Tire kicker Tuesday
Hope everyone is having a great start to the week! I had an awesome weekend at an event called the “Why Warrior Weekend” here in Ft. Lauderdale. There were a number of sessions focused on motivation, wealth building via real estate, marketing (online and offline), attracting customers (led by the awesome Bob Burg), and health (yikes that one was eye-opening…more on that later).
Over the weekend we also mailed out our second batch of yellow letters, so we had a lot of voicemail messages waiting for us on Monday evening after work. That’s the good news.
The not so good news is that upon speaking with the callers, we encountered:
- People who weren’t interested in selling, but were curious and/or interested in chatting
- People who had already sold the home and just wanted to let us know
We did make another realtor connection, so that could be a fruitful relationship for the future. I’m looking forward to receiving further calls over the next week from those who actually want or need to sell.
My hubby wants us to experiment with modifying the yellow letters in order to be more transparent about the fact that we’re looking at their home from an investment standpoint. Apparently he spoke to one too many people who felt like we were stalking them, and that’s not the impression we want to give off.
Marketing is not just about consistency, but its also about experimentation, so we’re going to made a slight edit to the letter for the next batch and see how it goes. I’m also scouring the web looking for a unique postcard to send as a follow up to those we never heard from (from the first mailing). We won’t do a postcard with a picture of a house on it. Something a little more eye catching…like a huge monkey (I’m making this up but you get the idea…something different to catch their attention). Like my friend and fellow investor Bill Walston says “Never stop marketing!”
P.S. Now back to the health workshop from this weekend. There was a doctor (and nutrition expert) who led the session and basically went over the “7 foods that will kill you.” It was enlightening to say the least. He spent 90 minutes talking about alcohol, meat, sugar, dairy, coffee, soda, and artificial sweetners and how they contribute to an early death. I’m not ready to embrace all of what he shared as there are some things I will continue to enjoy (and just work towards moderation), however after what he shared with us about cow’s milk, I have permanently changed to soy, almond, and rice milk only. I’ll spare you the gory details, but if you’re interested just holler!
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Category: Dealing w/ homeowners, Fun calls with sellers, Marketing
You guys have been busy. We’ve talked about it too and yes, marketing is what we investors need to do. Period. It sounds like you got similair results as I did with the recent batch of post cards I sent out. Tweaking the yellow letters sounds like a good idea as well as being creative with the post cards as well.
Concerning your switch to soy milk, good job. I got the scoop on cows milk a while ago so I understand
You and Phil keep rockin it my friend!
Bill Lassiter´s last blog ..Wholesale Deal in Hampton VA $85k! Needs 10 – 15k -Sold!
Sounds like you’ve been busy, Shae! Yes, there’s a lot of experimentation with marketing to see what works/what doesen’t work. I find that the best marketing I’ve used has been the “ghetto kind.” (these are the times when I used to handwrite them, then moved on to just handwriting the “address” field). Also, I found using a bright color with the postcards gave some good results, too. Being consistent with what works will really bring in good results. Sounds like you’re already getting a lot of “bites” with the marketing, at least they’re calling and that’s half the battle!
Shae,
First I have to say when you talked about the huge monkey for a postcard I literally laughed out loud lol (Kathy and her 9 yr. old son just looked at me like “what the heck?” hehehe)
Pretty exciting to hear some health stuff ya never heard before huh? And gross too. When I started back I think last September my holistic approach to getting rid of heartburn I learned a lot about cow’s milk and cow products
Since then, we drink almond milk and soy milk in moderation and we eat a lot of goat cheese (although I will tell you that I find it hard it completely give up cheese made from cow’s lol I’m a cheese fanatic!)
A big thing that has helped me with getting rid of my heartburn and I think with health in general is giving up the 3 white poisions (that’s what they call ‘em) White sugar, White flour and salt (I do eat sea salt sometimes tho.)
Cutting those 3 things out or eating them in moderation (trust me girl, I have my weaknesses too) but you will see a HUGE difference health wise if you concentrate on those 3 things at least.
