Today’s real estate agent is in a much different place than agents in the past. Marketing in the past was throwing some buzzwords into a classified ad and holding an open house.
The world has changed since those days.
The New York Times today has a great story of how an apartment was marketed in 1977 compared to how it was marketed in 2010.
When Michele Kleier wanted to sell a nine-room apartment at 1125 Park Avenue in 1977, her brokerage firm paid for a one-and-a-half-line classified newspaper advertisement that offered the rough location (“Park Ave. — Low 90s”) and succinctly read “Superb condition. Sun filled. Excel. maint.” With that ad, she found a buyer willing to pay $145,000, today’s inflationary equivalent of $522,000.
This spring, when Ms. Kleier wanted to sell her 45th apartment in the same building, she invited 75 brokers to the eight-room apartment for an open house and seafood lunch catered by the Atlantic Grill restaurant. She featured the apartment on the HGTV television program “Selling New York” and paid to have the listing prominently displayed on several influential real estate Web sites. via The New York Times
This is an important concept to grasp. If you are a listing agent no longer are you just in a sales position. In fact, I will take it a step further.
A good listing agent is a marketer first, then a salesperson.
With the rise of of the internet and consumer expectations marketing a home for sale is crucial if you are not selling solely on price. Buyers now can see hundreds of homes online in their target markets. They are no longer beholden upon the agent to be the only filter in their home search.
So focus on learning marketing techniques. Learn how to present your home in the best possible light to your target market. Know your potential buyers and their wants and desires. And then develop your marketing to touch them.
When you recognize the difference in your approach you will see your sales skyrocket.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree without a doubt! And you touched upon an important element in that change is ever constant in marketing. What works today, may not work tomorrow and we must constantly change how we market.
Understanding what buyers are going to be the most likely to purchase a home is important.
I don't think Ms Kleier goes through all that trouble just to sell that apartment. I think she knows the MLS will do most of that work for her. What she's trying to do is generate more listings. And based on the fact that this is her 45th listing in that same building, I'm thinking she's successful.
Great point Aaron. And she now has a NY Times article to put in her marketing materials.
Today is marketing the most important, many homes sell themselves if you can presentation them good on internet. The buyer only looking 5-10 second before they click to the next one, so a really good photo and interesting headline is important.
I think that social media is the next big change in the way we market properties; which will force some people to change their approach (hard selling) and compliment others (relationship building focus). I think that the rise of social media has opened the flood gates for a lower cost online presence…conversion rates wise, having an all singing and dancing website is not potentially the best route…simple calls for actions have been proved most effective. For people in the same position I was 6 months ago (finding social media a bit overwhelming) here is an article that shows you the best way to get the leads, so you can start lead building http://hubpages.com/hub/Greg-Clements-Real-Estate…
Sofia brings up a great point! I was just having a conversation about relationship building with another one of my agents. Relationship building is huge in any walk of life but especially important in the real estate business – not only with our clients but with fellow agents. It is always important to treat your clients, whether new or old, with the same respect that you always have. 20 years ago the social networking sites didn't exist, and really the only way for people to comment on you was by word of mouth. Nowadays you have Yelp, Facebook, Twitter and many others sites where people can relate their experience with you (positive or negative)! Thanks for the great post Tom and also the comments from others!
Zach Skidmore
CenterCityHomes.com
Well said but a little glib. HOW to get your web marketing going is ALL-IMPORTANT. New, affordable website methods such as http://www.agentwebaccess.com give you the marketing tools and OPTIMIZATION tips and tricks that are sorely needed for success.