Maybe THIS Will Grab Your Attention: Marketing Ideas You Can Implement

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Maybe THIS Will Grab Your Attention: Marketing Ideas You Can Implement

CRS logo As a member of the Board of Directors for the Southern California Chapter of CRS, I recently monitored our CRS 201 class on Listing Strategies.

Even though I took this class when obtaining my CRS, I have had the opportunity to sit through it twice since, and always come away with new ideas to use in my listing presentations, pre-listing package, and marketing my listings.

The collective wisdom and sharing of ideas among class members that can easily be implemented is one of the biggest benefits .

One of the big take-a-ways from the class last Friday was a list of marketing strategies - some focused on our services or finding buyers, others on marketing properties specifically. Here are a few things you could implement.

Take video/DVD of home, neighborhood, city, etc.; also use to market to other brokers
Block party open house - could be a cookout and include other activities (1^st weekend of listing)
Make fortune cookies to hand out at open house - "you found a treasure today"
Drawing for Padres tickets or similar events for open house attendees
Lemonade stand in front of listing when first listed
Hire teenagers and give them t-shirts with photos and information to hang out in front of the open house
Custom notepads
Tide charts (business card size)

Here are some more thoughts:

Prepare kids' giveaway packages with small toys, etc. in bags with ribbon, etc , with your info for handing out at your open house
Social media, e.g., Twitter, Facebook
Informational phone lines (800#)
Listing business cards in brochure box; given to sellers to hand out; mail out to neighbors in advance
Texting home information from signage - cell signage (e.g., CGI Communications, CellSigns, Inc.)
Custom websites (e.g., Wordpress, RealBird - see Katerina Gasset's post), digital marketing

And how about these:

Tent in front yard with giveaways
Sponsor softball and other sports leagues with t-shirts (with your information)
Invitations to an appreciation party - must bring postcard - tear off piece for drawing (invite clients, and neighbors)
Hold a group yard sale the day the home comes on the market
Auctions
Offer different types of seller incentives - financing, buy down interest, throw in the plasma TV, the boat, etc.
Hold drawings to get contact information from open house attendees
Knock on neighbors' doors before open house, pass out flyers and invitations
Joint open house with other brokers in the neighborhood with food, advertising
Weekday/evening open houses - at sunset for view homes
Different types of signage at the property, riders, photo signs, reflective paint
Ice cream cart with advertising
Free pre-listing home inspection
Free staging analysis
Concierge services list

Feel free to share other innovative ideas your have implemented and that have worked for you.

My Jeff Dowler signature

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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad real estate and surrounding areas, the housing market in general (or locally), or otherwise assist you, friends or family in a home search or sale, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JeffDowlerSolutions@gmail.com

Serving Carlsbad (including Aviara, La Costa & Carlsbad Village), Encinitas (including Leucadia & Olivenhain), Cardiff, Solana Beach, Del Mar, La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, San Marcos (including San Elijo Hills), Oceanside, Carmel Valley, Escondido, and San Diego

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Posted by Jeff Dowler ~ Carlsbad Homes for Sale ~ 760-840-1360 on 05/26/2009 04:27 PM

Comments (117)

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117 Comments on Maybe THIS Will Grab Your Attention: Marketing Ideas You Can Implement

MAY

2009

These are some great Ideas. Knowledge is power. I Love the neighborhood yard sale Idea (fun and easy to organize ) add ice cream, and who wouldn't want to come?

Hi Jeff,

That's an AWESOME list. If you're serving ice cream, I'm there!!! :)

P.S. What about using balloons to attract more attention for listings?

Fantastic ideas....I remember when I first started in real estate and used some great ideas too. Then things became old hat. Thanks for the brainstorm.

Thank you for sharing your information-there are some great ideas!

Jeff~ I have never done any of these things for open houses, maybe that is why they aren't very successful- every one likes to have fun and every one likes ice cream!!

Jeff~ I forgot to ask you- where would you get fortune cookies with your saying in them from?

Good Ideas, thank you for sharing! Some I surely had not considered.

What a wealth of ideas Jeff. I always think the CRS educated agents are TOPS!!

Jeff

What a lot of great ideas. I like the "Cellsigns" one in particular.

Jeff,

Great list of ideas to use. I don't think Padres tickets would work much around here - free or not. :)

Steve

Jeff - I am bookmarking this post so that I can refer back to it. Thanks for the wealth of new marketing ideas!

