I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have a step by step guide for sellers and tenant buyers. However, many of you are missing out on other income streams that these step by step guides can generate. In fact, they can become a business in and of themselves.
We all know that during the course of our telephone calling to sellers, that sometimes the numbers just don’t work. Those are the times you go for the consultation. While a telephone consultation is great, the seller wants some concrete information to guide them. Something they can have after they hang up with you. Taking notes during your telephone consultation is not something a seller is going to do. So what is going to happen is that seller is going to keep calling you. And while some “guru’s” insist you can keep charging them for each question they ask. Let me tell you, fat chance of that happening. In fact, I can almost assure you of the seller calling their credit card company to complain about the charge. So rather than run into these problems, have a contract that is signed, and provide a solid consultation package to your seller. Which means, have written material they can refer back to. Have a step by step guide which covers all the seller needs to do to move their property.
So, our first way to generate income from our seller’s manual is as part of our consultation package. The second way is if the sellers says to you, “I don’t want to do a consultation, I’d rather do it myself.” Then you would give the seller the option of purchasing your step by step guide. We price our consultations based on the house price, and what kind of follow up the seller would like. We offer 30,60 or 90 day follow-up. We also sell our guides in print ($49.95) and electronic format ($19.95) for those sellers who want to do it themselves. These are the price points that work best for us. You can however, set your own price points. We know of some individuals who are getting $99 in their region for each of these manuals.
Another way to generate income, and a way to increase exposure of your seller’s guide to using the lease purchase advantage, is to place small classified ads in Pennsysavers and other small papers in your local and surrounding areas.
Another way to generate income is to provide seminars and/or classes to sellers in your area regarding the advantages of lease purchasing their property rather than selling, and sell your step by step guide as part of the seminar. Or you could offer free seminars/classes and use your guides as back of the room sales.
Last but not least is to advertise on the web. Put up a special web site for your guide, advertise in ezines, put up classified ads. The web works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Put it to work for you.
In regards to tenant buyers, and generating income with your guide, when you get calls on your property, be sure you are screening your tenant buyers to get a current address and telephone number. This way you can send out a follow-up letter telling them about your consultation services, which includes your step by step guide. Also mention that they can also purchase the guide and do it themselves. If they find after purchasing it, they still need help that you will credit the purchase to your consultation price. You now have two different ways to generate income. Again, we offer the guide in print ($49.95) and electronic ($19.95) format. But as mentioned previously, you should set your own price points. You might be able to sell them for more in your area.
Another way to generate income from your tenant buyer guide is to do up a number of different classified ads emphasizing the bad credit, bankruptcy, buy your dream home advantages of lease purchasing. Like the classified ads for sellers place them in Pennysavers or small local papers.
Another way to generate income from your tenant buyer guide is to place door hangers on every apartment in a particular complex. Or put up a flyer with all the advantages, with pull offs with your name and telephone number, and put them up by the mail boxes in all the apartment complexes in your area.
I can think of one lady in the Florida area who purchased our reprint rights and this is all she does. She is making an excellent living just selling manuals to tenant buyers and sellers by putting up flyers and advertising in the local papers.
Another way to generate income is to provide free seminars and/or classes to buyers and use the guide to generate back of the room sales. Or you can charge for the seminars (classes) and include the guide as part of the class.
Again, don’t forget the web for your tenant buyer guides. Run classified ads, advertise in ezines. Put up your own website. Put the web to work for you.
You can make a business just out of selling how to guides to sellers and buyers. So don’t limit yourself. See how many different ways you can come up with in addition to the ones listed above.
You can find information on our reprint rights package at:
Article by Chuck & Sue DeFiore of Home Business Solutions, helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 17 years. Visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. Or, Subscribe to the FREE Home Business Solutions Digest, subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com
