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AGENTS DON’T GET RICH FROM REAL ESTATE. THEY GET RICH FROM THE OPPORTUNITIES REAL ESTATE CREATES.

My first wholesale deal didn’t come from a wholesaling course.

It didn’t come from a mastermind, a guru, or a weekend seminar at a hotel ballroom.

It came from lead generating.

I was on the phone, having structured real estate conversations. Not calling to chat. Not dialing without a plan. I was having conversations with a model and a purpose, focused on closing deals.

And somewhere in those conversations, I stumbled onto a wholesale deal.

I wasn’t looking for it. It found me, because I was out there turning over stones.

That deal taught me something I’ve built on ever since: real estate agents don’t get rich from real estate. They get rich from the opportunities real estate creates.

When you start having real conversations, they give birth to other things. A buyer turns into an investor lead. An investor lead turns into a listing. A listing turns into a referral. And if you’re paying attention, you start to see a system hiding inside all of it.

That’s the system I want to teach you today.

If you’ve been struggling to find your next deal, or your next three deals, pull out your pen and paper. I’m going to walk you through five steps that use lead generation to find investor deals, and how working that system opens the door to every other kind of transaction.

Let’s get right into it.

You Don’t Need More Calls.

Before we get to the steps, I want to talk about why so many agents hate lead generating.

It’s not the phone. It’s not rejection, either, not really.

It’s that they’re calling without a reason.

You pick up the phone, dial somebody, and say, “Hey, just checking in. Are you thinking about buying or selling?”

And they say no.

And you hang up feeling like a door-to-door salesman who forgot what he was selling.

That’s calling without a purpose, a plan, or a model to follow. And it’s exhausting.

What changed everything for me (and I mean that in the most practical way possible) was having a job to do.

When you’re working for a list of real investors with real cash, your phone calls change. You’re no longer asking, “Do you want to buy or sell?” You’re saying, “I have buyers looking for a specific kind of property. Do you know of anything?”

Now you’re not bothering people. You’re on assignment.

You’re a headhunter.

And people love helping somebody who’s clearly looking for something specific.

That one shift turns lead generation from a chore into a hunt. And a hunt is a lot more fun than a cold call.

But here’s what I need you to understand before we go any further. This only works if your business has structure underneath it. A list of investors with no system to manage them is just a list of phone numbers. A deal with no process behind it is just luck.

If you’re a newer agent, or you’ve been doing this a while but your business still feels like a patchwork, start there. The How to Start & Structure Your Real Estate Business Master Course walks you through the CEO mindset, your economic and activity plans, your sales systems and funnels, your lead generation systems (with more than 10 lead generation tactics), and how to categorize your sphere of influence. It’s the foundation that turns one lucky deal into a repeatable business.

GIVE YOUR LEAD GENERATION A STRUCTURE → https://theceoofrealestate.com/startstructure

Okay. Let’s get into the five steps.

Step One: Build An Investor List

The first thing you need is a list of cash buyers who are actively looking to purchase investment property.

Not people who say they’re investors. People who are actually buying.

And you don’t need a lot of them. You’re probably not going to find 50 real cash buyers, and you don’t need to. If you find five to 10 serious ones, that’s enough to start. And believe it or not, those five to 10 people have friends. If you bring them a deal that doesn’t fit, they’ll pitch it to their friends for you.

But they have to be real.

I’m not talking about tire kickers. A lot of agents tell me, “I’ve got investors,” and then I find out those “investors” have never actually closed on anything. They called about a deal once, asked a lot of questions, and disappeared.

That’s not an investor. That’s a hobby.

Here’s how you separate the real ones from the rest:

→ Get proof of funds up front. Before you ever send them a deal, they show you they have the cash.

→ Ask about their portfolio. What have they bought before? What do they own right now?

→ Ask how many properties they’ve purchased in the last 12 months, and how many they plan to buy in the next 12.

→ Pay attention to how fast they move. Real buyers make decisions. Tire kickers make excuses.

You’re going to be a headhunter for these people. A go-getter. You’re going to go find somebody to take their money. So if they’re not truly ready to buy, you’ll waste a lot of your time chasing deals for someone who was never going to pull the trigger.

Start a file folder for every investor who passes. Their name, their proof of funds, what they’ve bought, and what they’re looking for.

Now, where do you find them?

→ Ask the agents in your office who work with investors. They may not hand you their investors, but they might partner with you on deals. Maybe you split the commission. Fifty percent of the pie is better than none of it, so don’t be greedy.

