How to Deal with FOMO in Real Estate

The first thing on your mind may be, what exactly is FOMO? Well, many people may have heard about it in the world of stock investing, but it is very real in the real estate industry. It simply means the fear of missing out. Basically, it works on two factors: the natural desire to want what everybody has and scarcity that you would lose something if you don’t act quickly.

While this may be a bad thing, real estate investors can use FOMO to their advantage in triggering consumer action. What this means is that you can activate the FOMO response in marketing and make people want to rush in on the deal.

In fact, it’s in use all around us. Wherever you see ads like JOIN THE WAITLIST NOW or THIS DEAL CLOSES FOR INVESTMENT IN 24 HOURS, that’s FOMO in action that is meant to trigger a response in investors. So, how can you deal with FOMO in real estate? Here are our top tips.

Take Reservations

This is straight out of the direct experience of Jacob Blackett, an experienced real estate investor and owner of SyndicationPro. While raising money for his real estate deals, he discovered that he would have several months without deals. But then, the calls from new investors and prospects just kept coming in.

Imagine going through all that marketing trouble to get your name out there, only to keep turning down calls because you have no deal for them. That isn't very encouraging. Jacob had to deal with telling every caller that he would keep them updated and they should keep waiting for the next deal.

We’re willing to bet that more than a few of them would have moved on to another deal within a few weeks. So, how can you stop losing prospective clients after you have gone through the trouble of making them find you and signing up on your platform? You take reservations. You have to put a teaser out there to convince them to join a waitlist for the next deal, even add a countdown if it applies. By this time, you should have created an email list that would include all those who are ready to take the next step in the investment process.

Keep It Short and Sweet

People have a short attention span, and so you would want to keep your prospective investors as interested as possible using the content of your reservations. But if you have no idea what your next deal will be, what will you tell them in this reservation? This is where you get creative.

Keep it broad by talking about the type of property your firm focuses on. For example, if you deal mostly with multifamily apartments, you can talk about the areas you invest in, the type of deals on multifamily investment that you offer, targeted returns for investors, and even a track record of delivery.

It’s an excellent opportunity to sing your praises a little bit, but don’t lay it on too thick. So remember, keep the reservation open-ended and broad. It could get a little educational, but the important thing here is the communication. You should be able to pass your message across effectively with your prospects.

Now, while this information seems a bit bulky, you should keep it short and sweet. Even throwing an eye-catching picture into the mix will add the necessary visual appeal to ignite their desire. Short and sweet are usually more effective in getting the results you want.

Because the foundation is broad, you can edit this as much as possible as you become more sure of your next deal. Keep your prospects updated as the process develops, and tailor your reservation to reflect these changes without doing too much.

So, in the beginning, it’s just a little detail, and within a few weeks or months, you have a concrete deal to present to them. At this time, you can get rid of the broadness and make it more targeted.

In property investment, you don’t want your property to be the one that sits on the market so long that people start to think there is something wrong. With FOMO, you can get them excited to get in on the deal, thinking that it won’t be available for much longer.