Real Estate Truth from Experienced Brian Evans (CFFL 0196)
Real Estate Truth from Experienced Brian Evans
Jack Butala: Real Estate Truth from Experienced Brian Evans. 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:
Brian Evans is an award winning entrepreneur and two time best selling author. His books in training courses include: “How To Invest In Your Local Real Estate Market”, “The New Masters Of Real Estate”, “Real Estate Profits”, “The Foreclosure Gold Rush”, “The 77 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Investors Make”, “Transaction Engineer”, “How To Find Motivated Sellers”. What? That’s a read do. “How To Find Private Money Lenders” and “How To Close Your First Deal”. His real estate investment company is located in Lexington, Kentucky. He has an A+ rating with The Better Business Bureau and he’s invested in a hundreds deal and has been investing in full time for over ten years.
Brian how are you?
Brian Evans:
I’m doing well how are you guys?
Jack Butala:
Doing great. So nice to have you on the show.
Brian Evans:
Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. I’m happy to be here.
Jill DeWit:
I got to ask this question first Brian, where are the entrepreneur awards events held and how do I get on that list? What is this award? I love it.
Brian Evans:
I was awarded marketer of the year in 2015. It’s a group of primarily marketers mainly internet online marketers but I was voted on by over a hundred of my peers in that area. I’m a part of a bunch of different groups so this is not like some nationally recognized thing but I’ll tell you what the trophy is the same trophy they hand out at the Grammys. It’s pretty darn cool.
Jack Butala:
That was just my exact question. Do you get to go up there and hold a trophy up and thank your mum and stuff?
Brian Evans:
Yeah, kind of. In an informal goofy kind of way but yeah it’s pretty cool. We do a lot of stuff. We run TV commercials online, radio, you name it. All of our successes and the stories we shared led to winning marketer of the year so that’s pretty neat. It is a neat experience.
Jill DeWit:
That’s really cool. I love it. Tell me about some of the books that you’ve written are they e-books? Are they on kindle? Can I find it in a book store?
Brian Evans:
Good question. If you go to Amazon you can actually type in a couple of those books and they will pop up. Three of them are physical books, some of them are courses, some of them are e-books. The three physical books are: “How To Make Money in Your Local Real Estate Market”, “The New Masters Of Real Estate”, there’s another one on there on Amazon which is “The New Masters Of Online Marketing”. The other ones are more proprietary that I hand out to my clients and partners and so forth.
Jill DeWit:
What’s interesting is that I have to ask this question because we come up with answers all the time. How do you find the time to do these side projects oh and by the way while running your normal business?
Brian Evans:
That’s a good question. I have staff, I have employees that help me out and they are amazing. If not for them I wouldn’t be here. Any entrepreneur we just have this bug and we are just never fully satisfied so we have to constantly take risks and challenge ourselves for whatever reason. That’s part of it.
Jill DeWit:
You call it a bug and I love it. Steven calls it an illness.
[laughter]
Right Jack?
Jack Butala:
Exactly.
Brian Evans:
Same thing, sure, sure. It’s fun I mean what else are you going to do with your life. Sit around?
Jack Butala:
I have to do it. I am convinced that these careers they choose us. I didn’t choose this career.
Brian Evans:
That right. It’s great. Real estate is awesome which is why we are on this call. I love it. We are extremely good at it. As far as I’m concerned we are better than most. We do it for a living full time. Looks like you guys do too. Real estate is amazing. I’s an incredible business.
Jack Butala:
It is. For the effort that you put in the returns are huge.
Brian Evans:
It’s incredible.
Jack Butala:
I have to cut to the chase here. One of you books is called “How To Find Motivated Sellers”. We’ve made a career our of that. What’s in the book? Give us your take on it.
Brian Evans:
The way we find motivated sellers … I mean there is tons of ways. I’m a bit of a contrarian to all the other ‘experts’ and gurus out there. I don’t want to offend you guys or anybody if some of the things that you all do or teach or other people teach do these things.
