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|  Developing a Property Marketing Plan Listing and Marketing Checklist Marketing Media To Consider Advanced tip Property Advertising Techniques Advanced tip Advanced: Getting the Most from Your Advertising Dollars Online Property Marketing Advanced tip Conducting Open Houses Advanced tip Advanced tip Alternative Selling Options Advanced tip Complying with Fair Housing Broker tip Property Disclosure Broker tip Common Property Hazards Broker tip Advanced tip Property Marketing Quiz Bright Ideas: Property Marketing More Resources: Property Marketing Code of Ethics: Property Marketing | FOR THE ADVANCED SALESPERSON: GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR ADVERTISING DOLLAR Tony Marsella, vice president of classified marketing for the Newspaper Association of America, shares some expert advice on maximizing your ad budget. Q: How does newspaper advertising fit into the overall promotional mix for a property today? Marsella: Today, real estate practitioners should use all major media for promotion; online listings, Web sites, home magazines, and newspapers all have a place. The NAA recently did a survey in which it found that recent homebuyers had used an average of 4 ½ sources to find a home. In addition, different media serve different purposes. Online promotions really function more like MLS books. They contain detailed factual information about properties so prospective buyers can do research, and most allow you to sort date by price range, number of bedrooms, and so on so that you can narrow options. Newspaper advertising, on the other hand, is about making a direct, emotional appeal that will get a person to take an action—in this case, pick up the phone and call the real estate salesperson about the property. Ads should contain the most important facts about the property—the price, the location, the number of bedrooms, but the real appeal should be to the emotions. Q: So the goal of a property ad is to sell the property? Marsella: Not exactly; the goal is not to sell that particular house as much as it is to make someone contact you. When prospective buyers call, they may not really know whether or not they are qualified for that particular house. But getting them to call in response to a particular ad gives the real estate salesperson the opportunity to act as a consultant and direct the prospects to houses that meet their needs and price range. Q: What sorts of strategies should you use in your newspaper advertising to get that phone to ring? Marsella: In my advertising seminars, I suggest that real estate professionals always advertise a full complement of properties in all price ranges. You can’t afford to advertise every home, but by including a range, you ensure that you get calls appropriate to all your listings. Don’t just advertise your top homes. You also want a mix of homes with different appeals—some people may want a quiet, wooded lot, while others may prefer a modern home near shopping. You need ads that appeal to every taste. If you have a listing that looks like a particularly good value, be sure and advertise that. It will attract a flock of calls, even from people who could spend more. Once you have prospects on the phone, you can use consultive selling to help them find the properties that best suit them. Q: What other advice would you give real estate associates to help them improve their property advertising? Marsella: Don’t make the mistake of mixing property marketing with personal marketing. Both are important, but the goals are very different. A property ad should be directed to the thin market of buyers who are motivated to buy now. Property advertising has the goal of getting this small market segment to pick up the phone and call. But they are not calling you because of your skills or experience; they’re calling the person who advertised the property. Personal marketing, on the other hand, is designed to establish you and your services as a brand. Personal marketing builds name recognition and gains listings, but it doesn’t sell properties. Don’t waste space in your property marketing ads running pictures of yourself or lots of information about your background. Do that somewhere else. Getting the Most From Your Advertising Dollar, next page > | |