Marketing Media to Your Agent Will Likely Consider

Advertising

Yard signs and key boxes. Post signs within 24 hours of acquiring the listing, especially if the property is located on a street with good traffic.

TIP: Use no more than five large words on a sign. You have only four to seven seconds to get your message across as drivers drive by.

Classified advertising. Classified ads are a way to attract and partially prequalify buyers. A study by the Newspaper Advertising Bureau found that 57 percent of newspaper readers read the classifieds last year.

Display advertising. Home book display ads offer the chance to show a visual of the house and are a great way to reach out-of-town buyers.

Radio-TV promotions. Mostly used for institutional advertising, cable television shows focusing on real estate or a series of short radio spots may be appropriate for high-end homes or multiple homes in a new development.

Promotions

Marketing brochure/flyer. Depending upon the price of the house and the market, a flyer may be a slick brochure or a simple, pre-formatted sheet. If possible, always use color photos, even if the source is a laser printer. The brochure can be used for direct mail, left at local businesses and in your office, and handed out at open houses.

TIP: The cost per item of printing 2,000 brochures at one time is less than the cost of printing two groups of 1,000 brochures each. Take advantage of these marginal savings if you can. But be sure you have a specific use in mind for the extra 1,000 brochures, or you're wasting your money.

Property information sheet(s). These summaries highlight key information—address, age of property, size of house and lot, number of bedrooms and baths, property taxes (and assessments as applicable), and terms of sale.

TIP: Add a "unique features" section to your property information sheet to highlight special or especially desirable features of a home. — Barb Schwarz in How to List and Sell Residential Real Estate Successfully .

Web site listing. Post new listing on your own or your company's site with 48 hours of taking the listing.

MLS listing. Salespeople are your best resource to sell property, so give your MLS copy some pizzazz. Also consider buying a supplemental listing in your MLS book or the MLS Web site.

Broker-salesperson letter-mailing. Getting the word out to fellow salespeople in your market is essential. Use e-mail if you have it available. Include your Web site link if the property is posted on your site.

TIP: Build rapport with other salespeople by offering prizes to those who sell your listings. For example, offer a free dinner certificate to any salesperson who shows and sells one of your listings in the next month. Up the prize if the house has been on the market for more than 60 days.

Personal Selling

Public open houses. Be sure that the house is in great condition before you plan an open house. If traffic is sparse in the area, try to coordinate your open house as part of a caravan or hold it in conjunction with nearby houses. Arrange to have flyers for all the nearby listings from your company available at each home.

Company tour. Arrange to have your company's salespeople tour the house within the first week of listing to increase the chances that your company will sell the listing.

Broker open house. Hold a series of broker open houses within the first few weeks that the property is ready for sale.

TIP: One week before the broker open houses, make personal phone calls to 10 to 15 top producers in your market, re-inviting them to attend. If any of this top group is unable to come on the designated day, offer to arrange a special showing.

Where Homebuyers Really Look to Buy

From The 2003 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS