Home : Blogs : Missy Caulk-Ann Arbor- Realtor(R)- Ann Arbor Real Estate : Ann Arbor and Saline Michigan Real Estate

Sound Familiar? or not?

A few days ago I wrote on post on the Pre-Listing Questionnaire, I send out BEFORE I meet with clients, to determine their motivation for selling, their financial situation or their ability to sell. I mentioned how this helps me be prepared before I show up for the listing appointment. The other items I include in the email is my Marketing Plan. I ask them in advance to please check out all the web sites I am sending them so they will get a clear idea of where all their home will be marketed on the Internet. Most sellers don't have a clue what we do so we have to tell them. Here is the plan:

Marketing Plan Designed For Mr.and Mrs. Home Seller

1234 Main Street

24 Hour World Wide Web on Realtor.com

Feedback after each showing

Place a Keller Williams sign on the property

Perform a comprehensive COMPARATIVE MARKET ANALYSIS

Submit the property in 3 MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICES

Notify Top Selling agents of the property (usually 20% of my board)

Produce a PROPERTY PROFILE FACT SHEET with multiple color photos

Promote the property at Keller Williams sales meetings with video tour

Utilize a lock box to facilitate ease of showings

Monitor sales and listing activity and keep them informed of what is happening in the market place.

Send a report every Monday morning with activity in their neighborhood or school district.

Notify my past clients of your home on the market. Do they know anyone?

With my TEAM be available to show your home convenient to you and the buyers.

Virtual Tours on ALL properties, with Real Estate Shows

Syndicate to multiple national web sites.including Tulia, Zillow, Property Bot, Homes.com, oodle, craigslists, Google base, PropSmart, Yahoo Real Estate, Local.com, Livedeal.com, V-flyer.com, RealEstateShows.com, Cyber-homes, homescape.com and AOL Real estate, homescape.com.

(Most of these are syndicated so it is really not a big deal to promote where their home will be listed)

In 2007, over 63% of my business was referred to me from satisfied past buyers and sellers. The other 37% comes from Internet Marketing. I personally have 4 web sites that I market on.

SearchAnnArborHouses.com (The best search site out there)

MissyCaulk.com

MissyCaulkTEAM.com

BuyAnnArborRealEstate.com

I also have many other domains that point to MissyCaulk.com to use, depending on where I am advertising.

I tell them their home will also be listed on the following web sites: HomeAdvisor.com, Homes.com, Homegain.com, Yahoo.com, HarmonHomes.com, KW.com, Realtor.com, MissyCaulk.com, MissyCaulkTeam.com, HireOurTeamForLess.com, AnnArbor-Houses.com, Saline-Houses.com, KW.com.

Just Listed post card is emailed to 950 Realtors via Emailacard.com

New Listing sent to 4200 Number 1 Expert Web site people who have asked to know when I list a new property.

Their house is submitted to Craigslist every 40 days until SOLD

Team of 4 Buyer Specialists to make sure who home is shown at all times convenient to the buyers.

Top 25 bloggers with the Activerain National Network, with 66,000 Realtors, Lender, Homestagers.

Therefore, their home will be blogged about and promoted on Blog Ann Arbor, my Activerain blog and Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk my outside blog. Are you using this promotion? (If not, you should)

Google Results Missy Caulk, Realtor, Ann Arbor

I ask them to review the marketing materials, BEFORE I arrive, so I can answer any questions on how I will sell their home. When I get to the house, most people have no questions. So I get spend the time, getting to know them and their needs, wants and desires. However, did you catch anything missing from this report?

No?

They usually don't either. So I point out to them, No print advertising in either the Ann Arbor News, Homes Magazine and NO Open Houses. Now, I would be happy to have an OPEN HOUSE, but they just don't work in my market, we are fortunate to get 2-3 groups into the house. One exception is homes in downtown Ann Arbor, then you will get more people looking.

