Print Advertising vs other (more effective) advertising

Deb, common sense dictates addressing this issue during the listing presentation.  That is the appropriate time to educate the client and set expectations.  I understand that newspaper advertising is not cost efficient, but the time to make sure the client understood that was prior to signing the listing agreement.

Frank is right on the money. This has to be addressed up front. The name of the company I work for is LocateHomes.com.and  I tell potential clients that our name says it all; we believe in internet marketing.  And then I add a special condition to my listing agreements to make sure no one forgets

Locatehomes.com will diligently market this property for sale on the internet and provide only limited print advertising.

A little off topic but I also make the point that price is the most important factor in getting their property sold. I try to get the seller to set a realistic price but Ill agree to list the property at any price, as long as the client agrees to adding this condition to the listing agreement

It is understood and agreed by the parties that the list price in this agreement will be adjusted downward every two weeks by at least $xxxx,  if there are no offers from buyers

Deb, I have a lot of fun talking with prospects and clients about marketing.  I've written a lot on marketing on my blogs, but a couple of thoughts here.  It is amazing how many clients understand that traditional print media advertsing is no longer very effective, and the best way to discover that and pull that out of them is to engage them in a healthy dialogue about pricing and marketing.  I get almost a 100% postive resonse when I mention that, "Newspaper ads, magazines, and billboards are no longer the best way to market real estate today."  Pretty much every person says, "Oh, I know.  People from out of town are not even reading our newspaper, and that's where our buyers are coming from," or words to that effect.

One of the best ways to help prospects or clients come to a conclusion is to guide them in a discussion so that they come to their own conclusions.  In law school this was the Socratic method.  The most powerful conclusions a person comes to are their own concusions.  Telling someone is never very effective, but engaging someone in an intelligent conversation and allowing them to come to the conclusions that are directed by their own knowledge and experience is very effective.  It is also what the clients wants.  This is not maniuplation, but guidance, and the client draws his or her conclusions based on their own deep experiences.

The other aspect of this kind of dialogue is to share how much you as a Realtor are doing on the Internet.  For a tip-of-the-iceburg view of my Internet presence, I'll share these links if you want to peek at these sites, which are all there to accomplish exactly what we are hired to do:  bring our clients' listings into direct contact with potential buyers, local and out of state. 

SequimPortAngles.com
SequimRealEstateNews.com
SequimPortAngelesRealEstate.com
ActiveRain Blog
FreeRealEstateLaw.com
EzineArticles.com
Seattle PI Real Estate Blog

And articles and comments and more, etc.  You get the idea.  All of this gives us the right as Realtors to talk intelligently and with credibility to clients about Internet marketing v. traditional ineffective marketing.

With a little conversation nearly all grown ups realize today that traditional print advertising and old sales techniques (i.e. cold calling) are behind us, like the cave men days.  The Internet has dramatically changed the way business is done, especially real estate.  In your conversation with your prospect or client, try saying this, "So many people use the Internet today to shop for almost everything," and you are very likely to get a response like, "Oh, yes, we use the Internet all the time to research and buy things."

There you have it.  The Internet is a wave, and some of us will choose to surf this wave to great success for our clients.  Most clients comprehend this and welcome it.