Leading in The Land Investing Space & Tips For Investors On Talking To Sellers (LA 1936)

LA1936WP

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Leading in The Land Investing Space & Tips For Investors On Talking To Sellers (LA 1936)

LA1936WP

Never Miss an Episode!

Subscribe to the Land Academy podcast

Description

 

Welcome to the Land Academy Show, episode 1936! Join Steven Jack Butala and Jill DeWit as they share their journey to becoming leaders in the land flipping space and maintaining that position from 2015 to 2023. They will also talk about talking and bonding with sellers and the importance of the first inbound phone call. Get insights on how to make quick connections and learn about the area you’re interested in, all in just a matter of seconds. Tune in to this episode to learn more about the land investing industry and stay up to date with the latest trends and strategies. Plus, get sneak peek into the Land Academy Discord online community by visiting landinvestors.com

Transcript:

Steven Jack Butala:
I’m Steven Jack Butala.

Jill K DeWit:
And I’m Jill DeWit, and this is the Land Academy Show.

Steven Jack Butala:
This is episode number 1,936. And today we are talking in depth, actually, about how and why we became the leaders in the land space and held that position from 2015 to 2023. That’s topic number one. And then later in the show we’ll talk about bonding with sellers. Jill here is going to talk about bonding with sellers. On the phone from the actual initial first inbound phone call, so incredibly important. And honestly doesn’t get talked about enough.

Jill K DeWit:
You know what’s funny about this, is that people think that this bonding needs to take, I’ve heard anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. You don’t need to do that. You do not, I’m here to tell you. If you have the time, good for you, if you want to talk for an hour. But you don’t need to do that long. I don’t have the time.

Steven Jack Butala:
Jill and I bonded the first time we met in about 13 seconds. And I think that’s average for her.

Jill K DeWit:
That’s great. You know what? You were pretty quick. I won you over pretty fast.

Steven Jack Butala:
Jill can bond with a checkout clerk over any topic-

Jill K DeWit:
Oh yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
… in about 13 seconds.

Jill K DeWit:
Oh, this is so true. We walk out of the store and he’ll go, what took so long? Or not even what took so long? We’re getting in the car and I’m like, did you know A, B, C and D as we’re rolling through a town? And he’s like, “How did you find that out?” I’m like, “I just asked the girl in line. She told me all about where we’re we should go for dinner tonight, what sites we have to see, and where the best place is to get a snowmobile.”

Steven Jack Butala:
I’d much prefer to bond with the bottom of a scotch bottle myself.

Jill K DeWit:
Exactly. That’s good. So we hope you are enjoying our new 2023 weekly show. This is the outline, so each week we answer questions from our Land Academy close member Discord forum, we review land acquisitions from our weekly Thursday member webinar and we take a deep dive into two land related topics by popular request.

Steven Jack Butala:
Let’s take a question posted by one of our members on the Land Academy Discord online community. If you would like a sneak peek into our Discord channel, please go to landinvestors.com. It’s in read only format for the public and it’s free there.

Jill K DeWit:
All right, so Will wrote, thank you, Will, “Loving the new podcast format. I do have a question from the episode that came out yesterday. I posted it on YouTube, but I figured I’d duplicate here in case…” This is in Discord, of course, “…some of you had insight that you could share. So I’m trolling for areas, it’s a trolling for areas question. This is a bit geeky and maybe it doesn’t matter.”

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s why we’re all geeks here.

Jill K DeWit:
Yeah, we are geeks. “As I’m sitting down on my computer opening up Zillow, how zoomed in should I be? Do I want to be looking at about a 20 to 30-minute drive from west to east or south to north on the screen? Do I want to be a 50-mile diameter from the center of the screen?” I get this question, so do I understand? “And then, what count level is interesting? So if I’m at a 20 to 30-minute drive…” So he’s dropped a pin here and he’s trying to troll for new areas. So he is like, okay, how far out do I expand this bubble to see it as a good candidate to possibly mail to and to take that further and do the red, yellow, green test is what he’s asking.
So, all right, “What count level am I looking at? So let’s just say example, I’m at a 20 to 30-minute drive from east to west and I have 18 properties listed for sale and then 30 shows sold in the last 12 months. Is that enough? Or do I need to be going further out or just finding area more busy that shows 50 listed for sale and then 150 sold?” I have an answer. Do you have an answer yet?

Steven Jack Butala:
You have an answer about trolling?

Jill K DeWit:
I do. I do this. Oh my gosh, you’re so funny.

Steven Jack Butala:
Well, good. I’m going to talk about bonding with the seller next.

Jill K DeWit:
You should. I’d love to do that. So honestly, I like both of these.

Steven Jack Butala:
I have the correct answer after Jill’s done.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, here’s why I have an opinion, because when I do my due diligence, I go looking at this. When a property comes in and I’m making sure that either, A, I’m going to buy it or, B, I’m going to fund it, I’m going to go to Zillow. I’m going to see what’s for sale right now, how many sold in the last 12 months?

Steven Jack Butala:
So you do drop a pin.

Jill K DeWit:
Of course, I do. Well, especially, I’m looking at that property because it’s that property right now I’m looking at that exact zip code to see are things even moving in that area now? Do I want to buy it? And maybe it may not even be a current mailer, let’s think about this too. This is a good question because we all need to be thinking about this. What if it’s a mailer that you sent out two years ago. And it’s because it’s 2023 the person’s hitting you up from a mailer you did two years ago. This is stuff you’re going to look at right now and you’re going to make these decisions like, wow, two years ago, I don’t even think it was this good, but, man, look what’s sold now. Or, ooh, two years ago was a better time, and now what’s happening, 2023 is not a good thing based on this.

Steven Jack Butala:
Silver lining Jill today, everybody.

Jill K DeWit:
What? Just today? What do you mean, today?

Steven Jack Butala:
I never looked at trolling the way that you are from a due diligence standpoint. You troll based on a target property that comes in, a target acquisition, and see if it checks out.

Jill K DeWit:
Or maybe I’m talking to someone and we’re talking about areas and I’m giving them some pointers about trolling.

Steven Jack Butala:
So first he asks, how far out should you be?

Jill K DeWit:
I’ve learned a lot from you.

Steven Jack Butala:
Oh my gosh, that’s sad for you.

Jill K DeWit:
Thanks. On two or three topics.

Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah, exactly. First he’s asking, how far out should you be? There’s a lot of ways to troll, and that’s what everybody said in Discord, many people answered, many, many people weighed in on this. And one thing all of us said was, there’s a lot of ways to do this. When I troll, I set my price parameters like I talked about last week, and then I get to the, let’s call it the altitude in Zillow where-

Jill K DeWit:
Oh, nice. Sorry.

Steven Jack Butala:
… where I can see all the property. And usually, if you go too far out, the number of properties that load into your view, it’s real hard to do on the phone. I do it on the phone all the time, but it’s way more effective on a computer with a bigger screen. And so, when you’ve got a lot of real estate and you’re up at the right altitude just far down enough where you can see all the property. And what’s nice about Zillow is you can see the prices. So there’s a price attached to each little pin. And so, to answer your first question, that’s as far out as you should go. As far as mileage, this is trolling for a place to send mail. This is not due diligence trolling like Jill does. When you’re trolling for a place to send mail, it’s going to hold you back if you’re doing it from an ideological place like a pin.
Like, let’s say South Chicago or an hour out of Chicago I drop a pin and I start to troll. Super, super, super bad idea. What you’re doing is presupposing. You’re not now using data to make a decision. You’re using some preconceived, my grandmother used to live in central Illinois, and I think… That’s not the way to do this. The way you want to do it is keep an open mind, set your parameters, again, like I talked last week, and go all over the country and figure out where the numbers come out the best so that you can run a very accurate red, yellow, green test. So if it ends up being 30 or 80 miles out of a city center and maybe that’s your thing, then maybe you only troll areas like that because, for whatever reason, that’s your acquisition criteria. That’s fine. But don’t drop a pin, is my point. I think I answered it, do you?