(I point this out at the appointment because I don't want any misunderstanding during the listing contract)

“Successful people do those things which unsuccessful people think are a waste of time”

***To be continued..... A few slogans I send to get in their heads***

Posted by Missy Caulk-Ann Arbor- Realtor(R)- Ann Arbor Real Estate on 01/22/2008 12:40 AM

Comments (103)

listing information, sellers

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103 Comments on Sound Familiar? or not?

JAN

2008

Your material sound good. And you are right, open houses and print are not the best choices in many markets.

Missy ~ Thank you so much for sharing such valuable information! I am in the process of tweaking my listing presentation and have taken to heart many items from your two posts!! A big thank you to YOU! I come from the middle of the state and find things different here along the Lakeshore. Hardly anyone here does virtual tours. Which is a huge surprise to me. Anyway..I am rambling. Thanks for always sharing with the Rainers!!

Great list Missy! Can't wait for the slogans...

I recently added a line to my letters, asking potential sellers to "google" my name and the name of any other agent they might be considering. Immediately, I received a call telling me my competition didn't even come up on a search! I'm lovin' it!

Missy, have I told you lately how awesome you are??!!!

This is an excellent way to build up what you DO provide, and then the no print ads and no open houses seem irrelevant anyway.

Way cool!!!

Wow Widggy this is awesome. Definitely above and beyond!!!

Missy, this is great follow up information to the Pre Listing Package that you were so kind to share. My list is very similar to yours, so I must be doing something right!

This is a very detailed listing presentation. I bet you have a high closing ratio. Thanks for sharing it.

Great post, Missy. We need to educate sellers on the way the real estate market has changed and how we put their listing in front of today's buyers.

Missy, It's amazing how many resources you have to market on without the high cost of print advertising....I need to get moving on my other site!

Missy - What I like about most of your advertising is that it's Free! I like that word. What a resource you are for your clients!

Missy,

Great post with some great info here. Thanks for putting it out.

I am not a big listing agent, although I have sold almost every property I've listed. I have to admit that my listing presentation is a bit weak, so I'll be studying what you do very well.

Missy, I really appreciate that you are willing to share your winning ways. Thank you so much.

JAN

2008

Missy - A very comprehensive plan, I would certainly want to list with you before you even show up for the appointment.

Missy, Great marketing plan! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

Missy - this is some awesome info, thanks for sharing it with us. I've bookmarked it for future reference.

Great job. Thanks for sharing.

Vickie Nagy, htpp://www.BestTriValleyHomes.com

I have a couple of dumb questions. How do you notify the top agents of your listings? Also, why limit it?...here in southern California, most buyers are handled by non-listing agents.

Margaret

PS: I like that you syndicate broadly, and I think that's a good idea.

Hello Missy,

I really enjoy your post... You are doing a great job and I hope to lean lots from you in the furture..... BTW.. thanks for the e-mail the other day.

Roland

www.ClarksvilleHomeInformation.com

Missy -

Your blog was informative, comprehensive, up-to-date, and powerful! What a great pro-active way to ensure that you're spending time with clients separating yourself from the crowd.

Thanks so much for sharing!

Bookmarked this one Missy. We update all of our sales and marketing materials every year, and this will help us focus, and add to the one we're updating now. It's excellent.

cheers

MISSY - I was going to flag this for a feature, but I see that someone made a wise decision to do so without my prompting. Great post, and something that we can all learn from about presenting to homeowners and making the case to use our services.

Great list Missy ! I am tryin to move away from the print advertising here as well but everyone seems to expect it. Congrats on your feature !

Thank you again for all you do so generously for all of out there who are great fans of yours. You are a 'must read' for sure.

Missy, Excellent post. Thanks for sharing your good ideas. I've become a subscriber.

Missy,

This is a totally magnificent pre-listing marketing plan......very, very thorough and so complete and impressive, how could anyone not list with you ?

Thanks for sharing your work and information....I've bookmarked this and will be re-visiting it for incorporation of many of your tips into my own plan.

Missy, great post. Your sharing and teaching is of valve to all of us here. I do like our you link in your other Blog. Great work. Now if I can get the link thing going.

