Showing up for Your REI Career at LandAcademy (CFFL 0190)
Showing up for Your REI Career at LandAcademy
Jack Butala: Showing up for Your REI Career at LandAcademy. Every Single month we give away a property for free. It’s super simple to qualify. Two simple steps. Leave us your feedback for this podcast on iTunes and number two, get the free ebook at landacademy.com, you don’t even have to read it. Thanks for listening.
Jack Butala:
Jack Butala for Land Academy. Welcome to our Cash Flow From Land Show. We show you how to buy property for half of what it’s worth and resell it the next day. Great instruction from Jack, that’s me.
Jill DeWit:
And inspiration from Jill, that’s me.
Jack Butala:
Here’s some funny stuff that happened to us recently.
Jill DeWit:
I think this is hilarious. One of our people had someone asking for receipts. I’m like, I think isn’t a deed a receipt? I have some questions.
Jack Butala:
That tells me that-
Jill DeWit:
Have you ever had that?
Jack Butala:
No I haven’t and I’ll tell you why. In fact I saw that in there.
Jill DeWit:
Yeah.
Jack Butala:
I laughed about it a little bit too because the way that we have stuff set up when people check out they get immediate notice and they get a bunch of stuff that satisfies that. For whatever reason I think they’re clicking on something, they’re money’s going out of their bank account and then there’s no kind of immediate follow up that’s automated that says hey you’re awesome and you bought some property-
Jill DeWit:
Appreciate your purchase.
Jack Butala:
Yeah. We’re going to get back with you in a second here, we’re processing your order, it should take … They know what to expect.
Jill DeWit:
Exactly.
Jack Butala:
I know who that is and I know why that didn’t fall within his … [crosstalk 00:01:08]
Jill DeWit:
I think it’s hilarious. No. My favorite thing too was his comment, I’m about to mail her a sticky note with some dollar numbers on there and some APN numbers. There’s your receipt.
Jack Butala:
All kidding aside, that’s how you improve all the time. If a couple of people are saying, customers are saying I need a receipt, then find an automated way to do it.
Jill DeWit:
Right. Realistically, I think that was not very- it doesn’t really come up, I just thought that was funny.
Jack Butala:
Right.
Jill DeWit:
That was good. I’ve never had anybody ask for a receipt.
Jack Butala:
I haven’t either.
Jill DeWit:
I really think that, like I said, I’m like, isn’t your deed your receipt? I’m a little confused. It’s good.
Jack Butala:
You just got to keep customers in the loop. That’s all.
Jill DeWit:
Oh yeah. Good stuff.
Jack Butala:
This episode Jill and I talk about showing up for your REI career at Land Academy, Real Estate Investment career. Jill, as always, super fun show. Before we start, let’s take a question posted by one of our members on successplant.com, our free online community.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. Brandon says, I’m just about done with my first deal. I was really nervous it wouldn’t sell. It was 4.64 acres, $1500 into it after back taxes. It didn’t have great access so I doubled my money and posted it on Craiglist and Postlets, now Zillow but goes to Zillow and Trulia, we got it.
The buyer wanted title insurance so I have been not so [patiently 00:02:34] waiting to close for a few weeks now. In the last two weeks, I upped my price on Zillow and Craigslist just to see what happen and my phone is blowing up. I hate it when this happens. Could’ve easily made probably three times if I hadn’t been so worried about not selling. Already working on a new list in the area to get properties I skipped over and I have a ton of buyers now.
Jack Butala:
That’s it.
Jill DeWit:
Isn’t that funny how that happens.
Jack Butala:
Brandon you’re doing it.
Jill DeWit:
Oh that’s so funny. I’ve had that too. Just as something sells then all of a sudden here comes 10 more phone calls and they would’ve closed even faster and probably more money, but don’t look back. Just look forward. I love it when that happens.
