Secret Agent Man is Back! Why Won’t My Realtor Advertise My Home in Print?

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Dear Candy:

My Realtor is not advertising my home properly, I think. She is refusing to put an ad in the local newspaper and magazines showing it off. She tells me this no longer works, but rather has the home listed on her website. How can a consumer know that an agent is doing every thing possible to sell your home in this crazy real estate world?

Dear Skeptic: I brought in the big guns for this one, Secret Agent Man —

Dear Seller,

Let me address a couple of items in your note (and thanks for writing, so great to be back, why this blog is like DallasDirt with a facelift and boob job!) and then I will get on my soapbox. Electronic marketing is the strongest of all trends at the moment and foreseeable future, but it is a double edged sword. If her website URL is BeautifulLuxurybyBettySue.com I am sure 100% of her visitors will see your home, however, if only 8 people are going to her site a month that is a “no bueno”.

Even REALTOR.com, the number one place people go to search for property, shafts the agent and seller on most listings with crazy fees.

Newspaper and magazine advertising is expensive and truly impressive print advertising is usually discouraged using the excuse you wrote above but the agent just does not want to (or cannot afford) to pay for it. They may tell you it is listed every Sunday in the real estate listings but I guarantee following the daily stocks in the paper is easier than finding the small print of your address. The few that do have larger more legible ads featuring only one or two homes are marketing their name(s) and usually glamour photo of themselves. Next time you look at real estate ads, ask yourself are they promoting your home or themselves as an agent / brokerage?

The saddest cases are the first time Realtor, the part time Realtor or the just plan non-savy Realtor. This lot thinks the $100 they spent on a lock box for your front door and the $20 a month sign rental from their office is more than you deserve, not to mention photography and color flyers. I have known Realtors try to get the most inexpensive marketing materials they could on a home with a list price in excess of $4,000,000. It is with regret I call these sellers “being held hostage” by their listing agent. Maybe the agent sold them a bill of good on this is how it is done now, maybe the sellers did not know any better but this Mr. and Ms. Seller is is BULL-COCKY.

You and your Realtor should have a clear goal, talk about who you feel your buyer is and target your buyer. This will make some Realtors uncomfortable or red faced as it is a rarely talked about pre listing item to chew over. Also talk about budget, if the seller wants a certain kind of advertising and it is out of the financial realm of what the Realtor usually pays the buyer can chip in. This will empower you to get the advertising you want and not be at the mercy of the broke Realtors slim to non existent advertising budget.

What does SECRET AGENT see for the future of real estate marketing? Well, I though you would never ask!

It will be high tech, one hundred times better than any virtual tour or agent personal presentation. Outstanding presentation with a single consistent and familiar layout offering the buyer all the information needed. Do I think the MLS will open up more? Absolutely.

PS: If you don’t have a realtor with a QR code on his or her sign, if she tries to have YOU keep the flyer box stuffed, let me find you another agent!

Candy Evans

Candy Evans

11 Comments

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  3. Jeff Duffey on April 19, 2011 at 11:47 pm

    All agent/broker advertising is self-serving. Ebby and Allie Beth don't pay heaps of money to the DMN to advertise 100 properties in Sunday's paper because it will sell your $185,000 3/2/2 in Lake Highlands. They pay heaps of money to DMN to be visible. It's good for recruiting other agents, and it's good for seducing sellers who think that newspaper ads sell homes.

    Open Houses are not meant to sell your home, either. Every real estate office manager in Dallas who hires a new agent tells them to get out there and hold some open houses. Why? To prey on unsuspecting buyers who aren't yet working with a real estate agent. "Are you currently working with a Realtor? No? Well I'd be happy to show you a few other homes in the neighborhood that may suit your needs better than this home. I'll be done here at 4pm. Shall we meet up then?" (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.)

    Let me repeat, all agent/broker advertising is self-serving.

    P.S. QR codes are the new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat&quot; title="Cue Cats">.



  4. Jeff Duffey on April 19, 2011 at 11:47 pm

    All agent/broker advertising is self-serving. Ebby and Allie Beth don't pay heaps of money to the DMN to advertise 100 properties in Sunday's paper because it will sell your $185,000 3/2/2 in Lake Highlands. They pay heaps of money to DMN to be visible. It's good for recruiting other agents, and it's good for seducing sellers who think that newspaper ads sell homes.

    Open Houses are not meant to sell your home, either. Every real estate office manager in Dallas who hires a new agent tells them to get out there and hold some open houses. Why? To prey on unsuspecting buyers who aren't yet working with a real estate agent. "Are you currently working with a Realtor? No? Well I'd be happy to show you a few other homes in the neighborhood that may suit your needs better than this home. I'll be done here at 4pm. Shall we meet up then?" (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.)

    Let me repeat, all agent/broker advertising is self-serving.

    P.S. QR codes are the new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat&quot; title="Cue Cats">.