Missy-I've been including a few "hard" copy sheets of my blogs to show how I can do a multi-tiered approach to marketing a home that goes beyond just the facts about the property. Thanks for sharing all of the pieces of your approach.

I am tweaking my presentation to include many of the things you have listed. Thank you for sharing and giving me a thorough and complete presentation packet. That along with what they can expect from me, i.e., my working hours, email response time, etc., will work well for me.

I have totally given up with print ads and I can see agents that are now cancelling their contracts. Open houses have not been effective in my market for a long time yet agents continue to do them with no results. I even do them but more to make the sellers happy...they do realize that in the end it is true. I have not problem sitting in their home and watching TV while I work on my pc:)

I handle my sellers the same way. We go through all the marketing plan, which is similar to Missy's, and at the end, I point out that there is no mention of print advertising, then explain the statistics behind buyer behavior, i.e., looking at the internet first. Sellers are more receptive to the idea of NO PRINT advertising when they understand that I'm spending their money in the most cost effective way to get their home in front of as many buyers as possible via the internet.

Nice list Missy. It is important to back up our boasting with written facts. Because as you said above : "Most sellers don't have a clue what we do so we have to tell them"

Missy, simply great information for all agents, experienced and new. I love that you send this to them before your CMA presentation. I feel strongly that getting a listing is a two meeting or email and meeting effort. One thing I also do is a professional floorplan.

Missy,

Thanks for sharing your marketing plan. Looks like you're a great agent in your area!

Missy - Looks like you have things covered very well. We do much of the same type of marketing.

Missy--I love the presentation...Question for you on Realtor.com, I thought you dropped your account. Change of heart or are you just noting that all MLS listings go into Realtor.com?

Missy, it sounds like you have all bases covered. I hope other agents realize how much they need to do to keep up with the changing market.

Missy,

Great post; you have got that down solid. I got some great ideas from this info, and I am going to come back to it after my appointments.

Sincerely

Tom Braatz

Hi Missy...

I came to fill up on cookies and comment on your post :)

We make a point of urging our Seller's to do their homework.

It's so much easier to talk business when the customer actually knows what you're talking about :)

P.S. Can I have some milk now? :)

TLW...ROAR!

Missy, thanks for sharing your listing information. I also post everything through postlets.com which sends to several sites. Thanks again.

Great job, Missy! I'd just like to point out (to the public) that although some of the advertising is free or low cost, that does not by any means mean a lot of skill/time/effort/hard work (and money) go into placing all the ads everywhere and creating/maintaining/updating the marketing/advertising materials and sites that we promote our listings on. I think there is a tendency among the public to believe that the more marketing dollars that are spent, the better. As we (agents) all know, this simply isn't true.

Love this list. I think you just reminded me - I need to update my own list!

Thanks for sharing and I will adjust a couple of things to my presentation. I take my marketing to the seller on my notebook and do a Powerpoint presentation of the Marketing program with live views of the websites. Thanks again for sharing.

You gave us some great tips. Thank you

Rich

Long Realty

Tucson Arizona

Great plan. I'd copy it, but I don't know if it would help for my listings to be on your website... ;^)

Seriously, that is a great listing plan.

Missy You are so well organized. I can't wait til I am experienced enough to get like this. But I'm sure it just takes time. Thanks. I printed this out to review and put to work.!!

Posted this last night and went to bed, got up at 5:30, it was snowing, Comcast was out, so I had to drive into the office, thanks for the comments and I will respond to each and everyone of you. Let me first answer people that had questions.

Teri, I am no longer doing the enhanced listings but yes their home is out there. I attach a virtual tour to each house I list, and RealEstate Shows, by Jeff Turner sends me the 2 links one MLS compliant and one for where we can use all the contact information. I just didn't get the response from R dot come to justify their price based in the amount of listings I carry. When AOL stopped syndicating to them, they lost 68% of their traffic. I told them I would sign up for Enhanced Listings, IF they cut my rate 68%! No they would not do that, but did offer me 200.00 off, I said No thanks.

