Many real estate investors fall into the trap of relying on one particular lead source to drive their entire business. Maybe they depend solely on a pay per lead company to supply motivated sellers. Or perhaps they funnel all their marketing budget into Facebook ads.

While it’s simpler to rely on a single lead generation strategy, this approach often fails in the long run. Savvy investors know they need to create a diverse and cohesive marketing strategy to drive sustainable success.

In this post, I’ll break down exactly why a diverse strategy works and how to go about building one for your real estate investing business.

The Problem with Using Only One Source

It’s easy to see the appeal of relying on a single source for leads. You can become highly specialized, dedicate your optimization efforts in one place, and reduce decision fatigue.

However, there are two big risks with this approach:

1. Over Reliance on External Factors - If you depend entirely on one source like a pay per lead company or Facebook ads, you have no control if that source dries up or changes policies. It introduces unnecessary risk.
2. Inability to Optimize - When you only get leads from one channel, you miss out on the data needed to properly optimize your entire sales process. You’ll convert leads at a lower rate than mixing sources.

Clearly, real estate investors need to diversify their lead generation sources. But how exactly should you go about doing that?

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Keys to a Cohesive Marketing Strategy

The most successful investors use a strategic mix of short-term and long-term lead generation strategies. Here are the keys to making them work together seamlessly:

• Mix Short and Long-Term Strategies - Use short-term sources like pay per leads to supplement long-term assets like SEO and branded PPC campaigns. Don’t rely entirely on either.
• Build on Owned Assets - SEO, your website, and brand equity from PPC are owned assets you control. Make them the foundation.
• Use External Sources to Supplement - Let pay per leads, Facebook ads, etc. provide a volume boost when needed, but don’t overly depend on them.
• Track Data and Optimize - Analyze your sales process across all lead sources. Make data-driven optimization decisions.

With this framework, you get the best of both worlds - a stable foundation of owned assets complemented by flexible supplemental lead sources.

Examples of Strategies to Mix

Here are just a few examples of effective combinations of short and long-term lead gen strategies:

• PPC Campaigns, Content Marketing, Pay Per Leads
• Search Engine Optimization, Pay-Per-Click Ads, Social Media Ads
• Email Marketing, Direct Mail, Pay Per Lead Buying

As you can see, the options are endless. You aren’t limited to just one strategy. Cherry pick what complements your business model best.

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Getting Started on Your Cohesive Strategy

If your current marketing strategy is fragmented across multiple tools and channels, here is a systematic way to develop a cohesive approach:

1. Audit What You Currently Have - What assets and lead sources are you already using? Assess their performance honestly.
2. Identify Gaps - Look for overreliance on any one source. Find weak points in your sales funnel. Spot areas lacking data.
3. Develop Plan to Fill Gaps - Brainstorm new strategies to complement what’s working. Prioritize owned assets over external dependencies.

With this approach, you can pivot your mindset away from piecemeal lead generation to an integrated strategy. Hard work upfront will pay off with a smoother-running and more resilient real estate investing business.

The Bottom Line

Relying on a sole lead generation source is tempting for simplicity’s sake but almost always fails long-term. Savvy real estate investors use a strategic array of short and long-term strategies to drive sustainable success.

Mixing inbound and outbound tactics makes your marketing machine resilient - able to withstand changes in any one channel. Implement this mindset for your business to prosper through uncertainty.

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