154: Learning How to Develop Dirt Out of Necessity with Clay Hepler

Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing

While flipping, multifamily, and short-term rentals are some of the more popular real estate investing assets, land offers a vast blue ocean of untapped opportunities.

On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan sits down with Clay Hepler, the Landman. Clay started his career with the intention of building a rental portfolio, but when things changed, he turned to land. Today, he is a land flipper and the CEO of Landman.

As Jonathan and Clay begin their conversation, they delve into Clay’s decision to drop out of college and pivot toward real estate. They discuss the role of mindset in building a business, why you should avoid courses from “gurus” who haven’t put in the reps, the value of repetition, and why Clay adjusts his sales script every month. You’ll hear how lowball offers can open conversations with a seller, how Clay uses direct mail to reach potential sellers, why consistency separates those who are successful from those who are not, creating connections with your audience and relating to them, and the outcome of a reactive versus proactive business model. Finally, you’ll hear why Clay never wants to scale out of his business and what you can expect from his Landman Accelerator course.

If land isn’t yet on your radar, Clay Hepler is opening up about why it could be an untapped source of success.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Clay Hepler’s accidental path to real estate
• His decision to drop out of college and pivot toward a real estate career after a sports injury derailed his plans
• The value of investing in people and putting in the work
• Mindset’s role in bearing the stress of building a business
• Avoiding courses from “gurus” who don’t know how to create a successful business model
• How repetition can show you what you’re doing wrong
• Why Clay adjusts his sales script every month based on seller feedback
• Understanding the intent behind the sale of an asset
• The financial catastrophe that led Clay to build a land-flipping business after dabbling in apartment buildings
• Making low offers on land and how it can open a conversation with the seller
• Direct mail’s role in marketing to potential sellers
• The items Clay Hepler scrubs for when he’s considering a piece of land
• Why he compares his land business to a conveyor belt
• The importance of feedback on direct mail marketing
• How consistency separates those who are successful from the less successful
• Calling every three to six months to build your brand with who you’re marketing to
• Creating connections with your audience and relating to them on a fundamental level
• Deciding whether you want a reactive or proactive business
• The reason Clay never wants to scale out of his business
• Landman Accelerator and what you can expect to get out of the course

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple '+' in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.

If you enjoyed this episode, we've created a PDF that has all of the key information for you from the episode. Just go to the episode page at https://zenandtheartofrealestateinvesting.com/podcast/154/ to download it.

Supporting Resources:

Visit the Landman website - Land-man.io

Find Clay Hepler on Instagram - www.instagram.com/clayhepler

Connect with Clay on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/clay-hepler-7122a912b

Clay on X - x.com/clayhepler

The Land Man podcast - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/land-man/id1676853754

Subscribe to Clay’s newsletter newsletter: land-man.ck.page/93428fc5b3

Website - www.streamlined.properties

YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos

Instagram - www.instagram.com/trustgreene

Instagram - www.instagram.com/streamlinedproperties

TikTok - www.tiktok.com/@trustgreene

Zillow - https://www.zillow.com/profile/StreamlinedReal

Bigger Pockets - www.biggerpockets.com/users/TrustGreene

Facebook - www.facebook.com/streamlinedproperties

Email - [e-mail]

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.