For God’s sake, don’t let common sense creep into the picture.
Is this what we signed up for? Is this the type of leadership we want? Let’s not actually get anything accomplished or address real issues. Instead, let’s make a bunch of noise and avoid long-term and/or practical thinking.
Remember, going from bad to worse is a change.
I’m sitting here watching Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. As I start this, the teams are in their second overtime. Detroit leads Pittsburg 3-1 in the series, and they are tied 3-3 in this game.
Since we are in OT, it is sudden death. And despite the fact that these teams have been playing 90 game minutes of a 60 minute game… there is NO slowdown… NO break… NO coasting. And, despite a questionable call giving the Penguins a Power Play… there is NO whining.
These are two teams made up of experts and professionals. They do their job. If the game isn’t going their way, they do their jobs. If they take a hit… they still do their jobs.
If only more people could learn this. When the housing market is tough, we should do our jobs. If we think the calls by the media aren’t going our way… we should do our job. No slowdown, no break, no coasting.
And people wonder why I like hockey…
I wrote a “Member’s Only” post pointed at real estate professionals on ActiveRain that was mostly a rant about one of the many emails I received in regards to email marketing. In essence, this email said that as a real estate agent, I should be pulling back on my marketing because the market is tough… WHT?!?
I should pull back on marketing property because it is tougher?
That seems to me to be the exact opposite of what I should do in order to make MY client’s home competitive in the market. It seems to me that I should be making sure that the homes I have listed are effectively marketed to consumers…
So, here is the exact question:
Lane – how do you determine the marketing budget for a particular property? Do you use a percentage of listing or the expected commission?
Here was my first answer:
That is a very tough question. I think it has to kind of be “on the fly.” I certainly base it on the price of the house and the size of the potential commission, but it also has to include wiggle room for the uniqueness of the property, and the properties needs. I would say that the actual potential of completing the sale would come in, but if I don’t think it will sell, I won’t take it, so that isn’t a consideration for me.
The bottom line is that I want to budget enough to get the job done right. For a $1m listing, I need to plan a different marketing strategy than for a $200k home. The level of the materials plays into this as well…
Was that enough of a non-answer?
The respondent’s reply was:
Lane – too much of a non-answer 😉 I’m just curious what you would allocate for a $200,000 listing. $1,500 would be a big marketing budget for a property of that price.
I can’t give a specific dollar amount, because situations are so different from property to property, but there are a few things that I can give as (breakable) rules. To start with, I would love to be able to market a $200k house the same way I market a $1m home, but it is pretty dangerous. We are in a market where less that 25% of homes that are listed are likely to sell… I have a MUCH better percentage than that, but we still have to make business decisions in order to survive. However, there are some things that can be done to stretch the marketing budget.
For the most part, these are not expensive solutions. And, the level of production value for a $200k home is different than for a $1m home. So, we can add some of the higher end touches to the entry level homes like:
For a high end listing, there can be a few thousand dollars invested in these things. For an entry level listing, we would have to pull back and spend a smaller percentage… but if we have a few listings in the same subdivision, perhaps we can group them together for the mailings and other marketing. Keeping in mind that each home is only needing ONE buyer, there may be a competition between the listings, but buyers aren’t all looking for the same home.
Bottom Line:
I can’t give a hard and fast rule, but I am VERY willing to say that even a $200k home needs a few hundred dollars in marketing, not just the $20 email blast (that is spam, BTW). Also, utilizing economies of scale, an agent can be more competitive than someone even spending more money (like a FSBO spending all of the money they are saving on commission on marketing).
This is Part II (kind of) of Don’t make me call you…
ok, I admit it is just because the titles work well together… Don’t make me call you… but I can. Anyway, here is the actual content.
If you list your home for sale, and it expires without selling or is withdrawn, you have consented to allow other agents to call you. Even if you are on the “Do Not Call” list. Here is the contract language:
Seller acknowledges that by virtue of listing the Property in MLS(s), all MLS(s) members and their affiliated licensees, will have access to Seller’s listing information for the purpose of assisting Seller in the sale of the Property. If Seller is on a “Do Not Call List,” Seller expressly consents to any of the above parties calling Seller for any purpose related to the sale of the Property. Seller further acknowledges and agrees that no MLS(s) member or any affiliated licensee of the MLS(s) member shall have any liability for calling the Seller after the expiration or termination of this Agreement. Such calls are hereby expressly consented to by Seller. This paragraph shall survive past the term of this Agreement.
And don’t think you can strike that language from your listing agreement… if you do, your property can’t be listed on the MLS.
Don’t freak out yet. Most agents have no idea what is in the contract. They are scared to death to call people because of the do not call list. I know that I can… I just don’t like it.
Final thought… there is a way to avoid the calls after the listing expires… it’s really easy, too. Get it sold. If the property sells, you won’t get calls for 1,483 agents looking to list it for you. Give me a few days, and I’ll show you a seriously cool website for a property.
I hate cold calling. I’m not likely to do it. The world is in a much better way when you call me.
I hate GETTING the calls. I bet you do, too. If you are a seller and your listing expires… you know EXACTLY what I mean. A hundred agents calling isn’t that uncommon. A long time ago I had a listing that expired (I was the agent on it) and I got 50 calls on one day… and I said in the listing that I was the agent.
I don’t want people to yell at me and hang up.
I don’t want people to set the phone down in front of the TV.
I don’t want air horns or sirens blared in my ear.
But, if you listing is expiring, or has expired… call me. We can talk about why. We can see if there is a way to get your house sold. As you might figure out from this post… I’m not going to employ thumb screws. I am not going to put on the pressure and go for the hard sell.
What I am going to do is tell you the truth. I’m also going to help you find out why your house isn’t sold. That is the goal. Right?