I’ve been a little bit fed up with all of the experts saying how easy it is. Put ads on Craigslist, go door knocking ,put out yellow signs which are illegal and hire bad dogs, go to real meetings, connect with realtors and all the other stuff which really, can you do a deal? Sure. Is it going to be hard work? Yeah. Is it going to suck? Yeah.
What you really need to do is if you want to find motivated sellers you have to be willing to invest money. That’s called marketing. If you can determine your ROI and you can track your marketing so that you know for every dollar you spend that marketing dollar has returned these many leads, deals and money then you can accurately predict your cash flow on that marketing. It’s called return on investment.
As far as I’m concerned, cut me out if I get too long winded but I’m pretty passionate about this. There’s really two types of marketing that real estate investors do and most of them do it the first way which I call sleazy and spammy. Where they are spamming their market place and frankly creating a bad image for themselves and not developing trust very well.
The other way that I like to do is called professional incredible marketing. It’s simple. We run TV commercials. We run radio ads. We do online marketing. When someone goes to Google and searches “Sell my house’ we pop up, imagine that. We do direct mail. Those are all things that cost money among other things that we do but those are the big home runs for us. I tell you if people can find a way to get over the fear of spending a little bit of money to find deals then the returns would be great. By the way you’re not spending money it’s an investment. Marketing is about an investment. It’s not a cost it’s an investment. It should return a profit.
Jack Butala:
Those are the exact same things that we teach but in reverse order. We provide not only the instruction and the education but we provide the tools, the databases and how to send out successful direct mail campaigns, how to scrub up database lists and get right to the people who are showing signs that they are really interested in getting rid of their property not just selling it. I’ve spent fifteen plus years using direct mail in that exact way.
Brian Evans:
Direct mail is a great tool.
Jack Butala:
Really is. You can really misuse it and waste a lot of money if you’re sending letters to everybody on the planet. We send offers. We send offers with the call of action to close in a certain time. If you do that correctly the sellers they will find you.
Brian Evans:
True.
Jack Butala:
That’s great. How do you get on the best selling list twice?
Brian Evans:
It’s really not that hard you just have to write a check.
[laughter]
Jill DeWit:
I love it.
Brian Evans:
That’s just the truth. We are competing in a market place where anybody can be an expert these days. The reality of it is the more books you sell and it gets sold and the more bigger your network is the more exposure you can get. If you’re able to write that cheque you can do that,[laughs]. That’s the truth but obviously they were good books or nobody would have bought them.
Jill DeWit:
Love it. You know Brian you brought up something really good that is very important to me. That it is not just developing trust but really being a good person. That’s one thing that Jack and I strive for. We always say it’s more important to do the right thing even if it costs money. You’ve got to be that kind of a person, be transparent. I love that you brought up developing trust because that’s very important to us too.
Brian Evans:
It’s extremely important especially for new investors. It’s a shame they really don’t know who to trust. They don’t know who to believe in. They are so many things out there and there is so much hype. It’s just such a one sided relationship. I really feel bad for a lot of the investors because the information is so overwhelming they just don’t know where to start. There’s nothing wrong with somebody selling something and making a buck as long as it helps somebody learn but our main goal, the reason why I do this, the reason why I accepted the invitation talk with you guys is because yeah I want to make money so does everybody else that wants to learn how to invest in real estate.
The primary way we do is we partner with students on deals. We partner with our clients and we split profits 50-50 for a period of time. That’s why I do this. If I can have a hundred partners and each of those hundred partners are able to do at least one deal a month which is absolutely doable for everyone. One deal a month that’s 1,200 deals a year. Split those profits 50-50 we are talking some serous money. That’s really what this is all about and it’s fun. That’s why I do this. It’s for that sole purpose.
Jack Butala:
That is the exact same thing that we do. We do deals with our members all the time.
Brian Evans:
That’s fantastic.
Jack Butala:
The other thing too is that we have had a tremendous amount of success attracting and this one is kind of an unattended consequence because we provided tools, the data base access and how to use data and mail and the whole thing to get offers, we are attracting people that are already pretty successful in real estate but they just want to enhance how inexpensively they are finding assets. Consequently and rightfully so we find lot of new people find us because of that. You can be in a room full of people that are already doing it pretty well.