Jack Butala:
Sometimes it rains, sometimes a little dry, but it always- somebody told me a long time ago, every single piece of property sells. It all sells. It’s just the variable is time. The way you can control that is just blast the universe, like he did. I bet that price adjustment … I’d like to dig back into that and find out what the price adjustment- why that price would … It triggered something in those venues and it triggered who looks at it. Sometimes property’s so inexpensively priced that people just don’t believe it.
Jill DeWit:
I have had that and I’ve heard that from our members. They’re saying this person’s wondering what’s wrong with it because it’s priced so low. I’ve talked to people like, is there anything wrong with it? I’m like, no that’s just how we roll. Seriously. No it is that fantastic, I’m just not going to hang onto it.
I explain that. I’m not going to dress it up, I’m not going to put something on it and do this stuff. You are winning. My buyer’s like, okay. I get it.
Jack Butala:
Exactly.
Jill DeWit:
Thank you.
Jack Butala:
If you have a question or you want to be on the show call 800-725-8816. Today’s topic, showing up for your real estate investment career at Land Academy. Your REI career.
Jill DeWit:
I’m kind of sitting here, does that count as showing up?
Jack Butala:
No.
Jill DeWit:
Oh.
Jack Butala:
Sitting at your desk watching sitcoms doesn’t, not you, but people who do that think that tey’re showing up. No, no, no.
Jill DeWit:
That’s not what you mean?
Jack Butala:
No.
Jill DeWit:
Wait. What if I put a suit on. Then am I showing up?
Jack Butala:
This is awesome. This is a whole show right here.
Jill DeWit:
Okay.
Jack Butala:
No. That’s not showing up either. Invest yourself. Put a plan together.
Jill DeWit:
If I answer the phone am I showing up?
Jack Butala:
Uh uh.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. Please elaborate.
Jack Butala:
Keep asking.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. If I … I’m running out of silly things to come up with. All right.
Jack Butala:
I think we all [crosstalk 00:05:04]
Jill DeWit:
If I go to all the REI meetings- how about this one? If I got every meeting and I sit in on every call and I dissect our program forwards, backwards and everything, is that showing up?
Jack Butala:
I don’t think so.
Jill DeWit:
Okay.
Jack Butala:
What the heck does showing up for your career mean?
Jill DeWit:
Take it away.
Jack Butala:
It means that, like I say in the programs, you have to make a commitment. You have to make a commitment and a plan and execute the plan. A,B,C,D and do whatever it takes. Today’s question/comment is perfect. If it wasn’t selling the way you wanted it, he increased the price or decreased it or whatever he did. He made some adjustments and it solved it. It’s clearly going to lead to a bunch of new deals.
Yeah. You got to show up, take it seriously, pay attention, do the exercises, and go through the motions of learning and setting this stuff up.
Jill DeWit:
You know what I think showing up is too?
Jack Butala:
Go ahead. Go. Go ahead.
Jill DeWit:
Not giving up. It’s one thing to show up and be there, but you can’t give up. You have to expect … Showing up, I think too, is expecting there’s going to be speed bumps. There are going to be speed bumps. Like you said, you’re so committed that it doesn’t matter. You are there.
Jack Butala:
Our formal education, I think, is some of the most comprehensive out there available [crosstalk 00:06:35]
Jill DeWit:
I know it is.
Jack Butala:
And the whole thing. For land I’m sure it is. Yeah. All the answers are in there. I think that sometimes you get distracted or whatever happens. No. The show before this was all about how just ridiculously successful most people are in our group.
Jill DeWit:
Isn’t that interesting? I like this topic because how many people think they’re showing up and they’re not?
Jack Butala:
Yeah. Jill. You’re right.
Jill DeWit:
They think they’re in, they’re doing it, but they’re only half “blank” doing it. They’re not totally showing up. It is so interesting how that goes.
