Alan Cowgill

We’ve had some questions about the vinyl holder for the

cassette tape and literature so we thought we’d look at that

this month. These are also called Audiocassette Albums,

Clamshells, Audiocassette Holder, or Audio Business Cards.

This impressive, convenient marketing tool keeps your tape and literature together. Just the fact that it is so nicely

packaged gives the perception of value and people are less

likely to throw it away than just a letter or a cassette by

itself.

The outside of the holder has a see-through sleeve. You create

a cover with your company information, logo, and so forth then

slip the cover into the sleeve.

On the inside of the holder on one side is an indentation that

holds your cassette securely in place and under that is a slot

for your business card.

The other side is a bookwell that holds several pages of

information. The bookwell is about 8 1/2 inches x 5 1/2 inches

so we create our literature on a regular 8 1/2 x 11 page,

landscaped and folded in half to make a booklet.

We hand these out at luncheons and they can also be

conveniently mailed to lenders who are not able to attend.

They are also impressive marketing tools to hand to lenders at

one-on-one meetings.

You can use a white or black holder. We prefer the white holder because of the crisp, clean look.

This is one of those marketing items that can be created well

in advance of your luncheon. And, you don’t have to be

concerned about having more than needed for a scheduled

luncheon. In fact, it’s a good idea to have several on hand at

all times to use anytime you meet someone new who might want to

take advantage of your awesome program.

Let’s look a little closer at each piece of the audio cassette

holder.

- Cover

- Cassette

- Business card

- Literature

- Cover

You can create this yourself or you might choose to have

something professionally created for your company. When I

started out, I created this in Microsoft Word by going to Page

Setup and selecting legal sized paper (8 1/2 x 14) with

landscape orientation. Keeping in mind that this would be

slipped into the audiocassette holder clear cover sleeve, I put

the back cover information on the left side of the paper and

front cover information on the right side. I used our company

colors, my photo, a little biographical information, a little

background about the company, and brief highlights of my

program.

The focus with the cover it to make it visually attractive and

the text intriguing enough for the lender to want to open it

and learn more. Don’t try to put the entire program on the

cover and fill every inch. Leave open space. This will draw

their eyes to the specific points you want them to see like:

“Tired of earning 2% interest on your CDs?”

“Learn how you can earn 15% interest on your

investment dollars!”

The purpose of the attractive cover is to get them to open it.

Clearly stating your program’s major features will cause the

lender to want to learn more and open the holder.

Initially, I printed these out on my color laser printer and

slipped them into the cover myself so I know you can do this

too if you care to. Now I have the office staff take care of

this task. Of course, you are welcome to use my cover included

in the course as a template and insert your own information.

That would be a great time saver.

- Cassette

You can make your own cassette about your program; however, we

use a pre-recorded cassette that we purchased from Ron

LeGrand’s organization. It clearly explains the program in an

entertaining manner. Lenders can listen to this at their

leisure at home, in their car, or while exercising and using

headphones. People like cassettes and almost everyone has

access to a cassette player. Tapes are fun and interesting and

this one is packed with information about the benefits of

private lending.

Like with everything else in life, you can make more money if

you leverage your efforts. If you have the skills and equipment

to create your own cassette, that is your choice. I just find

that it is more cost-effective for me to use something that is

already available in this area and I spend my time buying,

rehabbing, and selling houses, talking to private lenders, and

making money.

- Business card

The audiocassette holders we use also have a slot for your

business card. If you are one of those “I BUY HOUSES”

entrepreneurs, you may have wild, bright orange or lime green

cards or the card that looks like a $100 bill or something

else equally jazzy. These are for the buying/selling side of

your business. They are NOT the kind of card to use for the

private lender side of your business!

You are reaching people who are used to dealing with bankers

and are usually professional and conservative. If you give

them a wild business card, it will have the opposite effect of

what you want. Frankly, it will look a little “flaky” to them.

Don’t try to be cute. These people are serious about their

money and expect you to be too. If you don’t have one already,

get a professional business card made and use it in all

instances with your lenders.

- Literature

If you use my cover template and Ron’s cassette, here is where

you will be spending a little more time and effort because this

is specific information about you, your company, and your

program. Again, you are welcome to use my examples in your

course as a template but insert your particular company

information.

I started with a regular 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper and turned

to landscape orientation. I searched my other marketing

information and found things that I could shrink to half a

page. For instance, I have a one-page information sheet that

lists the documents that protect the lender. I shrank this to

fit on one side of page. I then shrank a copy of the

promissory note and put that on one side of the page. I then

turned the page over.

I took my introductory letter and shrank it for one side of the

page and then did the same with a one-page information sheet

about my company.

So, I’ve just squeezed four pages of information onto one sheet

that folds neatly in half and can be placed in the information

bookwell.

I insert my newspaper article regular sized but folded.

It will be easier if you already have marketing pieces. If

not, you will have to create them.

This generous sized book well can hold as much or as little as

you like. Just remember, the more you tell, the more you sell.

Which means, tell them a lot about your company history, your

established presence in the community (office location and

years in business), the teams you have sponsored, the

professional organizations you belong to, family information,

before and after photos of properties you have rehabbed,

courses you have completed, etc. You get the idea. All this

information lets them know you are not a fly-by-night

operation. You are a serious businessperson and a company

that plans to be in business for many years.

If you are uncomfortable with or unfamiliar with putting

together this type of marketing piece, just gather all the

information you can, including photos, and hire a writer to

create something that you can be proud of.

(Hint: No professional writers in your neighborhood? Since

you have Internet access, search for a writer on elance.com.

You put a job out there, someone bids on it, and when both of

you agree on a price, they create the product you want!)

There, you’ve created an Audio Business Card, a powerful

marketing product that you can use repeatedly in a variety of

situations. You can hand this to a lender with confidence. You

are a step closer to realizing your goals! Go find some

lenders!

Important Tip

Leverage your work effort. Do what you do best to create huge

piles of money and pay a $10 per hour person to do the rest.

Alan Cowgill is a speaker, author, and real estate entrepreneur. Alan has bought or sold over 200 investment properties. His step-by-step system “Private Lending Made Easy” teaches others to find private lenders. Contact Alan at 937-390-0816 or 866-831-3540. For a FREE audio go to www.PrivateLendingMadeEasy.com