Need to build your team of property scouts (aka bird dog) but don’t have hours to spend hanging job fliers and passing out business cards?
Hey Moguls, Dolmar Cross here, and I know of no better way to recruit property scouts at lightning speed than using online classifieds. Posting an ad takes just a few minutes, it’s typically free and one ad can draw a massive response in a matter of hours.
I’ve seen 109 people respond to a property scout program from a single ad that took just 4 minutes – and no money – to place online.
Ready for that kind of recruiting power?
Let’s talk about the best sites to post jobs…
“If you make a product good enough, even though you live in the depths of
the forest, the public will make a path to your door, says the philosopher. But if
you want the public in sufficient numbers, you had better construct a highway.”
~ Orvel Ray Wilson
Craigslist, Here We Come
When you mention online classifieds, most people immediately think of Craigslist…
This site was founded all the way back in 1995 for the simple purpose of spreading information about events in the San Francisco Bay Area. By the late ‘90s, it had grown into a noteworthy classified advertising site, and in 2000 it started rapidly expanding into other cities.
Even in today’s world of rich, multimedia websites, Craigslist has remarkably maintained its grassroots look and feel. It remains one of the top advertising sites online. To date, Craigslist hosts local classifieds and forums in 70 countries worldwide (largely free) and serves over 50 million visitors every month in the US alone.
Folks, Craigslist is a fantastic resource for finding property scouts.
Beyond Craigslist
In addition to Craigslist, there are a handful of other noteworthy sites that have proven effective at property scout recruiting.
Consider integrating these sites into your property scout marketing strategy:
-
ClassifiedAds
-
One of the top 5 online classified ads websites
-
100% free classified ads for cars, jobs, real estate and everything else
-
Automatic geo-targeting
-
Alexa.com Traffic Rank: 9,765
-
Oodle
-
Powers classifieds for other companies such as The Washington Post and Lycos
-
Alexa.com Traffic Rank: 10,316
These sites have what I call pocket popularity. Often sites are very popular in certain pockets of the country but not popular in others. If one of these sites is popular in your area, by all means use that site to recruit property scouts.
Get Social
Many social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn have their own paid advertising and can work for recruiting property scouts as well. If you have a budget for recruiting and want to branch out from online classifieds, don’t be afraid to get creative.
And remember that offline strategies can also be effective recruiting techniques, like these:
-
newspaper classifieds
-
business cards
-
fliers on grocery store bulletin boards
-
recruiting at your local REIA
Next Time…
Ok, so you’ve got some fresh ideas on where to advertise (for free!) for property scouts...
But how do you write an eye-catching ad?
Well, be on the lookout for Part II, which is all about writing an ad that’s sure to get results.
What’s Your Take?
What online sites have connected you with your top property scouts or teammates? Let me know below!
1. Ask other investors what online classified sites have worked for them.
2. Visit the sites mentioned here (Craigslist, ClassifiedAds, Oodle) and look for real estate-related postings to see what’s already out there.
3. Be prepared with business cards, always. Even if you’re advertising online, you will probably meet people in person who are interested in scouting. Keep an ear out and don’t be afraid to advertise.
Dolmar Cross
Dolmar is a guy who struggled, at first, to get his investing business off the ground. But, thanks to some fierce determination, raw persistence, and a savvy mentor’s friendly guidance and help, he eventually starting making it happen.
But the money went right to his head; he started splurging… snazzy luxury cars, taking friends on lavish trips. He thought he was on top of the world and could do no wrong. Unfortunately that’s when it usually all hits the fan—which is exactly what happened to Dolmar.
When the market crashed in ’08 Dolmar lost everything (literally – everything; he had to file for bankruptcy). Discouraged, he met with an investor who gave him some powerful insight, basically kicked his butt back into dusting himself off and getting right back to it – for the sake of his kids – to teach them that when things get hard, we don’t just quit. We fight on.
So with this powerful, new mindset and very little money left, Dolmar found himself with a sincere need to get good property leads without spending any money. Thus sparked the inspiration for the Property Scout Pipeline.