Last week, my friend Steph forwarded me a training course for internet lead generation.  It peaked my interest for two reasons, first I’ve been t

hrowing around the idea of substantially increasing my web presence with regards to getting leads.  Second, anything Step

h sends my way I know is going to give me more value then I actually pay for.

I’m not going to say which product I purchased, because I don’t want you all thinking that I’m just looking to make a few bucks.  I bought this program so I could use it and along they way I’d blog about my experiences as well as give a few tips as I figure things out.

As of right now I’ve gone through the introduction videos.   I know a lot about SEO and all the tools out there that one can use.  With that being said, I am going to quickly be able to tell if this guy is full of crap or knows what he is talking about.  What I’m looking for to get out of this course is a plan of attack.  Even though I know a lot about SEO, it takes a lot of time to put together a plan and then be able to follow it.  Hopefully with this course I can just sit down at my computer at 9:00 at night, after I put the baby to sleep, and charge through the material.

The first module is about creating a Google Places site.   I’ve done this in the past to a minimal extent, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the author recommends be done.  I’ll post more information as I finish the module, so stay tuned.

If anyone else has had success with attracting leads over the internet I’d love to hear from you.

Let me tell ya, changing your phone number on your marketing is not as simple as you may first think and comes with consequences.  Let me list a few of the issues that have popped up so far…

• We still wanted to have all leads who have received a letter (with the old number) in the past to get marketing pieces with the old number.  So how do we manage that transition?
• Calls will be coming into both lines at first because we still have marketing out there with the old number.
• Any probate specific bandit signs we had with the old number will not be usable
• Any pre-printed postcards we had with the old number will not be usable

The last two are just sunk costs and can’t really do anything about them.   To be honest I’m perfectly fine with never hanging another bandit sign again, so they can die in a giant fiery hell for all I care.

As for the transition, it’s not really that hard once I figured out how to handle this in SI Lead Manager.  Because we still have a couple outstanding campaigns running with the old number letters, I couldn’t just change the phone number on those letters.  If I did, then the next scheduled mailing to those leads would have a different phone number then the previous touches.  That wouldn’t look good in my mind.  So I needed to create a new campaign with new letters that have the new number.

Here is how I did it…

Step #1:  Create new Letter Templates

The first thing I did was make a copy of the 3 probate letter templates we were using.  I then updated the phone number on the new copies and imported them in the system.

Step #2:  Create a New Campaign Template

Now in order to use the new letters (with the new number) I created a new Campaign Template.  So now I have two Probate campaign templates setup, one with the letters that contain the old number and one with the letters that contain the new number.

Step #3:  Setup the mailings based off the New Campaign Template

For all new Probate mailings from here on out I will be using the Probate Campaign Template that contains the letters with the updated phone number.   Eventually all the mailings with the old number will finish up and we will be fully transitions.

There is still the chance that people who got our marketing with the old number might not call us for months or even years.  We expect this to be the case and my partner will just have to handle those as they come.

It’s a fairly easy solution and should work great.  I’ll let you all know if I run into any issues.

So I’m now 20 envelopes into the ordeal, with 60 to go.  I’ve managed to be late on the refill 2 out of three times so far.  Being late on the refill means that it took me longer then a tenth of a second from when the last envelope cleared the sensor to when I slide in the new envelopes.  Those guide bars grab the f’ing envelopes like you wouldn’t believe!

Sure it only took 120 seconds to print the 20 envelopes, but now the printer is starting to get tired from the initial sprint and slows down.  Before it would suck one envelope in after another, seemingly doing 3 at a time.  Now, it waits for the previous envelope to be kicked out, takes a deep breath and then pulls in the next envelope.  20 envelopes now takes 8 minutes to do.  All while I’m hunched over the printer waiting with a new 7 stack.

