Real Estate Blog - What Is Your Most Successful Marketing Strategy in THIS Market?

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What Is Your Most Successful Marketing Strategy in THIS Market?

First let me say

I LOVE ACTIVE RAIN & I LOVE REAL ESTATE

We all want to see the sold sign hanging outside of our listings. One of the things that I love about Active Rain is that we are a community of like minded people. We are Real Estate Professionals that are looking to succeed. Why else would we spend so much time populating a blog with information that is beneficial to our clients and Real Estate Professionals all across our country.

We are in a different market. It is a market that none of us has ever seen before. Some have seen a market similar, but not the same. So here is my question.

In 2008, What Has Been Your Most Successful Marketing Strategy?

I believe that the response may be helpful to others in the industry. I will give you my strategy first. It is pretty simple. I keep in touch with my potential clients and maintain a web presence. How do I do this? I blog just about every day. My blog comments are picked up within an hour by Google. Second, I send out a newsletter to my sphere of influenced and have been sending this for the past two years. When things got a little slim, I cut down the number of subscribers or I send every other month, but I stay in touch. I talk to everyone I meet and let them know that i am a Real Estate Consultant.

The Result

When I see those I have been in contact with, they will make comments like "we really appreciate the newsletter, your are still in real estate right?, I am going to have my friend call you, what do you think about the market, we are thinking about selling our house". I have gotten several listings as a direct result of blogging and my newsletter.

Now I NEED Your HELP

I need to know what you do to draw attention to a listing that is not getting the "looks" it deserves. We are priced competitively, the house is in good condition, but we are not getting the traffic I would like.

Thanks Again Active Rain Family

I Love You Guys

Leander McClain, Burlington County's Top Realtor & Real Estate Consultant 609-505-6578

Posted by Leander McClain: Realtor ~NJ Real Estate NJSouthRealEstate.Com on 11/07/2008 02:58 AM

Comments (80)

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80 Comments on What Is Your Most Successful Marketing Strategy in THIS Market?

NOV

2008

Leander how about targeting expired listings? This is something that I have not done much of but plan to implement into my business strategy.

In 2008, What Has Been Your Most Successful Marketing Strategy?

Seeking alternative financing opportunities for home buyers. Goodness knows, we have the housing stock. What we don't have is mortgage flexitility.

Shifting from advertising our services to buyer to offering financing opportunities for prospective buyers has made the difference.

I post on Postlets which gets me a lot of exposure. And I am part of a multiagent mutl firm caravan that sees new listings every 2 weeks so this gets us a lot of exposure

I would have to say, my most successful marketing strategy has been to join ActiveRain this year. The leads are starting to come in. I am surprised on how many people say they found me on the Internet. I have to attribute that to ActiveRain.

Leander, you have probably already done these things for your listing, but here are some ideas:

Sending personalized "Just Listed" letters to the neighborhood.
Held a Brokers Open to get other agents to look at the property.
Advertised the property on Craigslist.
Held an Open House and given away a good "Door Prize".
Sent email brochures to your email list and sphere of influence.
etc.

I hope this helps and good luck with your listing.

Each year we develop some unique, funny postcards that we send out 4 times a year. Everyone looks forward to seeing what we will do! This year we had a theme of unusual holidays -- e.g. today is men in the kitchen day! One year we had a contest. Another year, we had a people look for things on our website. It is a lot of fun. I also send emails or newpaper clippings on topics I know will interest my clients. I have notes in my ACT program to remind me about the topics and the dates. Anniversary cards (for closing date) is another thing. Of course, getting involved with the Chamber, volunteering and just living life!

My most successful strategy this year is blogging and followed very closely with working on my SOI. Like Bill, I also want to implement the expired system.

Leander...I agree with the above mentioned ideas.... You may also wish to register a domain name exclusive to the property.. Example.. www.1234ElmStreet.com Make the website exclusive to the property you wish to promote....and then promote the daylights out of the URL.

You are absolutely correct when you say making contacts and meeting people is the most important marketing strategy you can have. I've been harping on this for weeks. Forget having coffee with the office gang..get out on the streets and meet people. Attend the open houses, join community groups, write columns in several community newspapers, keep in touch with past clients and above all work hard at branding your name to your profession.