Jill K DeWit:
There you go.

Steven Jack Butala:
Jill asked me last week about… Because, obviously, we did a whole topic about trolling. It’s super important. It’s imperative that you troll to find a place to send mails that supports what you’re trying to do from a money standpoint.

Jill K DeWit:
Do you know what’s cool though about this?

Steven Jack Butala:
Take your time on this. Spend a week. That’s how important it is.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, then you find the areas, you come back, you look at different things which you sleep on a little bit. One of the things, too, that I find that this is what we do, in my exercise, maybe it was an old mailer or something that a property’s come back and I go, oh, look what’s going on in this area? And then I start digging a little deeper. And then I send it over to you and say, “Hey, can we please roll this area into our next mailer please,” because I just found this and this. You’re like, “Sure, you made the cutoff, Jill. We’ll get that in there.” Like, “Thank you.” I’ve had some little funky little nuggets that I found and we’ve done okay. Like that Northern California one, that worked out great.

Steven Jack Butala:
It’s really important to keep an open mind when you’re doing this. It’s important to do stupid stuff. If you like an area like I just mentioned, Grandma’s Central… Then send some mail there. It has to, at least, somehow, a little bit, support what you’re trying to do. I love the Pacific Ocean Coast. We don’t send any mail there, because the numbers just never support what we’re trying to do.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, we have though.

Steven Jack Butala:
And we have not bought any. We’ve funded deals there for sure.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, we bought some Northern California ones. We’ve had some.

Steven Jack Butala:
In Oregon, in that. But as bread and butter types of property, that doesn’t work for us.

Jill K DeWit:
Okay. I’m going to agree to disagree.

Steven Jack Butala:
Well, you know what the truth is, I don’t know what we have right now because Jill does.

Jill K DeWit:
It’s okay. Thank you very much for saying that. That’s what needs to happen. Do you know what’s funny? I just picked up on something. We should maybe dive deeper into this on another show, which is we used to always say data’s cheap, mail’s where you spend the money and that’s where you be more strategic about what you’re doing. I’m finding you and me, screw the mail cost even.

Steven Jack Butala:
Oh, I don’t. That’s-

Jill K DeWit:
Right? The more you get into this…

Steven Jack Butala:
… long past. I say that for the better benefit of new people, I’m long past how much mailers cost.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, I want people to know this. I want people to know that you’re worrying about the mail prices in the beginning, but when you get going and you start realizing I’m starting to yield $100,000 every month, you’re going to not even care what mail costs and that’s the right attitude.

Steven Jack Butala:
At the end of every career path, Jill and I teach a mastermind course, let’s call it, called Land Academy Career Path. And at the end I ask everybody, okay, so we’ve been through 10 modules and we spent 10 weeks together. What’s everybody going to go do now that you’ve learned in incredible amount of detail? What are you going to go do? Send more mail, have an amazing transaction coordinator and answer the phone correctly. It comes down to those three things. But in the end, when I look at people who make millions and millions of dollars a year doing this in Career Path, they all don’t care about the mail. They don’t even think about it.

Jill K DeWit:
Don’t even think about it.

Steven Jack Butala:
They try to hit 10 to 20,000 units a month. They force themselves.

Jill K DeWit:
And they don’t care about the yield percentage, by the way, that’s the last thing they care about. All they care about is, wow, when I send 15,000 or 20,000 units a month-

Steven Jack Butala:
I buy four properties.

Jill K DeWit:
… I consistently make $200,000 a month. That’s all I care about.

Steven Jack Butala:
And I’m not knocking anybody, but maximizing mailer yield, meaning the lowest number of mailers that you can send out to get a good acquisition is a newbie, fictional. I’m not knocking anybody. And the people who generally ask those questions about how to maximize mail efficiency are on their way to having a great career. They’re on their way to not carrying about the mail.

Jill K DeWit:
Exactly. Don’t get hung up on that.

Steven Jack Butala:
So my point with this question is, please do not put yourself in a box when it comes to trolling-

Jill K DeWit:
That’s good.

Steven Jack Butala:
… and where you’re going to send mail. We see this over and over again on a Thursday call, that for whatever reason, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida are the vast majority of the deals that we look at on behalf of members.

Jill K DeWit:
I think it’s going to change.

Steven Jack Butala:
I do too. And I’m not being negative about it. I’m just saying that might not be the best place to send mail.

Jill K DeWit:
Right. Thank you.

Steven Jack Butala:
The first topic is how and why we became the leaders in the land space and held our position from 2015 to now this year, 2023. This topic is-

Jill K DeWit:
Can you believe it’s been eight years?

Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah, I can believe it.

Jill K DeWit:
That’s my fault for asking that question.

Steven Jack Butala:
We’re going to toot our own…

Jill K DeWit:
That’s what I get.

Steven Jack Butala:
This topic sets us up and sets me up specifically to toot our own horn and puts me in a space of not comfort.

Jill K DeWit:
Not comfort?

Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah, I don’t like sitting around saying, I’m great or we’re the best at this. And that’s about to happen here. And I’m going to try to keep the humility and the humbleness about it, about ourselves here. But the fact is-

Jill K DeWit:
That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Steven.

Steven Jack Butala:
What?

Jill K DeWit:
Humility.

Steven Jack Butala:
Self humility?

Jill K DeWit:
And humble. Yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
Do you think I’m running around saying I’m great?

Jill K DeWit:
No, but you know-

Steven Jack Butala:
What?

Jill K DeWit:
It’s so good. No, just teasing.

Steven Jack Butala:
Jill misconstrues my disgust with people and the general things that happen in the world with separatist/elitist.

Jill K DeWit:
There we go.

Steven Jack Butala:
Elitism. And that’s just not true.

Jill K DeWit:
Okay.

Steven Jack Butala:
Stuff’s got to make sense in the world and that’s it.

Jill K DeWit:
I understand.

Steven Jack Butala:
I don’t care where you’re coming from, if it doesn’t make sense-

Jill K DeWit:
Okay, let’s back up here.

Steven Jack Butala:
… nothing good’s going to happen.

Jill K DeWit:
This, I love this. A lot of people don’t know that we’ve been around this long and we’ve been doing land since, gosh, from the ’90s. So one of the things that we set out to do in 2014 when we sat down and planned out Land Academy and thinking how we were going to do this and what we want to include and how we want to do it, our goal was sharing our whole business model, and I mean our whole business model down to do I even need to get business cards kind of thing. It’s day one, I decided I’m going to do this. What do I need to do to prepare for it? Really committing. We decided at that same time too, how big we want this to be, what we wanted to accomplish here, and getting to that point.
And what we decided was, our first focus is being land investors. That’s first and foremost who we are. And then, Land Academy is a way for us to A, give back, and B, create a nice, awesome, healthy, brilliant community of people to do deals with. And then how do we do that? Buy. And this is why we’re here listening to you, helping you and providing the tools and the support that you need. That’s my point here. So I want to talk about that. And I also want to share what’s coming for 2023, because I want you to know that we are continuing to listen and we’re still listening. And we have some great things coming in 2023. So when you tell me ready, I’ll start spouting them off.