I have learned to live with this printer and have accepted the slowdown, but last night the god forsaken thing started jamming! &#@&#*&%!!!!  It has jammed occasionally before, so I know the process of clearing it out…

1. Say a few swear words when you hear the jam beeps
2. Open up the front cover and pull out the stuck envelope
3. Close the front cover
4. Hear more jam beeps
5. say a few more swear words
6. (because when the input feeder jams, the printer grabs and holds onto any envelope yet to be spit out)  reach my hand around to the back and open up the back cover
7. yank out the stuck envelope being oh so careful not to touch the scalding hot rollers that is used to burn the toner onto the paper.
8. Close the back cover
9. wait for the printer to reset and warm back up
10. resume printing

Well last night the f’ing printer started jamming on  every 4th envelope.  I don’t know why, it just started happening.  Maybe it over exerted itself on the first 20 envelopes, who the F knows?!  I must have been yelling at the printer because my dog went and hid in the bedroom.

To try and stop the jams from happening I took the front panel off and tried to clean the rollers.  I tried to use my finger, a vacuum cleaner (with a handy dandy narrow nozzle extension) and a sponge with little success.  Those rollers are impossible to get at!

15 jams, 30 wasted envelopes (because when it jams, the printer reprints the envelope that jammed and the envelope that got stuck in-process) and 63 minutes later the last of the 80 envelopes was finally printed.

The icing on the cake is that the next batch of 50 envelopes I printed right after, had no jams and no problems.  What the hell is that??

That is how I spent last night

I’m thinking I have to make some sort of drastic change, I have a few ideas.  None of these ideas will come with out risk though and for sure won’t be easy.  My frustration level has been growing and my excitement for real estate investing is falling like a rock!

I’ve got to do some thinking…

Other Plans For My License

I had other plans to make sure I got the most use out of my license.  It would allow me to make my own offers on REO’s or listed properties.  I could look at any listed house by just calling up the listing agent and getting the lock box codes.  Getting referral fees for sending leads to other agents or even list a few properties myself.  There are lots of different ways you can leverage your license to help you make or save more money.  All of which I never got around to doing.

My Partner

My investing partner is currently in the process of getting his license.  In fact he just finished the classes and is scheduling the test.  He doesn’t have a full time job like I do, so he is going to be working as a Sales Agent as well as leveraging his license to help out our investing.  The good news is that this means he won’t have to get a job outside of the housing industry and split his attention.  I’m all for this move by him.

On the other hand this makes it redundant for me to have my license, since I’ll be able to have MLS access through him.   The only problem is that I don’t want to just drop my license after all the work I put into getting it.  Though I don’t want to just shell out $1200+ a year just to maintain it, when it will not really be needed.  As an licensed agent I am also required to take continuing education classes each year and I have not.  So what can I do? Referral Agent!

Referral Status

As a real estate agent you can have your license as being “Active”, “Inactive” or “Referral”.  The problem with an inactive license is…

N.J.S.A. 45:15-9 provides that Real Estate licenses can be inactive for 2 years after the expiration date of the last license issued. To reinstate your license, your application must be completed by a currently licensed Real Estate Employing Broker.

So after 2 years, I’ll either have to reactive my license and pay all fees and take all classes needed or lose my license.  On the other hand if I transfer my license to a Referral State, I can keep my license and reactive it when the time comes for a small fee.   However there are limitations for being in referral status, I can only refer properties to my broker (you get paid for referrals) and nothing else.  I can not list, make offers or even get MLS access.

An additional benefit, for those of us with limited time, is that as a referral agent I will not have to take the continuing education classes.   I have not taken any to this point, and must complete 12 hours of class time in the next 3 weeks or stand to pay a $200 fine or even get my license revoked.   I don’t have the time for that right now.  So I am going to be putting my license in a referral state for the foreseeable future.  Has anyone else gone this route?
* real estate license rules and regulations differ from state to state, my statements above come from this site.

