The Land Investing Business Secrets

Ever heard of the KISS principle? Keep it simple, stupid. Well, that’s been something of a guiding light for Austin Graham, financial advisor turned full-time land investor—a guy whose first deal was buying half a mountain. In this episode, Austin explains why he dropped texting in favor of old-fashioned, tried-and-true mailers (hint: regulations) and breaks down his simple strategy for landing 2 to 4 deals per month. As he puts it, the land business is just a numbers game. Do the work, get the law of averages on your side and reap the rewards. Personally, we’re big fans of this advice trifecta he shared: Take massive imperfect action Progress, not perfection Keep it simple IN THIS EPISODE: Find out why consistency trumps just about everything else Learn the one VERY clear offer letter tweak that’s yielded him many deals Discover how he uses the Pebble Pricer tool to zero in on price per acre for his blind offers

“If land were really that difficult, you think a fella named Rooster would’ve figured it out?” Rooster Vance, the land legend of Texas – and well known beyond the borders of the Lone Star state – talks to us about how he’s been able to kill it so quickly in the larger land niche. It all comes down to an easy formula: Networking + understanding what big buyers need Put another way, land deals are the simplest deals to do once you know where to find big acreage buyers, the ins and outs of what those buyers want and how they need the contracts written. The rest is essentially like filling in the blanks, something Rooster walks us through in detail. And through networking, these massive land deals now come to him. IN THIS EPISODE: Understand the power of a personal brand – exhibit A: Rooster’s TikTok page Learn how larger deals can actually be easier than smaller ones Discover how networking creates motivated inbound leads BONUS: Grab 3 free scripts specifically for larger land deals

Kevin Murray got into land 3 months before the recording of this episode. In that time – from June to September – he and his partner: Doubled their money on their first flip: $18K -> $36K Got ~150 acres under contract Dove straight into big-ticket subdivides How’d they make it work so fast? It wasn’t luck. After a decade in advertising, Kevin moved into real estate in 2020, where he and his team focused on mobile homes and tiny home communities – they now have ~695 sites under management. But they were buried in work, 60-80 hours a week. The move to land only happened after they discovered the key to buying back their time: systems and processes. Tune in to find out what else supercharged their growth. IN THIS EPISODE: Understand how concrete, detailed systems are the fuel for growth Discover why bias towards action is imperative for success Learn the value of not being afraid to reach out to experts BONUS: Comps are key for all land investors, check out the free Pebble Pricer Chrome Extension

Are messy properties worth the headache? In this episode, we’re talking to Josiah Ronco about a hair-raising deal that took roughly 17 months to close. Starting with murder – just in time for Halloween, right? – and moving from probate to rights of survivorship to tracking down 8 signatures with mobile notaries across the countries and finally creating an easement for a memorial site…this property was about as nightmarish as it gets. Was it worth it? Depends on if 5-figure profit margins are your cup of tea. Certainly one of the wildest stories we’ve heard! We also cover Josiah’s team building and how creating content is starting to play a big role in his land business. IN THIS EPISODE: Hear a truly wild property tale Learn if/when messy properties are worth the hassle Find out how Josiah has gotten himself out of the operator role and into being a business owner BONUS: Learn about mouth taping! Shownotes: Josiah@acrevault.com offers@acrevault.com

Two words: seller financing. As a property owner, when you can provide the capital necessary to make a purchase rather than requiring all the cash up front, you’re increasing the number of interested buyers. In this episode, JT Olmstead takes us through the world of seller financing, from the key levers that inform the loan structure to his typical loan terms and how quickly he aims to get his initial capital back (it’s pretty quick). The benefits to seller/owner financing? Easier, faster and higher priced deals. Is owner financing right for you? You’ll find out if it’s a good fit for you after tuning in. IN THIS EPISODE: Learn the 4 critical levers that dictate loan terms Discover how Your Land Loans streamlines note creation, communication and payment Find out about the basics of loan origination regulations