TLW, Cookies? Actually I took most of them off, just for you. Don't you think I've cleaned the place up? Blogosphere is gone, Blog search, google search, most of the directories, is it still loading slow? or are you talking about the one where I can see who visits?

Margaret, who sells the houses in your community? We have 1000 Realtors in Ann Arbor, about 200 do the majority of the work. That is who I notify, either by emailacard, a phone call or a brochure from vflyer sent to them. I try to maximize who I contact, by it being the TOP agents.

Kelly, I don't tell them it is Free, because then they think it really FREE, and it is not. Time=Money and getting it up all the sites takes TIME.

Mary Ann, that is why I go over that print thing in person. I don't want them to have skimmed over it and fuss later.

Herb, yes you are right, most sellers think we stick a sign in the yard, put it in the MLS and take a few pictures and wait.

Hi Missy,
Great list. We do most of this also. But I am going to come back to this again after I return from some appointments this afternoon. We are also not going to go with R.com this year for the enhanced listings. Seems they should want to lower their prices to keep agents as the market changes but noooo...
Thanks for this post. Very informative.

Jennifer, once I am in the home, it is ALL about them, all about me is completely out of the way, except a few things I point out, Open houses and Print media.

Diane, I use to drop a Pre-List Book over at their house or condo. I found less and less people were reading it. So now, when they call or are referred, I ask them if I can send them information to read and review before we meet to not take so much of their time when I come to their home. Email works best for me, they get the important stuff, they send back the questionnaire and then we meet in person.

Renee, I use RealEstateShows by Jeff Turner. Now I can do them on every property and not just the large more expensive ones. It works, they love it.

Great post. I've never heard of mailing something to potential clients prior to the first meeting-I'll have to try this. Open houses don't really work in my area either-no one shows up!

Great stuff Missy, you are really on the ball and I think this could come in handy for any successful marketing plan. Consider this bookmarked!

Missy, looks like a winner to me. Very thorough. How could anyone argue with that???

This is a great post. With information like that I see why you are so successful. Keep on the good work and thanks for sharking.

Hi Missy,

We're on your wavelength and agree with all you put out there. We appreciate your generosity to share.

Missy your such a wealth of information. I'm bookmarking both posts and will go over my listing presentations to see what I need to add to it. I thank you for sharing your ideas and always look forward to your posts.

You do cover all the bases. What are the percentages of your houses selling?

Hi Missy, this is great information and very helpul. I will pass a link to your post along to our agents. Question for you? Do many Sellers question you about not advertising in print publications? Why have you chosen to go this route?

Hi Missy,

Those #1 Expert flyers are great! Most consumers do not realize all the value that internet marketing brings them. Seventy-five percent of our ad budget is for internet, and only about ten percent for classifieds (rentals mostly). Looks like the move went well!

Dick Beals

Missy, I totally agree...in one of the comments above someone said "free advertising" and I just wanted to make sure the public didn't get the wrong impression. Time definitely does = money! If the public only knew how much time it takes...and the skill and creativity too...

Robert, most of them sell, it is just taking longer. Last year I dropped a new sub, it wasn't selling and the builder couldn't come down so I had to move on as it was too stressful. I don't take over-priced listings so I would rather be 2nd Realtor in.

Dick and Sandy, ahh the move... still working out kinks. Not fun to move after 13 years, still trying to get on the same page. And no Number 1 has not gotten back to me. There is only one person there I can talk to and we play phone tag or he is not taking my calls.

Rebecca, no they don't actually. I think they realize that everyone is starting on the internet now days. When I share with them my monthly budget for my PPC Campaign and share the results, that does it if they had any concerns at all.

I love active rain! The free flow of ideas is never ending and it's doing wonders for my SEO!

Missy - Great post and I'm right there with... no print marketing!

Missy, Just expertly written and presented. Awed! You've inspired me to do something reall, really big ... I guess ;) Again, well done. Hmm, how can I improve my marketing?

Missy...

I have narrowed the problem down to the Clustr Maps.