Feel free to post more p.s. about the health meeting…..you got 1 reader who would enjoy reading it at least
Carey_PA´s last blog ..Direct Mail List to Buy Apartment Buildings
Bill, seriously I came home and dumped my 1% organic milk right down the drain. LOL! Wish you the best with your marketing campaign! I will be purchasing more leads shortly and then will have follow ups and new mailings going out simultaneously as budget permits.
Rachel, thanks for the input! When we did postcards to absentee owners we got a 3-5% response rate and used the bright yellow cards. I’m hoping the minor tweak with the yellow letter will actually weed out the folks who think we’re stalking them (either they call themselves or have a child or sibling call on their behalf to see what the deal is).
Hey Carey!
I agree on the 3 whites….I have very little white bread, white rice, etc. That was the very first thing I changed about my eating habits a few years ago. The doc mentioned that air-dried sea salt was a necessary part of the diet and that we should have a quarter teaspoon of it daily.
Cheese is a tough one for me too to be honest…I’ll probably try some of the non-daily cheese options from Whole Foods to see how I like them.
At the end of the 90 minute presentation, the doc basically said if there’s only 3 things that we chose to do from the entire presentation, he’d suggest the following:
(1) Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily (enough so that you could read a newspaper through your pee…his words, not mine – LOL. He recommended distilled water is the best drinking water)
(2) Have 2 tablespoons of raw organic apple cider vinegar each day (this will stimulate your digestive enzymes…you can add it to a soup or salad or just take it straight)
(3) Add a quarter teaspoon of air-dried sea salt to the diet every day
I forgot to mention, Carey…. the thing that still nags at me is that there is also talk about soy not being the best for you either. Sooo…I guess that’s why you mention drinking soy milk in moderation? I only drink milk once a day, but I’m torn about what my children should drink. My 8 year old drinks soy milk exclusively (once a day) and the baby still drinks lots of whole milk. It’s so confusing. My mother never worried about such things…we all drank 2% cow milk and that was that. LOL!
I’m screwed!
Scott Costello´s last blog ..Lessons Learned: Get More Out of your Day With Daily Deadlines
LOL! How can you be screwed, Scotty? You only eat chicken….of course if you heard what he said about chicken…. LOL! I tried to block all of that out and play “ignorance is bliss”, but I will be pickier about the type of chicken I buy now.
Hey Shae,
I have a somewhat related story on the topic of Health…
Yesterday, I was flipping through the channels and I was watching a bit of Dr. OZ.
He said that people who don’t floss their teeth can be at risk of having heart disease! Yikes!!! (something to do with gingivitis being connected to blot clots in the arteries)
ps: I love the graphic of the guy kicking the tire!
Neil Uttamsingh´s last blog ..A message from the author
Hey Neil! Yeah, there’s always another health story, isn’t there? I guess you just have to make personal choices when processing all of the (sometime conflicting) information out there.
Shae,
It’s nice to hear that about sea salt. I can’t say that I eat as much as he says tho but since being on a better diet it’s amazing how food actually tastes awesome with just the right ingredients and it doesn’t really need “salt.” I use sea salt on my salads (with evoo as my dressing) and I just cooked some veggies and used sea salt…but it’s just not something I use a lot of, ya know?
And yes, you’re absolutely right that’s why I said soy milk in moderation because I have heard the same talk that you mention about soy milk (i loveeee loveeee chocolate soy milk lol)
I think you should let your kids try the almond milk in their cereal. I think it’s pretty good. At first I was reluctant but I’m down with it now hehehe
And whew….I’m good with the water…actually haven’t been as good with it since my ummm medical issues but I’m picking back up with it.
Funny thing….back in September, October, November…maybe even December, I had 2 tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar straight up every morning (cuz that holistic approach to get rid of heartburn said to do it for the same reasons the doc said.)
I don’t know if you’ve ever had apple cider vinegar or at least smelled it, but it’s smell got to me over time and I ended up well, let’s just say one morning it didn’t stay down because the smell was just too much that day lol so I stopped taking it every morning.
