Recruit Highly Motivated Property Finders

If you remember from Chapter 2, we talked about getting your list, and that the best list you can get is one that you build yourself driving for dollars.

The biggest complaint investors have about driving for dollars is that it takes a lot of time, and it doesn't scale beyond your ability to drive neighborhoods for hours every week.

Do you know what a property finder is? Maybe you do, but just in case…

A property finder (also known as a bird dog) is a person who locates distressed or discounted properties with investment potential in exchange for a finder’s fee.

Property Finders can free up your time, not to mention marketing dollars, by finding you properties, and only getting paid if you do!

Typically, a property finder will get paid either a flat finder’s fee or a percentage of your net profit from any property they find and you close. That means, they only get paid if they are bringing in quality property leads that produce profits. It is an obvious “win-win”.

Property finders can come from many sources. Start thinking of people that you currently know in your community who may qualify to find your next deal. Many investors have had success asking their mail carrier, or even the neighborhood ice cream truck driver.

It sounds crazy, but think about it, they drive your neighborhood every day. Who is more qualified to find vacant properties? They are essentially “driving for dollars” on a daily basis, and don’t even know it.

You can also market for property finders using sites like Craigslist, Google, and Facebook.

Here’s the GREAT news! REI BlackBook has set up your entire property finder program for you from recruiting to accepting deals.

You have the power to advertise a landing page that we have preloaded into your account which is designed to educate and motivate prospective property finders to sign up with you. Using our Property Finder Portal, property finders will be able to apply to work with you, giving you the opportunity to accept or decline their application.

Once they’re approved, each individual property finder will be given access to their own portal, where they can submit properties to you for your approval.

Along with the property information, each property finder will have access to a lead sheet, image uploader, and a notes section, which acts like an open forum between you and your property finder.

As your property finders begin submitting properties, you will have the ability to accept or deny each deal, all the while educating them on why you made your decision to either accept or reject the submission. With this new streamlined approach to managing your property finders, the opportunity to expand your team of lead generators is endless.

Why wait, start recruiting your property finders today. It’ll take you less than 30 minutes!

What you'll need:

• Ad:
  • Place a simple ad on Facebook or on classified websites like Craigslist to recruit drivers. You can also find these individuals in your sphere of influence as well (read: get out there and network!)
• Landing Page:
  • Use the Property Finder Landing Page already setup in REI BlackBook to educate potential recruits on how the process works, and capture them as leads. More on this below.
• Property Finder Management System:
  • Use the Property Finder Portal in REI BlackBook so your Property Finders can submit you properties using their own personal portal. You will know exactly who submitted each property and will have the ability to accept/reject each submission. You can also give feedback, and create educational material to help inform your Property Finders on the type of properties that fit your buying criteria.
• Lead Sheet:
  • When the property is accepted, all of the data that your Property Finder collected on the property will be transferred directly to the Lead Sheet in your Property Pipeline.
• Phone System
  • Make outbound dials and track which calls are answered, and create automated text & ringless voicemail campaigns for those that were not.

Use this lead generation method if you...

• ... are a technophobe - Don't like messing with this newfangled thing they call the Internetz?
• ... have patience - This method will take some time to start producing a volume of leads.
• ... are operating on a tight budget - You can get motivated seller leads fairly cheaply with this method.

How To Recruit Property Finders

This process is very similar to recruiting drivers for your Bandit Signs on Wheels Campaign.

Step 1: Assign A Domain Name to Your Property Finder Landing Page

If you're looking to recruit property finders with REI BlackBook, then you're in luck!

In your account, you will find a pre-built landing page template that is ready to capture property finder leads right out of the box.

Here is a screenshot of that exact landing page template. It is fully customizable if you'd like to change any element on the page.

All you have to do is purchase a domain name, and assign it to your landing page.

If you need to purchase a domain name, read this support article for more details.

Once you have a domain name, simply follow the steps below to assign it to your domain name.

To get to the screen you see below, inside of REI BlackBook, navigate to WEB TOOLS >> DOMAINS.

From there, select MANAGE FORWARDING

You will then be taken to screen that looks like this.

1. Be sure to select Mask
2. From the dropdown menu select Property Finder Landing Page
3. Click Update Forward

Your domain name will now be forwarded to your Property Finder Landing Page.

Step 2: Post Your Ad to Recruit Property Finders

Now that your landing page is ready for traffic, it's time to post your first ad.