Jeff, that is a lot of ideas. I like the fortune cookie one, buy this house and have much happiness :) :)

Jeff - having new and effective marketing strategies is the key in a changing market and changing times. This was great of you to share these with others, thanks. :-)

Thanks for sharing. That was a thoughtful thing to do

Jeff, WOW thanks for all the new ideas. I am also bookmarking as a reference and will pass on to other agents in my office,

Hi Jeff--Thanks for the reminder of how important it is to keep trying and stay creative! Wouldn't it be fun to see some REO agents trying some of this stuff?

GREAT post Jeff, thank you SO much for sharing such valuable ideas!!!!

Great ideas! One I found does quite well in our market in the summer time. I hand out "promotional water" in my listings. I get the small bottles of water and make a promotional label (using Avery label #8163) with a picture of house, price, my info etc and put it on the bottle of water. I put them in the fridge of vacant houses with a note on the fridge door to "help yourself to the water". Big bang for the buck especially in the hot summer with a day of house shopping.

Elizabeth Spencer, REMAX 1st Choice, Greensboro, NC 336-988-5054

Awesome post with tons of useful ideas to try. I am defintely going to utilize this post. I appreciate it!

Great List, Jeff. Thanks for sharing. A lot of people don't realize that the courses are constantly being updated. It's a great time to take a course that you might have attended in the past.

Great Ideas! Thanks I have taken the class but there are a whole lot of New Ideas coming out

Hi Jeff,

I was wracking my brain for something to drum up biz and saw your email. Thanks a bunch! I do many of the open house suggestions but it is nice to get a few more ideas for the arsenal.

Thank you for sharing your tips.

Sue Eller

Great ideas, but have any of them been tested and proven to work? I'm not knocking the ideas, because I haven't tried them, but I'd like some assurance that doing any of them are worth the time and effort that it would take to implement them.

Great post. I'll be sure to try some of the suggestions out as well as take a CRS course in the near future.

Great ideas. It is amazing how few of these ideas you see utilized in todays market. One other idea that is making some headway hear locally is the auction. It starts with massive mailing, flyer and signage the entire week of so that the home is busy over the weekend. They advertize that the home will be auctioned off at the end of the weekend.

Great Ideas! Thanks I am going to check into the cellsigns, it's a great product. I also liked the kids package at open houses

Thanks for sharing all of the new ideas you learned, some great ways to spice up an open house.

Hello Jeff, Great post today with lots of great ideas. Thank you!

Patricia Aulson/Portsmouth NH Real Esatate

Thanks ... always looking for new and creative techniques

The circus has truely come to town! When was the point where investing in the largest purchase of a lifetime involves ice cream, whimsical auctions and signs that will glow at night.

Preparing as a buyer or a seller wijth the facts at hand is the only way to come to terms with an eventual sale or purchase. That includes a few of of your suggestions LIKE STAGING, BUT THE ENTIRE TRANSACTION seems almost frivoulous in your context

Hooks are always prevelant in any business, but purchasing a house is serious and the ramifications of default can result life changing events.

jeff,

thank you for your post. Lots of good ideas and possibilities to think about.

Jeff - Good stuff. A lot of old school stuff is new again in this ever changing market scape that is evolving... You woke me up with this list. Thanks for the post and You've got Ice Cream? I'm there too....

Jeff,

I have decided to try some of these idea. It's a great list. Thanks

Thanks for sharing your ideas. I am always looking for new ideas in marketing.

JEFF: Really liked some of your suggestions .. and with your permission will pass a few of them on to realtors in my area in Illinois? Especially liked the idea of the free staging analysis and mentioned it to my marketing assistant. I can see the motors whirring in her head!! She's already trying to come up with a marketing concept for that suggestion. Keep 'em coming ... and thanks!

Awesome ideas! One idea that my sellers seem to really like is; I provide them with business card sized advertisements of their house. They hand them out to friends, family, co-workers, and almost anyone they run into on a daily basis. They have an interest in selling the home too, so they are more than willing to hand out as many as you give them.

Great ideas, where do you get the fortune cookies with that saying??

Sharon, don't be such a party pooper! Doing these things will help with your own personal branding- people down the road will remember that house that sold, you know, the one that had the free ice cream. Let's call him!

Just my 2 cents. Obviously, the ice cream van isn't for every home.