It happens even now as I sit down to write this post, my leg is bouncing up and down and that feeling in the pit of my stomach has returned.   I wish I could explain it and figure out a solution because I do not like this feeling.  For me, this is what I go through at the start of EVERY task that I have to do.

Not Knowing Where to Start

Maybe it’s my lack of an ability to make a decision, but I never seem to know where to start when doing something new.  Heck, why would I know if I’ve never done the task before right?  Doesn’t matter, it’s just the anxiety ball starting to roll down hill and picking up momentum.

Overwhelmed

Having to many places where I can start is just as bad as not knowing where to start.  What if I start off in one direction and it’s the wrong direction or I waste time and energy only to find out I should have started with something else first.  Now I start to get overwhelmed and when that happens my mind goes blank and I can’t think of anything.

Not Being Able to Focus or Concentrate

I will readily admit I’m not good at thinking on my feet in high pressure situations, my mind goes blank and I just stare off into the oblivion (just ask my language arts teacher in middle school during out class debates).  No thoughts, it’s like someone closed and locked the door to my brain.   I then start to get fidgety, I can’t concentrate on anything but that closed door.  It’s very frustrating to say the least and takes all my energy to snap myself out of this “blank comma” and sometimes I can’t.

Not Being Able to Sit Still

You ever get that feeling, like at the end of a long lecture or after your plane lands and you are sitting at the gate?  That feeling where you just need to get out of there?  THAT IS THE FEELING i’m talking about.  I bounce my legs up and down a million miles per hour, keep adjusting my position in my seat and I just keep trying to focus my attention long enough where I can pick a direction and just get started some where.

Thinking is Hard Work

What I have figured out after going through these antics time and time again is that the sheer act of Thinking takes A LOT of energy for me.  I find it more exhausting then running a 5k race.  In order for me to think, I have to calm and quiet the rest of my body, block out surrounding distractions and focus.  Doing all that is HARD WORK and I don’t like to do it because it’s the opposite of the way my body seems to be wired.  I’m wired to zone out and do things on my “automatic” setting.

There are people who thrive on thinking and love it, and there are people who thrive on putting their heads down and just doing the work that is in front of them.  I’m the latter, I have no problems doing grunt work.  It’s easy for me and gives me no stress, I even enjoy it.  Thinking on the other hand is hard…hard!

Inspiration

The reason why I’m saying all of this to you all, is that I hope I can help someone who just can’t get started.  What I have found helps me is to find Inspiration.  Inspiration is always my launching point into what ever I do.  To find that inspiration I just start writing down, in a list, any thought that comes to my mind.  If I have no thoughts I just start Googling terms and phrases related to what I want to do.  Eventually I hit on an idea, or the starting point I’m looking for and my anxiety subsides and I now have a direction.  That direction is the tipping point for me and momentum begins to take over, freeing my mind to think more easily.

I do a lot of retrospective thinking regarding myself, which is good and bad I imagine.   The good of it is that it helps me learn from my mistakes and come up with ways to work around my anxieties.  Hopefully I don’t sound like a crazy person in this post, just being honest about who I am.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I final reached the finish line and am releasing SI Lead Manager Beta 6 Today!  SI Lead Manager is still in it’s beta phase (6th version now) which means that there may still be some bugs lingering in the system that myself or my testers haven’t caught yet.

Beta 6 itself has taken me over a year to develop because of all the significant improvements it has over Beta 5.  These improvements will allow for greater control over your leads and direct mailing campaigns as well as a consistent experience throughout the program.

*Beta 5 Users: There currently is no migration tool to pull your data over.  So much has changed behind the scenes from Beta 5 to Beta 6 that it is impossible to do a straight data move.  If you contact me directly at scott@strugglinginvestor.com we can talk about migrating your lead information only.  Any scheduled maiilngs must be rescheduled in Beta 6.  Sorry for the inconvenience.

To help you get started here are some links….

To Download

To download the new SI Lead Manager Beta 6, follow the link below…

Get Beta 6!