Now, I just take apple cider vinegar if I get heartburn. Amazingly enough, if you take a teaspoon of it when you have heartburn it goes away INSTANTLY. It’s a wonderful thing, it just sucks that it smells so bad (oh and if you’ve never taken it straight…be warned…it BURNS for a few seconds
And I’m with you…our moms never worried about any of this stuff. We drank cows milk and organic stuff we never heard of! What did the doc say about chicken? (you can say it in private if you want so Scott doesn’t see lol)
Kathy and I have really changed our diets and we generally only eat chicken or beef or anything really that’s hormone free, antibiotics free and all of that crap. Whether that makes a difference or not? Who knows? lol
Carey_PA´s last blog ..Direct Mail List to Buy Apartment Buildings
P.s. OMG my post was long lol sorry but I’m sure you know by now that I’m a rambler.
Carey_PA´s last blog ..Direct Mail List to Buy Apartment Buildings
The “ignorance is bliss” crap has gotta go. Speak up, sister!!
Seriously, I watched the documentary “Food Inc.” a few weeks ago and it has rocked my mind. I don’t think I’ve made as many immediate changes to my diet as I’d like, but I will get to them eventually and gradually.
There’s also this funny + disturbing web cartoon called “The Meatrix”, that I hope you don’t mind I drop the link here: http://www.themeatrix.com/
Would love to hear more about the cow milk. I’ve lived a portion of my life in rural areas where you practically drink it right outta the cow! Hahaha!! (Sorry, you may be twitching while reading this!)
Your health learning seems to have superseded your RE notes, but it’s all good!! As far as that goes, keep it going (and thanks for sharing)!!
Shae,
I’m glad I wasn’t there for the nutrition talk because I live off the 7 foods that will kill you. Not really, of course. I don’t use artificial sweeteners : ) heehee.
At any rate, consistancy is key. You just need that 1 call!!
Good Luck!
@Carey, I’m going to try the apple cider vinegar today…yikes!
@Alex, I heard about Food Inc. and I don’t think I’ll be able to stomach watching it…its one thing to hear things and another to see them on screen.
@Eileen, yeah it would’ve blown your mind…seriously. He did a really interesting demonstration that showed how toxic artificial sweeteners are.
Ok, by popular demand, I’m sharing what was said specifically about chicken, fish, and cow’s milk/dairy products:
Cow’s Milk:
ONE cubic centimeter (cc) of commercial cow’s milk is allowed (by the FDA) to have up to 750,000 somatic cells (also known as PUS) and 20,000 live bacteria… before it is kept off the market.
The reason there is so much pus in the cow’s milk is because the udders are engorged with milk for long periods of time and develop infections (if you’re a woman who has breastfed before you understand exactly what I mean and how this is possible).
Also, while morphine can be found in both human and cow milk, cow milk contains up to 10x more morphine than human milk. Now with CHEESE, its essentially just concentrated morphine (no wonder we like it so much! It’s making us high! LOL!). As milk is turned into cheese, most of its water, whey proteins, and lactose sugar are removed, leaving behind fat and concentrated morphine.
Chicken:
The thing that bugged me about the chicken is that he said that on chicken farms (certainly not all of them I’d think!), they will take the diseased chickens and grind them up and feed them as food to the healthy chickens. He basically said that “healthy” chickens are made unhealthy by eating their diseased cousins.
I haven’t done much research on this, but I have certainly confirmed the info on the cow milk and dairy products. I will still eat chicken, but will be smarter about the kind of chicken I buy at the store for cooking.
We didn’t talk about turkey, but I know he has a story on that too…LOL!
FISH:
There’s yet to be a fish identified that doesn’t at least have a trace of mercury in it…unfortunately , the mercury in fish is highly toxic. The doc recommended not eating fish and shellfish at ALL because of this. I will still eat fish but again, in moderation… by the way, according to the EPA, the five most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
Is there a website where you can get more info on these types of things. After thinking a little more about this stuff over the last few weeks, I’m surprised I’m still alive!
Nick@Subject2.com´s last blog ..Subject2 eBook
Hey Nick, there’s a TON of info out there, but if you want to hear more specifically from the doc who did the presentation, you can go to Dr. Joe’s website at http://www.drjoeesposito.com/. If you sign up for his newsletter, you’ll get access to all of his radio shows for free.
