REALTORS Turn Your Home Owners Frustration into Delight With These Marketing Ideas
Ever have a home owner frustrated with how effectively they feel you are marketing the listing they gave you to sell their house?
As a broker owner and sales professional for more than twenty years I get to see things from both sides of the fence.
As a broker owner the number one thing I experience is a very frustrated seller calling in to ask for their listing to be canceled. The seller feels the communication with their agent is not acceptable, their marketing is not working and all they ever advise us to do is drop our price.
If I were to sum up their frustration it would be something like this... “I hired an agent to market my home and they couldn’t promote or market a birthday party.”
Anyone open to some input along these lines?
We all know the number one thing to cure an unsaleable listing is price but what about sharing some of these powerful marketing ideas with your seller to give them confidence they hired the right real estate agent for the sale of their home? Try just one or two of these marketing ideas per week during the life of the listing and make them feel you are providing outside the box ideas for them other than just telling them “drop your price, drop your price, drop your price.”
32 Marketing Ideas to Make Your Real Estate Listings More Saleable
[step_graphics style="4" color=""][step style="4" text="1" headline="Dutch Auction"]
Pre signed price reductions – For example $5,000 reduction a week. Advertise to agents and public that this home will be reduced $5,000 a week until it’s sold. Creates a huge buzz.
[/step][step style="4" text="2" headline="Seller Financing Options"]
Offer the buyer seller financing, cash back incentives or attractive assumable financing options.
[/step][step style="4" text="3" headline="Auto Email Alerts"]
Provide your seller with listings comparable to theirs that are newly listed, sold or come off the market each week.
[/step][step style="4" text="4" headline="Below Market Down Payment Options"]
Good for investors. Offer to carry a portion of the buyers down payment at a slightly higher interest rate.
[/step][step style="4" text="5" headline="Below Market Interest Rate Options"]
Offer a low assumable mortgage, no interest for 1 year, lower than a bank posted interest rate.
[/step][step style="4" text="6" headline="Offer Creative Financial Incentive(s)"]
Offer no monthly payment, no strata fees, no property taxes, no lease, no rent for a year incentive.
[/step][step style="4" text="7" headline="Odd Sale Price Marketing"]
A $288,888 or $288,123 listing stands out more. Everyone lists at $289,900, 289,500, 290,000. Make your odd sale price stand out.
[/step][step style="4" text="8" headline="Full Term Listing Agreement"]
Take the local Days On Market Stat. Say it is 80 days average till subject free sale, plus 40 more days till you get cash in hand. Total 120 Days. So take a 6 month or even one year listing.
[/step][step style="4" text="9" headline="Above Market Commission To Selling Agent"]
4% or higher incentive to sell. If most selling agents offer 3.5%, why not spice things up with 4% or more to make it more attractive to show and sell.
[/step][step style="4" text="10" headline="Easy Access"]
Lockbox, message & show. Easy, quick access system for the now showings. Buyers want to see something quick and don’t make it an amazing race road block to show your listing.
[/step][step style="4" text="11" headline="Signage"]
Try a larger, hanging gallow, directional and multiple location signage. 60% of buyer calls come from the signs. Large, clean, high exposure location for signs is key.
[/step][step style="4" text="12" headline="Immediate Possession"]
Inform buyers and the selling agents of quick availability for possession. Key in fast moving markets. May be the difference for an offer vs. another listing.
[/step][step style="4" text="13" headline="Trades"]
Option to trade up or down with another buyers home. Take a boat, car or trailer in trade for incentives to the buyer.
[/step][step style="4" text="14" headline="Extras Included"]
Appliance, furniture, hot tub or home theatre packages included in the sale. Offer trips, cash backs for renovations. Think of what your ideal buyer would really need.
[/step][step style="4" text="15" headline="Recent Third Party Appraisal"]
Third party value of your home. Offer to buyer at no cost. Saves the buyer money and question of the value. Get the seller to pay and you reimburse them when their home sells.
[/step][step style="4" text="16" headline="Survey Plan Certificates"]
Great buyer’s incentive! Money saver. Help to sell property. Buyer can see for a pool or outbuilding space.
[/step][step style="4" text="17" headline="Title Insurance"]
Another great buyer incentive option if they buy your sellers listing.
[/step][step style="4" text="18" headline="Peace of Mind Incentive"]
Warranty option for buyers on the heating, plumbing, electrical, appliances of your home for the first year of their ownership of this listing.
[/step][step style="4" text="19" headline="Pre Listing Home Inspection"]
Have inspection done prior to listing. Correct all the deficiencies beforehand. Offer copy with sale, saving the home buyer money and concerns.
[/step][step style="4" text="20" headline="Avoid Contingencies"]
Subject to the sale of another home with time clauses may cause complete loss of interest on your property. Ensure the other home is saleable, listed on mls and appraised and inspected prior to accepting offer for seller.
[/step][step style="4" text="21" headline="Office Tour"]
MLS and Office tours come around once every 4 weeks. Timing is key to make the MLS and office tours on time. Offer lunch, reception or giveaways to increase agent traffic.
[/step][step style="4" text="22" headline="Complete Obvious Repairs"]
Out of sight, out of mind. Don’t let the buyer see imperfections. Leave no room for hesitation.
[/step][step style="4" text="23" headline="Staged Homes Show Better"]
Hire a professional home stager and really trigger the emotions of the buyers. Even provide them staging tips they can do themselves for little or no money.
[/step][step style="4" text="24" headline="Professional Photography"]
A Picture is worth a thousand words or in my mind a thousand dollars. Let the home shine with professional photography.
[/step][step style="4" text="25" headline="Clean Homes Show Better"]
Professionally cleaned home and carpets. So many times this sensitive situation keeps a home from selling. Again seller would pay and you reimburse when the sale closes.
[/step][step style="4" text="26" headline="Junk Removal Service"]
Offer to have the seller purge their home and place everything to the curb and have a junk removal service take it all away.
[/step][step style="4" text="27" headline="Gardening & Landscape Makeover"]
The creator of first and last impressions is the front and back yard. Does the yard sparkle and trigger the buyer to buy emotionally?
[/step][step style="4" text="28" headline="Renovations"]
Sometimes spending some money on kitchen and bathroom renovation and interior décor is key to a home selling for maximum price. Suggest a team of sub trades for your seller.
[/step][step style="4" text="29" headline="Painting Facelift"]
Least expensive return on investment and helps really freshen a listing up for it to sell.
[/step][step style="4" text="30" headline="Mortgage Rate Buy Downs"]
So many mortgage broker and lending institutions offer incentives to buy down rates with their points they receive from the underwriter or institution.
[/step][step style="4" text="31" headline="Post Dated Price Reductions"]
Keep the interest momentum by reducing weekly, bi-weekly until you find the offers start coming in.
[/step][step style="4" text="32" headline="Below Retail Price"]
Price your property slightly below the competition. The less is more philosophy (multiple offer strategy).
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Take the time to suggest a few of these ideas with your seller each week and show your creativity on marketing their home and stop just telling them to drop their price. It is great to have a reason each week to call them other than not calling them at all.
The perception of value and service you offer will increase dramatically.
Hope you and your sellers have tremendous success in 2014 with this listing strategy.
Strength and courage,
Wade
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