Brian Evans:
Right. That’s right. That’s right.
Jack Butala:
Where can we find you on the internet?
Brian Evans:
You can go to thefirstdeal.com or Facebook.com/thefirst deal or firstdealpodcast for my podcasts. Basically we are the only company in the entire world that is dedicated and focused on helping new investors close their first deal. The first deal is the hardest deal any one will ever do. Once you get over the fear of being able to close your first deal which is what holds most people back then you can become successful. I’m a big believer in taking the blinders off. Don’t focus on doing one specific type of deal. That’s okay if you do that but as far as I’m concerned you need to get your phone ringing with motivated sellers and then you can structure the deal based on the needs of that seller.
If you only structure a deal based on one way which is wholesaling or retailing or lease options or short sales or subject whatever then you’re only going to be selling that type of deal that comes into your pipeline. You’ve got to keep your blinders off and get the phone ringing and then focus on closing your fist deal however that may need to be structured for that seller. Does that make sense?
Jill DeWit:
It does. In our business Jack’s really kind of the data person and I’m really more the motivational and walking people through things and stuff like that. That comes up a lot. I have a lot of people I’m sure you see it too. They are not just getting that first deal but they are on step 97 and they haven’t got to step 3 yet. They are already worried about all these possible things. I’m like, “Hold on everybody.”
Brian Evans:
Let’s take a step back. Quit worrying about all that stuff yet. You’re going to make a mess. Don’t worry about it. You can clean it up later. Focus on making money first before you start worrying about setting up all these other stuff that doesn’t matter until you make money.
Jill DeWit:
Bingo. I tell people that all the time. Let’s get the money coming in and then we will think about an LOC or whatever you want to do down the road. We don’t need to do all that. Jack’s really good at saying, “This may not be for you. Let’s not spend a whole lot of money here. Let’s make sure you like it and make sure this is good for you and for your family whatever and then we will work on those things.” I like that. I like you Brian.
Brian Evans:
Thanks. I like you too.
Jill DeWit:
Thank you,[laughs]. You know why you have the followers you have because you are honest and upfront. There is a lot of people out there that aren’t going to tell the truth. In good, bad, or otherwise we are going to tell the truth. I have told people this is not for you please don’t do this. It’s okay.
Brian Evans:
If you have to take food off the table in order to do something like this ,this is not for you.
Jill DeWit:
Exactly.
Brian Evans:
This is not a get rich quick. People ask me , “How long is it going to take to do my first deal.” I say, “I don’t know. That depends on you.” Honestly in reality it took me about six months before I closed my first deal. My situation was unique but everybody is different. If you’re not willing to invest money and to do marketing and invest in time then you’re not going to close your first deal. I require that everybody who works with me or wants to work with me you have to be willing to invest at least $500 in your marketing, minimum. If you’re not willing to invest that type of money in your marketing then it’s just not worth it because it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be grueling and you’re going to grow to hate this business if you do it like everybody else teaches it the hard, sleazy, spammy, way.
Jill DeWit:
You’re right because you’re just wasting your time is the thing. That’s us too. If you’re going to do it let’s do it right and we will help you.
Brian Evans:
That’s exactly right.
Jack Butala:
The single biggest reason I see people failing that’s brand new people is that they are out there lightly testing things. Sending 200 letters out and then they wonder why nothing happened. In my opinion 200 letters if you do everything right and send that 200 letters you could get goosed. It doesn’t happen very often but you’re exactly right. I recommend sending 1500 letters out right out of the shoot. As soon as you’ve learnt and you’ve gone through your education and the whole thing. We have a whole online community called successplan.com it’s free and everybody from super seasoned investors to extremely new people go there and ask questions and solve problems. Once a new person is now comfortable with taking the a to b to c that is the time to go do it.
Brian Evans:
That right.
Jack Butala:
You have to make a commitment.
