How to Recruit a Team of Drivers to Boost Your Wholesaling Business

Most people try to find wholesale deals by purchasing a list of properties for a few hundred bucks. They'll send direct mail to each property on that list and cross their fingers that something comes back. This strategy isn’t the best way, though. If you're lucky, you might see a 400 percent return on investment (ROI).

By doing the legwork and finding those properties yourself, you can achieve a much higher ROI. By finding the exact properties that work for you and meet your criteria, you can avoid wasting time and money licking stamps to send mailers to chase property owners for a deal that will never happen.

In my experience, you can usually get a deal for every 200 houses you find by using our Driving for Dollars method. Driving for Dollars can easily fit into your daily routine — especially if you use the 10 Second Method — but scaling your wholesale business means it's time to consider adding team members to put some rubber to the road.

How to Onboard DealFinders™

We recommend adding a driver or DealFinder™ shortly after you close your first deal. The most successful DealMachine members have someone on their team who help find properties as part of their real estate investment business plan. For ideas about how to recruit new team members, check out this blog post.

For your first few team members, think about the people who always have your back and support you — such as family members or close friends. These people need to be at least 18 years old and should have a valid driver's license, vehicle insurance, and an Android smartphone or an iPhone. Bonus points if they have an interest in real estate.

Once you know who you want to reach out to, text them or call them and say something like:

“Hey, So-and-so! Quick question for you. As you know, I’m a real estate investor / I'm getting into real estate investing. I’m trying a new marketing strategy and looking for houses that look like they need a little maintenance. If you see any, would you mind taking a quick picture of it for me?”

If they're interested in he screen 1lping you, add them to the DealMachine app with the following steps:

Once you've found people who are interested, it's time to nail down the nitty-gritty and train up your real estate team. You're assembling a professional operation, so treat it as such. Here are some suggestions for onboarding and managing your DealFinders.

1. Decide on a payment structure.

Before anyone drives for you, you must decide on how he or she will be compensated. We recommend three types of payment structures: paying nothing up front, paying hourly, or paying per lead. Look at services like Venmo, PayPal, and other payment apps to see what will work best for you.

There are three general structures to consider:

• Nothing up front: In this structure, you don’t pay a DealFinder until after a deal is closed. This works well for wholesalers who are starting out or don't have money on hand to spare. However, this pay structure might be difficult when working with people you don’t know well.
• Hourly fee structure: This system is more predictable for both parties, but it could be expensive for wholesalers. We don't recommend going this route until you have at least three deals under your belt.
• Paying per lead: This method can get you more interesting finds, but it's unpredictable. This works best for people who drive random routes for work, for example.

2. Assemble training materials.

When you’re working with DealMachine, use the >DealFinder Quick Start Guide and create a funnel page. These two items will help you hire and onboard new drivers quickly and easily, without any hiccups in the process. Here’s my funnel, which will help you create your own. You can also set up the same page for your business with the DealMachine enterprise plan. It outlines what you’re looking for in a house, and how and why DealFinders should participate.

3. Create a process for vetting property finds.

The hardest part about scaling the Driving for Dollars system is making sure your drivers are adding the right properties. We've laid out a tag system in the DealMachine app so you can require your drivers to click a tag such as "broken window" or "tall grass" when they identify a property. With custom tags, you can also define your own criteria. This way, you know that everyone on your team is looking for the right types of properties.

4. Make it official with a written contract.

It's important to make sure that everyone knows exactly what to expect out of this partnership, whether your DealFinder is your buddy who keeps an eye out for properties during his commute or someone you've hired to drive full time. For that reason, make sure you clearly outline expectations, payment, and other matters in a signed contract. Here’s a sample contractor agreement you can use for DealFinders. Remember that DealFinders are contractors, so you don’t have to withhold taxes or create an extensive agreement you might need if you were hiring a full-time employee.

5. Celebrate and share wins on social media.

Sharing success stories on social media will show future drivers the kind of wins they can expect while working with you. And celebrating success shows your current drivers that you care about them and what they’ve contributed to your achievements. Share the love!

If you’re tired of the hustle and bustle of finding properties on your own — or paying hundreds of dollars for mailing lists that might work — then it’s time to work with DealFinders who can help. To seamlessly onboard your DealFinders, get started with DealMachine’s 14-Day Free Trial!