I posted a blog yesterday showing off what one agent was doing with an aerial photo to help promote a unique listing, and it sparked a discussion about spending money to promote your listings. Since I'm not a real estate agent, I don't honestly know what is normal and customary.
How Much Do YOU Spend On Each Listing?
Does it depend on the listing itself? Or do you have a fixed budget for each listing? How do you decide - gut feeling? Or stick to some plan you learned? Do you ever ask the seller to pay for your marketing services up front?
Has the slower real estate market caused you to cut back on your marketing efforts? Or just the opposite as you realize that it takes extra effort to help get your home noticed amongst so many competing listings. Or do you just hang a sign and hope?
I'd love to hear answers and get a conversation started on this topic. Hear your successes and failures. Did you do something special for a past listing that really paid off? Did you spend good money promoting a listing only to have the seller turn around and burn you in the end?
What are your feelings on "buying" customer loyalty? Is this a good idea or a foolish one these days? Can successful listing agents buy up the current market because they can afford to promote more heavily than the typical part-timer who's also working working full time at a warehouse job? Or are successful listing agents cutting back too?
Where do you stand on this issue? I am very, very curious - and I'm sure others are too.
Thanks for sharing!
Loan Officer #510-LO-33203. The Legacy Group is an employee-owned mortgage bank & capital company. Residential, VA, FHA, State Bond, USDA Rural Housing, Construction, Foreclosure Lending.
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Great questions. I am anxious to hear some responses on this topic.
In our market the newspaper ads and home magazines are no longer generating enough calls from prospective buyers to make them worth the money. I'm interested in hearing what is working for others.
I do tons of Internet advertising and generate a web site for each listing. It helps the agents, cuts down what has to be included in the local ads. If you have an address they can go to for more information, just seems to be the best way of getting out the information in a hurry. I also email all the agents in our Board. Other agents are still the best source of sales just because there is no way one agent or company has enough leads to guarantee a sale.
Heather: What are you yourself doing? What are agents in your office doing?
Kate: Do you lose listing clients to other agents who still pay for the ads? The real estate mags still seem just as thick on the shelves - somebody must still be buying ads. Do you think that helps them or hurts them? Have you figured out a good counter-sales tactic to compete against them?
Once the sellers realize that 90% of the buyers are coming from internet advertising, they appreciate all of the sites that I advertise on. My advertising budget is a percentage of sales; every one needs to figure their own percentage. Dollars have to cover internet first, then the Agent Tour and Open House expenses. The signs are also factored in to the overall budget. Priint adverising could be justified for homes listed at more than $800,000. in our locale. Staging expenses are extra to the seller.
Hi Glenn - I focus rather heavily on Internet advertising to promote my listings. I also continue to place ads in local papers; people also tend to find us there. As well, I have found tht placing signs in the neighborhood works. More and more buyers are searching the Internet for homes while some still drive around neighborhoods of interest.
Newspaper advertising is always controversy in our office and with the GMAC franchise in general... we have cut our newspaper print advertising by more than half, and yes it has effected our Open Houses but other than that we could almost go full Internetwith our $$$, with the exception of our local Monthly Homes Magazine which is about $135 a page with color! People pick up the Homes Magazine and call us regularly... All my listings get all three medias... Karol
My budget has much to do with the price of the home and the willingness of the seller to do their part. Almost every home gets and individual property website, sign rider, 800 number, maximum internet exposure and more.....
Full marketing plan
Kate, Norma, Maria, Jon, Karol, & Kevin - thanks for the insight into your methods. Looks like the newspaper industry is in for more tough times ahead as more and more advertisers are pulling their business and moving into internet marketing.
So are sellers choosing the agent who can create the best website for their home now? Or is there anything else an agent can do to generate excitement for the listing and get buyers to check it out?