AI + Direct Mail: The New Lead Gen System for Real Estate Investors w/ Steven Howell

Use AI and direct mail to find better motivated seller leads without wasting your list. In this episode, I’m sitting down with Steven Howell from DealMachine to break down what’s working right now for real estate investors who want more consistent leads without spraying marketing everywhere. We get tactical on building tighter lists, using AI to “virtually drive” properties, stacking motivation filters, calling with better data, and combining direct mail with Carrot CRM so your follow-up doesn’t fall through the cracks. The goal isn’t to replace the human side of sales — it’s to use AI to remove friction so you can spend more time having the conversations that actually close deals. --------------------- Quotes: - “The investors who win in 2026 won’t be the ones working harder—they’ll be the ones using AI to focus on the right 60 leads instead of chasing 600.” - “AI shouldn’t replace relationships. It should eliminate the busywork so you can spend more time having the conversations that actually close deals.” --------------------- Chapters: 0:00 Intro 4:09 What Actually Works in Real Estate Marketing After 15+ Years 8:13 How DealMachine Finds Motivated Sellers in 2026 11:25 Using AI to Analyze Hundreds of Properties in Minutes 16:38 Building a Consistent Lead Generation System with Data + Direct Mail 22:15 The AI-Powered Dialer & Better Seller Conversations 27:23 How DealMachine, Carrot CRM, and AI Work Together 36:15 The Ultimate Marketing Strategy: Combining Inbound + Outbound --------------------- ➨Our Evergreen Marketing Podcast: https://plnk.to/Carrot ➨Our CEO, Trevor Mauch's Entrepreneur Freedom Formula Podcast: https://link.chtbl.com/EFF ➨ Facebook Group for Evergreen Marketing: https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialcarrotcommunity ➨Subscribe to our YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@GetCarrot ➨Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getcarrot/ ➨Take a demo of Carrot.com: https://carrot.ly/GQ8I --------------------- About Us: At Carrot, our vision is to inspire & empower real estate professionals to gain true freedom and make a greater impact with their businesses. We do that by providing industry-leading websites, marketing tools & training that help you generate more motivated seller leads than any other platform.