Holly Haws is a coach with a decade in the business serving the investor market. And during this time, she sold almost 1,000 investment properties. How did she do this? Holly quickly discovered that there is a different skill set and language pattern used by investors and by learning these necessary skills and the mindset necessary to succeed with them, she could lean into this market segment.

We know the market is tight right now. It feels like there are fewer opportunities to be found. However, this isn’t the case when you take investors into consideration. After all, investors are always buying and selling, no matter the market. And when you are able to take the time to develop solid relationships with investors that are buying or selling on a consistent basis every quarter, it takes a lot less clients to reach your goals.

When you focus on investors who buy or sell multiple times a year, it turns out it’s a lot less work than finding multiple clients throughout the year. And when you focus on them in the right way, you’ll create more opportunities for both yourself and the investors in your sphere. After all, when you do a good job inside the investor community, they become your raving fans. And you know what that translates to: referring other investors to you, as well as other buyers and sellers in their orbit.

So, how do you meet and support this business-boosting group of buyers and sellers?

1. Focus on getting an investor-type listing.

In general, most investors are looking to buy more frequently than they are looking to sell. Attract them by looking for a property that is in the sweet spot in your market. Know where to look, what makes a good investment property, and the numbers behind it. Start by analyzing properties in your market every day to get familiar with what to look for. For example, if you are in a cash flowing market, search for a property, you may want to look for a property to showcase where the rent abides by the 1 percent rule.

2. Present it with pride.

Once you’ve found an investment property to feature, work it hard. Have professional photography taken of it. If you act like it is a listing you are proud of, it will come through to investors. If you work the property properly, you can attract 3-5 investors off of a single property.

3. Showcase that you are a professional.

Be proud of your listings, even if they aren’t top-of-the-line listings. This resonates with investors. For example, Holly would hold open houses for even her lowest priced properties. She’d find potential investors would be driving through the area, notice her open house, and stop to see it. As a result of these lower priced open houses, she would attract investors with multiple property opportunities, as well as build her investor network.

4. Join an investor meet-up group.

While you may not have considered joining an in-person group through an organization such as Bigger Pockets or Meetup.com, they can be highly worthwhile. There are real buyers and sellers in those group spaces – you just have to go and find them.

5. Don’t insist on sticking investors into a traditional buyer or seller box.

When you get an investor listing – and you will – be sure to not put investors in the same category as your other buyers and sellers. They are different and need to be handled as such. Holly applied a different skill set to investors, showing flexibility and analyzing properties to show how the numbers worked for them.

Once Holly had attracted investors as a core market segment, she supported them in ways that differed from a traditional buyer or seller. For starters, she built an investor-specific vendor dream team. What does this mean? Holly says to think about an out-of-state investor who never wants to visit the property. Consider the problems you can solve for them before the problems actually arise, such as having a recommended property management company, a contractor, and a lender. Ask yourself what an investor would need in a vendor team and start the vetting process before they ask. You’ll need to see what works and what doesn’t work so that your investors don’t have to do this work.

Another thing that is important for agents to be educated on if they want to focus on the investor segment of the market are the lenders an investor may need. Figure out the type of loans that are available for investors in your area – and keep in mind that these products can differ from the loans that traditional buyers may be in the market for. Call multiple different types of banks, get referrals, and multiple types of loan options. Get educated on this market so that you can make the right introductions to help your investors make the right financing decisions.

Inspire members: start looking for investment properties to build your relationships with investors in your market (or your own investment opportunities) by downloading Holly’s guidelines for finding investment properties from the Inspire portal as well as her buy box worksheet. Not an Inspire member? Find out how to become a member here.