Everyone who has one loads tons and tons of cookies.

It wouldn't be half as bad if the amount of cookies did not take up so much space.

But don't worry about it. I've adapted. I've been dumping cookies as I go along :)

TLW...ROAR!

Missy, You are a true professional and your not afraid to share. Thank you for all you have shown us.

You could be a blogging coach. (No this doesn't exist...until you decide to do it...in your spare time ;-)Truly, you would be great at that as well. I'm just lucky to be able to read what you produce.

Thanks again. Now where is that bookmark button????....

Well thought out pre marketing information. And I agree about print ads, they are a waste of money.

wow, more new sites to check out.

Missy,

Thanks for the information. Your marketing plan is very similar to mine in many ways. I also provide my marketing plan for them when we meet & if possible, I send it out with a cma and other things in advance. I did not read your pre-listing questionare blog, although i probably will after this. I pre-qual them on the phone asking many of the same questions it sounds you do. Thanks tho for you definately gave me a few other sites to look into for marketing.

I'm not surprised to see the high number of comments, well written post, enjoyed it and best of all benefited from it. You gave me some really good ideas. Thanks for sharing Missy.

Maria

Very comprehensive list Missy. I'm bookmarking for future reference.

Ah ha - now I know where all the cookies come from that have been showing up on my computer lately. I couldn't figure it out as I was not going to any sites that I hadn't already been visiting, but they were showing up like crazy lately. It never occurred to me that it was from stuff in people's sidebars...... thanks for that info, Missy and TLW!!!

So, back to THIS post - EXCELLENT Missy! I already have much of this on my marketing plan, but I really like the way you went into a little more detail on yours. I'll be revamping mine tomorrow, so I can take it with me to a follow-up listing appointment tomorrow night. I had already given them my plan previously, but I'll go over the new one in greater detail.

Thanks for sharing this, as well as your questionnaire in the earlier email - both are perfect for what I was looking for to tweak what I'm currently doing!

Ann

Missy.. I've learned so much from your post.. I feel like a rookie.. I'm still working on getting my first listing.... I need to make a contact and then an appointment.....then a listing presentation.... sell the home...

How funny! There's nothing in my marketing plan about an open house. At the listing appt, I make a note to tell sellers that I don't do open houses...two weeks later...'Why don't you do an open house?'

This is great... I do a similar plan... because of Point 2 Agent.... I stress to the consumer that my focus is internet marketing... Great stuff... I dont usually send it out before hand.. but if I have time between the call and appointment I will. I will read this post again to make sure I am not missing anything. Thanks for all the info.

Missy, all I can say is EXCELLENT! I am so glad that you're with KW now!!!

Missy - Great post as usual! Very detailed in every way and your sellers should feel confident they made the right choice.

a great post and a well deserved star - thank you for helping all of us be better REALTORS®

Missy,

Really good stuff. I'm going to borrow a bit if you don't mind. You are a wealth of info.

JAN

2008

Pretty powerful stuff, Missy. You are definitely on top of your game. Saw some nice press on A-squared in the Freep about the benefits of the Pfizer move. Sounded like the cloud has a silver lining.

Missy - WOW - this is awesome - you're on a roll girl - got it bookmarked too!! Keep it coming

Stefan, I read that too, yes they have a few start-ups renting space and more people looking. We will recover, I'm confident of that.

Kim, I use the Point2 and Number 2 flyer too. They are very visual.

Josh, How do you do a CMA without seeing the house? I have to walk through and preview before I see a home, to tell them what to do and visualize the upgrades, if any? Just curious.

I had to bookmark this post. There were some great suggestions and I want to read your prequal post.

Bookmarked, Missy. This is great information. I suspect you get great feedback from your clients, and prospects. I do very little print advertising as well - just does not seem to have much impact, but I don't completely rule it out.

Jeff

Missy - I spent several hours redoing my marketing plan. I had a good one before, but in seeing what you have here in this post, I realized I needed to update it to reflect a lot of what I SAY that wasn't showing up in WRITING. It's now ALL in writing, and it's a kick-ass marketing plan.

