this.
So, I’d suggest you get that website set up first. Use the ideas that were presented earlier to get your content together, and ALWAYS try to answer the main question your visitor is asking himself as he looks at your site: “What’s in it For ME?”
After you have your site together, you can take that content and use it to set up your Facebook Fan Page. Again, do a Google search on a recent post to see how this is done, because there’s not enough space in this article to teach you. But basically, you’ll just sign in to your existing Facebook account & set up a Fan Page from there. Look for the links. Read More→
Real Estate + The Internet = The Perfect Marriage, Part 2
Posted on August 6, 2012 byOk, let’s have a quick review from where we left off last time: In our last article, we covered how almost everyone is online these days. Most people you know have email. They have Facebook. Some have Twitter and other ‘Flavors of the Week.’ In addition to that, more and more people are using their Smartphones (iPhones, Droids, Blackberrys, etc.) to get online.
Let’s face it: Traditional advertising media, such as the Yellow Pages, newspapers and the like are dying a slow death as the internet continues its surge in popularity and ease of use. Quick test: When was the last time YOU used the Yellow Pages? Can’t remember? That’s what I thought.
So now that we’re back up to speed, let’s get right to it. I’ll start off by stating the obvious fact, for those who might be a little slow today:
If You’re in Business, You NEED to Have an Online Presence!
…Or you won’t be in business for long. You need to have a website. We’ll cover what needs to be on it in a second. Some other essentials you’ll need: Email. A simple contact form. And definitely a Fan Page on Facebook. There’s more, but let’s start with those for now… Read More→
Real Estate + The Internet = The Perfect Marriage
Posted on July 3, 2012 by
Hello, my name is Tony Pearl. I’m a successful veteran real estate investor who has done a lot of deals but got bored with it all a few years ago and started ‘playing around’ with marketing on the internet.
Translation: When the crap hit the fan and real estate started sucking in 2008, I had to do something else to put food on the table, and I chose the internet.
It is my pleasure to bring you the ‘inside scoop’ on how things are progressing for me and other real estate investors who are successfully going online to get buyers, sellers, private lenders, and almost anyone or anything else you can think of to use in our businesses… and how you can do the same! That’s what this column, “Pearls of Wisdom,” is all about.
So unless you’ve been living like a cave man these past few years, you’re surely aware of how almost everybody is online now. Think about this: Who do you know who DOESN’T have at least the minimum requirements of an email account or Facebook profile? It would probably take you a minute to come up with a name, am I right? Exactly. Read More→