Steven Jack Butala:
When we started this in 2015, it took a pretty solid year, let’s just say six months, pretty solid six months of discussions between Jill and I, about whether or not we want to let the cat out of the bag on how to do this.

Jill K DeWit:
Oh, true.

Steven Jack Butala:
And one of the real serious factors that pushed us over the edge to actually record the first program and create the first community, landinvestors.com and all of that, what pushed me over the edge was that at the time, I’m going to name names-

Jill K DeWit:
Oh, this is great.

Steven Jack Butala:
… all throughout the section.

Jill K DeWit:
I like this.

Steven Jack Butala:
There are exactly two other places that you could learn about how to buy and sell land at that time. One is Jack Bosch’s program. He was the first person to do this. Jack Bosch’s program called Pennies on the Dollar or something like that.

Jill K DeWit:
I think that was right, yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
And I have nothing but respect for Jack and his wife, I think Michelle’s her name. He’s from Germany and I think she’s from…

Jill K DeWit:
South America. Brazil or something.

Steven Jack Butala:
Brazil or… I hate to say it wrong.

Jill K DeWit:
I know, I don’t want to say it wrong.

Steven Jack Butala:
She’s from South America.

Jill K DeWit:
We’ll go with that.

Steven Jack Butala:
So they came to this country and really built an amazing life for themselves in a very short amount of time, largely buying and selling land. And so while they do it very differently than we do, they didn’t, at that time, utilize direct mail. I have a lot of respect for that. And so-

Jill K DeWit:
Just figured it out.

Steven Jack Butala:
… whether or not they’re great teachers, you can go look at their stuff and find out. But it was a deciding factor at looking at what they were saying about buying back tax property. His whole program back then was about back tax property. And there was a ton of it back then. There’s not so much of it anymore, largely because he teaches you how to buy it. And then there’s Mark Bielski’s program that was loosely based on Jack’s program, Jack Bosch’s.
Mark and I go back way before all of this personally, he and I worked together in an investment bank. Then, during the last downturn for a brief amount of time, Jill and I and Mark worked together in the same office and mutually learned that the way we do things and how he does it and how we do it is very different. And so, then we proceeded for several more years. Jill and I buy and sell land through direct mail very, very successfully. And ultimately learn that the world needs to know about direct mail, not just go to auctions, buy back tax property, buy liens, foreclose on them. Those are all good business models, but you’re not going to get the scalability and the fantastic freaking real estate deals that we generate, to this day, by sending out direct mail, which is exactly what we teach. My second point is that in 2015, how we did business was based on the availability of data at the time.

Jill K DeWit:
True.

Steven Jack Butala:
And boy, think about what your phone looked like in 2015 and what it looks like now and what it can actually do and the amount of applications that are available, just the technology. I’d like to think, and I’ve assigned this to myself in life, staying on the edge of technology as it applies to buying and selling land. And we’ve got a tech staff right now that’s just, literally, they’re using AI to edit these videos. And that’s here to stay. That’s what’s going to happen in 20… I think, in general, artificial intelligence will ramp up in 2023, and you can be sure-

Jill K DeWit:
Oh, it’s huge.

Steven Jack Butala:
… that we will be explaining how to use it as it unfolds. So that brings you up to 2015. I’m not sure that Mark and Jack are keeping up with technology and utilizing direct mail the way that they should. I do know this, and this brings us now beyond 2015, because what Jill and I have done is inadvertently taught people how to teach land courses.

Jill K DeWit:
Yeah. Oops.

Steven Jack Butala:
And what they’re really good at is being better showman than Jill and I are on a camera like this, and they’re very good at tick top type marketing. And the two that I’ve mentioned so far are better marketers than we are, but they attract a completely different type of customer. If you’re listening to this, you’re probably the customer that we want to attract who’s a little bit brainy. Maybe your career in the past was an engineer or a pilot or something technical, or maybe you’re in real estate and you’ve bought a lot of real estate and you just want to learn how to do the direct mail component of it. And those seem to be the people that we attract, and very happy with that. Because at some point, you’re probably going to bring deals to us to fund or as a partner or for whatever reason.

Jill K DeWit:
Yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
And so again, what’s happened since we’ve done this is I think that, I was thinking about this a couple days ago, Jill and I make this look easy. It’s not easy.

Jill K DeWit:
There’s a lot of moving parts.

Steven Jack Butala:
There’s a lot involved. And so, a lot of people go out there and teach it. Maybe they went to college for online marketing, social media type marketing. So it’s unfortunate, but they’ve got six deals under their belt. They know how to build a website. They know how to-

Jill K DeWit:
This is all true.

Steven Jack Butala:
… attract, usually, young people who want to implement things in their life called sidekicks. What is it called?

Jill K DeWit:
I don’t know.

Steven Jack Butala:
Side hustle.

Jill K DeWit:
Side hustle.

Steven Jack Butala:
Side hustles. I’ve never said side hustle on this show ever, and never will again.

Jill K DeWit:
That was the first and the last.

Steven Jack Butala:
You’re like, “What’s that thing?”

Jill K DeWit:
This is not a side hustle.

Steven Jack Butala:
No. Yeah.

Jill K DeWit:
This is not passive of income.

Steven Jack Butala:
No. This is our career.

Jill K DeWit:
This is a way to make a couple million dollars a month.

Steven Jack Butala:
I don’t want it to be a side hustle. I want it to be full time.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, you know what’s funny about that? What happens too, and this may be you listening, that some people come to us because you found those other people, they got your feet wet and you got to taste for it. Now you’re like, oh, this is now going to be a career. And then you come to us. And I think that’s actually worked out nice over the years how I’m very happy to say, “Hey, I don’t think all education is good. The more education, the more you… Whatever got you interested in it, I think that’s awesome and great. And you’re probably here with us now because you see, all right, I can really automate a lot of things with you guys. I can figure out what I need to work on. I can take this to the moon like you guys. Now I’m ready to do that. I’m not here chasing people for $99 a month anymore.

Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah.

Jill K DeWit:
I’m ready to make this a thing, an empire.

Steven Jack Butala:
In the last, probably, 12 to 24 months there’s been a ton of people that have copied our stuff.

Jill K DeWit:
It’s like, what?

Steven Jack Butala:
And most people have failed. Two groups specifically. One in Ohio and one in Texas have literally copied everything that we’ve done and said. And they’re-

Jill K DeWit:
Almost chapter by chapter.

Steven Jack Butala:
… attracting and they’re selling programs. They’ve done less than 10 deals. And I don’t really care, I truly don’t. At the point now where we’re taking legal action in certain cases. But I don’t really care because I don’t care that it affects Jill and I. It doesn’t affect Jill and I at all. It doesn’t take a dollar out of our her pocket. What upsets me is they’re not teaching it right.

Jill K DeWit:
Yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
They’re just regurgitating stuff. They have no real deal experience. They’re just a smiling face on a camera and it’s too bad.

Jill K DeWit:
And that’s the stuff you need to know.

Steven Jack Butala:
I think I feel bad for the people that are involved in their group because I just don’t think they have the credibility.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, they probably don’t even know. So that’s what we’re solving.

Steven Jack Butala:
So back to the positive, not the negative. We are here to create potential members, potential partners for ourselves, and create an environment, which we have created, for people who want to make a lot of money and enjoy buying and selling land or whatever else together with other partners.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, not only that, and have the lifestyle. There’s two parts of what we do. One is getting rich. Another one is being able to have the time that you want to totally goof off. I had a wonderful conversation with a girl the other day and she’s like, “All right, I wanted to be with you guys when I figured out how you’re going around an RV and having that life.” And she made the cutest comment like, I see it, I get it. And if I work an hour a day, I feel like I did something. I’m like, “Right? Me too. That’s awesome.” And you can get to that point where you’re really only working an hour a day, looking at deals and approving them, and then going off and having fun. For us, it’s getting in the RV, for her it was spending time with a grandson.