Jack Butala:
Exactly. You’re great at this kind of stuff. I was wondering if you had to really, really deconstruct it, what would you really say is the difference between someone who shows up, because you’re excellent at this stuff Jill. The difference between someone who’s actually showing up and the difference between somebody who’s, I don’t know, kind of sitting in a seat only?
Jill DeWit:
Attitude.
Jack Butala:
Attitude.
Jill DeWit:
Yep. I could put it in one word, I’d say attitude. If you have the right attitude, nothing’s going to sway you. You’re going to be there, you’re going to push forward, you’re in. If you have a [blaheh 00:08:01] crappy attitude, every little thing you’re going to go oh there’s another reason I can’t do this. Waste of my time, waste of whatever. I really think showing up is more mental, which is kind of me because it’s inspirational.
No really. I think showing up is more mental than even having all the right answers and having the right people right behind you. You got to have the right attitude.
Jack Butala:
Right.
Jill DeWit:
Or it’s just not going to work.
Jack Butala:
Some people do this for everything in their life. They just completely show up. When they clean the house the house is so clean at the end that it’s silly. They just have that personality.
Jill DeWit:
Right.
Jack Butala:
I would’ve said, in a word, is a commitment. There’s the stuff that I- I’m not one of those people with the house cleaning example, but if I’m going to show up for it or make a commitment, then it’s just I’m going to die trying. There’s a bunch of stuff in my life where I’m not going to die trying at all.
Jill DeWit:
That’s okay.
Jack Butala:
Yeah. Exactly.
Jill DeWit:
No that’s good.
Jack Butala:
All I’m saying is if this is one of those things that you consciously choose to show up for and make a commitment, you’re going to kill it.
Jill DeWit:
Exactly.
Jack Butala:
If you’re looking for a reason … not a reason. If you’re looking for a solution to making a bunch of money on the side, I hate the phrase passive income but that’s what it is. It’s not really passive income. Passive income is like putting your feet up on the desk with a martini.
Jill DeWit:
Right.
Jack Butala:
I don’t think there’s anything super, super passive about this. You got to show up for it. If you want to make some money on the side in a machine like manner, this is a good way to do it.
Jill DeWit:
Exactly.
Jack Butala:
This is the technical ten. Ten minutes of property investment advice from our 15 year, 15,000 plus deal experience the topic. Posting property everywhere on the internet is imperative when you start out. This came up from a conversation that I had with somebody directly a couple days ago.
Sending mailers out and buying property super inexpensively is the first step to this or one of the first steps, but when that stuff starts coming in, I see a lot of people get real excited about it, but then kind of drop the ball about following through on- this is super new people- drop the ball about posting the property anywhere, doing the maps and making it look good, writing a good description, and then getting it out there every single place on the internet.
Here’s why. You build a buyer’s list. That’s one of the ways.
Jill DeWit:
I think it’s good to sell it.
Jack Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
By the way.
Jack Butala:
It’s good for your [crosstalk 00:10:33]
Jill DeWit:
I’m not even thinking about the buyer’s list, I’m just [inaudible 00:10:35] sell it. It’s interesting how many people that I talk to just helping in different environments, other online communities and different people that I run into and they’re talking about having trouble selling whatever it is. I’m like, okay where do you have it advertised? It’s like, they’ll have two places. I’m like, are you kidding me? It’s funny when I go wait a minute, and then when I sit here and point out why aren’t you doing this, this, this, this, and this? They’re like, oh yeah. I guess you’re right.
I thought everybody knew that but I guess they don’t. I don’t mean to give anybody a hard time, but gosh. You can’t sell it if the world doesn’t know it’s for sale.
Jack Butala:
Right.
Jill DeWit:
I cannot put my car on the corner of my lot, right, and there’s a very low traffic count by the way with a sign in the window and expect it to go.
Jack Butala:
Yeah. You’re reaching like 16 people.