The answer might surprise you. As land investors, we’ve long been aware of the power of Facebook for grabbing leads but are we sleeping on pay-per-click (PPC) Google ads? We wanted to find out so we brought on PPC expert Brandon Bateman to give us the details…and it turns out Google search ads can be better for land investors than Facebook ads. In this episode, Brandon takes us through the reasons why, one of them being that Google searches naturally have higher intent than passively scrolling Facebook. He also clues us in on the mechanics of PPC advertising, the costs and which type of land investors this works best for. IN THIS EPISODE: Learn which ad platform works better for land investors; Google or Facebook Get the details on what Google PPC ads are and how they work Find out the expected cost per lead/deal as well as the potential return on investment (ROI) Shownotes: https://www.batemancollective.com/ https://get.batemancollective.com/relp/

Are you a Visionary or an Integrator in your land business? More importantly, what the heck are Visionaries and Integrators, what do they actually do and how do they complement each other to scale a business? That’s exactly what Ben Pijanowski of Assets for Acres breaks down for us in this episode. As the Integrator to Ajay Sharma’s Visionary role, Ben thrives in the day-to-day operations of land investing. That relationship and a clear focus on their roles allow them to both optimize their business *and* focus on growth by committing to one big project a quarter – growing the skillset and knowledge base of their team. The key to unlocking this sort of partnership is finding the right person to collaborate with, which Ben gives some great tips for. PLUS: If you’re a reader, check the show notes for lots of recs. **IN THIS EPISODE:** - Learn what the Visionary/Integrator relationship is and how it works - Find out where to look for partners and the green flags to keep an eye out for - Discover the importance of having clear roles - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/benpijanowski/) - [Assets for Acres](https://www.assetsforacres.com/)

We’re very (very) much in a seller’s market and a lot of land investors are seeing their direct mail response rates crater. What can you do to keep the leads flowing and deals closing? Alicia Jarret says the key to staying ahead of the marketing curve is zig when everyone zags and that everything in land is a numbers game. For her, that meant not only doubling down on cold calling but bringing the entire operation in-house and building a service that filled the gaps she and other land investors were noticing. In this episode, she breaks down everything from qualifying leads to follow ups to the importance of warm transfers. Now is the time to experiment with your marketing, cold calling just could be the solution you’re looking for to speed up lead flow. IN THIS EPISODE: - Why compliance matters more than ever for cold callers (hint: fines) - Learn the ideal length for an initial cold call - Discover the types of questions your callers should be asking

“If you have an opportunity on the line, it’s our responsibility as land investors to close that deal…Violence is the answer sometimes, getting s**t done, making it happen” Clayton Hepler isn’t talking about literal violence here, of course, it’s all about doing what it takes to push a deal across the finish line. Being deeply involved, making the calls, following up, going beyond standard due diligence and more. This guy is the quintessential operator and has built a killer land investing business through attention to detail, accountability to key metrics and data-driven decision-making. He’s downright scientific about getting results from his sales team with daily sales trainings and role playing, weekly call reviews and a strict adherence to measuring those trainings against KPIs. IN THIS EPISODE: Understand what an operator is and what makes a good one Why it’s important to be an operator instead of an orchestrator Learn the 3 things to have before you get into the land business

We’ll cut straight to the chase: if you’re sending mailers, this episode is a must. Michael Robertson builds campaigns like no one else in the business and he breaks down exactly how he makes each of the lists on his 13 Niches Lists. His best list: 3,000 mailers. 11 properties bought. That’s 1 out of every 272 mailers sent. Impressive. The key to his success? Build a great list first, then filter and refilter, digging through some truly inventive lists, like: $100 list 65+ list Low credit score list Code enforcement liens list And plenty more Michael is no doubt one of the most creative land investors working today, get your notepad ready and learn how to build each list. IN THIS EPISODE: Learn about each list on Michael’s 13 Niche List Understand why they work and how to create them Find out why Versium is such a powerful data tool