Steven Jack Butala:
Well, that’s good.

Jill K DeWit:
Totally. That’s just like, this is the life I want. And she’s a broker, and she’s done all kinds of other things. She’s like, “That’s where I need to be.” I’m like, “Well, shoot, we’ll get you there. That’s easy.” So that’s the thing. I want to add, I want to use this time to announce some of the things that are coming for 2023, because this is huge.
What we talked about in the beginning is, we listened to you, and we want to give you what you need. Our hearts are in this to really help you. One of the things that was very successful in the past, and I’m bringing back this year, is Land Academy Ladies. It’s going to start in February. I’m telling right now, I’m 90% sure this is going to be the date. So those of you in Land Academy can be thinking about this. It’s probably going to be the first Tuesday of every month. I don’t know what time yet, so bear with me. But look at the first Tuesday of every month. For those of you who are in the advanced group say, well, we’re the first Tuesday of every month. You’re right. So they will both happen on that same day.

Steven Jack Butala:
So what is Land Academy ladies, Jill?

Jill K DeWit:
It is an accountability group. It’s for ladies only. You need to be a member of Land Academy yourself. I have a lot of women that are, or you’re in a partnership situation, maybe even a couple girls working together, whatever it is, you’re “loosely” a member of Land Academy yourself.

Steven Jack Butala:
Just have your man stand four feet behind you and out of the screenshot.

Jill K DeWit:
Oh, he can’t be in the screenshot, no.

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s what I do.

Jill K DeWit:
Yeah, exactly. You can come and go behind the camera all you want-

Steven Jack Butala:
Until I can’t take it anymore, I do.

Jill K DeWit:
… and sit and listen, write things down, and hold up notes.

Steven Jack Butala:
He did that for the first couple-

Jill K DeWit:
That happens.

Steven Jack Butala:
… of sessions and then Jill’s like, you should just not be in this.

Jill K DeWit:
It’s for ladies. We’re going to talk about deals. It’s going to be a place that I can talk with girls too, and really help them. Maybe it’s a confidence thing. I don’t know. Maybe they need money and they want to work with me. There’s a difference working with another woman. We look at things differently, so we’re going to talk about that.

Steven Jack Butala:
Maybe it’s a sewing circle for land.

Jill K DeWit:
It’s not that. So it will be-

Steven Jack Butala:
I’m completely joking and trying to get a [inaudible 00:27:49] out of you.

Jill K DeWit:
That’s totally fine. You know what this is, by the way? Land Academy Ladies is the first, and the only, woman focused land investment community-

Steven Jack Butala:
Excellent.

Jill K DeWit:
… period. How’s that? Do you need me to explain to that anymore?

Steven Jack Butala:
Nope.

Jill K DeWit:
Thank you.

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s not a sewing circle.

Jill K DeWit:
It’s not a sewing circle.

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s Badass Land Investing, howtogetrich.com when Jill’s a ringleader. That’s what Land Academy Ladies is.

Jill K DeWit:
Number two, this is huge. You ask, we listen for bringing back accountability groups. Those are most likely going to be looking in the evenings.

Steven Jack Butala:
Can men go to this?

Jill K DeWit:
Yes. Men can go to this.

Steven Jack Butala:
Oh, thank you.

Jill K DeWit:
This is everybody. This is going to be held by you. It’s going to be in the evenings starting in February, and it’s going to be four-week groups. It will be led primarily by Jack, and you’re going to have some other guest hosts and things that will join you and/or do different weeks depending how you have this planned.

Steven Jack Butala:
If you are a woman or a female in any way, you’re welcome in my group.

Jill K DeWit:
There you go.

Steven Jack Butala:
Jill’s group is closed.

Jill K DeWit:
Yep.

Steven Jack Butala:
My group is open.

Jill K DeWit:
There you go. No problem. I’m building up here because we have some good stuff. I know there’s a lot of people like, please say live event. I’ll get to that. So number three is Career Path, Career Path number six. We are tentatively planning this to be an eight-week program. Our next dates are, be Wednesdays again, going April 12th through May 31st. So have that in your head. Be thinking about that. More information will be coming out again. Career Path is our highest level personalized coaching taught by Jack and I.

Steven Jack Butala:
Personally taught.

Jill K DeWit:
Personally taught by Jack and I.

Steven Jack Butala:
We didn’t hire actors.

Jill K DeWit:
And it’s a lot.

Steven Jack Butala:
It’s all of it.

Jill K DeWit:
It’s everything. You do not have to be a member going into it. We have had very successful people, already in real estate in some way, come to us and dive into Career Path and kill it, like Carl and Samantha Lapis. So they’re a perfect example. So you don’t have to be a member already going into it. This is not Land 101. You do need to have some experience, preferably as a business owner and preferably having some real estate experience going to it because that’s who this is set up for.

Steven Jack Butala:
So let me stop you for a second.

Jill K DeWit:
Sure.

Steven Jack Butala:
Why are we doing this.

Jill K DeWit:
Because everybody wants to do this because they want to grow their businesses.

Steven Jack Butala:
It’s rhetorical. One second.

Jill K DeWit:
Oh, I’m sorry.

Steven Jack Butala:
Why are we committing all this time, Jill and I personally, to provide stuff that is essentially not going to generate any real money for us. We’re doing it because of what I talked about earlier, because we made a commitment to instruct people how to buy and sell land or lead, let’s say, the right way. And people are asking us for accountability group. People are asking Jill to bring back the Land Academy Ladies. They like it. And Career Path, geez, what a smash hit. People are asking for it. In our group, they’re asking for more leadership and more of our time, and we’re doing that.

Jill K DeWit:
Yeah, I’m so glad. Announcement number four. So we have the Ladies’ Accountability Groups Career Path number six. And by the way, because it’s happening now, for anyone who was in Career Path one through five, you want to come back to number six? The answer is yes. I’ll hook you up with something special if you want to come back, because that’s how it goes. It’s that good.

Steven Jack Butala:
We have multiple people return to career path from former career paths. That makes me personally feel great.

Jill K DeWit:
Totally. And by the way, too, I’m going to tell you right now, at the most, I’m doing two career paths this year. That’s it. So if you’re thinking about Career Path and you’re like, oh, I’ll wait for the next one. The next one will be in the fall sometime, and that’s it. There’s a springtime one and a fall one, and that’ll be it this year. Now, number four is super excited about Land Academy Pro. Do you want to explain what we’re talking about here?

Steven Jack Butala:
In the last three career paths… No, it doesn’t matter. In many of the career paths, not all of them, we thought it was a good idea for Jill and I to introduce our staff members, our key staff members on the land side, not on the Land Academy side, about how Jill’s staff closes deals and finds great real estate agents to post a property once we purchased it and liquidate it, turn it back into cash. We have some key players there. And how Mail gets out effectively, essentially the people that run Concierge Data Plus for our mailers. We introduced our staff to the people in Career Path, and both of them, on separate occasions, did pretty extensive in-depth presentations on how it works, why it works, what it’s like to work with Jill, what it’s like to work with me, you name it. And immediately half the people in Career Path tried to hire those people, which I had to say, honestly, I probably would’ve done the same thing.

Jill K DeWit:
Totally.

