I know it's just a matter of opinion...but what's yours?

Vickie,

Thank you!!!

Monika,

Thank you...and I agree that it's important to at least take a second look!

Mara and Ralph,

I understand completely what you're both saying. In fact...we've experienced that exact same thing!! LOL! When people see the look and feel of FlyersToYou stuff, they automatically assume we're another Hobbs-Herder where everything is outrageously priced.

And we're not expensive at all! We just LOOK expensive!

You can't really see on Suzanne's brochure where it reads "No setup fees, no long-term contracts, low competitive prices, etc." What is likely to happen is a prospect will compare the two, and if Suzanne's brochure is more professional...then perhaps her company is too. If the cost is the same or similar, the client will choose Suzanne every time.

Watch this...



Sellers have the same dilemma.

They interview two agents. The first one shows up with marketing like the top left...and charges x%.
The second one shows up, lays out a marketing gameplan that can't be beat...and she charges the exact same x% as the first.

It's a no brainer. The second one gets the listing every time.

When I sold real estate, that's exactly how I attained the success I did. I simply had nicer looking stuff!! Okay...I was a pretty good Realtor too....but when sellers saw my marketing, I wound up with the listing. It cost them the same to have MY marketing....as it did to have "Spanky's Real estate and Tax Service" list their home. LOL! Poor Spanky!

Heck, even if Spanky cut his commission by a percent, he wasn't stealing the listing from me...ever!

Thank you for your comments.

Oh Mara...I almost forgot! You stated that if you weren't a huge company, you might consider looking at a company that felt more affordable. But Suzanne isn't looking for small companies to do bookkeeping for. She's looking for larger firms who will pay nicely...and who aren't interested in a "lesser-looking" company.

Kinda like if you were a million dollar home seller....would you choose John Anderson with Happy Realty, or David and Erin Brown in the lower right of the image above?? I'm not even suggesting that David and Erin are BETTER agents than John...but it won't matter. The high-end seller will list with David and Erin every time.

If the $65,000 seller feels more comfortable listing with Happy Realty, that's probably okay. Hopefully they don't find out they could've had better for the same price though!! :: smile ::

Thank you all for commenting!

Dave

Whoops!!

I either TYPE too slow...or THINK too slow!! LOL! While I was responding above, I came back and noticed more comments (sorry bout that!)

Brian,

Couldn't have said it better myself!!

Rita,

Coming from someone with your graphic skills...that means a lot! You're one of the few "do-it-yourselfers" who seems to have a real sense for design. That's quite rare....as illustrated in the second part of your comment. I even get local magazines (shopper type magazines) that are almost impossible to read. Dark blue fonts against black backgrounds, gradients in lettering outlined in yellow. It drives me nuts!! If you ever feel like bouncing an idea off me...please don't hesitate to call or shoot me an email, ok??

NOTE: Kathryn's response was to a comment I made on her blog regarding the situation our lovely state of California is in. It certainly isn't the "golden" state anymore. I'm not even sure it's copper or aluminum (unless tin foil counts?) Kathryn, I'll definitely keep you in mind if I know anyone who needs ya, ok??

Dave

Lane,

Thanks!!! So far it looks like it is! :P

Actually, we haven't gone to print yet. She's got two minor changes on the brochure (information she'd forgotten to provide initially). So we don't know the results yet.

However...the bookkeeping industry is like many other industries (including real estate). There are MANY bookkeepers who don't do ANY advertising...and some who do very poor advertising.

I think Suzanne's gonna wind up with more business that she can handle! She'll be okay with that though, as she wants to expand quickly anyway.

Good seeing you Lane...thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!!

Dave

Bob and Carolin,

Thank you!! My customer LOVES it! She's also aware that there may be some clients who will presume her costs are higher by the looks of the brochure, but she's okay with that. She's going after a higher-end clientele who probably wouldn't respond to the example brochure shown above the one we created.

Thank you for your compliment...and for taking the time to stop by!

Much appreciated.

Dave

Scott,

With a resume like yours...I loved your take on the brochure (I especially liked the comment regarding the other brochure looking like it came from a low cost pre-school!!) LOL...my sentiments exactly!! I couldn't FORCE myself to create that kind of design if my life depended on it!!

And you're absolutely right when it comes to agents maintaining brand consistency throughout all MEDIUMS, on AND offline. Even here on AR, I'll see an agent's blog header...and expect to find a similar "look and feel" at their website. Nope. Totally different!! And then, they hand you a business card that doesn't resemble either one. And two weeks later, you get one of their postcards and it's printed with black ink on canary yellow cardstock. Yikes!

It's akin to seeing a McDonalds with golden arches against a red background on one street....but on the next street it's blue arches and a brown background. I can't figure out how and why agents let this happen.

You won't see UPS driving red, blue, or yellow trucks...and without even mentioning the color, we ALL know what color they DO use. Pretty decent branding if all of us know the answer to that one.

But we still don't incorporate that philosophy into our own marketing schemes? Talk about missed opportunities! What a shame.

I can only hope that for those who don't understand the importance of it all now....that at least one day they'll just "get it". Their business will surge...and they'll achieve higher levels of success than they've ever experienced before.

And...we'll be here whenever they're ready. :P

Thanks for commenting!

Dave

 

Hi Rita!

Thank you! I really appreciate you stopping by to take a look...and your kind words.

Dave

Monique,

THANK YOU!! Our customer LOVES it! We are FINALLY going to press with it. Doug and Sizanne (the owners of the company we did the brochure for) had been looking for a new location for their office. It took a while to find the one they wanted, but they've negotiated the lease, we've made the address revision on the brochure...and it will be uploaded for printing tomorrow morning.

I'll come back with a follow up once we get a feel for how their prospects are responding.

Thanks for your comment!! :)

Dave