There were some pretty great ideas that everyone came up with. the one that was missed and would definetely bring more attention to a property is Home staging. It is definetely worth considering with the overload of inventory on the market. It may sound cliche , but staging is far less than your first price reduction..

Blogging made a difference for me this year. Ialso keep sending my newsletter and I advertise my properties about everywhere on the net. I give out a lot of business cards and I attach a little package of gummi bears to it. That seams to get people's attention. I have stayed away from printed advertising for a while, but will give it one more try next month.

Open houses are big in my area. Instead of posting the usual 3 signs(one in yard, one at end of the street, one on the corner of the most likely street) flood the area with 10-15 out at least a mile in all directions to the busiest streets possible. If you have a flood of signs in the same area, put a balloon on yours. Secondly, when people come, hand them a contract!! Shocks these. Isnt your job to sell the house? What better way to let the attendees know you are serious. (I ask for them back if they are not interested in the house)-why? Tells me who is a true buyer and who isnt.

This last weekend I had 20 people thru my open house. Several said, WOW you are serious!! My response is, That is what the sellers hired me to do-Are you thinking of selling? No, Well here is my card if you ever think of selling.

I think we just get lazy at open houses and therefore the public thinks we are there to "entertain" them. NOT ME!! There are 100's of other things I would rather be doing on a nice fall day so I work it!!! You just have to figure out what sets you apart from others. I Love the agent who sits in the lawn chair in the kitchen!! NOT ME!! I greet you, tell you above the things that are great features but Not obvious or might be missed.

I also tell the attendees that all offers will be presented to the sell immediately after the open house so If they are working with an agent they may want to call them and let me know if there is some interest so I know to touch base with them. Now I have found out the second most important thing without being direct and asking, "Are you working with another agent."

This is just a couple of ways of getting the information we all want but without being so direct and sending a message this house is selling TODAY!! Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt BUT the seller KNOWS you gave it everything you had to sell it today and if it didnt you better be talking seriously about WHY. Hope this helps everyone.....

I think you nailed some important points. Stay in touch with people and constantly remind them of what you do. The other network, network, network...

Great Ideas Everyone. Keep them coming. I had posted in the past on craigslist, but I slacked off. I did post on postlets and point2....both site sydicate.

Becky - I love your idea about flooding the area with signs. I think the next one I have, I will take more time to plan my strategy

Michael - I love the door prize idea. I'm not sure if we are allowed to do that in NJ

Leander - Is this the same house that you held an 'open' and lost a sign?

I'm not sure if you were a subscriber when I talked about attracting business and getting the word out about a property. Perhaps that will provide some more details, but I am providing some bullet points that I think could work.

SOI (as you indicated already) - Let them know the house is on the market
Local Agents - Sure, they could check MLS but this is more direct and perhaps they didn't realize how charming the home is. There are MANY houses to look at on MLS, as you know.
Talk to the neighbors - Perhaps going to the neighborhood with some flyers or maybe inviting them to an open house directly. They are curious what the home has inside and the price anyway. Ask for help.. they get to choose who their neighbors will be.
How about a small party with the owners family and friends? This is a great way to meet THEM and also a way to help out their friend. They can assist with getting the word out for a quicker sale.

This is just something quick. Best of luck!

John - Thanks for your ideas. And yes you nailed it....this is the open house where I lost the sign :)

Referrals saved me in 08, send a thank you note with a gift card $5- $10, just for the name and people will send you more names. Check with your broker first.

NOV

2008

I'd have to say keeping in touch. People want and need personal contact. Pick up the phone to just chat with past clients and your friends and family.

I really do just about what you have already done......my newsletter is fiathfully mailed to specific neighborhoods. Plus, I rely heavily on my email newsletter. Just keep working the basics and everything else will fall into place.

First and foremost...it has to be about THEM...them the buyer or them the seller...get financing in order, get the house dressed up and ready to sell at a price that it WILL sell at...not one you bought to get the listing....

Couple things I can attribute to my sucess for 08: Open house & past referrals.

Thanks for sharing your ideas and I love to network and we do a lot with expired listings.