Steven Jack Butala:
So of course that got right back to us immediately. And what we decided in the end is to make those people available to real serious people who are buying and selling land via a product called Land Academy Pro. And so, yes, we are providing access through our staff for you so that you don’t have to do your own mailer anymore, you can outsource it. And you don’t have to do your own transactions anymore, you can outsource it for less than half of what it would cost for you to actually go hire these people and do it all yourselves.

Jill K DeWit:
Here’s an outline of what Land Academy Pro is going to be. It’s going to come with a CRM. You’re going to have an Airtable set-up ready to go for you.

Steven Jack Butala:
Same one we use.

Jill K DeWit:
You’re going to have a CRM, you’re going to have a transaction coordinator, you’re going to have your own concierge, you’re going to have prepaid mail ready to go. And you’re going to have someone calling you and making sure that you get the mail out as you want it to happen, pushing you forward.

Steven Jack Butala:
Exactly.

Jill K DeWit:
And my staff, by the way, this is what’s great about Land Academy Pro-

Steven Jack Butala:
Same thing we have, by the way.

Jill K DeWit:
… so think about this, here’s what you’re going to only have to do. You’re only going to be trolling, finding the places, setting the pricing that you want. You’re not doing any of the downloading, any of the scrubbing, any of that stuff. You’re approving that stuff and it goes out. And then we’ll even help you, if you want, set up the inbound calls. If you want to take the calls, fine. If you want my team to help you set up that so you don’t have to take the calls, fine. They’ll help set you up, no big deal. And then all you’re doing is approving deals and walking away because then my staff, like I do, they’ll find the title company, they’ll open escrow, they’ll babysit it all the way through. And then, if you want, they will go and get you a nice broker in that area and get it listed and sold for you.

Steven Jack Butala:
How great is that?

Jill K DeWit:
This is all a draft. This is not completely done yet, and I’m not exactly sure how it’s going to pan out. I will tell you this, I will personally interview people that…

Steven Jack Butala:
Oh, that’s true.

Jill K DeWit:
This is not just go and sign up.

Steven Jack Butala:
This is not at all… Yeah.

Jill K DeWit:
I don’t want a high maintenance personality. We don’t need a high maintenance personality at Land Academy Pro. We have enough of them in Atlantic Academy itself, and it wears on our staff, number one. Number two, we’re not going to make this an a la carte. “Well, I already prepaid for some mail, and I’m going to do that over here. But all I really need is a transaction coordinator and I want to go get my own…” That’s not how this is.
Here’s the CRM I use, and this is how it’s going to work.

Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah. It’s too hard on our staff to acclimate. You have to acclimate to this product. It’s not going to acclimate-

Jill K DeWit:
And last time I checked, our stuff works.

Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah, exactly.

Jill K DeWit:
So we’re rolling you into the fold, and it’s going to be, I don’t know, five or 10 people to start.

Steven Jack Butala:
I’m being really honest here. This is truth time. Jill’s making it sound like we’re going to do the deal for you. We’re not.

Jill K DeWit:
No.

Steven Jack Butala:
We’re not going to choose where to send mail. We’re not going to price your mailer.

Jill K DeWit:
You’re doing that.

Steven Jack Butala:
You’re going to do all of that.

Jill K DeWit:
And you’re going to approve the deals. You’re going to pick them.

Steven Jack Butala:
And you are going to return the phone calls for the sellers that come in.

Jill K DeWit:
True.

Steven Jack Butala:
What we’re doing is taking the mechanics out of this, the stuff that is very mechanical, and quite honestly, we’re better at than you are. We’re better at getting a mailer out really effectively and probably better at getting a deal done on the backend from a-

Jill K DeWit:
Through escrow and all that.

Steven Jack Butala:
Escrow, exactly.

Jill K DeWit:
Solving those issues.

Steven Jack Butala:
What we’re not as good at as you are is create places to send mail. We’re not as good at, probably-

Jill K DeWit:
We are, but we weren’t going to pick it for you.

Steven Jack Butala:
We’re not the best person to tell you where to send mail, you are.

Jill K DeWit:
True.

Steven Jack Butala:
We’re not the best person to price that mailer, you are. Or otherwise we would do it.

Jill K DeWit:
That’s true.

Steven Jack Butala:
And so, it’s an amazing product for the right select few people, and we’re only probably going to pick 10 people, I think.

Jill K DeWit:
That’s what I thought. Can I get to my last event?

Steven Jack Butala:
Am I holding you back here?

Jill K DeWit:
Little bit. It’s all good. There’ll be more on this coming, so stay tuned. This is just letting you know what 2023 is all about. Last thing is live event, live event, live event, live event. You have been asking, and I know we’ve been listening. We took a COVID break like the planet, so we’re going to do it. So mark your calendars for October 2023 here in the Scottsdale, Arizona area. So I don’t have the exact dates. We’re going to have them in the next couple weeks, but that is what we’re going to do. We are committed to that. There’s going to be a couple different sessions. There’s going to be a day of only the Pro people and maybe the Career Path people. We will have special days for just those groups to have intimate time with us and intimate time with our peers.

Steven Jack Butala:
Intimate time with Jill.

Jill K DeWit:
Intimate time with Jill.

Steven Jack Butala:
It’s in my calendar, actually.

Jill K DeWit:
Thank you. It’s not Saturday night with your little stars that you’ve got. That’s funny.

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s a whole topic for next Wednesday’s, intimate time with Jill.

Jill K DeWit:
There you go. If you want to put stars on in October, but your wife might have something to say about that. I’m just saying, “What the heck is this, babe? So going to Scottsdale for what?”

Steven Jack Butala:
What live event are we going to? Well, I’m going to an event called Intimate Time With Jill.

Jill K DeWit:
Exactly.

Steven Jack Butala:
It might be a felony.

Jill K DeWit:
Thanks. No, that’s not that. And then, we’re going to change it up this time. For those of you who’ve been with us for a while, we did several back in California pre-COVID. And it was only members. We had a smaller room. We were really limited in what we can do. So it was a only Land Academy member live event. So we’re going to open up to the public. But we don’t worry, we’ll have member pricing and special things for you members. It’s going to be, because we know you, we appreciate you. So that’s coming.

Steven Jack Butala:
There’s more?

Jill K DeWit:
No, that’s it.

Steven Jack Butala:
Oh, okay.

Jill K DeWit:
I’m looking at my other things here. So, no, that is it. I’m so excited.

Steven Jack Butala:
Let’s take a look at one of our favorite land acquisitions from our weekly Thursday member call.

Jill K DeWit:
Did you know that we have a full-blown commercial printing company called Offers 2 Owners. It’s offers, and the number 2, owners.com. We talk about direct mail, and it’s so important to be able to have a place that knows you, gets you, understands you, oh, and by the way, is price better than anywhere that you can get this. So check out offers2owners.com. Also, there’s a free e-book that explains the service, what’s going on. So check that out. And that’s also where you find Concierge. You hear us talking about Concierge Data, Concierge Data Plus, these different products where we will go in and get the data for you, download the data, scrub the data, and get it ready for you to price. All of that can also be found there. Check it out.

Steven Jack Butala:
Hey, you’re probably or might be watching this on YouTube. If you like this, the content, please say you like it, or put a comment in there. Really helps us. Or don’t like it. If you don’t like it, the little thumbs down, it helps us to create better content in the future.

Jill K DeWit:
If you do a thumbs down, would you please tell us why, so we know, by the way, don’t just go, eh.

Steven Jack Butala:
Let’s take another question posted by one of our members on the Land Academy Discord online community. Again, if you want a little sneak peek for free at what goes on in Discord, the minute by minute community that you can take a peek at, go to landinvestors.com. It’s free, and you can check it out in a read only format.

