Expired Marketing Tips: what is the difference between traditional “Image Advertising” and effective “Direct Response” marketing?

I thought of a good example yesterday of the difference between “selling in print” and the traditional marketing that most people do. By most people I mean what is taught in colleges and universities, big corporations, and the typical advertising agency. The biggest mistake that most of these people make is thinking that “pretty” brochures are going to sell something. They make a pretty, glossy brochure and put a few short words or sentences about the product, and slap on their slogan.

The question is, would you use that in a listing presentation? “Hi, I’m Ben Curry with RE/MAX, look at my pretty presentation booklet. Remax stands for Outstanding Agent, Outstanding Results. Will you list your home with me?

Can make your listing presentation only using those words and get the listing? The answer is no. Sellers want to know what you are going to do to sell the home. How you are going to market the home? How you are going to get the job done. When we mail our letter, or call the expired we need to demonstrate how we can get the home sold.

As an example of the two differences today I’m going to talk about Amdro Ant Poison. When I was 12 or 13 we had fire ants all over the yard. The neighbor kids told us we needed to use Amdro for the fire ants. Why? Because it kills the queen. They told us this stuff worked because it tasted good and the worker ants would bring it to the queen, and the queen would eat it and die. Today what kind of ant killer gunk do I use? Amdro.

Other companies might have catchy slogans, such as “Raid kills bugs dead.” Does Raid actually kill bugs dead? That doesn’t tell me it is any better than any other bug killer. I use Amdro because their advertising demonstrated how the product works, and it is believable. In real estate, everyone claims that they are Number One. How can you stand out from the crowd? Tell the seller a reason why you can get the home sold.

We tell sellers that RE/MAX has more buyers than any other brokerage in town. Also, we use an 800 # Info line on the yard signs and in our advertising. These bring in more buyers. And we have a solid track record of homes sold. All those together demonstrate in a believable way to the seller that we can get the home sold.

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Ben & Chris Curry The Short Sale Agent's Advocate