For a real estate investment professional, the return on investment (ROI) from properties sold or leased is the heart of the business. Everything you do should ultimately be done with the purpose of improving your ROI.
ROI is calculated, in percentage format, as your profit on a property minus the cost of your marketing. The goal, of course, is to always have the greatest ROI possible. Here are some simple ways to generate a higher return while still getting the word out about your property.
1. Have a plan.
The old adage that “He who fails to plan, plans to fail,” has become a cliche because it’s true. Without a plan, a road map of where you want to go, you can easily get sidetracked following rabbit trails that never lead anywhere. Instead, understand what your marketing goal is—to sell or lease your property—and continually keep that goal in mind as you advertise.
Don’t get caught up in advertising that costs more than you want to spend, doesn’t reach your targeted audience, or doesn’t produce the results you need. Track every marketing method you use and eliminate those that don’t work. That way you’ll know what brings the best results, and the highest ROI.
2. Look for lower cost marketing methods.
While a yellow page ad may have been critical to your business success a few years ago, that probably isn’t true today. Fewer people use the phone book to find things in this day and age. With that being the case, you can achieve a higher ROI by avoiding those costly full page ads in favor of a lower cost website and Facebook page, both of which reach a much larger group of people in this Internet age.
In the same way, rather than spending the money to mail a full color brochure, opt for a lower cost flyer. If you’re currently using flyers or sales letters, try a postcard. You can choose the best and brightest postcard and mail it to many more people for a fraction of the cost you would spend on a tri-fold brochure. And you’ll often get better results. It’s rare that a prospect will sit down and read through a six panel mailing, but they’ll usually turn a postcard over and read the back without a second thought.
3. Be consistent with your marketing.
Online marketing is always a good option, especially when used consistently. If you don’t have time to man that Facebook page regularly, post status updates and comments, then hire someone to do it for you. A virtual assistant (VA) is an affordable investment in your business overall, and one that can greatly increase your ROI with little effort.
There are many ways to generate a higher ROI for your real estate investment business. Be aware of what you’re spending on your marketing efforts and reduce them wherever you can without sacrificing the message and you’ll soon find your ROI inching upward and putting more cash in your profit account.