Jill K DeWit:
Cool. Chris wrote, “So I’m still working on my first mailer, and I found a really good area where it’s around 150 sold and 50 listed for sale. So the problem I’m facing is that in the area, price per acre is anywhere between $20,000 and $200,000. And I’ve taken the outliers off the top and the bottom, and it’s still a gradual price change over the properties. If I use the average, I’m going overprice a lot of the cheaper properties. So I went through the module on several pricing on pricing several times.” Thank you very much, Chris. “And I don’t see a solution. Any help would be appreciated.” As a side note, I do think, because he’s watched it several times, this is very cute. I do think Jack has a black belt in Excel-jitsu.

Steven Jack Butala:
Oh, jeez.

Jill K DeWit:
Which is true, I love that. So I do have a note here that Kevin wrote, one of our moderators on the site. And he wrote, and then I’ll let you jump in, “The data’s telling you zip to zip code price…”

Steven Jack Butala:
I’m going to stop you right there.

Jill K DeWit:
Okay.

Steven Jack Butala:
The data is telling you fill in the blank. I modeled Land Academy and how we buy and sell land after that sentence. And so, I love this question. I personally picked it, actually. Chris says, “This thing is happening. There’s a huge spread. I did the trolling, I did the red green yellow test. I downloaded the data, I did everything I’m supposed to do. There’s too much of a variance in the same like-kind property in the zip code. It’s from $20,000 to $200,000. What do I do? I don’t want to overprice my mailer.” and Kevin is saying, the data is telling you something. There’s too much of a spread. This is exactly how this should go. Go ahead, Jill. The data’s telling you…

Jill K DeWit:
Oh. The data’s telling you zip code price or the neighborhood price. You are correct. You cannot just take the average when there’s so much span from low to high price break or…

Steven Jack Butala:
More urban areas that you get into, the more this is going to happen. You’re going to have a massive variance in what you think are like-kind property, but the data is telling you it’s not like-kind property. So this is a master’s degree level pricing. This is what I do in the situations, and it happens a lot. I take the regular mailer that I’m working on and I sort by APN. And so, now I have a bunch of property. What you’re going to find is that the values in certain APNs, you’re going to see most of them bunched up in the closer to the $20,000 range, and I’m a bunch of them at the end bunched up at a $200,000 range. And now you’re doing exactly what Kevin said. Now you’re down past the zip code pricing, down to neighborhood pricing or APN pricing.
That’s option one. You have exactly two options when this happens. Option one is, if you’ve got a lot of confidence and a bunch of mailers on your belt, do what I just said, please. If not, and I do this often too, I say, screw it, everyone’s getting a 10% offer. Does one way yield a better response than the other? I don’t know. We do it either way and we buy a bunch of property. I hope that answers it. There’s a lot people who get into the land business brand new that think for whatever reason, and I’m not saying that this person is liked this at all, this is a great question, that it’s like trading stock where there’s just one way to do it.
And that’s what keeps tons and tons of people out of this business who shouldn’t be in it, probably, anyway. And it allows a select view, or let’s say the top 20% to make hoards of money because they figure out issues like this along the way. This is a fantastic question. These are the kinds of questions we talk about in Career Path for hours until we get it resolved. In fact, I’ll look at somebody’s mailer live and do what I just did and we’ll fix it together.

Jill K DeWit:
Thank you very much. Glad you shared that.

Steven Jack Butala:
Today’s second topic is Jill’s going to talk about bonding with sellers on the phone from the first inbound call. And I’m going to fill in my opinion here so that she can buy the property at the price she wants.

Jill K DeWit:
What the heck?

Steven Jack Butala:
By the way, in my entire personal life, I’m on the recipient end of, let’s call it, in the nicest way possible, ‘Jill gets what she wants’ manipulation.

Jill K DeWit:
I love that. Thank you for saying that. That’s so flattering.

Steven Jack Butala:
I wouldn’t have any other way.

Jill K DeWit:
Why do you say that?

Steven Jack Butala:
Because, Jill, you are a go-getter. Jill’s an intense person, and she’s a type A personality that’s turned up to volume nine during her waking hours. And part of that is getting what she wants so she can move forward and go have fun.

Jill K DeWit:
Last time I checked you were benefiting from all that.

Steven Jack Butala:
Yeah.

Jill K DeWit:
Thank you.

Steven Jack Butala:
This isn’t a complaint.

Jill K DeWit:
Okay, got it.

Steven Jack Butala:
I’m just saying I hear her talk to sellers and I’m like, she’s going to get that property for what she wants.

Jill K DeWit:
Yep.

Steven Jack Butala:
I’m very aware of how that works.

Jill K DeWit:
Yeah. Well, a lot of it starts with this. You have to, right away, get on the same page. And that’s my goal in life, by the way, not just talking with sellers. So let me paint the picture here. So the mailers go out, they come back. I still, to this day, answer the phone off and on when we hit new areas because I don’t know what’s going on. I’m going to learn some stuff here too, and keep my skills up. And I just love it. I’m not afraid of these calls. That’s a thing, you never know who’s going to call you. So my philosophy is, hey, it could be a seller calling you, it could be a buyer calling you. So number one, have a good attitude when you answer the phone. So that’s actually the very first way that I bond with them instantly. I’m not a next, there’s no monotone, boring, Mike. I hate that.

Steven Jack Butala:
Mike?

Jill K DeWit:
People do that.

Steven Jack Butala:
What’s Mike?

Jill K DeWit:
No, they just answer the phone, they just say their name, “Mike.”

Steven Jack Butala:
Oh, that’s crazy. I never do that.

Jill K DeWit:
Oh yeah. People do stuff like that. If anything, my unusual response is, “This is Jill.” I say it exactly like that. I’m nice, I’m happy, I’m friendly. And so, my first thing is, no matter who’s calling me, if they’re in a good mood, it’s going to put them in a better mood and be like, “Oh, good, this person’s happy too, this is going to be great.” If they’re mad, it catches them off guard and they don’t know what to do with that for a second. It like, “Oh, crap. A, I’m talking to Jill, her name’s on the mailer. And B, she’s having a good day. How am I going to scream at this person because I’m not happy about this letter?” So that’s the first thing that I do. The next thing I do is quiet and listen, let them get out. “Hi, this is Jill.” “All right, hold on a second. Okay. You just sent me this letter,” la, da, da, da, da. “I hate this price. It’s been in my family forever,” fill in the blank. This is how it really goes.
Let them get that out. The next thing you want to do is like, “I get it. I understand. And if I made a mistake, I’m sorry about that.” Now I’ve calmed them. I’ve agreed with them. I let them get it out. They feel good about this. Now it’s like, “Whew!” Now they’re coming down another notch. I’m happy. I’m not arguing with them. That’s the last thing you want to do is say, “No, I was right. No, I meant that.” Who cares? And we will let all that work out. So we get that out of the way. I agree with him. Now, the next thing is, this is me, and I agreed with them, and that’s bonding with them too. I’m happy, I’m agreeing with them.
The next thing is making it a relationship like, we both want something out of this here. Do you want to sell? I get it, whatever, I said that sentence, and I’m saying, whatever it is, let’s first just understand, do you even want to sell the property? I get the price was wrong. “Yeah. I do.” Great, we’re further bonding again. We’re on the same page. And now I have uncovered we have the same goal here. And by the way, this is less than two minutes in, we’ve got all this out of the way. Now, the next question is, “Awesome. All right. You know how I roll. I’m not an agent, I’m the owner. You’re talking to me. You can see my name on that. What is the bottom number that you would sell this for? And let’s see if we can make something work here.” That’s it, that fast, that easy. We’re on the same page, and now the conversation will just unfold.