Try a Auction (not an absolute) it not only helps sell homes it helps get the sellers realistic about price. I have been doing them for little over a year with a 66% sales rate and a 100% price reduction rate. I have also started do yard sales with an open house at the same time. Customer traffic is 10 times better and hey everyone knows someone.

I would say social media with a positive outlook kept me alive. For your listing: vflyer, p2A (right there you are grabbing another 30ish free classified sites), realbird, maybe open houses (depends on attendance in your area). Active rain definitely.

Make sure you write all headlines with heavily searched keywords and good luck!

Hello Leander - In response to your last inquiry....I will suggest you have a professional home stager in your area do a consultation on the home. Staging will increase the number of 'looks' a home will get...plus, that relays into increase in traffic. A staged home will be more visually appealing online and in person. Working with a professional home stager is a marketing idea which every REA will benefit from...try it with your current listings today!

There are many successful REAs who understand the power of Home Staging and the buyer....unfortunately, there are too many REAs who have yet to try it. TRY IT! STAGE IT! Regards-Kathleen G

Leander, I commented on this post yesterday, but I wanted to congratulate you today on the Feature. Good Post!

We have started working ALOT of rentals. We've even started a property management company. It eats up some time but makes us a little money in addition to our regular real estate business. Now is a good time to retool.

It is a small idea, I know, but I work with a lot of women and suggest the seller hold as many gatherings in their home as possible when it is not showing. Shows/Parties that do well here in NC (atleast amoung the women) include Southern Living at Home, Pampered Chef, Tastefully Simple... kind of like the old Tupperware gigs but with a new twist. Pampered Chef and Tastefully Simple can really show off a kitchens attributes as one is essentially a cooking show, and the other items to cook, bake, or make. Southern Living can show off a Living room or family room as it is decorations. As for the guys, they can have gatherings for sports events on TV, card games, etc. I make sure there are lots of flyers available and multiple table top books around. After recieving any compliments on their homes, I tell sellers to ask their guests to keep the house in mind should they know anyone coming to the area. This seems to get people into your home without the fear of a big, bad, pushy real estate agent walking behind them with a pen and an Offer to Purchase in hand. It's actually a good time for these shows/parties as the holidays are coming, and people are going to be buying gifts anyhow. Best of Luck to you!

Leander - This was a great question and I hope you will get many more comments. Congratulations on the feature.

Many of the strategies have already been covered but I find keeping in touch with SOI, networking, and providing useful information key.

And don't forget your online presence, I have had many contacts that way.

Leander - Congrats on your gold star! As you know, I have followed you for a little while. I'd like to go on record and say that you should receive more of these gold stars for some of the posts you have written. Well deserved!

Hi Leander- Congrats on the feature...In regards to the door prize question you had. I encourage you to look closely at the language in our states rules and guidelines. I don't remember specifics but it mentions "items of value" being an issue, however I think it suggests that items of $5 or less are not considered "items of value." Look it up, and I'm sure you can come up with something creative. This year most of my business has come from referrals. And I've received that business by staying in front of my SOI on a regular basis, through a newsletter and through Facebook and other means. I need to do better with blogging and I want to have a steady focus on expireds. The other key is reaching out to buyers and making sure they know there are ways for them to get financing in place.

Wow what great ideas! Leander, I'd like to invite you and your readers to watch for a 6-part series we're posting from some of our regional owners - here's the first - and others will follow every Monday. They will address this statement:

EXIT Realty Corp. International CEO & Founder, Steve Morris, announced recently that he expects the real estate market to begin to turn around in the second quarter of 2009. With this in mind, EXIT asked some of its key regional leaders, "With the bottom of the real estate market being formally announced by the end of the 2nd quarter of 2009, what 3 strategies would you give both a broker and a sales representative to prepare accordingly?"

Happy Friday! Susan

I am a people person by nature. I love people genuinely. I build very strong bridges...and I nurture those bridges. I am not a marketing guru...but I am learning to use more and more internet tools to reach a broader audience. The key is retaining the contacts you make. That is my gift. Good luck and GBU!

