The world lost a great business mind yesterday morning, and I lost a good friend and mentor. Rest in Peace, Jay Conrad Levinson.
How Jay Conrad Levinson Kicked My Butt And Changed My Game
Years ago, I was working hard but not working smart, trying to build my real estate investing business but working overtime and not really achieving what I wanted to achieve. I was trying different things. Some worked some didn’t.
But then I saw a book called Guerrilla Marketing at the library. It was beat up, marked-up, and the cover was ready to fall off but the title intrigued me so I borrowed it (and ended up keeping it for so long that I had to pay a fine on it!)
I can’t overstate the impact it had on me and my business. I started marketing more effectively (while carrying around that beat-up copy of Levinson’s book and reading it every chance I got).
And still today, many of the marketing methods I rely on to drive motivated sellers and eager cash buyers into my real estate investing business were ideas that I originally discovered (and modified) from Levinson’s book.
Of course I had other mentors and useful resources that helped me in my business but when it comes to marketing, there was only ever one – Jay Conrad Levinson and his Guerrilla Marketing concepts.
People often ask me how they can achieve their goals in their real estate investing business and one of the best pieces of advice that I frequently share is to find some Guerrilla Marketing resources and implement them.
They All Laughed When I Said I Was Going To Thank Jay In Person
As I began to enjoy the fruits of that guerrilla marketing effort, I still deployed Guerrilla Marketing strategies. And it had such an impact on my business that I decided I wanted to meet Jay and thank him in person. People literally laughed in my face when they heard my goal – they said: “Jay is the creator of the biggest marketing brand of all time, why would he meet with you?”
I ignored the naysayers and got an opportunity to meet with him. We became friends and even went on to write 2 Best Selling books together. More on that in a moment.
But first, here’s a video from when we were hanging out together, when I hung out at his house for 3 days.
That’s another lesson for you: Ignore what the naysayers say. They’re nothing to you. The most important thing to pay attention to is what you want to achieve.
Jay Conrad Levinson and I Write 2 Books Together
As Jay and I were talking about his brand (believe me, I was taking notes like crazy!!!) we talked about what real estate investors needed to know to start and grow investing businesses that put cash into their bank accounts regularly.
I showed him some of the things I was doing based on his Guerrilla Marketing lessons and we inked a deal so we could collaborate on a book to combine my knowledge of real estate investing with his knowledge of Guerrilla Marketing.
Our first book together was Guerrilla Marketing For Real Estate Investors: 101 Ways To Market Your Business. We jammed it full of really powerful ideas that are a combination of our collected experience and knowledge, and it is still a favorite book that many of my students mention as being instrumental in helping them. That makes me proud and I know Jay loved hearing success stories from the millions of readers who read all of his Guerrilla Marketing books.
Our second book together came a few years later, Guerrilla Marketing for Real Estate Investors - Discover the #1 Tool Investors Are Using to Get MOTIVATED Sellers - Buyers - Investors & Private Money Lenders Flocking to Them. In this book, we decided to do something different. Instead of giving a huge list of Guerrilla Marketing ideas (as we had done in our first book), we decided to drill down and focus on one of the most powerful tools that Guerrilla-Marketing-savvy real estate investors rely on to drive sellers and buyers to their business. This book also became a best-seller and, frankly, it’s one of my favorite books that I’ve written because it’s so focused on a result-generating tool that I absolutely love, plus it’s the last book that Jay and I completed together.
If you love the work that Jay and I did together, you’ll be happy to know that we have some content for a couple more books in the works and my plan is to publish those next year in his honor.
Get Inspired By Jay Conrad Levinson
I was deeply saddened to hear that Jay Conrad Levinson passed away yesterday morning. He has had a profound impact on millions upon millions of entrepreneurs... and I was sincerely privileged to have known him, learned from him, and helped thousands of real estate investing entrepreneurs.
And do you know what you can do to honor Jay’s memory? I’ll give you a hint: It was something he was just as passionate about as I am… you can take action today to build your real estate investing business. Jay was ALL about taking immediate, smart action. Take action today and do something to build your business. That’s all Jay ever wanted from his readers.
I’ll miss Jay’s wisdom and friendship, and I’ll keep pushing forward as he helped me do. I hope you do the same.
Your friend and mentor,
Mark Evans DM,DN
PS, Did Jay’s Guerrilla Marketing impact you in some way? Share it in the comments below. I’d love to hear YOUR stories about how you’ve built your real estate investing business with Jay’s ideas and concepts.