There’s no secret to getting a home sold quickly – the more people that view it, the better your chances of a quick sale.
Marketing MUST Put Your Property in The Spotlight so it Becomes The Star Attraction… This is What We Do!
Unfortunately, too many real estate agents take the ABC “List and Pray” approach, toward their home-selling clients and try to get away with…
Advertising themselves
Banging in a sign
Create an ad
Download to the Internet
Encourage the office to show it
Figure they might try an open
Get on their knees & pray it will sell
Sure, that sometimes might work in a hot sellers’ market, but it could fail in any other market. Are you willing to take that chance?
Tongue in cheek? Yes, but there’s a huge difference between ‘Advertising a Property For Sale‘ and ‘Marketing Your Home to Sell’.
Since you will pay 10c less for the list-and-pray agent who may lose you $1 on the sale. Whereas the guerilla marketer could earn you another $10, shouldn’t you do your best to find the latter and forget the former?
The key to getting lots of buyers through the front door of your home to sell requires a strong Marketing Plan and a robust marketing budget to back up that plan.
Keep this in mind when you’re interviewing listing agents. Don’t be afraid to ask them for a copy of their marketing plans, ask to see examples of past marketing efforts and ensure that the agent has the online and offline resources to put that plan into action.
Getting the listing price right isn’t rocket science
It’s true that pricing a home too high will likely cause it to languish on the market. The homeowner will probably end up getting far less for it than hoped and may even miss out on the sale.
Overpriced homes are typically a combination of hopeful homeowners, and real estate agents inflated opinion to get the business.
Determining the market value of a home isn’t rocket science – it’s something we all learn as beginners.
Pricing includes the Logical Price as well as the Emotional Price.
Sure, with Practice Comes Perfection, but Coming up with Market Value Is NOT Our Most Important Task When We List a Property…
‘Marketing’ is!
Marketing, in a nutshell, is the megaphone for your listing – it screams to the world that your property is for sale, that it’s worth taking a look at and why it’s better than the competition.
Whether they are Local or Out of Area buyers. They may be Actively looking or just Passively researching.
You need all these buyers to see it.
Great Marketing leads to more views, higher interest & engagements, more enquiries from competing buyers leading to more inspections, therefore, stronger negotiations which mean a greater perceived value.
This results in an optimal price!
Without Marketing, you just have a ‘Billboard in the Forest’
No-one notices it and any potential price-fever is lost.
Your investment in marketing is an investment in profit.
What is more valuable to you? “The risk over-marketing or the risk of under-selling and losing tens of thousands of dollars?”
So, if you are serious about selling, invest in the best marketing plan available to ensure your property gets seen by as many qualified buyers as possible.
Why is This Important?
Because the internet allows buyers to eliminate as many homes as possible before they…
- actually, get into their car
- to look around the community
- drive through the neighbourhood
- before they examine your street
- then consider the outside, before
- they step inside to inspect your house
As any of these can be a show stopper!
It’s imperative that Online & Offline Marketing, especially the Photographs & Your Property Presentation meets their expectations.
We Need to Make Sure, They Turn Up!
While there are many ways to accomplish this, the best includes a combination of several strategies. One of the most important weapons in the marketing arsenal, however, is photography.
Photographs can make or break the sale of a home
Australians are visual creatures and nothing proves this more than the Internet. Websites such as Pinterest achieved their success through the visual medium.
Advertising agencies understand this concept and spend weeks to complete a single, what seems to be simple, photo shoot. Because they were hired to convince us to purchase a service or product, photography takes on a critical role.
The same holds true in the real estate industry. Take a tour of many real estate sites and you’ll find far too many listings that lack any photos at all or offer up photos of homes that are blurry, off centre and just downright curious in many cases.
Since most homebuyers take to the Internet to begin their search for a home, these photos are useless to the poor homeowner who is just trying to move on to the next phase in her or his life.