Brian Evans:
You have to make commitments. The two hardest things that I’ve discovered to teach people how to do is number one how do you find motivated sellers which really isn’t really that hard after all. Like I said in the beginning you’ve got to write a little bit of a cheque. It doesn’t have to be a big cheque and I don’t care what your budget is you need a creative budget. Even if they can only do 200 letters at least they are doing 200 letters because they are wiling to invest.
The second thing when you get the phone to ring and you find these sellers what the heck do you say to them? How do you make these offers. What do you say? How do you structure all this? How do you answer objections. Those are what I find the two hardest things to reach people especially the latter because not everybody has the a ability to communicate well. People are afraid and they are afraid to ask uncomfortable questions. Those are the hardest things to teach and some people have it and most people don’t unfortunately.
Aside from all of that it’s an amazing business. This is an incredible business. People just need t get real. The fact is it is a business. If you believe you have the entrepreneurial mindset you can probably do extremely well. If not then you won’t. If you need that paycheck every month and you can’t stomach the fact that you don’t know when your paycheck come in next then it’s going to be tough. That’s life, no risk no reward.
Jill DeWit:
You probably found this too. There is a lot of things that I can teach and help, like you talk about when the sellers are calling you back. I have a script that I’ve shared with everybody and checklist of things so you don’t sound silly. What questions to ask but you cannot teach motivation and you cannot make amends with the phone. I can give you everything and you can learn a lot but you can’t teach motivation and get them excited.
Brian Evans:
That’s right.
Jack Butala:
About a year ago I did a super successful blog called ‘Five good rental houses will feed a family for generations’. You never know what’s going to stick and what’s not but that rang true to a lot of people. I got a great response and it’s true. You don’t need to make a career out of this thing. Take a year, learn some stuff, and then spend a year buying five or six houses that are the picture perfect deal. Throw everything else away and get some good tenants and then give it your all and it’s over.
Brian Evans:
Absolutely. One of the first things I ask people you’ve mention the houses is yes, what does your retirement look like. Most people say I don’t have one. There is not one or if there is it’s very little. That’s scary. I think people are almost fooled as far as what their magic number needs to be for retirement. It doesn’t matter what that is what matters is if you have income coming in when you do need to retire. It’s all about income and you can create that with property.
The good thing with property you can also appreciate and give you wealth and income and appreciation on your taxes. I don’t think you need to save a million bucks. What you need to do is have a bunch of properties that are paying you so much money. It doesn’t matter what you have I the stock market and frankly that’s another conversation which I don’t agree with.
Jack Butala:
I’m not a big stock market fan. I completely agree with you. If you talk to most people they will say, most of our members will say I need to accumulate x amount by the time I’m y age. I don’t agree with that. I think you need some income producing stuff which you can do in the next couple of years.
Brian Evans:
Exactly. It’s all about income. That’s it.
Jack Butala:
Of all these books which one does the best financially? What message are you sending that is just being received the best?
Brian Evans:
Well, probably “How To Make Money In Your Local Real Estate Market”. That was my first book and it has always rang true and it just tells more about the story. I have another coming out soon. I haven’t exactly figured out the title ye but it’s more of a motivation. Mote of let’s get real with each other. More of a person that’s thinking of retirement type of book and what they need to d in order to take action. It’s that type of book which will come out soon. I would say “How To Make Money In your Local Real Estate Market”, but at the end of the day the first deal is really where it’s at. Go to thefirstdeal, listen on the podcast. We are here. We want to find more partners. People that want somebody to hold their hands and we will split profits 50-50 and keep them accountable and tell them the truth and smack them around every now and then. Have some fun and obviously make money.
Jill DeWit:
I love it. When you’re not all into this stuff, I was going to make something funny, what do you do for fun Brian? How do you unplug and what do you do to relax a little bit and stay motivated for you?