  5. Candy Evans on April 20, 2011 at 12:17 am

    It's branding and good for the broker/agent, not the seller. And I'm really trying to filter down what exactly make a good agent? How does advertising help the seller?



    • Jeff Duffey on April 20, 2011 at 1:14 am

      IMHO, print ads are a waste of money (for a seller) and only serve to promote the agent or broker. Like you said, it's branding, and it works for the agents…not the sellers.

      Online advertising of a home is the most important factor. This includes the MLS. Agents spend hours sifting through hundreds of listings in the MLS, much like buyers who search online. If I'm showing a client 5 homes and a new listing doesn't have any photos in the MLS, I won't show it. If a buyer is looking at 75 homes on Realtor.com, do you think they're writing down the address of the home with less than 5 photos? Doubtful.

      Additionally, trying to pinpoint the "target buyer" for your home is a fruitless task. My job as a listing agent is to try and make your home appeal to the LARGEST pool of buyers, not just a targeted niche. I also think agents would be walking down a slippery slope by trying to identify if "empty nesters" or "young families" are the most likely buyer for your home. Discussing protected classes isn't really a topic I want to talk about with my clients.

      Fix those minor repairs you've always put off, clean your home, stage your home, price your home well, and you will be able to sell your home.



  6. Candy Evans on April 20, 2011 at 12:17 am

    It's branding and good for the broker/agent, not the seller. And I'm really trying to filter down what exactly make a good agent? How does advertising help the seller?



    • Jeff Duffey on April 20, 2011 at 1:14 am

      IMHO, print ads are a waste of money (for a seller) and only serve to promote the agent or broker. Like you said, it's branding, and it works for the agents…not the sellers.

      Online advertising of a home is the most important factor. This includes the MLS. Agents spend hours sifting through hundreds of listings in the MLS, much like buyers who search online. If I'm showing a client 5 homes and a new listing doesn't have any photos in the MLS, I won't show it. If a buyer is looking at 75 homes on Realtor.com, do you think they're writing down the address of the home with less than 5 photos? Doubtful.

      Additionally, trying to pinpoint the "target buyer" for your home is a fruitless task. My job as a listing agent is to try and make your home appeal to the LARGEST pool of buyers, not just a targeted niche. I also think agents would be walking down a slippery slope by trying to identify if "empty nesters" or "young families" are the most likely buyer for your home. Discussing protected classes isn't really a topic I want to talk about with my clients.

      Fix those minor repairs you've always put off, clean your home, stage your home, price your home well, and you will be able to sell your home.



  7. Kerry Paradise Slaughter on April 20, 2011 at 11:31 am

    NAR statistics tell us that more than 90% of buyers are looking online for their home. Online presence for your house has to be great. And it's not really about the agent's personal site. Almost every brokerage in town is pushing their listings to Trulia, Zillow, Sawbuck, etc. Less than 50% of Dallas brokerages are paying for enhanced listings on Realtor.com – the #1 real estate website for Dallas users. You and your agent contr0l how your house is presented online. Staging and professional photography are critical.

    Networking still matters. Agents in Lake Highlands estimate that 20% of the inventory is sold before it ever hits MLS. Using a local agent who is well connected is important. Much more important than a print ad.

    Open Houses aren't all bad. As 20 and 30 something buyers enter the marketplace, they prefer to see houses on their own – online and in open houses – before being "bothered" by a Realtor. In fact, research tells us that they don't call a Realtor until they've narrowed it down to their top five. If your house isn't well presented online and it's never been open on Sunday afternoon, these buyers may never have even considered it. Yes, an open house is a way for your agent to potentially pick up new buyers, but you never know when the right one is going to walk through your house. And it certainly doesn't hurt to have an open house.



  8. Kerry Paradise Slaughter on April 20, 2011 at 11:31 am

    NAR statistics tell us that more than 90% of buyers are looking online for their home. Online presence for your house has to be great. And it's not really about the agent's personal site. Almost every brokerage in town is pushing their listings to Trulia, Zillow, Sawbuck, etc. Less than 50% of Dallas brokerages are paying for enhanced listings on Realtor.com – the #1 real estate website for Dallas users. You and your agent contr0l how your house is presented online. Staging and professional photography are critical.

    Networking still matters. Agents in Lake Highlands estimate that 20% of the inventory is sold before it ever hits MLS. Using a local agent who is well connected is important. Much more important than a print ad.

    Open Houses aren't all bad. As 20 and 30 something buyers enter the marketplace, they prefer to see houses on their own – online and in open houses – before being "bothered" by a Realtor. In fact, research tells us that they don't call a Realtor until they've narrowed it down to their top five. If your house isn't well presented online and it's never been open on Sunday afternoon, these buyers may never have even considered it. Yes, an open house is a way for your agent to potentially pick up new buyers, but you never know when the right one is going to walk through your house. And it certainly doesn't hurt to have an open house.



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