Jill DeWit:
Right. No. By the way, it’s the same 16 every day because they drive that same direction to work and home from work. That’s it. That’s my reach. Nobody knows my car’s for sale. When I put my car online and it’s on Craigslist and it’s on this site and that site. Heck it might even be on eBay as a buy it now. When I blast it to the world that my car’s for sale, it’s going to sell. The right person’s going to see it and it’s going to sell at the right price.
Jack Butala:
Here’s why I think we’re getting several of these questions more and more. It’s because I’m not so sure that we’re leading by example on this, Jill. Here’s why. Our buyer list is 25,000 people deep, our opted in buyer list. It’s our past customer’s, people who have ever shown interest and they want to get the mail. We’ve established this over years and years and years. Jeez there’s no replacement for posting it everywhere, especially when you’re new. Maybe even for the first five years. Got to get exposure. It’s imperative.
I list all the places you should host your property in our education programs all the way through. Let’s list them now Jill if you want to go ahead.
Jill DeWit:
I was going to say if I was new and starting out, I would have a literally a written down somewhere running list and I would always be adding to it. Like, oh wow I just learned that you can put a photo on Instagram with a price on it and stuff. That would go on my list.
Bring it up. There’s all kinds of ways that you can do this. That’s what I would do. You should have a list of no less than 10 places to advertise stuff. Then just keep modifying, adding to it and everything. You want to come up with 10? Let’s go up to 10. I bet we can.
Jack Butala:
You go first.
Jill DeWit:
Okay.
Jack Butala:
I can come up with 10 fast.
Jill DeWit:
My website.
Jack Butala:
Yep.
Jill DeWit:
Craigslist, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, maybe …
Jack Butala:
Trulia. Zillow.
Jill DeWit:
Yeah. Trulia, Zillow.
Jack Butala:
Craigslist.
Jill DeWit:
I did Craigslist.
Jack Butala:
BiggerPockets if you’re a pro member.
Jill DeWit:
Maybe BiggerPockets. If you were with us, it would be on our list. By the way, think of all the people you could be emailing like you started to elude to Jack about your own little buyer’s list that you’re sending out emails to people you have property for sale. There’s definitely more than 10.
Jack Butala:
Yeah. You should be building a list. It’s probably going to start out on a yellow piece of paper on your desk, but eventually you want to implement a program like AWeber. People are opting in to see that list. You want to get serious about it, you can join our Platinum Seller’s Club where we send out a list every Wednesday to tens of thousands of people who have opted in to see these deals. Jill and I sell property all the time that way.
Jill DeWit:
I’m so excited about that. It’s still so new and I can’t- that we’re sharing that and I know our community is like oh my gosh.
Jack Butala:
I really am too Jill. That was 100 percent your idea.
Jill DeWit:
It was in the car.
Jack Butala:
We’re driving back from Los Angeles.
Jill DeWit:
Exactly. I can remember it.
Jack Butala:
Staring out the window and Jill said oh i got a brilliant idea. It turned out that of all the ideas you had this is one of the top five.
Jill DeWit:
Thank you.
Jack Butala:
Nice work.
Jill DeWit:
Thank you. I appreciate that.
Jack Butala:
Hey, if you have a question or you want to be on the show call 800-725-8816. If that’s not inspirational enough, Jill do you have some more inspiration?
Jill DeWit:
Okay. I am going to quiz you with this quote, Jack. I want you to tell me where this quote came from.
Jack Butala:
Okay.
Jill DeWit:
Okay. “Great men are not born great, they grow great.”
Jack Butala:
From my mom?
Jill DeWit:
Oh. Oh.
Jack Butala:
That sounds like a General Patton thing.
Jill DeWit:
No.
Jack Butala:
Or a president.
Jill DeWit:
Let me do it again. Think about this. “Great men are not born great, they grow great.” Oh my gosh.
Jack Butala:
Is it military?
Jill DeWit:
It’s one of your favorite movies.
Jack Butala:
I don’t know. I really don’t know.