Jeff looks like a good list of innovative ideas! Would people really want Padres tickets though:)

Thanks for the post Jeff. I just had an open house this past weekend that didn't draw as much interest as I had hoped. I will pick one or two of these to try out hopefully with better results.

Hey Jeff!

Thanks for reminding us all that adding a little fun and whimsy into the marketing of our listings says a lot about our personality as a market expert. Yes, these transactions are serious matters and the decisions involved can be life changing, but the attitude we take towards the entire event can create a lifetime impression on both sides of the transaction. It's also a great idea for us to get the communities involved in the marketing process. After all, aren't buyers really investing in these communities as well? It's not just about the houses. Thank you~

Hey Jeff,

I also took that course a few years ago..since most of my business revolves around getting listings...I still thought it was a good course to take and maybe I'd pick up a few extra pointers to add to my already flawless presentation!:))

Thank you for sharing, Jeff. CRS classes are always the best! I would like to know more about how to use social media to promote listings or so.

Great Post with Great Ideas!

Mary Lou Cherry

These are fantastic ideas! Just proves it takes a little thinking and an open house can be a success. I have not had much luck with them, but will for sure try a new approach. Thanks for the thoughts!

Jeff - You've put together a great list of some real out of the box creative ideas that can very easily be used. I've seen a few of them before but many of them are really unique and great tips to add to our marketing toolkit.

I just took my first CRS class on Technology (Mark Porter was awesome). I am an absolute believer in CRS and am committed to their goals of excellence. Thanks for sharing the marketing end. In our tech class, Mark touted AR! Great post.

Jeff, Of the only two open houses that I did this year, one was a Barbecue Open house on a Thursday evening, the other was a 3 Day Yard Sale and Open house. Can't say the open houses actually sold them.... but one settled last week and the other is under contract

Thanks for staying up with everthing and caring enough to share! You grabbed my attention!

I've tried the neighborhood yard sale idea, and it works great! Especially if you call / email / doorknock the week before and invite the neighbors to participate. In our market, if you have 4 or 5 people turn out for an open house, it's considered a good event. Using the neighborhood yard sales and door knocking, I've had "open house" attendance up in the double digits! Now, if I only had a pickup truck full of "treasures" to take around to open house / yard sales . . . .

Some very good ideas, thanks for sharing them. I have seen multi-broker open houses with cook-outs before and although they did not result in a buyer for any of those properties...they did result in sales elsewhere. Not too sure about some other activities though...might be a bit too much liability potential on some things.

I've done open houses and have given a $20 gift card to one lucky winner of the day, to their favorite restaurtant. This way they give me their email and phone number so I can notify them. I have done a Sunday brunch in a gated community that doesn't allow open houses. Invited the neighbors and they had to bring 1 guest that didn't live there but liked the community! It was the most fun I ever had at an Open house and guess what? It sold to a neighbor's friend.

I highly reccomend CRS courses. Their core curriculum is packed with practical ideas and how-to's. Of the many desinations you can get, CRS is amongst the best.

Sounds like very innovative ideas -- hope they all work out and bring business.

Always can use more ideas for marketing homes - just found some new websites that allow you to market homes for FREE - for luxury homes www.Luxuryhomesandautos.com is offering a FREE listing while they are Beta and www.Postlets.com another really great site. Love the block party open house idea, I have sold several houses through the neighbors. Thanks and keep the ideas coming!

Great ideas, I wil take the ones that suits ones personality and character. I will be using many of them. Thank you for sharing

Enjoyed your post and certainly some great ideas. Thanks for sharing, being a CRS I have actually tried several of them and they do work. My daughters have done the Lemonade stand all last summer with much sucess probably more than me. But I would tell her that.

Thanks Jeff,

Terrific ideas; as a fellow member of CRS member here in the Silicon Valley, I can't stress enough the value of holding a CRS credential.

Hey Jeff -

Your friendly inspector can help you out at a good open house - Get the house pre-inspected. Have a bunch of copies of the inspection report on hand for the attendees. They can read how great the house is as they walk through. The seller can make any repairs needed before the open house. It will reinforce the house's quality and back up any disclosures made.

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your fresh thoughts. I like the fortune cookie idea.

Having an Open House with root beer floats in the summer is cheap and fun and brings in lookie loos but it warms people up and gives you chance to visit with them about anything -makes them stay longer- and if they like you-they will remember you............Buying a house is all about a lifestyle and how we live A lot more people are sorting through HOW they live and defining WANT vs NEED

Fabulous list!!! I have done some of this, but I got a couple of new ideas and also some hybrid ideas from combining some of the ideas you posted. Awesome! Many thanks from a fellow CRS!!!