→ Ask lenders who do cash-out refinances and investment loans who’s active in your market.

→ Look at recent cash sales in your MLS and notice the names and LLCs that keep showing up.

→ Show up at local real estate investor meetups and listen more than you talk.

Then, once you know who your 10 people are, find out their palate. What are they hungry for?

This is still part of step one, and it’s the part most people skip. Sit down with each investor and get specific:

→ What price range are you buying in?

→ What neighborhoods or zip codes?

→ What property types: single-family, multifamily, land, tear-downs?

→ How much rehab can you handle: cosmetic, heavy, or full gut?

→ How fast can you close?

→ How many deals are you looking to do this year?

Write it all down in their folder. That’s their buy box, and it’s your hunting map.

And here’s what I don’t want you to miss. That investor list? That’s a database. A small, specific, high-value segment of your database. Everything I teach about building relationships, organizing people, and nurturing them over time applies to your investors too. The agents who get deals from investors over and over again aren’t the ones with the biggest list. They’re the ones who stay in relationship with the people on it.

If you don’t have a database yet, or you’ve got one that’s just a messy pile of names, that’s exactly what I’m walking through live. I’m hosting the free 0 to 10 Million Dollar Real Estate Database From 0 Contacts in Just 6-12 Months Masterclass on Thursday, November 12, at 6 PM ET / 5 PM CT / 4 PM MT / 3 PM PT, on Zoom.

I’ll show you how to build a database from zero contacts, how to nurture it over time, and how it’s built to add about 12 more deals to your pipeline over the next six to 12 months. My own database has been professionally appraised at over $10 million, and every deal I’ve ever stumbled onto came out of a relationship somewhere inside it.

BUILD THE LIST BEHIND EVERY DEAL. JOIN ME FREE NOV 12 →https://cheesettecowan.myflodesk.com/l6jg900uku

One more thing on step one: you are not going to work one-on-one, transaction by transaction, with these investors.

They’ll want you to. They have money, and people with money like having somebody run around for them personally.

But you’re the business owner. So you’re going to build an email system. When you find a property, you send it to your whole list at once, and they compete for it. Even though everybody on the list has proof of funds, cash wins, and the highest offer gets the contract.

Set up a simple email list for your investors now, before you ever find your first deal. You’ll be glad you did.

Step Two: Become A Property Headhunter

Now you know who’s buying and what they want.

Step two: go find it.

This is why you have to lead generate. Get on the phone. Get on the horn. Call everybody you know.

But now the conversation is different.

You’re not calling to ask if they want to buy or sell. You’re calling because you have a job to do. Something like:

“Hey, I’ve got a few cash buyers looking for properties in [area], especially ones that need some work. Do you know anybody who’s thinking about selling, or who inherited a property they don’t know what to do with?”

That’s a completely different energy. You’re not pitching. You’re asking for help. And most people love to help.

Here’s where to hunt:

→ Your own phone. Everyone you know. Your sphere is your first search party.

→ Facebook. Post what you’re looking for, and join local real estate and investor groups.

→ LinkedIn. Professionals know about estates, relocations, and properties people are sitting on.

→ Meetings and networking events. Every room you walk into is a chance to mention you’re on the hunt.

→ Wholesale groups. Other wholesalers often have deals that don’t fit their own buyers.

→ Probate attorneys. This one’s a goldmine.

Let me tell you about probate attorneys for a second. You call one, have a real conversation, and they’ll get you so together on how inherited properties work that you’ll hang up thinking, “Oh my God, I’m doing this for lead generation now.”

That’s the hidden gift of lead generating. You learn things. You get out there, and the world starts teaching you.

That’s why so many agents aren’t lead generating: they’re not searching. And if you’re not searching, you’ll never find most of the answers. Most of the answers we find in life show up while we’re searching for something else. That’s why you have to be on a path, and consistency is what gets you down it.

Now, notice something. I haven’t said a word about commission yet.

Why?

Because I’m not working for these investors. I’m lead generating for me.

When I find a property, I might not give it to them. Between now and then, I might meet a client who’s a better fit for that property, and I’ll give it to that client instead. All I’m really doing is building a bench of people, so that if and when I find a deal, I already have a match.

That’s how you keep your pipeline flowing.

And that’s why you never work exclusively for your investors. You serve them. You don’t belong to them.

Step Three: Match The Money To The Property

Here’s where it gets fun.

Say your list of investors is willing to spend anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 on a property.