Besides shooting a wide range of photographs first. They are then sent to the post-production phase to photoshop and enhance them to look their best.
What else is needed? Lots of photographs showing all the benefits of the home. The only surprise buyers want to see is that the home is better in real life.
Don’t let anyone fool you that only a few ‘hero’ images are all that’s needed.
Also, buyers are very disappointed when they see the football oval sized image of the backyard is, in fact, tiny in real-life. Overly wide-angle lens photos may turn-on the photographer and the agent but they really upset buyers.
These same buyers do not make offers as the property has not met their expectations. Photographs must be believable.
Adding a coloured floor plan or site plan is an advantage appreciated by purchasers.
Here are some photographic examples of How Not To Do It.
The Statistics
Studies prove that homes that look professional net the owner more money and sell faster than those that were marketed using poor photographs snapped by an amateur.
From a USA study of a national real estate conglomerate, found that the use of a DSLR camera to photograph homes listed between $200,000 and $1 million netted the homeowner from $3,400 to more than $11,000 more than homes that were photographed by a novice.
Another study found that the sharper the photograph, the more money the seller will net at settlement.
It makes sense. How do you feel when you see blurry images? Not very inviting are they?
Copywriting, the art of the written word
Have you read adverts and wondered if they had been written by the agent’s children?
Blocks of capital letters, a long list of features, every lounge room they sell is ‘large’. Poor spelling and grammatical errors all make for a boring read. These do not motivate the buyers to sit up and take action to visit the property.
The Marketing Copy and Editorial should be accurate, informative and appealing. It should invite and delight the reader. Buyers need to feel, they ‘must’ go and view your home.
Other Marketing
Mainstream real estate portals are only just one of the paths buyers take to find homes.
Different sites work to varying degrees around the country. However, within the portals, an agent saying your ‘ad is on the internet’ is not always the same.
You need to enquire exactly ‘How & Where’ your property will be placed.
Will your agent provide your property with its own unique individual website? Will the site get a great name like www.BestListingEver.com.au
Will they provide an SMS Code to send the property information directly to their smartphone? Try it, Text/ SMS the keyword HOUSES to 0488 844 200
Will they arrange a QR Code? Invite neighbours? Telemarket? Send Direct Mail? Place Adverts on Facebook or Other Social Media? and so on.
How will they collect buyers details at Open Inspections and from Email, Chat and Telephone Inquiries? How will they follow up all of these extra buyers generated by the Marketing Machine?
This sure beats the ‘hope and pray’ method hands down.
It may sound trite, but for many Australians, like homeowners around the world, their home is their largest financial asset. It only makes sense that they want to get every last dollar they can when it comes time to cash in.
Approach the sale of your home as a business transaction. Search out the best professionals to assist you and you’ll be successful.
As Your Agent, Because, We Are On Your Side – You Can Rely On Us To Be
- Your Trusted Consultants
- Your Skilled Negotiators and…
- The People Who Oversee ALL of Your Transaction Details
Got questions, comments or feedback? Email [email protected]
To find out more, you’re welcome to call 08 83961100 to arrange a chat with people that care.
Alternatively, Book a Free Consultation or Get Your Home Value Here. We’ll Guide You Home!
Feel free to browse the rest of our Blog for more tips tricks and helpful info you can use.
Not sure of some of the terms & meanings used? Check our comprehensive Glossary, Abbreviations and FAQ’s!
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Thanks for reading…
What else would YOU like to know about? What would make a great story?
Do you have any specific questions or advice on buying, selling, renting or investing? Real Estate trends? Local, interstate international? Info on the buying or selling process? How to sell or buy? What NOT to do?
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Know someone who needs help?
You can REFER them here.
Whatever Topic or Suggestion you have… email us at [email protected] or call 08 83961100. We’d love to hear about your ideas.
Like most things in life, these are recommendations only. It is not legal advice, it may or may not suit your own circumstances and you may need to make your own additional enquiries.
Regards Eriks & Team Plaza Real Estate
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