Jeff, WOW WOW WOW! Now THAT is a marketing plan! When I first started in Real Estate, I held SO many open houses, it was ridiculous. I was a single mother and hated to be away from my daughter each and every Sunday. I had a killer lemonade stand made, with my company logo and my info on it and my daughter would greet them in the yard and give them fliers. I got SO many compliments on that and several listings. We both had so much fun. (she even managed to make a few tips, which I wasn't wild about, but she was, lol).

I have had a neighborhood wine and cheese before. It was alot of fun. I love the BBQ idea! I love most of these, actually. Thanks for sharing these. I'm bookmarking this for sure!

all great ideas!!

Give out half gallons of ice cream at your open house and you can be pretty sure you'll be their last stop. After all, who's gonna drive around town with a half gallon of ice cream melting in the car.

Hi Jeff,

I was grateful to see this come in, very creative. Thank you.

Dawn,

Amen, girlfriend! People like Sharon need to keep their nasty, glass half full comments to themselves. Someone rained on her parade as a child :(

Richard! I like where your head is at... Tour stops here! =)

Great post chock full o' great ideas!!! Gets the old brain churnin' again. thanks for sharing!

Kim

Thanks for the reminders and new ideas. I have had the opportunity to sit through this class and still see new ideas from you. We all can continue to grow and be refreshed.

I look at it like working out physically. If you always do the same things there are a lot of unused muscles in your body. You brain needs new work outs too.

THANKS!

Jeff - excellent ideas here. Last weekend we held a community garage sale and had an open house nearby. The open house drew a ton of people. We also have a list of e-mails from the garage sale sign-up and with their permission send them information about the community including open houses. We have gotten a good number of people to the open houses from this. We also hand out or mail out very sharp invitations about the open house to the neighbors. Right now we are adding flags to our arsenal for open houses. to line to driveway of the house. I am making the flags so we get our branding (colors). ~Rita

Hi Jeff -- I took this class a few years ago and I have found the CRS classes very beneficial, thanks for sharing.

Jeff,

I like the Ice Cream Cart idea. The neighborhood garage sale is another good one. My client told me last week, he does not plan to return to the home. So all the furniture would be donate to Goodwill. Oh well.

Several good replies too. Thanks,

Scott

LOVE the fortune cookie idea...amongst others you have listed here! Thanks for the tips!

What a list I can't remember all the ideas from the class when I took it. Maybe a good idea to see if it is in our area.

Good stuff. I might have to try a couple of these... could be pretty good.

Hi Jeff, Thanks for sharing this. it has been a lot of years since I took this course and the little refresher was nice to read through.

This is just one of the reasons I love you Jeff.

There are a lot of really fun ideas in this list. I've bookmarked to contemplate more carefully over time.

Jeff,

Thanks for sharing these ideas. Some tried and true. Some shiny and new! I like your attitude of focusing on the possibilities. And don't worry about the dream puckers. It's part of the price of writing a great post!

Fortune cookie says "you're going to have a great year!"

MAY

2009

Jeff,

I opened my fortune cookie and it said - "you will get good ideas from Jeff" Made me think.

Jeff, consider Redsox tickets....all kidding aside great ideas, we all agree now the question is how many of us will implement one or two ideas you mentioned.

Kathleen - KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. I like that. And I agree about the yard sale - I thought it was a great ida. And useful to help those sellers declutter.

Bruce - yeah, ice cream is a pretty good draw. Balloons are a great idea (as long as they are safely secured and don't sneak off inbto the air)

Karen - agreed. I don;t think anything is necessarily a brand new idea, just being used differently, or just being used. So often we don't implement great ideas that could work wonders...myself included.

Xinh - you're welcome. I hope you will find some of them useful in your business, too.

Vicki - well some folks seems to do alright with straight forward open houses, too. And of course no matter WHAT we do if the house price is wrong iut won't matter. Although we may get some buyers out of it.

Jeff

I'm sold on the Lemonade Stand and Ice Cream Station! Too Cute, Fun & Interactive For Everyone - GREAT ice breaker to cool the buyers nerves down. I hope someone holds an open house in the next few weeks, implements some of your creative ideas and shares with us via photos! Have a GREAT day and thanks for the "ideas" Cheers, Angel Quintero KNEWHOMES, Silver Creek Realty

Loved some of the ideas you shared.

