Directionals Move Properties
by Tim Randle
One of the most effective and frequently overlooked methods of filling or
selling a property is the use of directional arrow signs. I'm guilty of it
myself, although usually I'm merely lazy instead of overlooking this great
marketing technique. Being lazy usually costs me in terms of holding costs,
especially if you happen to be in a buyer's market as I currently am. Even if
you're in a hot market where everything is moving quickly, directionals will
move your property that much quicker.
Yes, there are numerous other methods you can use such as: flyers in the
neighborhood and large stores and shopping malls, ads in the large and small
papers, listings on the internet, listing with a real estate agent, calling real
estate agents to inform them, mailouts to apartment complexes, yard signs with
flyer boxes, open houses, calling loan officers, emailing your buyer list, etc.,
etc. (I have one friend use advertises her properties on the cable preview
channel and she says it works great. Unfortunately, that option isn't available
in my area.)
Why Do Directionals Work So Well?
Directional arrow signs work well for a number of reasons. First, they are
targeted to the neighborhood where the property is located so the folks who will
actually see them are the buyers or tenants who are already driving the
neighborhood looking for properties. The second group of people who will see the
signs are the residents who already live there. Many times the nearby residents
will have family or friends who want to move into the neighborhood.
Flyers delivered to the neighborhood will also accomplish the notification
aspect that there's an available property, but what flyers don't do is lead the
prospect or prospect's friend straight to the front door.
Why Not Just Use Typical Bandit Signs?
For those that don't know, bandit signs are the road-side signs that many people
utilize to advertise their business, favorite politician, and/or properties for
sale or lease. The signs come in many colors and sizes, some professionally done
and some hand-written. The nickname bandit signs stems from the fact that many
municipalities have sign ordinances that prohibit their use or restrict use in
the public domain or right of way.
The primary weakness of typical bandit signs for marketing a property for sale
or lease is that the sign provides a little information (often impossible to
read while driving by) and a phone number. If I'm out looking for properties
today, I don't want to leave a message or turn around to go see what the sign
said. I want to drive by NOW, not tomorrow, not later today, right now.
How is a Directional Arrow Sign Different?
Who said anything about one directional sign? I'm talking an entire series of
signs that leads the prospect from the main thoroughfare all the way through the
neighborhood to the driveway of your property. There's no thinking, major
squinting, turning around, or phone calls involved here. "Oh, honey, turn there
quick." Then it's "look, there's another sign, turn there." etc., all the way to
the property. Then, of course, there's more information including contact
numbers available at the property.
Okay, So How Do I Implement This Technique?
Here's the way I do it and you should tweak it and improve to suit you. When a
property becomes available, I study the neighborhood and determine the "best"
ways to lead prospects to my property. By "best", I take into consideration ease
of navigation, neighborhood amenities like parks and schools, and surrounding
properties. If there's a back way into the subdivision or location, I map out
both paths.
My target locations are every single corner that my prospects will need to turn
in order to get to the property. If there's a really long stretch without a
turn, then I might need a directional arrow in the middle of that stretch to
keep them coming. My experience has been that I will have to replace signs
within the neighborhood only a few times, but I have to monitor the signs on the
major roads and replace them fairly frequently. However, these signs tend to
stay put much longer than a traditional bandit sign.
Then I simply go door-knocking and ask people if I can place a small directional
sign in their yard. I intentionally do this during the day to miss folks because
I'd rather not get involved in lengthy discussions about the property and I've
got many doors to get to. Once I'm sure no one's home, I leave a letter in the
screen door or someplace where it will be easily seen. I drop this letter at all
four houses on each corner on the route.
What Does the Letter Say?
I've found it's important to NOT come across as a real estate investor or a
company. I use an informal style and simply ask for help in finding someone to
buy or lease my property. Points that I include in the letter are:
- It's just a small directional arrow sign
- I'll put it right by the corner and not really in their yard
- I'll make sure I don't damage any sprinkler systems
- They get a $20 gift certificate once the process is done
- They get to choose the store, restaurant, etc.
- Please call me to replace the sign if it gets removed
- The first person who calls me wins
This technique has never failed. Frequently, I'll have two or more people from
each corner call me, but I've always had at least one person call to agree to
the arrangement. Some of them have even taken serious offense to do-gooder
neighbors who remove the signs as the property owner is concerned they might not
get their gift certificate. I'll describe the signs in more detail below, but I
started adding "Placed With Permission of Owner" on the top of the signs and
this reduced my losses.
The end result of this effort is that perhaps I pay out $160 to $200 in referral
fees, but I have to run my $50 to $150 worth of weekly newspaper ads many, many
fewer weeks. It definitely pays off from a monetary standpoint. The other
benefit is that I now have a list of folks near each property (whom I've never
even met) who think I'm great. Every single person will call me back after
receiving their gift to thank me and the large majority volunteer that I'm more
than welcome to do this anytime I need.
What Do the Signs Look Like?
The signs I use are basically the standard bandit signs cut in half. A normal
size bandit sign is 18" x 24" and I use 9" x 12" signs for my directional
arrows. I have a red directional arrow that takes up about 5 inches of the sign,
leaving the bottom 4 inches blank. Within the red arrow I ask the sign company
to put my message which could be "Owner Finance" or "Lease Purchase" or whatever
you prefer. The message is easy to read.
In the blank space I use a large marker to write the property address. It's
important to leave enough blank space below the arrow to write the address in
large numbers and letters. Also, as I mentioned above, I include the "owner
permission" tag line on top of the arrow. I buy 36" wooden stakes from Home
Depot and attach an arrow sign to each side of the stake so the information can
be seen coming and going.
If you don't have a source for these signs, please contact
www.BanditSigns.com to
get some. They're inexpensive and well worth the cost.
I hope you'll add this tool to your marketing techniques and discover the same
success I've had in using it. You may find that you abandon many other
advertising tools you've been using in the past.
Bio:
Tim Randle bought his first investment property in 1994 and he is a full-time
investor in Round Rock, Texas. He licenses his web site, www.QuickOffers.com, to
other real estate investors who need a turnkey web site to use in their own
investing business. He also owns and operates www.REIClub.com, an online
resource for creative real estate investors.
Tim's informative articles on real estate investing have been published in
Creative Real Estate Magazine as well as the Mr. Landlord Newsletter and his
counsel is frequently sought by investors around the country.