General Help

There are multiple place you can go in order to get help for Beta 6. You’ll be able to access any of these items through the program’s Help Menu as well…

Beta 6 Help Online (SiLeadManager.com) – A website dedicated to all things Beta 6. You’ll find explanations on each screen, tutorials on how to do everything from the basics to the not so basic as well as information about future updates, bug fixes and features.

Help Forums – This is where you go to ask questions to me and everyone else using the software. I will be monitoring this forum daily to answer all questions. This will also be the place to go for up to the minute bug fixes information and program updates.

Contact Me Directly – I’m very proactive in answer any questions that you might have so if it’s something that you want to ask me directly, feel free to send me an email.

Quick Start Tutorials

The worst part of starting with new software is the first time you open things up you have no idea where to go or what to do, so hopefully these tutorials will help get you going.

Adding New Lead - The first thing you will need to do is add your leads to the system.  This tutorial will walk you through how to add a new lead to the database.

Importing Leads From Excel  - If you are downloading Beta 6 it’s probably because you have excel spreadsheets full of leads and are having trouble keeping everything organized.  Just import your leads into the system and your problem is solved.   This tutorial will show you how to do that.

Leads Manager Screen Layout  - This guide will give you a rundown on each of the features contained in the leads manager screen of SI Lead Manager.   Knowing where and what everything is will greatly help you understand how everything works.

Create New Letter Template  - Once you have your leads in the system you’ll want to create a mailing.  Before you can do that you’ll need to create your Letter Templates which you will use to mail merge your lead data with.  Letter templates are created in Microsoft Word 2003 to 2012 and this tutorial will walk you through the creation process as well as importing them into Beta 6.

Create New Campaign Template - After all your letter templates have been imported into Beta 6, you can now create your Campaign Template.  A campaign template is the basis for a mailing campaign, the framework that will be used when the system builds and schedules a set of mailings.

Create New Mailing Campaign  - Now that you have setup a Campaign Template, you can now select the leads you want to send mail to and create your first Mailing Campaign.   This tutorial will show you exactly how to do that.

Campaign Manager Screen Layout - To view all your scheduled mailings you’ll open up the Campaign Manager.  This help file will explain all the various areas and features of this screen.

Printing Letters - What good is to schedule a mailing if you don’t know how to print the letters.  This tutorial walks you through the process of printing a scheduled mailing to marking it as being actually mailed.

Because I simultaneously use and debug SI Lead Manager beta 6, I sometimes run into issues and this was one of them.  The way the system is suppose to work is that when a person responds or I get a returned letter in the mail, we mark those things in the system and they should then be removed from future mailings.  Apparently this has not been working correctly.
Even though I doubt we would ever get in trouble or fined, you can never be so sure.  If someone out there wants to make an example out you, I could be in for a world of hurt.  So from now on I’m going to double check my mailings before sending them out until I can be certain that I’ve gotten that bug squashed out of the system.  I admit that, because of lack of time, I wasn’t double checking to see if any closed leads were mixed into my mailings.  That has put my partner in a precarious position when these people call again to say they continue to get letters.  The last person threatened to call the police.

Has anyone ever gotten in trouble for sending mail to people who asked off your mailing list?

In Beta 6 you can now create letter templates by using Microsoft Word.  To setup mail merge all you have to do is add field markers to the letter within Word  (i.e. ‘<property_address>’ or ‘<owner_last_name>’).  Once the template is complete you upload it into SI Lead Manager and your off.

In the below video I demonstrate the entire process of creating a letter template, setting up the campaign template using the new letter, scheduling a new campaign and then finally printing the new letter with all the lead data mail merged.  Let me know what you think…

There has been a few delays in the release of SI Lead Manager – Beta 6 as I want to be completely sure it’s the best product that I can produce.  I’m working hard to remove all the bugs and make it as user friendly as possible.   My target date for release is now March 14, 2013