Steven Jack Butala:
So, notice all, what I got out of what Jill just said is that she didn’t say the word price one time. Many, many, many people in this business, and in real estate in general, think about pricing and prices first. I’m one of those people. Jill takes, this is a relationship approach because I think subconsciously Jill believes that if she gets this person on her page, then she’s going to get the price she wants.

Jill K DeWit:
Yep.

Steven Jack Butala:
They potentially may be calling because they’re not happy with the price, but she doesn’t address that. She addresses the emotional and the relationship part of all of this first, and if she assesses whether they not they really want to sell, and then she goes to work on the price.

Jill K DeWit:
Yep.

Steven Jack Butala:
It’s because, if they want to sell the property and we like the property, the chances are she’s going to get it for the prices she wants. You know how we spend so much time deconstructing a mailer talking about pricing. We spend a tremendous amount of time on that when the fact is, and then we answer the phone like Mike. That’s not… You need this component of this in your business to make this work. And when Jill deconstructs it and says, okay, this is what we do first, step one, step two, step three, step four. I’m not sure enough people take that really seriously.

Jill K DeWit:
Thank you. When you learn how to do this and you really master it, you can solve so many problems with overpricing and underpricing and get good deals. That’s the huge thing. And I’ve done this. I’ve had people in the past, I’m like, “All right, let me call them. Watch what happens. I’ll get it. I’ll get it where we want it to be.” People immediately go, “Well, what’s the number…” That’s where you don’t want to go. You don’t want to go, “Well, do you have the reference number on there?” And start pushing back. You don’t want to do that. Take them in. Understand where they’re coming from and figure this out together. And what’s so funny is when you do this and you have this relationship with them, now you’re a real person. You have your own little company, and they’re going to recognize that. And sometimes it’s just a little like maybe we offered $16,500, and they just say, “Can you make it 20?” I’m like, “I could. Yeah, I could probably do that. Let me see if I can make that work,” kind of thing. That’s all it is.
It’s not like they’re saying 16.5 should be 45. They just seem to get that out. And sometimes too, by the way, see, if you piss them off too fast, you don’t even get a chance.

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s right.

Jill K DeWit:
This is a problem.

Steven Jack Butala:
You’re closing the door. You’re slamming the door closed.

Jill K DeWit:
And they’re like, click, gone. Good luck getting them back. But by taking this approach and having this dialogue with them, you are going to yield so many more deals. Part of it is, too, sometimes, maybe there’s a real reason that I didn’t know about, and this conversation, I’m going to find out.
I’m going to go, “What’s the number?” Well, they’re going to say something like this, “Did you know that I am right next door to the new Amazon that is half built?” I didn’t know that. And that changes it for me too. Okay. “Did you know…” Fill in the blank? Oh my gosh, I did not know that, because I’m not looking at it yet. Remember too, I have not even looked at it. And the way we do our mailers, I don’t sit and pick out what’s waterfront and have a little star on it and says, the reference number has W for waterfront on there. Heck no. We’re going to figure all that out later. And that’s by design. We just need to get people back that are interested in selling. Then we try to work a deal here. And often my number does work sometimes too.
Let me get back to this first one. You’re going to get more information. Let’s just say there’s really good information as to why it should be more. And you’re going to take that in. You’re going to learn about that on this call, and you’re going to adjust it and make a deal. Sometimes too, they have it in their head that it’s worth three times as much. And it might not be. So I want to just set this up, this will be another time where we can talk about adding money and I can talk about taking money away, but this exact scenario, I’m set up to do it all, and I’m even set up to take it away. We’re going to have a little bit of relationship. They’re getting to know me, I’m a good person. They’re going to give me a number and I’m going to try to make it work.
And I’m going to say, “I need a day or two to work on this. When’s the best time to reach you? What’s the best number?” After I taken in all the information that I need to go look at it and spend some time on it, then I’m going to call them back as promised in two days, like I said, because the conversation, calm down, we all talked, we’re all feeling good. They walk away thinking I’m trying to make this deal. And when I call them back in 48 hours as promised, and I have to say, “I heard you. I got it. And I know you said my 16.5 Should be 20. All right, I hate to tell this to you, but that Amazon thing is a bust. It didn’t happen. You may have not seen that, but it actually didn’t. They walked away from that.” Who knows whatever it is? Things like that happen. And I’ll say, “And/or your property’s not where you think it is.” Maybe that’s even it. Amazon is like 10 miles away. It’s not next door like you thought it was.

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s the property in a different state that you think you own.

Jill K DeWit:
Exactly. So these are all real stuff that can happen. But if you don’t have this bond with them and get this relationship, you’re not going to have these conversations.

Steven Jack Butala:
That’s right.

Jill K DeWit:
And I’ll call back and say, “All right, and I know you wanted 20, if that was a situation, I would’ve paid 20. That would’ve happened. But this is a real situation. And now even my 16.5 is now 10. So this is the story.” And then we go from there.

Steven Jack Butala:
Before Jill and I joined forces professionally, my business model was as follows, send out 10,000 units of mail. On a county basis there was no such thing as zip code pricing or anything like that for $1 amount. So let’s say I’ll send out 10,000 letters in southeastern Colorado in a county that I pick out for $5,000 for every single five acre property that was in the entire multi county mailer. And then I would not answer the phone, intentionally not answer the phone, intentionally not listen to the messages. I would only look at mailers that came back signed. And I made a small fortune. You cannot get away with that anymore. It’s just not how it works. People want to know that you’re a real person. And, Jill, you know what? Maybe you could get away with it. Maybe you could send out 10 or 20,000 units and get-

Jill K DeWit:
Some do.

Steven Jack Butala:
… one or two deals and go on your happy way.

Jill K DeWit:
It’s true. But you’re leaving a lot of stuff on the table.

Steven Jack Butala:
The first couple of career paths that we ever instructed, that was their model. For some reason, they learned how to do that from some other past place. And the reason that they were in Career Path, because they’re unhappy with the results that we were describing. And the first thing, what Jill and I said was, well, you’re not answering the phone and establishing a recent relationship with the seller so you get the price that you want. And that did not please them. The people that were already down the path, they wanted to know the secret way to price mailers to get a better mailing result. And the answer is, there’s no secret way to price mailers. You know everything about pricing, you, as a listener, or a Land Academy member, or a career path graduate, let’s say, than I know about pricing. If you want to increase your mailing yield, you need to learn how to do this like Jill does. Or better yet, do what I did and find a partner who is just as natural at it, maybe a career corporate salesperson, and team up with them.

Jill K DeWit:
That’s really, really good advice.

Steven Jack Butala:
Let’s take a look at another one of our favorite land acquisitions from our weekly Thursday member webinar. Jill, do you have something inspirational to share with us today?

Jill K DeWit:
I do. I was thinking about this. You know what, this is going to be our year. I can feel it.

Steven Jack Butala:
I can too, actually.

Jill K DeWit:
With everything that we’ve done, we’ve got our staff where we need to be. We’ve got our heads where we need to be. We’ve identified some more awesome niches where we can really help people and provide really great value to help them grow their businesses. So I’m so excited. So I just wanted to say this is going to be our year and I hope it’s going to be yours. How about you, Jack? Do you have some informational nugget for us today?