Sooo Shae how did the apple cider vinegar go this morning?
Oh and I still eat fish. But I reallllly wish I didn’t read in more detail what you said about cheese lol I love my cheese and I learned about it when I learned about cow’s milk but I was trying to block that stuff out.
Don’t get me wrong I love goat’s cheese now but I just haven’t been able to find a goat cheese that I could sit down with and just cut off pieces and eat. That’s a work in progress.
Did the doc say anything about organic vs non-organic stuff, etc.?
Carey_PA´s last blog ..Direct Mail List to Buy Apartment Buildings
My Mom told me not to drink Soy milk. She said it contains lots of estrogen.
It’s definitely very good to be more educated about one’s food choices. I’m going to see which of Shannon’s suggestions I’ll consider adopting. But one should also bear in mind that probably nothing is foolproof. And anxiety about what is in one’s food ultimately may be the thing that kills us!
LOL!
So – what are the healthy alternatives to cannibal chickens and mercury-laden fish? Tofu?
Bolaji – Rat-Race-Escape-Artists.com´s last blog ..Feb 10, Who Tony Robbins is to Me
Hey Carey, I haven’t had the apple cider vinegar yet…but still plan to. Your story about vomitting didn’t help, might I add. LOL! As far as organic vs. non-organic, it depends. For example, with the milk..my organic cow milk helped in the area of hormone-free, pesticide-free, etc…but doesn’t change the pus issue LOL!
I don’t drink much milk anyway, but the visual was just too much for me so I’m going with the almond and rice milk (plus it tastes great!).
Bolaji, I’ve heard plenty of commentary about soy milk…Phil and Anisa have been drinking it for quite some time. Phil hasn’t had cow milk for years. I think he’ll like the almond milk though…Anisa loves it!
I agree that very little is fool proof. How you choose to eat is a personal decision…for example, the doc was cool with using Stevia (plant based) in lieu of artificial sweeteners, but who is to say that 10 years down the road we won’t hear a health study that says Stevia causes cancer (like I’ve heard about soy too). LOL! It’s just too complicated to me….I’m a fan of moderation, so that’s what I’m goin’ with.
Can’t argue with the facts, but some cultures eat fish almost exclusively. Mercury is a heavy metal, but I fear its effects have been exagerated. Heck kids use to play with mercury in classrooms.
Either way, the Doc brings up some good points about what you can and cannot eat.
On the tire kickers, did you mail out to an area or just look for vacant houses?
Bilgefisher´s last blog ..Goal prep 2010 Part 2
Yeah, sorry about that Shae. One tip I can give you is to Hold Your Nose while taking it. Seriously. I think the less you smell it the better off you’ll be.
Good luck!
Carey_PA´s last blog ..Direct Mail List to Buy Apartment Buildings
Hey Jason, my mailing went out to owners of inherited homes. And as far as fish is concerned, I’m still eating it…I love fish! I also love shrimp, even though my hubby calls them sea roaches LOL! Moderation will be the theme of my eating going forward.
Carey, thanks for the tip…I’ll need it
Goodness… I can’t possibly read all these comments. There are only 4 minutes left on my timer. In my scanning of the comments I saw references to monkeys, white bread, chicken and “hold your nose while taking it”. I am not sure what ANY of that has to do with real estate and in some ways I am glad.
I would recommend you watch Food Inc., it’s not as graphic on the visuals as I thought, but the issue about food is much, much greater than the things we’re discussing here. Highly recommended.
As far as the apple cider vinegar, my mom swears on it that it removed her arthritis completely.
Thanks for sharing the info on milk, things that make you go hmmm…BLEAGH!!!
I also gave up cow milk towards the end of last year, as well as beef and poultry. I have slipped up a few times, but after doing some research on how it is produced and what’s in it (pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, pus), it really hasn’t been that difficult at all to go without. Thinking about drinking a glass of cow milk makes me gag.
I’ve done a lot of research online, read several books about the meat and dairy industries and also made myself watch some of the “Meet your Meat” videos, which were horrifying. I don’t recommend watching them if you have a soft spot for animals. They are awful.
