Marketing Lesson From My Recent Visit To Victoria Secret

You may be wondering, “What does real estate investing have to do with the lingerie store Victoria Secrets?”

Well, you can learn more than you think if you simply learn to take what is successful from other businesses and be able to apply it directly to your business, even a lingerie store. Let me explain…

My wife, Laura, shops at Victoria Secrets occasionally and it’s actually the one store I enjoy going to and encourage wholeheartedly. Anyway, we always shop at the local store in Florence and upon checking out they always ask my wife and I, “would you like to apply for a VS credit card?”

…Uhh? No is always our response.

However, two weeks ago we were shopping at a mall in Huntsville, so we strolled in the Victoria Secrets store, so Laura could use her gift card. Immediately, upon glancing the store I noticed the benefit-oriented posters throughout the store as VS has started carrying hair products and they were heavily promoting these products with all their in store signage.

Upon, checking out, the sales associate asked my wife, “Would you like to be a part of the VS angel club?”

Nice…

Totally different from the normal “would you like to apply for a credit card?”

My wife responds with “What’s that?” I was even intrigued at this point.

The sales associate proceeds, “When you fill out for a VS credit card, you will be a VS angel member and you get discounts and free panties mailed to you ever month.”

So, Laura responds with a “Yes!” and proceeds to fill out the credit card information.

It was a no-brainer.

Now, we had been asked hundreds of times to fill out for credit cards when shopping at not only VS, but also many other stores. But, this was different as there was a clear benefit that was communicated to my wife by the sales person. They gave us a reason.

After leaving the store, I asked Laura if she noticed what had just happened. See, now they’ve us signed up for a credit card, or the angel club, whatever you’d like to call it.

Next, they’ll mail out a coupon for the Free panties and coupons of discounts, which she’ll be forced to go in the store to pick up. Now, how many women can go in store like this that is giving you something free, and just get the freebie. Most will walk out spending more than they ever imagined. Plus, they’ve got the convenient credit card handy.

Now, let’s apply this to real estate investing…

When I bought my first course, the teacher stated that I should call everyone in the classified section of the newspaper and asks, “Would you be willing to owner finance?”

As my great granddad would say, “that’s hogwash!”

As a matter of fact, I’d rather get a root canal than calling un-motivated sellers that want full price and all cash in an attempt to convince them to owner finance the house.

First of all, when you say Owner Financing to your seller, it has a negative vibe, just like when you hear “would you like to apply for a credit card.” The seller portrays that you want the house without putting any money into the deal stealing their house and their equity.

There’ve been many instances where I’d talk with a seller that had numerous other investors offer owner financing, some with even better terms than I’d offered, but there was one key difference: I spoke in terms of benefits to the seller.

And as a result, I walked away with the deal.

Let me tell you some statements you should never say to help improve your closing ratio when talking to motivated sellers:

- owner financing
- lease option
- subject to
- flip the house

Or any other real estate jargon. Speak to what’s important to your seller. Before you can tailor make any offer, you must find out what’s important to the seller. Here are the facts, you must know when crafting a creative offer:

- Why they’re selling? What’s the situation they are in? You’ve got to have a good idea of the reason why they are calling you…

- Are they willing to sell for what they owe? While you’re talking to your seller, simply ask, “are you wanting to sell for what you owe?” This will let you know a little about their intentions.

- If they want all cash, find out why. Do they need the money to pay off bills? Money to move, etc?

- What do they intend to do with the money? Many times, they’ll say they’re going to put the money in the bank and earn interest. Then, you can show them how they can earn higher rates of return on their money by carrying a note.

Once, you find out the seller’s situation and their goals, tailor make an offer that’s a win-win. And remember to talk with benefits!

Gotta Go for now,

Derek