Why You Should Have a Written Marketing Plan
You have hired me as your listing agent, to help you find a qualified buyer for your Carlsbad home. It's a weighty task, with lots of responsibilities in a competitive market. And for that task, when the home sells, you will pay me an agreed-upon professional fee of potentially thousands of dollars.
Don't you want to know what I am doing to earn that fee?
I suspect you do. And you should.
But it's surprising how many listings are out on the Internet where it is obvious the seller is not well informed about what their agent is doing, and certainly not about how and where their home is being marketed, and how the marketing appears. I find it hard to believe that they would feels it's acceptable. If they really are aware, they are not concerned about how THEIR home is being portrayed to the buying public. Or perhaps don't understand the importance.
It is shocking to see how many homes appear on the MLS alone, viewed by thousands of agents and buyers, with lousy photos, typos, incorrect information, or details that are simply missing entirely.
This is the agent's fault, since all that information is discoverable. And digital photography makes it relatively easy to take quality photos (unless of course the house is not in good shape or a mess or a professional photographer can be hired. Some agents, it seems, aren't doing much of anything to earn that professional fee. Maybe they don't understand the important. Or don't care.
So how will you know what I am doing? How will I keep you informed?
When I walk in the door for our initial marketing discussion, before we even both agree to work together, you will see a WRITTEN MARKETING PLAN (a draft) - did you know that many agents do not have a marketing plan, let alone a written one?
You will see a list of my marketing services - blogs, websites, ad examples and more
Once we have a signed listing agreement you will receive a revised written marketing plan, customized for your home, which details what I am going to do, the due date, and the completion date. This will be periodically updated and emailed to you so you know what I am doing.
You will see a copy (online, or hard copy if you prefer) of the MLS listing once it is live so you can review it
You will receive a list of the sites where I have posted the listing and I will provide you with the links so you can view them. I find this useful in case there is a mistake that I missed (yep, I'm human), the photos don't load, or the posting does not appear correctly on a particular browser (Chrome vs. Firefox, for example). If you can't see it, buyers can't either. I assume you want to know what I am doing
Your questions to me about what is being done, showings that have occurred, activity on the local market, and anything else you want to know will be answered; your calls, text messages and emails WILL be returned. But I will call, email and/or text you to keep you informed and to ask questions that need answers
Once your home is under contract I will be in close contact with the buyers' agent, escrow, title and other professionals so I know what is going and you will too.
As a seller, you shouldn't have to ask "what are you doing?"
You should know what I am doing. And I will make it my priority to let you know.
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