Hello and Welcome! The October 2024 issue of the Ninja Newsletter for Real Estate Investors is here to scare you straight, with a silver bullet to the heart of the beast! 👺🔫

But it's not really that dramatic, so don't let it get you worked up like your most fierce sports rivalry! 🤭🏈

October can bring the strangest things, from ghouls & goblins, to the craziest moments in baseball! ⚾

Wanna see me knock it out of the park with this month's Ninja Newsletter for Real Estate Investors? Then read on, dear friend, we're about to begin...

🔸 An Automation For Tracking Your JV Deals

🔸 What Else is New in REI Blackbook? 🤔

🔸️ Streamlining Your Rental Operations with Automation

🔸 How To Master Your Time ⌚ When You’re In A Pickle 🥒

🔸 Books to Break Barriers 👊🏾💥

Everybody's always looking for a way to do an extra deal or two before the year, month or week is up. Sometimes the extra opportunity can come from partnering up with another investor or passing along a retail lead to a realtor. The thing is, nobody wants to get "too attached" to a temporary setup or have to tackle new tech to do it. 

That's why, for our October 2024 automation of the month, I’m excited to share an innovative automation that can help you manage your leads more efficiently when you're collaborating with other investors who DON'T have REI BlackBook and you don't intend to give them access to yours! It's called The JV Deal Tracker. This automation connects REI Blackbook to Google Sheets using webhooks, allowing you to streamline your lead tracking process externally and still stay organized.

What is the JV Deal Tracker?

The JV Deal Tracker is a simple automation designed to enhance your lead management on deals you are partnering on. With it, you can easily add and track contacts while keeping all essential information in one place (your REIBB contact headquarters).

Here’s how it works:

1) Adding Contacts: When you receive new leads, you can add them directly to the "JV Wholesale Deal Tracker" tab you can easily create on the contacts screen. The system automatically pulls in their name, phone number, and email from your lead form.

2) Entering Property Details: If a seller has multiple properties, you can select the relevant address and enter key details, such as the seller’s asking price, motivation, and any notes you want to share with your team.

3) Workflow Automation: If the lead is already in your system, you can simply add a tab to the existing contact. The JV Wholesale Deal Tracker tab is built to have the necessary fields front & center, making it easy to input information for each lead.

4) Triggering the Workflow: Once you’ve entered the details, trigger the JV Deal Tracker workflow. This sends your data from Blackbook to Zapier, which then populates your Google Sheet automatically.

5) Continuous Updates: As you run workflows on individual contacts that meet your JV lead requirements, new leads will be added to your spreadsheet in real-time. This ensures you & your partners always have the most up-to-date information at your fingertips.

Customization Options Galore

The JV Deal Tracker is not intended to impede your management; it’s about visibility combined with security. You can set up your workflow notifications to text or email your team whenever a new lead is added, ensuring everyone stays in the loop on the latest updates to the tracking sheet.

If you want to learn more about the JV Deal Tracker, or any other combination of amazing automations with REI BlackBook—don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help you make the most of this powerful platform.

​By the way, if you're a do-it-yourselfer who wants to give this a go on your own, be sure to read on until the end of this newsletter to get the DIY outline for this automation!

As someone who’s been in the trenches with REI BlackBook for 13+ years, I know firsthand how technology can streamline your business. That’s why I’m excited to share one tiny enhancement in REI BlackBook’s new Smart Contacts Screen. This new feature just might transform how you manage leads, contacts, and even internal operations!

What’s New with the Smart Contacts Screen?

The Smart Contacts Screen takes contact management to a whole new level. Here’s just a few ways to leverage its new features:

- Clickable Links: You can now add links directly into contact notes, giving you or your team instant access to external resources like Zillow or Redfin listings.

- Media Integration: It’s easy to include images and other media into contact records, giving a more complete picture of each lead.

- Merge Fields: You can link to other contacts, properties, or landing pages, making navigation within the system faster and smoother.

It’s Not Just for Leads

While this feature is awesome for managing leads, it’s equally powerful for internal operations. Here’s how we’ve put it to use:

- Onboarding Team Members: Embedding training videos right into contact notes makes onboarding a breeze.

- Internal Communication: Sharing important resources, links, and documents within the contact record itself, keeps my team aligned and up to speed.

- Centralized Data: Having everything in one place—notes, media, links—means no more bouncing between different tools or platforms.

Real-World Examples

The clickable links feature within a contact record on the Smart Contacts Screen has made a big impact on how we operate. For example:

- Seller Leads: We paste Zillow or Redfin links directly into a seller’s contact record, so the whole team has instant access to property details.

- Property Photos: I can link to images stored on Google Photos, making them available to everyone at a moment’s notice.

- Training Resources: Adding internal training documents to contact records helps me assist team members right when they need it. You are a contact inside of your own database, aren't you?? 

Ready to Boost Your Business?

Don’t let all these new features overwhelm you—start small, explore the possibilities, and reach out to the Blackbook Ninjas for help when you need it. We are here to help you buy back your time and focus on growing your business!

​So, are you ready to streamline your operations and take your real estate investing to the next level? Dive into the Smart Contacts Screen today and experience the difference for yourself. Change is coming... embrace it!

Managing rental properties can be a time-consuming task, especially if you're handling everything manually. But what if you could streamline your operations, save hours, and still maintain control over your business? The answer lies in automation.

