The Data Mistakes Costing You Land Deals (Podcast Ep#167)
Courtney and Skylar from Terra Data Consulting discuss how data science and strategic list segmentation are critical for land investors to reduce marketing costs and improve deal outcomes. They emphasize that most deals now come from multiple touches and follow-ups rather than single mailers, and that understanding end-goal strategies (flipping, subdividing, etc.) should drive both data filtering and marketing messaging.
Summary
Jesse interviews Courtney and Skylar, co-founders of Terra Data Consulting, who help land investors optimize their data processes and market selection. Courtney, who has a data science background, was initially hired by a family friend (Justin Pache) four years ago to manage his land investing market data. Over the past year, they expanded Terra Data Consulting to serve multiple land investors with data analysis, market selection, and list creation services.
They discuss how data science for land investing involves understanding market dynamics (KPIs, population movements, employer relocations), identifying ideal seller profiles, and using predictive analytics to determine which prospects are most likely to sell. A major misconception they address is that data platforms are 100% accurate—they emphasize the need to verify data and use multiple sources since human error is common at the county and realtor levels (e.g., property size discrepancies of 7,000 acres vs. 7,000 square feet).
Regarding data platforms, they analyzed Land Insights and Land Portal, finding that while sources are similar, pricing differs significantly. Land Portal is more affordable for small investors pulling fewer records, while Land Insights offers unlimited data for investors accessing 200,000-400,000 records monthly. Both platforms use AI-generated features like landlocked property detection and road frontage analysis, but these are imperfect and should be verified manually.
They stress that choosing markets requires research into population growth, sold-to-list ratios at various timeframes, employer relocations, and new infrastructure projects. The key is not just pulling entire counties but strategically segmenting lists based on acreage bands, out-of-state ownership, and other factors. Different investment strategies (flipping vs. subdividing) require different property criteria and pricing approaches.
A critical insight is that modern land investing success relies on multiple touches and follow-ups with warm leads rather than one-time mailers. Retargeting cold lists and continuing conversations with price-motivated leads over months—even if initial offers are rejected—increases conversion likelihood. They emphasize that messaging must align with end-goal (inherited properties, out-of-state owners, subdivision intent, etc.) to be effective.
They also highlight common mistakes: inefficient data processes, poor communication between team members, lack of system building, and over-filtering that removes viable opportunities. Their consulting services range from process improvement consultations to complete market selection and list creation, delivering half a million records in 3-4 days when needed.
About this episode
<p>Jessey sits down with Courtney and Skyler, the team behind Terra Data Consulting, to break down what most land investors get wrong when it comes to their data. </p><p>Courtney's background in data science led her into land investing years ago, and now she and Skyler help other investors clean up their lists, choose smarter markets, and stop wasting money on properties that were never going to work.</p><p>They dig into the platforms investors rely on, why AI generated data still has gaps, and why trusting a list without double checking it can quietly kill your margins. The conversation also covers how to segment a market instead of mailing blind, and why the real money is often in following up with leads you already have rather than chasing new ones.</p><p>If you have ever wondered whether your data provider is actually giving you accurate information, or you are unsure how to narrow down a market before you spend on mail, this episode lays out a clear way to think about it.</p><p><strong>What you'll learn on this episode:</strong></p><ul><li>Why trusting your data 100% can lead to costly mistakes, and how to catch errors before they cost you</li><li>How to compare data platforms and know which one actually fits your investing goals</li><li>How to segment a market by acreage, ownership type, and land use instead of mailing blind</li><li>Why following up with warm leads outperforms chasing new ones, and how to build that into your process</li></ul>
Key Insights
- Courtney argues that data accuracy issues stemming from county and realtor-level human error (such as property sizes being recorded as 7,000 acres instead of 7,000 square feet) require manual verification rather than trusting single platforms.
- Skylar and Courtney found that Land Insights and Land Portal, despite using similar data sources, differ significantly in pricing and features, making platform choice dependent on investor size and specific feature needs rather than data quality alone.
- The speakers contend that AI-generated property features like landlocked detection and road frontage identification are not perfect across platforms, with only partial alignment when comparing the same 100 properties between services.
- Courtney emphasizes that investment strategy (flipping vs. subdividing) should drive backward-engineering of property criteria, pricing, and targeting, because the same property characteristics have different value depending on intended use.
- The guests argue that modern land deal success relies primarily on multiple touches and extended follow-up with warm leads rather than one-time direct mail campaigns, contradicting earlier industry practices.
- Skylar observes that many land investors miss opportunities by not re-engaging with existing warm leads and price-motivated prospects over time, as timing and circumstances can shift to create sales when initial offers were rejected.
- Courtney states that language and messaging must differ based on target characteristics (out-of-state owners, inherited properties, subdividing intent), and that this intentional variation significantly impacts campaign effectiveness.
- Both speakers assert that rigorous data filtering at the beginning of the marketing process reduces downstream costs (skip tracing, mailing, texting, cold calling) by preventing wasted contact attempts on unsuitable properties.
Topics
Transcript
Hey, how's it going? It's Jesse here from the Land Investing Business Secrets podcast. I've got two awesome guests here. They are partners, they are business partners. That is Courtney and Skyler. They're the pair behind Terra Data Consulting. You're going to understand that Courtney comes from a data science background as well, and how she got involved with land and data specifically. There's a lot of interesting insights here, how we sort of handle our data, what to know about data and data services, and also some of the things that we now need to do a little bit more of that is going to require a little bit more work before we do our marketing. Anyways, I think…
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