Steven Jack Butala:
I mean, before I share my little bit here, I really believe that 2023 is very special, much more special than the last three or four years because there’s a lot of volatility in real estate. Interest rates are up. I talk about it every Thursday. There will be a huge price correction, specifically in houses and commercial real estate, and obviously land follows all that. So I agree with you.

Jill K DeWit:
Thank you. So what’s your info nugget for us?

Steven Jack Butala:
So my little title here is, Learning by Association from the Best in the Business in 2023. I’ve watched Jill, in the last two or three years, slowly stop looking at price tags. It might be something simple like a grocery store run. It might be something huge like an Acura NSX. She is slowly, and I’m going to say graduated, this is not a character flaw.

Jill K DeWit:
This is hilarious.

Steven Jack Butala:
Because in the back of her head, she’s learned… And I shouldn’t say just Jill, it’s me too. We’ve unilaterally done this together, not even ever talking about it until this moment. Just wants what she wants, and she wants the best of stuff. And she has assigned that to herself. When we lived in California a few years ago, and we were looking for office space, and it started with a conversation like this, “Wow, we need some better office space.” And I said, “Well, we should get office space right on the Pacific Ocean because we can afford it and we’re doing great and we’ll film.” And then, about three weeks later, we said, “Screw it. Let’s put the studio in our house and live on the ocean.” And-

Jill K DeWit:
That’s right.

Steven Jack Butala:
… we’ve assigned. And forever since then, Jill says, “Jack just wants to live in the first row.”

Jill K DeWit:
That’s true. Front row Jack.

Steven Jack Butala:
So I’ve assigned only the best to myself.

Jill K DeWit:
Yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
I’m not boasting. I don’t need a new car, ever. I don’t ever buy a new car, ever. I’ve had maybe one new car in my entire life. And I’m not saying I’m better than anyone, but for whatever reason, we have assigned this, I want the best… Not material possessions, I want the best educational experience. I want the best, let’s say, a culinary experience, although that’s not my thing. More of Jill’s. But we’ve just learned to expect and enjoy at this age and our income and all of that, the best of stuff. So I think you should think about that as a listener or a viewer and think about… We had a guy in Career Path this last time that makes $6 million last-year. And he was in career path because it wasn’t good enough for him. He will never stop.

Jill K DeWit:
Oh yeah.

Steven Jack Butala:
He’s assigned that to himself to be better. I’ve said this in the past, Neil Pert, who recently passed away, was a drummer for the Rock Band Rush. And I learned late in his life that he was still taking lessons. Long, arguably one of the best rock drummers ever since the history of time was taking lessons almost till he died. And so, with that type of improvement to reach just a higher place constantly, and hold yourself accountable like that, I think that’ll take you a long, long way in your land investment career.

Jill K DeWit:
Well, we do that too. We’re constantly reading and picking up new things and trying to have an open mind to new ways, new ideas, new products, everything.

Steven Jack Butala:
Yep.

Jill K DeWit:
Thank you.

Steven Jack Butala:
Join us next Wednesday for another interesting episode because you are not alone in your real estate ambition. We’re Jack-

Jill K DeWit:
And Jill.

Steven Jack Butala:
Information-

Jill K DeWit:
And inspiration-

Steven Jack Butala:
To buy undervalued property.

 

Thanks for listening, and finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts.

LA 1998 WP

How To Be Successful At Flipping Land (LA 1998)

In this podcast episode, learn how Jack and Jill successfully flip land. They emphasize the importance of experience and knowledge in the land flipping business, and highlight the value of learning from those who have been in the industry for a long time. They outline

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LA1997WP

Respond To Change in Real Estate 2024 (LA 1997)

Jack Butala and Jill DeWit explore the real estate market, discussing the anticipated stagnation in 2024 and offering valuable insights for investors. Jack shares three crucial strategies to thrive in this shifting market: increasing offer volume, recognizing the rise in rental demand, and predicting demographic

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No need to hire staff - we did it for you.

Land Academy PRO is the brainchild of founders Steven Jack Butala and Jill DeWit. Designed at the request of Land Academy members who are ready for a higher level, we’re excited to continue to provide the tools and support needed by professional investors.

Each level comes with a preset amount of included data, Concierge Mail service, and postage. For example, the Green level includes 6,000 units of completed-for-you mail completely out the door at no extra cost to you.

All levels include a PatLive introduction and preset script (we will set up your phone answering for you), use of Land Academy’s personal Transaction Team to manage your deal flow, an AirTable (CRM) base setup managed by our (and your!) Transaction Coordinator, personal consulting, regular office hours, and includes your Land Academy subscription cost.

If you’re making this a business, Land Academy PRO takes the work off of your plate so you can focus on the things that matter – like running your business.

Green

$10,060

per Month

Silver

$14,590

per Month

Gold

$19,120

per Month

Platinum

$23,650

per Month

Black

$28,180

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
6,000 mailers 9,000 mailers 12,000 mailers 15,000 mailers 18,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value $500 value $500 value $500 value $500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value $7,500 value $7,500 value $7,500 value $7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value $100 value $100 value $100 value $100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
- - $1,000 value $1,000 value $1,000 value
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value $2,500 value $2,500 value $2,500 value $2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value $150 value $150 value $150 value $150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value $23,000 value $23,000 value $23,000 value $23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value $300 value $300 value $300 value $300 value
Subtotal: $8,550 value $8,550 value $9,550 value $12,050 value $12,050 value
Mail Value: $7,500 value $11,250 value $15,000 value $18,750 value $22,500 value
Total Value: $39,050 $42,800 $47,550 $53,800 $57,550
Apply Now Apply Now Apply Now Apply Now Apply Now

Green

$10,060

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
6,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
-
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $8,550 value
Mail Value: $7,500 value
Total Value: $39,050
Apply Now

Silver

$14,590

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
9,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
-
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $8,550 value
Mail Value: $11,250 value
Total Value: $42,800
Apply Now

Gold

$19,120

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
12,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
$1,000 value
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $9,550 value
Mail Value: $15,000 value
Total Value: $47,550
Apply Now

Platinum

$23,650

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
15,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
$1,000 value
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $12,050 value
Mail Value: $18,750 value
Total Value: $53,800
Apply Now

Black

$28,180

per Month

Concierge Data+ (with data) Included mailers each month (data + concierge + mailer + postage). Our team will do your data for it and get it out the door.
18,000 mailers
PatLive introduction at no cost We will help you establish your first script and get PatLive set up on your behalf to answer your phones.
$500 value
Transaction Coordinator Use of our personal Transaction Coordinator team to manage your deals. Trained and ready to go!
$7,500 value
AirTable Ready-for-you CRM managed by your personal Land Academy Pro Transaction Coordinator
$100 value
Personal Consulting 1 on 1 personal consulting with our Transaction Coordinator each week.
$1,000 value
Regular Office Hours Regular office hours with Jack and Jill + our staff. Private for LA Pro Members Only. (Think Career Path Office Hours)
$2,500 value
ParcelFact ParcelFact is included in your LA Pro membership with unlimited pulls.
$150 value
FREE Career Path Access
$23,000 value
Land Academy No more separate charges - Land Academy is included with LA Pro Membership. This includes all education, tools, support, and future releases.
$300 value
Subtotal: $12,050 value
Mail Value: $22,500 value
Total Value: $57,550
Apply Now

Disclaimer: *We have a monthly “use it or lose it” policy with mail and data – Land Academy PRO is designed to keep you on-track and consistent.

To cancel, all packages require a 30 day notice to move you back down to regular Land Academy membership.

Office Hours Schedule

Scheduling a Career Path interview call is currently on hold and will resume closer to Fall 2024 as we approach Career Path 10.

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