It has all been a real eye opener to me, to say the least. I think I will probably end up going vegan eventually, but am taking baby steps for now.
Steph
P.S.
I got the apple cider vinegar today, although now I am afraid to try it after what Carey said.
Stephani´s last blog ..Saturday Night Reader Mail: Which Contracts Do You Use When Wholesaling an REO?
Steph,
I’m just telling ya, safe yourself a lot of issues with it and from the jump take the ACV while holding your nose. I bet if you NEVER smell it you could take 2 tablespoons of it a day forever.
Since I don’t take it daily anymore and only take it with occasional heartburn I don’t hold my nose anymore because I know it’ll be over quick lol Sounds dramatic I know. But I do swear by it for certain things….I just know I can only stomach the smell for so much before my body starts smacking me upside the head so to speak
P.S. Did you ever get a juicer? It feels good for me to be juicing again. Ummm although right now I’m eating scallops wrapped in bacon and I don’t even like bacon!! Moderation as Shae says. Moderation.
Carey_PA´s last blog ..Direct Mail List to Buy Apartment Buildings
Hey Carey,
Wouldn’t it be easier to mix the ACV with something- like apple juice maybe? I might try that. I have a very weak stomach, so it doesn’t take much to make me hurl. Not much at all.
BTW, no, I have yet to get a juicer. It’s on my list, though.
Steph
Stephani´s last blog ..Saturday Night Reader Mail: Which Contracts Do You Use When Wholesaling an REO?
Alex, thanks for the heads up…I’ll check the movie out since you’ve assured me that its not graphic with the animals, etc.
Steph, Carey – I had my ACV on a salad today and it was just fine.
Interestingly enough, my hubby really likes the stuff. He puts it on cucumbers and mangoes….he was using regular ACV, but he tried the raw organic version today and said it tasted just the same or better than what he’s had in the past. I’m not nearly as enthusiastic about it as he is, but I can definitely tolerate it on food.
Julie, you crack me up! Yeah, you definitely need more than 4 minutes on your “internet use timer” to read through these comments! I love and admire your discipline. Truly.
You go Shae! I never had mine on food..I just drink it straight up. I was actually going to mention that if you’re nose isn’t as sensitive as mine is, it probably won’t bother ya anyway.
Steph…that’s a good idea. I think the holistic thing I was doing said try to drink it straight but if you can’t try to mix it with some water. I just decided it was quicker to just take it straight. The taste isn’t what gets me (although it’s not the best tasting thing in the world) it’s the smell….so if your sniffer activates that weak stomach of yours…HOLD YOUR NOSE lol But hey….you may be alright like Shae was.
You know Steph I’ll be curious to see how you made out. Do us all a favor and go take some now lmao
Carey_PA´s last blog ..Direct Mail List to Buy Apartment Buildings
Shae, just to be clear, the film (Food Inc.) does have some animal visuals in there, just not as sickening or stomach-wrenching as the “Meet your Meat” film that Steph mentioned, but there is some stuff.
Plus, as I said, the documentary speaks about many other issues at play, for example: The stronghold ONE corporation has over the entire U.S. soy industry, how politicians are in bed with some of these big corporations (which is why fast food and soda is cheaper than good food… think gross SUBSIDIES with OUR tax money), immigration issues… Many side issues you wouldn’t even think are related.
Ok, fair enough, Alex — I’ll cover my eyes on that part and focus on the other issues
I’m confused, how did these folks think that you were stalking them with the type of letter you sent?
And yeah, I’m with Scott…..there is no hope for me! LOL
Ingrid´s last blog ..Back in the saddle
Hi Ingrid, I guess some people find it strange that someone would send them a seemingly random handwritten letter showing interest in buying their homes. Nothing specific about the content of the letter should lead someone to think we’re stalkers…but we’ve had people say they were wondering if we were watching them and their house, etc.
Hey Shae, I don’t mean to hammer the same subject on and on, but I forgot to share an EXCELLENT speech from the TED conferences, on the subject of educating our children on how to eat correctly. It’s riveting, to say the least!
http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html
Thanks Alex!