And you find one. A tear-down. A $60,000 property sitting on a quarter-acre lot. The owner wants $60,000 for it.

You’ve got a match.

Everybody on that list will probably take it at $60,000, because it’s right in their buy box.

Now, here’s where a lot of agents mess it up. They get excited, grab their phone, and text a few investors: “Hey, found a property at 60. You want it?”

Don’t do that.

You found the property. You matched it to the buy box. Now you treat it like what it is: a deal you’re bringing to market. You match the money to the property with your commission agreement in place.

Before you send anything, make sure:

→ The property fits the buy box you wrote down in step one

→ You have the details: specs, photos, condition, and access

→ Your fee is clear and agreed upon

→ The deal works for the seller, the buyer, and you

That’s what separates a professional matchmaker from somebody forwarding listings.

## Step Four: Get Paid For The Match

Now you send it out to your whole investor list at once.

Get all the specs. Get all the pictures. Type it up in a clean, professional email. Call it “off market,” or whatever you want to put in your subject line.

Here’s a simple structure you can follow:

→ The property: address or general area, lot size, property type, and condition

→ The price: $60,000

→ The terms: escrow amount, and closing in seven days

→ Your fee: 3%

→ The call to action: “If you’re interested in this deal, reply to this email with proof of funds.”

They reply with proof of funds. You write the contract. And because it’s cash, and because you already verified they were ready to go and the property fits their palate, you’re closing in seven to 10 days.

That’s the beauty of this. Cash deals move fast. No waiting 45 days on a lender. No appraisal gaps. If you work this well, money can come in quickly.

One important note: you’re a licensed agent, so do this the right way. Run your agreements through your broker, disclose your role and your fee clearly, and make sure you understand the rules in your state for this kind of transaction. Doing it right protects you, your license, and your reputation with the investors you want to keep coming back.

Step Five: Rinse And Repeat

Find the money.

Find the property.

Match them up.

Get paid.

Do it again.

But here’s what you’ve got to realize. In the process of looking for all these off-market properties, you’re going to run into a lot more than investor deals.

You’re going to find people who want to sell their house. People who want to buy a house. People who are interested in investment properties of their own. Commercial agents looking to sublease or do something else entirely.

This is what opens the door to more real estate transactions.

For me, the investor strategy was the easiest way in, because it gave me a job to do. The investors were looking for somebody to go to work for them. And while I was out there working, I was meeting everybody else too.

So every time you go hunting for a property, I want you to keep a second list running: everybody you met who isn’t an investor but might need you someday. The seller who isn’t ready yet. The renter who said, “We’ve been thinking about buying.” The attorney who handles estates.

Every one of them goes in your database.

That’s how one strategy feeds your whole pipeline.

The 90/10 Rule For Adding Any New Strategy

Now, before you run off and make this your whole business, listen to me.

Don’t go all in on day one.

You have to ease your way into new structures and systems. You can’t just drop everything that’s working, go all in on something new, and hope it figures itself out.

So here’s how I’d add this:

→ If you’re doing something else 100% of the time right now, give this strategy 10% of your time. About an hour a day. Keep doing your other lead generation for the other 90%.

→ When you get your first deal from it, move to 80/20.

→ Then 70/30.

→ Then keep balancing based on what’s producing right now.

Because different strategies produce at different times in the market.

Let me give you an example from my own business. I’ve always worked mostly with sellers. But right now? I’m turning down listings. I can’t afford to take a listing and let it sit on the market. So in this season, the strategy may lean toward buyers.

That doesn’t mean I’m walking away from listings. Listings are always going to be cash in the real estate market. I’m just watching the market and choosing, from all the tools in my arsenal, the one that fits the goal I’m trying to accomplish right now.

That’s what a CEO does. You don’t marry a strategy. You choose the right one for the season.

Seek, And Ye Shall Find

I want to leave you with this, because it’s the thread running through this entire system.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7)

My first wholesale deal didn’t come to me because I was sitting still. It came because I was seeking. I was on the phone, having conversations, turning over stones I didn’t even know were there.

Most of what you’re looking for in your business is going to show up while you’re searching for something else. That’s how God works a lot of the time. He meets you on the path, not on the couch.

So go build your list. Go find out what your investors are hungry for. Go hunt. Make the match. Get paid. And do it again.

Seed time and harvest. The seeking is the seed.

So I want to hear from you in the comments: have you ever stumbled onto a deal while you were looking for something completely different? Tell me the story. I’m reading every comment and answering your questions myself.

Coach Cheese 💕