Instead of balloons, coloured flags on poles, and they are reusable.

I am bookmarking this post.

Jeff D...

Excellent ideas. Does this mean it's okay if I drive around on Saturdays and shoot all those balloons? :)

TLW...ROAR!

Gee, Jeff, you mean it takes more than a sign in the ground? We actually have to figure out ways to market!

A lot of great ideas. My biggest problem right now is staying focused on a few basic programs.

Love the idea's! Thank you for sharing, this is one of the great things I love about AR, there are a lot of helpful members like your self here.

Thank you and have a wonderful successful day!

So many creative ideas. I definitely plan to use some. Thanks for sharing!!

When I visited California, I went to some open houses and it seemed like (at least in the area I was at) that there were a lot of people at the open houses. In my area, it's very hard to get people to come to open houses. I will have to try some of your ideas. Thanks

Jeff: Thanks, we're always looking for new and innovative marketing ideas!

Jeff - I like these ideas! Anything we can do to be innovative and 'different' these days is a good thing! Thanks for posting!

Mary

Good Ideas! BE DIFFERENT!

Great post, I'm bookmarking as well. I also liked the idea that someone had on the comments about root beer floats!

I'm going to be sour puss and I'll apologize upfront. I'm obviously in the minority here. It seems to me that spending 4 hours marketing the property on the internet would be much more effective in finding a buyer for my seller's house than having a tent in the front yard. The sellers hired me to market and sell their home, not promote myself with gimmicks using their home as a backdrop.

Tina in Virginia

Thank you so much these are great ideas especially to a new kid on the block.

Thanks for sharing your ideas with us. I am looking into this designation. Really awesome ideas

Great ideas. I'm going to start using home made ice cream.

MAY

2009

Jeff - lots fun and interesting ideas...I liked the lemonade or ice cream stand and flags...I will implements these at the next Broker's Open...

With smiles,

Bo in Yukon

These are definitely brilliant! Great work putting this list together!

Great Ideas!!!!

Jeff, I have to ask what a tide chart is? Are you talking about high and low tides of the ocean? We don't have too many tide realted issues in the foothills.

Great ideas! You must be creative in a market like this!

Cameron www.Your21Realtor.com

Great ideas as always Jeff! Where there's a will there's a way!!

I absolutely love the idea of doing a garage sale. What a great way to help your sellers get ready for the move. I'm also a home stager and I always recommend a garage sale, but I never thought about tying it in with an open house. Thanks for the food for thought.

Barb Mihalik (Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty)

Jeff,

Not only is this a very useful list, but you've helped to get the creative juices flowing.

Thanks for reminding us to "think outside of the box"

My apologies in advance as I take credit for your great ideas with one of my sellers!

JUN

2009

These are great ideas, thanks for sharing them Jeff. Looking forward to more info like this!

Thanks for the ideas. Some unique ideas to think about...

JUN

2009

Good stuff Jeff! I always look for those help yourself to water places! The CRS listing course is fantastic. I can still see Mike's face when I think about my class. LOL - Oh and another idea we liked is making up a business card with the listing info on it. Can be used by the homeowner to pass along at church or their kids game. Printed on perforated sheets and made up in publisher - front has the house info and back our info...

business card back of card

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing.

JUN

2009

Alot of great tips. CRS Courses are always great and full of the most up to date and useful information.

JUN

2009

I've found some large bright colored pinwheels from the Dollar Store to use on my open house signs instead of balloons. I had to modify them a little bit but a lot cheaper than buying balloons.

Pamela - you are welcome. Hopefully you can make use of some of these ideas.

Team Honeycutt - I appreciate the comment

Sandy - sounds like a good idea. Environmentalists really decry the use of balloons becuase so many escape and end up crating problems with wildlife getting entgangled, etc.

jeff

JUN

2009

thanks for sharing this wealth of information! I will try some of these. I will bookmark this for later use. thx again!

JUL

2009

Great ideas! CRS IS so fabulous with the information!

JUL

2009

Those are some great ideas. I really need to emphasize the video of the neighborhood idea for my area.

OCT

2009

I love the ideas! Thanks for sharing them. I like the pinwheel instead of balloons. It will draw attention!

NOV

2009

I like the ideas!!! We think alike

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Jeff Dowler ~ Carlsbad Homes for Sale ~ 760-840-1360

Carlsbad, CA

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