Networking, I have a great lead source if short sales and it has been my bread and butter lately. Also keep your sphere if influence informed of what is going on and ask for referrals

Great post Leander and equally good comments. Out of everything written here, the two things that keep coming up are staying in touch with your sphere and increasing your Internet exposure. We just evaluated where our business came from this year and those were our two largest sources of business. The third largest source for us was walk-in traffic, so my advice to agents would be to spent more time in your office.

Added to the responses above, I also send out an e-blast through HomeFeedback to my sphere and real estate agents I've dealt with in the past.

Leander, Great post with a great question. Get it on as many internet listing sites as you can. I read through all of your comments to see if I could pick up any ideas of my own. Thanks for sharing, and I too, love being here on Active Rain. Congratulations to you for being featured! And best wishes on getting your listing sold!

Consumers are very price conscious in today's market. Instead of 'priced competitively', sellers should be 'priced aggressively'. If it turns out their price is a little low, the market should reward them with multiple offers and a higher selling price. But by not pricing aggressively, they run the risk of chasing a declining market and selling for even less.

Leander - there are some great ideas here! In our area the REO's have kept us going this year. And I use ActiveRain to promote my REO listings as well as Postlets, Realtor.com and my own webiste. These have been keeping the phone ringing. And in the midst of all of it, it's very important to stay in touch with past clients!

Focused internet PPC. I mean really focused. I choose very specific key words, times when my ads run and budget for each key word. I am getting a lot leads and several have already closed and I am currently working with several others.

Leander,

I have found that a grassroots campaign works well, and making files on properties you contact and constantly staying in touch with those parties every 3-6 months, lets say, really stays in folks minds, until they decide to list or purchase.

Sean

You are getting great responses! I find that helping with financing is really a big factor right now, so getting to know the right lenders is key!

Michael - I have not used a PPC campaign before. This is my first year really focusing on blogging and getting out here on the net. I will do some further research.

John - I really have to agree with agressive pricing. It is a difficult task to convince a seller that they should price below other comperables. When they see their neighbors house is priced at X, they want to price at X+ because their house is much better than the neighbors. I try to explain to them....that is true, but the neighbors house has been on the market for 362 days and still has not sold

Blogging for sure! My online presence increased ten fold in the past time I have been on ActiveRain. I have closed deals etc. I have learned from many here how to get there. Pricing is key for sure although it takes a great seller who listens to their Realtor®...and of course a buyer too.

My way for this new economy is to get out talk to people, let them know that there are still

loans, hand out listing sheets, I have information in the Chamber office which triggers calls

on the market. I go to any social event I can attend, wear my name tag. People want to know

about the local market which can be very different than the national stuff they see on TV.

Being Visable is helping me with referrals.

Hey Leanander, I have the same problem and all of these comments are sure helping me! Thanks for getting the ball rolling. All I know is that blogging everyday sure helps me on the search engines....

Leander: Email marketing by far. I don't know if it's the nature of my busy clients but I find that email marketing is responded to, gets results, and is cheaper than other forms of marketing. That being said, I also mail, phone call and meet face-to-face with everyone I can. A full on approach is needed but, again, email marketing brings me my biggest bang for the buck. Great question! Thanks for posing it.

Leander - I also use Postlets. The free one works good but has ads. Then I have started using Craigs List and Postlets works great for that as well. They export out to many listing sites. Also, my Visual Tours, www.visualtours.com syndicates out to many other sites for good traffic. You can make a nice color flyer for open houses to go out as an email, just make it a small file so that it does clog up anyone's email downloading 5 mega bytes ;-)

You can really stand out in a crowd if you are blogging. Thats why I do it.

Leander, If you think your client might want you try something creative. call me. We can discuss your property decide if my my contest for listing homes would wok for them and you. we are in the market for home that are in different state, that appeal to a wide range.

Leander, great question, and great way to utilize Active Rain and all the wonderful people on it. You've gotten some really great ideas above. Hope they help - let us know!

Hi Leander

FSBO and Expired is a good start. Talking with all the wonderful people here on AR is always a great idea.