I used it tonight, and clinced a listing where I was competing with other agents. Thanks for what you shared here in this post.

Ann

JAN

2008

I like your plan, I am reworking mine now.

Hi Missy,

I too send my clients information prior to the Listing Appointment and find that in some it really cuts back on the amount of time you are there! As most have already said I too am going to revise my marketing strategies and incorporate some of your great ideas. Thanks for sharing this useful information!

Missy - awesome post, thank you so much for sharing your sample marketing plan. It's very helpful.

Thanks Missy:

As always you make a huge contribution to the community - and to your clients - as this is evidence of what they can expect. You are an inspiration and aI always get great ideas - this is BOOKMARKED!!

Missy, Thank you for the information that you shared, it is really great.

What a great and simple way to stand out on a listing appointment. Thanks for sharing

Missy that's great and a great way to stand out from the competition. We had a brain storming session today at work about something along these lines.

JAN

2008

Christy, thanks go for it.

Jeff, I do an ad if and when I hold a house open. Only then.

Ann, that is so exciting, being prepared, shows your professionalism.

Vicki, cool glad it helped.

Kelly, it helps to send it early, doesn't it?

Kevin, you're welcome.

Cathy, :)

Jessica, you're welcome appreciate your comment.

Tina Maraj Shah, thanks for the comment.

Heather, I love to brain storm, lots of great idea's come from it.

Thanks for this posting... your articles are always so informative. This is such a great idea. I will definitely be using it in my practice

Great post. I have most of the items you have listed in my 1 page marketing plan. I will review mine and do some revamping -- follow up to my to do list for this year. I just didn't know what to change.... you have given me some good ideas. Thanks.

Open house is coming off my marketing plan too, because they really don't work in my area either. I was not using the printed ads anymore - already.

I like your organization. Thanks for the tips. Bookmarked.

JAN

2008

Rosemary, I'm really NOT that organized, but I have systems in place and that makes what I do the same over and over again. I couldn't live without my assistant to keep me organized.

Dalp, thank you.

What a great, comprehensive marketing plan. Thank you for sharing. I will definitely be using some of your advice.

Missy, I am a newbie and am in the process of putting together my Business Plan do you have any suggestions.

JAN

2008

Missy - This is very educational for those of us who have problems with listing presentations. I go over the top with information about the marketing on the internet, and why it's more effective than open houses and print.

I do have a question about your websites, mostly because I have a similar situation, and I want your opinion. I noticed that you have a point2agent site, and a Keller Williams site. Do you monitor traffic, and if so what do you think generates the most legitimate leads for you.

Larry, I do not get any traffic from the KW site. No big deal, I didn't any from the REMAX site either. I just changed to KW a few weeks ago and pointed my domain..BuyAnnArborRealEstate.com to it.

I occassionally get traffic to my point 2 site. I can do more customization there.

I personally do not rely on ANY Template site to get much traffic. Even my Number 1 Expert site has decreased in traffic, and I can barely customize it at all. Although since AR, it has gone up in the search engines. But, I am thinking of dumping it and going completely custom.

The site you promote will get the most results, and by that I mean links out to other sites, any advertising etc.

My search site gets lots of results: http://SearchAnnArborHouses.com. I get average of 5 leads a day. But, this is my site I do pay per click campaign with.

I use all of them to mainly promote my listings as they all syndicate to the sites in my part 3.

FEB

2008

Great post. I got some good tips from it.Thanks for sharing.

JUN

2008

Missy,

You'll probably get quite a few new comments on this one. I tried to "tell" my clients why internet marketing is so critical but you actually showed them why. Way to go girl!

JUN

2008

Missy, as usual, great resource you've posted here. t hanks for sharing!

JAN

Great post, Missy. You seem to really have your act together. I would certainly list with you!

AUG

Missy - I just read this series. I have a print version in a notebook to drop off, but I need to do an email one. That sounds much better and will help to differentiate you as a technologically savvy agent.

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