It's also a good idea to post a few times a week, if not daily, on Facebook and other social media platforms to let your sphere of influence know that you're looking to recruit property finders as well.

Again, this is going to be almost the exact process that you would take to post an ad to recruit drivers for your Bandit Signs on Wheels Campaign.

There are a number of different sites and social media platforms that work wonders for recruiting Property Finders, but the one we recommend the most is Craigslist.

More specifically, the "gigs" section of Craigslist. This is where people go to look for side jobs and part-time work, and it's a great place to get started.

The biggest questions we get at this point is...

"What do I say in my classified ad?"

That's a great question. Don't worry we have you covered!

Click here to download our proven classified ad to recruit Property Finders. (no opt-in required).

Once you've downloaded your ad template, be sure to edit it to your liking, and include your company information and the link to your landing page, and then follow the steps below to post your first ad.

To get started, head over to Craigslist (in your market city) and click create a posting.

Select "gig offered". Again, this is where people will go to look for part-time work, and side jobs.

Select "I want to hire someone"

From here you have a number of different options. We recommend selecting "domestic gigs". If you'd like to post in 2 different categories for additional exposure, the second choice would be "labor gigs'.

Depending on your market, you may be charged to post in these categories. At the time of this writing here in the St. Louis market, you can see there is a fee of $5 to post.

From here you will be taken through the steps to complete the set up of your ad. Use the Property Finder Classified Ad Template to create your ad.

 

Once, your ad is ready to go, hit publish, and be sure to share your ad on Facebook, LinkedIn, and any other social media platform that you see fit.

Step 3: Setting Up Your Property Finders in REI BlackBook

The good news is that REI BlackBook has a full Property Finder Portal built directly into the platform. And it's ready to start accepting new Property Finders out of the box!

There are 2 different ways to add new Property Finders to your Property Finder Portal.

1. Enter them manually
2. Have them sign up through your landing page.

If you choose to enter them manually, you will need to navigate to the Property Finder Portal (DEALS >> PROPERTY FINDERS) and click New Property Finder. From there, simply fill out their information and they will receive a user name and password to sign in to their own portal, where they can submit you property leads.

For those leads that see your ad on Craigslist or Facebook, and register through your landing page, the registration process will be completely automated. You will simply receive a notification when you get a new Property Finder that signs up.

It is highly recommended that you pick up the phone and call this person as soon as you can, to create a connection, and prove to them that this program is legitimate.

There are a lot of people peddling "get rich quick" schemes out there online, and you don't want to be roped in with them.

After someone completes the form on your landing page, they will be taken to a screen that looks just like this.

They will then be asked to fill out their Property Finder Profile, complete their registration.

Once your Property Finder has completed their registration, they will be taken to the Property Finder Education page. This page is completely customizable, so you can add your own instructions and education to this page.

Once your Property Finders are ready to submit new property leads, they will be able to do this directly from their property finder portal.

Remember, this entire process is already done for you as an REI BlackBook user. Simply log in, and get started recruiting Property Finders today!

Another valuable feature of the Property Finder Portal is the ability to track your new property submissions back to the Property Finder that submitted it.

As you can see below, you have visibility into how many properties each Property Finder has submitted. You can even click into those properties, view the notes, and images they have submitted, and Accept or Reject the lead.

You also have the ability to simply send them a message back asking for more information, or tell them why you decided to accept or reject their submission.

The key to having success with Property Finders is not to simply recruit as many as you can. While this is a number's game, when it comes to working with Property Finders, quality is much more important than quantity.

In order to recruit and retain quality Property Finders, you need to build a relationship with them. If they show promise, take them out for a cup of coffee, print them a stack of business cards, and take the time to educate them.

A handful of quality property finders can be a game-changer for your business, but that won't come without a little work on your end.

So there you have it! Everything you need to get started recruiting and growing a team of high-quality Property Finders.

So jump into your REI BlackBook account and get started today! Not a member? Register for a demo call today!

CASE STUDY: How Ryan Moore Has Generated Over 1,400 Property Leads From His Property Finders

This is a video taken from the Property Finder Accelerator. Watch and learn how Ryan recruits, trains, and motivates his property finders to submit him deals. You will also learn what Ryan does once he gets his property leads, and how he follows up with them to increase his chances in converting his leads into deals.