Good Luck

Rich

Charlotte NC

Being creative is key right now as well as the price point! I have sold three of my listings in the last month, mainly I feel due to the internet exposure and open houses! I video tape my listings, upload them to You Tube or Viddler and potential clients can then walk through the home with me. That is the first step to getting the client into the home. The next is the one on one Open House. All three listings were sold after they had seen the home in the Open House, again after they had already viewed the video online! It enticed them to come into the home! It's been a great month for me! This again, is only a piece of the puzzle, hard work and positive attitude are a must!

Sheri Brown,

North Delta, BC, Canada

Great ideas from the brilliant,creative and fun loving people at Active Rains-I am definitely not surprised. A lot of people said things that I would've said like have a personalized domain name for the listing,pricing it right,blogging. I dont know if anyone said this and I don't know if you have done this as well but I would definitely hire a professional home stager to make the house more appealing to home buyers. Like someone once told me,Home staging doesn't cost,IT PAYS. Also you might want to tell your client why they should use a professional home stager by showing them this link Staging ROI is 378% in my zip code. What's it in yours?. Good luck to you. And congratulations on the post NJ Luxury Homes and Real Estate.

Hi Lender, my most successful marketing strategy has been my continued focus on my Database; particularly the A's and B's with client giveaways, appreciation events, phone calls, etc. Keller Williams is very good about educating us on the 33 touch program and 21 (or over 1/3) of my transactions this year were from referrals.

Blogging is my best marketing practice...The Internet is where prospects go!

Leander~ If you will click on the following link, I wrote about 55 or so places that you can post your listings to increase your exposure, and most are FREE. http://activerain.com/blogsview/601309/FREE-places-so-YOU-can-Sell-more-Homes. Hope this helps. Vickie

(1) Optimizing my site for search engines (2) Other tried and true internet marketing tactics such as article marketing. This way, people who are seeking my services contact me.

I'm stepping outside the box for me out of necessity and currently in the planning stages of a market seminar with a lender and several home builders. We had lunch yesterday and I am so excited.

I specialize in Lease Options and seller carry-back financing. This is the perfect market to do L/O and seller financing. I know with L/O you don't get your full commission unless the option is exercised but I like it because it's a easy sell and I can build residual income down the road. It works extremely well with High end propertys. The option $(which you get part of out front) is higher plus with my equity share L/O program it's a win-win. I do have an advantage somewhat in that I have been using L/O's to buy my own Investment Properties long before I acquired my RE Lic. As an agent, if you look for the right seller, you can do 4 or 5 deals a month. If you stick with the Tenant/Buyer and encourage them and help them get qualified-they will excercise the option sooner. If they don't excercise the option, worst case the seller keeps all the rent money and you get the listing. I've been trying to show other agents my program but most of them, for whatever reason, just don't want to learn. If you would like to find a new niche' in your town with virtually no competition, Learn how to; Buy and Sell Real Estate using L/O and seller financing techniques. I forgot! When I use seller financing and create a note-I have Investors lined up who will buy the note in escrow. Everybody wins!

Leander....Congrats on the FEATURE!!! You'll be busy reviewing and commenting!!!

Not sure if you take advanage of Exit's Marketing programs but that's the main reason why I switched from my previous broker. Exit's e-Listings are the greatest marketing tool I have seen. Are you using it? For $15.95 per month you can develop tours, personalized websites, flyers, video in several formats that are downloadable and then placed on YouTube (helps with search results).

I then spend $150 or so a year for Exit's Promo Shop. Allows me to upload my e-mail addresses (right now over 13,000) and create and circulate unlimited number of e-mail campaigns.

No need to tell you as I know you are a seasoned veteran...none of this works without a SALEABLE Listing!! Congrats again on your FEATURED Post!!!

Newsletters work great. Keeping something in front of your sphere of influence often is very important in all markets.

my most successful marketing strategy is combining blogging with a good website

Hi Leander, I think being involved in the community where you work is very important. Keeping in touch with existing, but also meeting and talking to new clients is key in my opinion.

My primary website is still a large source of my buyer leads, but keeping in regular contact with my friends, clients and client-friends via eNewsletters, birthday cards, etc has been critical to my business.