Brian Evans:
That’s a great question. Honestly work to me is relaxing because I feel like I’m not working and I’m trying to relax I’m thinking about work so I get tensed because I’m not working. To answer tour question more seriously I like to ride a Harley, I’ve got a motorcycle. I have a beautiful wife, she’s my first kiss from seventh grade. She’s incredible. We have got two boys and trying to raise them is fun. I have some land, we have a bunch of four wheelers and tractor. We have a small golf course on our property with five greens, like physical greens. I’m always trying to just getting outside and making a mess with things. I live in Kentucky and so we kind have this little bit of red neck gene where I like to do crazy things sometimes.
Jill DeWit:
You have two boys so that’s perfect. I can just imagine,[laughs]. That’s great.
Jack Butala:
Somebody informed me recently that all my hobbies involve gun powder and motor oil.
Brian Evans:
[laughs]. I forgot to mention that but I’m a big fan of that game too.
Jack Butala:
I’ve never looked at it that way but it’s a great way to summarize it.
Brian Evans:
Motor oil I can do without. I;’m not really good at fixing things like that. I’m good at making them break bunt not fixing them.
Jack Butala:
It’s just oil and everything all the time if you’re doing it right.
Brian Evans:
Gun powder that’s fun stuff, absolutely.
[laughter].
Jack Butala:
Brian it was great to speak with you thanks for taking the time.
Brian Evans:
I enjoyed it. You guys have an awesome day. I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you guys.
Jack Butala:
Thanks. One more time tel us where we can find you on the internet we will let you go.
Brian Evans:
Go to thefirstdeal.com, thefirstdeal.com. There is a free CD there you can download. Facebook.com/firstdeal or listen to our podcasts at thefirstdealpodcast.com.
Jill DeWit:
Wonderful. Thank you Brian.Take care.
Brian Evans:
Thank you both.
Jill DeWit:
Bye, bye.
Brian Evans:
Bye.
Jack Butala:
That’s how that’s supposed top go Jill.
Jill DeWit:
Just when I thought okay we are going to have some dry people. You know how sometimes some podcasts when we have guests they are really, really, great and fun and some are kind of like, kind of so, so. I do really like that guy. I don’t remember ever- I hate to say this- but I don’t remember saying that to anybody else on the show but I really like that guy. He’s got lots to say.
Jack Butala:
He’s got some confidence. He’s straightforward.
Jill DeWit:
He’s very straightforward.
Jack Butala:
There is no hocket stuff.
Jill DeWit:
No.
Jack Butala:
He’s got some experience.
Jill DeWit:
He’s really out there … You know what? I do believe him. I think he’s really out there doing a good job and he’s really out there helping people and I appreciate that.
Jack Butala:
I am actually for the first time ever, I’m going to read one of his books out of any guest we have ever had.
Jill DeWit:
I think that’s a great idea. I think I will also. That was really fun. I really liked having him and that was a really good show.
Jack Butala:
Yeah. I think that first deal is extremely important. I think maybe I overlook it a little bit so I’m going to circle back around a little bit and talk about that first deal. Like I said on the show we have so many, with the products that we are rolling out now we are attracting people that have been in the business for a while but they are just now learning how to do it better. How to buy stuff cheaper is really what this is all about. It’s about buying assets cheaper and getting your deal flow to be more efficient. Not going out looking for property but having them come to you.
Jill DeWit:
Right.
Jack Butala:
We have got a person that just joined our group they are from Chicago and they’ve been wholesaling and renovating houses their whole lives. It’s two brothers. They are like, “What? This is how you do this?” They’ve gone quiet on us because I know they are just working. They are getting stuff out there. We will hear from them in about … This always happens this way, in three weeks they are going to pop and say, “That’s the greatest thing. I wish I would have done this 25 years ago.”
Jill DeWit:
We did this now, that now, this now, and this is what is going on. Exactly. That’s really cool.
Jack Butala:
Good guest. Brian is a good guest. We will have him on again.
Jill DeWit:
Absolutely.
Jack Butala:
We skipped along the top there.
Jill DeWit:
We did.
Jack Butala:
We didn’t really get into the meat of it.
Jill DeWit:
We will be better prepared next time. We will really get some stuff out of him.
Jack Butala:
Exactly. Let’s go buy some property.
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