Jill DeWit:
Marlon Brando.
Jack Butala:
Oh oh. From the Godfather.
Jill DeWit:
Yes.
Jack Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
I thought that was going to be- I thought you were going to get that right away because I know you love that. Mario Puzo, who wrote that, he’s just- if you read those books, even the ones after that, he did a book called Omerta which is the Italian code of silence, where he really develops these young characters who are raised by, not their fathers, but they’re raised by male figures in their lives that will just go to the end to make sure that they succeed, which is what the hell we’re trying to do here.
Jack Butala:
Right.
Jill DeWit:
That’s good Jill. I love it.
Jack Butala:
Thank you.
Jill DeWit:
I thought that was kind of fun.
Jack Butala:
It’s kind of unique too. We’re not sexist. It can happen with women too.
Jill DeWit:
Totally. Men meaning people.
Jack Butala:
Yeah.
Jill DeWit:
I just thought that was a- I don’t know why, that jumped out of me today. I thought I’m going to see if Jack can remember where that came from. Cool. That was really good.
Jack Butala:
Yeah. I think the whole point is is if you need me to translate …
Jill DeWit:
Go ahead.
Jack Butala:
It doesn’t just happen, you’re not just born with it.
Jill DeWit:
No.
Jack Butala:
You got to surround yourself with the right people and get your butt in gear.
Jill DeWit:
Exactly.
Jack Butala:
Join us in another episode where Jack and Jill discuss how to use information, that’s me.
Jill DeWit:
And inspiration, that’s me.
Jack Butala:
To get just about anything you want.
Jill DeWit:
We use it every day to buy property for half of what it’s worth and sell it immediately.
Jack Butala:
Get there first.
That was a cool quote Jill.
Jill DeWit:
Thank you.
Jack Butala:
That was different than some of the other stuff in the past where it’s like, put on a smile when you get out of …
Jill DeWit:
I was trying to shake it up a little bit. I was trying to go for like a, all right what’s a good- you can’t go wrong with a Godfather quote can you?
Jack Butala:
No you can’t. No. No you can’t.
Jill DeWit:
We can do Godfather quotes all day long because I know you have a lot in your head.
Jack Butala:
Incidentally, Jill’s never seen the Godfather.
Jill DeWit:
I know I couldn’t get through it.
Jack Butala:
We sat down several times. We have a long list of movies that I think every human being should see. We’ve gotten through exactly zero of them.
Jill DeWit:
Wait.
Jack Butala:
Jill can’t go through the movie-
Jill DeWit:
I watched Road to Perdition with you many times. I have seen that.
Jack Butala:
Jill can’t get through the wedding in the Godfather. It’s just not her thing.
Jill DeWit:
Yeah. I’ve seen bits and pieces of Casino and I know you love that.
Jack Butala:
That’s awesome that movie.
Jill DeWit:
I have a few that are definitely not my-
Jack Butala:
Those are all Scorsese movies.
Jill DeWit:
That must be the common denominator. They’re not my taste in movies and you love them.
Jack Butala:
I just like that reality. I think Casino’s so real. I think that kind of stuff, not about the mob or the money or anything-
Jill DeWit:
I’m like what do you think-
Jack Butala:
Just the way the characters interact with each other, especially the married ones, I think there’s a lot of reality to that.
Jill DeWit:
I don’t know.
Jack Butala:
Which I really think is interesting. I’m not sure that you are into reality as much as I am.
Jill DeWit:
I don’t believe that. No, I think that our vision of reality, Southern California reality and Detroit reality might be two different things.
Jack Butala:
Yeah. I couldn’t have said that better in perfect.
Jill DeWit:
Thank you.
Jack Butala:
On that note, hey let’s go buy some property for half price.
Jill DeWit:
All right. Let’s sell some property for double.
Jack Butala:
Jack and Jill.
Jill DeWit:
Information and inspiration.
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