I have not done open houses for a very long time. The last agent open I did, years ago generated all of one agent who only came for the free hot dog,.. LOL

One thing we used to do that you might like to implement or try is to buy a bunch of half gallons of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream,.. all different kinds. The people that you gauge as better prospects,.. ask them what kind of Ice Cream they like,.. then give them the half gallon of ice cream to thank them for coming by.

The ice cream will melt if they don't get it in a freezer and will generally stop their viewing of other open houses,.. making you the last agent that shines and stands out,.. Always leave them wanting more.

Tie a message in with sweet and the card, so that when they see your name they will associate you with the sweet gift you gave them,...

I think with the internet and coming out of the easy economy we have enjoyed,.. many of us have forgotten some of the skills that once were honed,... we are very good at the computer,.. e-mails,.. web pages,.. seo,... etc. But we have grown rusty at pounding the pavement,.. once the staple of Real Estate agents.

We need to get back to basics,... stop selling the house and start selling ourselves and building personal, one on one relationships with those around us.

I also think that we take it for granted that everyone knows what we do,.. I have a long term friend that recently told me,... "That's what you do,.. I never realized you did that" What a slap in the face,.. if our own friends do not remember,.. how do we expect those who only meet us once or twice??

Just a thought

My Real Estate partner and I target Expired and withdrawns homes and they are our main source of listings. As far as Buyers go, we advertise and syndicate our listings everywhere we can think of so Buyers can not escape them- on average we end up personally showing our own listings about 10-20% and helps us find new Buyers. Our goal is for every listing to pick up two new transactions, in addition to of course selling the listing.

Leander.... I still believe in direct marketing... this is a vital way to market your listins

I have tried a bunch of things. For a while a ran a campaign on the Comcast real estate section on our on Demand channels on TV. That didn't do much. Right now I am running a Google adwords campaign which are very specific towards my property. It is getting traffic too. Of course, I have my listings submitted to every single place you could imagine.

Thanks for the post, We are doing a lot of this, I will work my sphere more though. Brady

Leander,

thanks for the post that has generated some good commentary and congratulations on being featured.

Leander, congrats on your featured post. I loved it and you solicited great feedback. I am will follow up on you soon. Best wishes on those 'Sold Signs'.

Leander ... the best of luck to you this next year in Real Estate! pippa

Leander, I too had a slow listing recently. I sent out a letter to each house in the community asking them to help their Neighbor and me select their new neighbor. Within one week of sending out he letters I SOLD the listing for 98% of List Price. This waas notmy priginal Idea but that of Walter Sanford (Author, speaker, trainer and coach).

Bill

NOV

2008

Nice post Leander. It is very informative and timely especially in the market we have now. Good luck.

NOV

2008

Everyone - WOW - What Great Responses. I received so much more than I expected or gave myself. I am sorry that I won't time to respond individually, but I once again will try to stop by everyone's blog and leave a comment. I am now very busy researching all of the great info that has been left here. Not only for me, but this post will help many others on the site. Thank you once again.

Everyone have a great and Propserous day

Leander

NOV

2008

Leander,

You rule! Nice post and a lovely string of comments. Yes I too love active rain, the amazing amount of networking capabilities and more importantly, how much sharing goes on with the real estate community.

You indicated you slacked off the Craigs List gig. I would piggy back your listings blogs with both E-Listing, Active Rain and Craigs list.

More on that on Nov 21st Webinar training with E-Listings, Susan Harrison and Myself as the co-hosts for the above strategies.

Hope you're on the webinar with us Leander :)

Frank D'Angelo Broker

EXIT Realty Executives of Minneapolis MN

I really like the thought of business from your SOI - I am glad to see that this is working for other people as it is seomthing I am working hard to implement for myself. Kudos and heres to a great 2009!

NOV

2008

HI LEANDER!

Well, I've read all the comments & there a dozens of good advice here. As a newbie, I don't have anything to add that hasn't been written. However, I have learned lots from this very post & for that I thank you!

All the best w/selling that house!

MAR

Leander, did you talk about training wholesalers and bird dogs to find properties and then marketing the wholesale deals to your buyers list?

Frazier,

That's a tactic that is a little out of my league. Do you have some insight?

Leander

AUG

I have just started some ole school things that have worked in the past and so far are looking good including open houses every weekend and yard sale style flyers for bullentin boards

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