When I first started out as a landlord, I didn’t have all the tools I needed. I was dealing with "accidental rentals" and didn’t have any processes in place to manage things efficiently. But as I gained experience, I realized that having the right tools—and more importantly, the right processes—could make managing rentals feel more like passive mailbox money (or in today’s world, inbox money!).

Whether you’re a new landlord with just a couple of properties or an experienced investor with a growing portfolio, automation can be a game-changer. Here are a few ways you can start streamlining your operations:

1. Start Simple: Digitize Your Paperwork

You don’t need to go all-in with automation right away. Begin by taking basic steps, like moving your rental applications and lease agreements online. Using tools like e-signature software and cloud storage (Google Drive/Google Workspace, Dropbox) can instantly help you manage documents more efficiently while keeping them safe.

2. Use a CRM System to Organize Your Workflows

Once you're ready to scale, consider using REI BlackBook to manage tenant applications, leases, and property maintenance. This helps you track all your communications, tasks, and documents in one place, making it easier to stay organized and improve your tenants' experience.

3. Automate Repetitive Tasks with Tools Like Zapier

If you’re dealing with the same tasks repeatedly (like sending out lease agreements, following up on applications, or managing tenant communications), Zapier can help you automate them. By connecting your e-signature tools and CRM through Zapier, you can automate the entire lease-signing process, saving you time and reducing errors.

4. Build for the Future: Set the Foundation for Growth

Automation doesn’t just save you time today; it prepares you for tomorrow. As you grow your portfolio, having these processes in place will make it easier to manage more properties without getting overwhelmed. Start small, but think big!

Remember, the goal of automation is to make your life easier. The more you refine your processes, the more your tools can work for you. So, whether you’re managing one rental or a whole portfolio, these strategies will help you save time, reduce stress, and focus on what matters most, which is growing your business.

If you're looking for more tips on how to optimize your rental operations or want to dive deeper into automation scenarios, check out the video below for inspiration.

https://youtu.be/tNICb-uFBIY

You've got this!

As real estate investors, time is one of our most valuable assets. How we fill our days directly impacts the growth of our portfolio and the opportunities we can capitalize on. That’s where the Pickle Jar Theory comes in—a simple but powerful framework that helps us maximize our time, just like we would maximize space in a jar.

Here’s how it works: picture your time as a pickle jar. You’ve got rocks, pebbles, sand, and water to fill it. The key is understanding what each element represents and the order in which you need to fill them to make the most of your time.

Rocks: These are your most important, non-negotiable tasks—things that move the needle in your real estate business. Think deal analysis, property visits, negotiations, and meetings with lenders or investors. If you don’t place these "rocks" in your jar first, they won’t fit later.

Pebbles: These represent less critical, yet still necessary tasks. This could include bookkeeping, following up with leads, or working on marketing materials. Important? Yes. But not the things that make or break your business.

Sand: These are the small, trivial tasks that tend to eat away at your day. Checking emails, scrolling through social media, and organizing files. While these can seem productive, they often prevent you from tackling the more significant tasks.

Water: Finally, we have water, which stands for leisure activities—time spent relaxing, unwinding, or doing non-work-related things. Yes, leisure is important for balance, but if it’s the first thing you pour into your jar, you’ll find yourself scrambling to fit in everything else!

How Does This Apply to Real Estate Investing?

If you fill your jar with sand and water first, the critical tasks (like reviewing deals, securing financing, and networking) get squeezed out. You’ve got to place the “rocks” in first—those big, high-impact activities that drive your business forward. Start with your key priorities, then fit in the smaller tasks and leisure around them.

For example, when you wake up in the morning, are you diving into tasks that truly matter, or are you getting sidetracked by things like answering emails or browsing Zillow listings that aren’t part of your core strategy? By applying the Pickle Jar Theory, you ensure your highest-priority tasks always come first, allowing you to grow your portfolio more effectively and stay ahead in this competitive market.

​Remember: success in real estate is built over time, one important task at a time. #BigRocksFirst

So, what are your “rocks” for the week?? 🤔

Start there, and watch your progress skyrocket.

Heads up! This TL;DR bot I built the other day helps me keep this short and sweet: 

The JV Deal Tracker automates lead management by connecting REI Blackbook to Google Sheets via webhooks. Add your contacts into the "JV Deal Tracker," input property details, and trigger workflows to send data to Zapier, which populates Google Sheets. Customize notifications for new leads as needed. For help, contact BlackBook Ninjas or click link below.

Ok AI fans, it doesn't get much more intelligent than that! 😅 If you want the walk through on how to do what to do, I've provided a brief sideshow for you below.

​SLIDESHOW: How To Set Up Deal Tracking In REI BlackBook

"You can always find the sun within yourself if you will only search."

​— Dr. Maxwell Maltz

With roughly 90 days left in the year, it’s go-time! We're in the final quarter, and this is where the magic happens! 🔥

If you haven’t checked in lately, now’s a great time to say hello! We’re always eager to hear what’s cooking on your end and what big moves you’re making. We’re tapped into all the right connections that could be the missing piece to your puzzle!

Feeling stuck or stalled out? Hey, it happens. Stagnation is sneaky, and it can creep in before you even realize it. But don’t let it get the best of you! Since you’re still here, reading this far, I know you’re hungry for more. Unsubscribing from this treasure trove of insights? Nah, that’s definitely not your style. 😉


​Thanks for sticking with us for another powerhouse edition of the Ninja Newsletter for Real Estate Investors. We’re always looking for ways to improve, so don’t hesitate to share how we can make it an even better resource for you! 😇