The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of Realtors out there that are all too comfortable with listing a property on the MLS, throwing a sign in the yard, and just waiting around. Don't kid yourself, that is not how it works, and there is lot more involved than that. Maybe when the market is ultra hot, you can get away with it due to the overwhelming interest in the market and the mass of buyers beating down the door. However, in this day and age, that will get you two things, an expired listing and an angry client.
Take a long hard look at the property you list and decide how to effectively market said property. Let's say for the purpose of this conversation that you have listing a $250,000 house in a community with 3 bedrooms and two baths. What can you do to insure that this property reaches maximum exposure for your clients and ultimately sells? Well, market the property of course.
I like to send out just listed post cards when I list a home for sale. Yes I am aware of the fact that it is print media and that print media is a little out of style at the moment, but some times it still works when done correctly. For the listing above I would find communities that are just under the price range of the listed house. Therefore I would find communities in the same area of town as the listed property that are in the $150,000 to $200,000 range as these are the people that are most likely to move up to the $250,000 price range for their next purchase.
Then of course there is the Internet. I mean I know it's a long shot what with practically no one using that thing in this day and age, but we have to try. I have a list of about 40 websites that I will advertise my listings on. Not all of them are huge name websites like Zillow or Realtor.com, but I am a firm believer that the more places people can find a property, then the more people will find it. That's why I advertise on so many of them. It's a matter of trying to leave no stone unturned and in today's market we really can't afford to in my opinion.
Then I do open houses. I do them on Saturdays and Sundays when people are more likely to be out and about looking for their next home. I do them in the afternoons usually from 2pm to 5pm and some times longer if the traffic is good. Don't short yourself by not spending enough time on your open houses. I bake cookies and provide drinks for those that pass through. I also put out as many directional signs as I possibly can, because that will be the main way to drive traffic to your open house. Put them on every major road near the property and make sure you put one at every turn to ensure that people find the house with ease.
Here in Northeast Columbia, we have a military base close by, Fort Jackson. They have a housing department and you are allowed to advertise your listing there provided you go through the proper channels. If I list a house in Southeast or Northeast Columbia, as they are closest to the Fort, I send in the info to the housing department so relocating soldiers will be able to see that it is for sale. We have many soldiers here and we a lot that relocate here due to the fort, so it can be a great resource for advertising a home.
Yes in this day and age we can't sit back and hope that another Realtor just hands us a deal. And while I have seen some really nice for sale signs, they shouldn't be your last line for marketing either, just a part of it. We have to act like we want to sell the property and the best way to do that is through aggressive advertising and marketing.
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