While driving back home from the annual Paper Source Note Symposium in Las Vegas a few days ago I was feeling so very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful niche business. The true note business and industry as a whole is filled with so many knowledgeable people, so much professionalism and so many generous and giving members. As usual I updated the attendees with my annual statistics and shared some insight as to marketing for notes this year and beyond. This article serves as a summary for those of you who were unable to make it to the Note Symposium this year.
Remember every note businesses success or failure depends on the owners’ ability to get note holders to contact them on a regular basis. There are great resources available that can help you develop an outstanding note marketing campaign and I encourage you to read more books, discuss your marketing with other note professionals, go to the Note Symposium annually to meet successful note marketers, and be willing to commit time, energy, thought and money to making your note business the best in the nation (almost).
One of the most common questions I was asked while at the Symposium was, “What’s the best way to find notes?” The simple answer is, “The way that works for you.” There is no one way to market in this industry that will work for everyone. Successful note brokers find notes in dozens if not hundreds of different ways. For some direct mail or advertising in small newspapers across the country is what works for them. For others it may be developing a strong referral base or doing radio and cable television ads. Still others have figured out how to attract note holders through internet marketing. What works for one may not work for another. You need to keep trying different methods and test marketing until your business is as successful as you want it to be.
No single method works well in finding notes to buy at a discount. The successful note professional uses every idea available and creates new ones. Advertising and direct mail coupled with a powerful referral base and unusual ways to find notes will be successful. Concentration on one method will probably not be as successful as a multifaceted approach. In other words, if you ask which method you should use, we would say, “…all of them work well, depending on the note brokers’ interests, enthusiasms, time, money, energy and creativity.”
You must also develop a professional brochure that explains what you do as a note broker as well as have an internet presence in the form of a website. The expenses of a professionally developed brochure, website, business card and letterhead are well worth the time and cost. You will also need to develop several reliable sources of note referrals. A base of five professional people who see notes regularly can be all you need to sustain your business. So, personal contacts are extremely important.
Be very creative when trying to locate notes. Rise above the crowd and add to, tweak and customize the ideas that you have heard and learned about. Don’t be limited to just real estate notes. You can buy or broker lottery winnings, business notes, insurance payments, retail installment agreements, cell tower leases, jewelry notes, vacuum cleaner paper and more. Let your imagination run wild. Creativity is amply rewarded in the discounted note business.
All of this is to suggest that marketing is, always has been and always will be the key to the successful note business. By being very aggressive and extremely creative, you can create opportunities that will leave your competition in the dust. If you’re timid, you will fail. Apple is not timid. Facebook is not timid. Flaunt your skills, knowledge and expertise and help those note holders that have no other options to get the cash that they need. You can do it! Remember, success demands action! Keep on marketing, and being persistent, it’s going to work! TWITA! (That’s What I’m Talking About!) ☺