DEVELOPING
A MARKETING PLAN
Selling your home requires
developing your own marketing plan, getting prepared to sell your home,
than executing your plan.
Developing a strategy for selling
your home and gaining access to the tools that make it easy to attract
potential buyers are both vital if you intend to be successful.
Properly marketing your home is the best way to sell it quickly and
easily. The satisfaction of selling your home on your own can’t be
matched.
Selling your property doesn’t have
to be a career objective. Learning the terminology and mastering the
necessary marketing strategies simply is not rocket science. The real
skill is finding objective and quality information.
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
The ‘MLS’ is an agent’s
primary marketing tool and a database of homes for sale with detailed
information about each listing, with easy access for buyers who have
real estate agents. It’s the ‘MLS’ exposure that accounts for about 70%
to 80% of all home sales. Only Realtors and other members of the
Realtors Association have access to
the data on the ‘MLS.’ Basically what an agent can do that you can’t is
to place your home on the Multiple Listing Service.
Flat Fee MLS Service
There are new alternatives
today that allow you to place your property on the Multiple Listing
Service for
a one time flat fee. Instead of paying the listing agent a percentage
of
the sales price, usually 6%, the property is advertised to every
Realtor in your local MLS region offering a commission, usually 3%, to
any agent that delivers a buyer. And you retain the right to sell your
home on your own and pay absolutely no commission.
Marketing Resources
Marketing strategies
available to you include many of the same resources Realtor’s use,
which include yard signs, brochures or flyers, classified ads and
electronic marketing. Many online classified ads are free, Internet
listings give you the opportunity to provide photos and a host of
text–based information about your home for sale. Internet exposure is
about the best you can get without listing your home on the Multiple
Listing Service.
A recent survey of potential
homebuyers conducted by the Economic Research Group of the National
Association of Realtors found that 23% of all potential homebuyers have
searched for a home
online. 58% of them found that online home searching to be very
valuable. 42% have visited a home viewed on the Internet, 23% of them
made an offer or purchased a home found on the web, and were most
interested in the detailed information and multiple photos that the
classified listings provide.
There is one big advantage that
you have
over the professional agent. You know your homes features and the
neighborhood
better than anyone else. You have a great product (your home) and the
product knowledge to sell it. All that’s left is to tell the world
about
it.
Next to establishing the right
price, marketing your home well is the surest way to attract qualified
buyers. Of all the steps in the home selling process, marketing can be
one of the most time intensive. Your goal is to attract as many
potential buyers as possible to see your home in order to realize the
highest and best price.
Some of the best marketing tools
for selling a home are not complicated or expensive. In fact, the best
lead generators are often very simple. When creating a marketing plan
you will need to assemble the marketing materials which should include
the following:
For Sale Sign
Widely recognized as one of
the best marketing tools when selling By-Owner. It should be big enough
for the passersby to read easily, and it should always include a phone
number.
Advertising
Running the right ads will
generate leads, but you want to target your buyer with the right
language in the right places.
Internet advertising is an obvious
choice for anyone with computer access because the web offers
tremendous exposure. Running newspaper classified ads can also be very
beneficial. Advertise in the large regional newspaper and any smaller
local papers that carry real estate ads and have wide readership.
Include information about your Internet listings so potential buyers
have access to photos and additional information.
Home Flyer
This is your property’s
"brochure." The purpose of this flyer is to provide quick facts and
help buyers remember your property, so it should be clear and brief.
Provide all the pertinent facts (address, price, number of bedrooms and
bathrooms), Highlight special features, provide your contact
information and include a picture. Put flyers
in a tube on your yard sign for people to take, and always provide them
to anyone who views your house.
Marketing your home well and
achieving maximum exposure is the best way to attract potential buyers.
Networking
Network online and in your
neighborhood. E-mail your Internet listing information to friends and
family so that they
can keep their eyes out for a buyer. Let people in your town and
neighborhood know that your home is for sale.
Open House
There are many different
opinions about the effectiveness of an open house. Many in the industry
feel that it is rare for a buyer to actually purchase a home at an open
house, but you may want to try. If you are home on the weekend anyway,
it can’t hurt.
Offering Agent Incentives
Consider offering a
commission to a real estate agent who can deliver a buyer. If you
decide to offer this,
distribute your flyers to local real estate offices informing them that
you will cooperate with agents. Add a rider to your yard sign
indicating "broker cooperation" and also in your classified ads.
Don’t Discriminate
Treat every prospective
buyer the
same, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family
status, or national origin. Discrimination is against the law.
Although, our home marketing plan
can make many aspects of advertising and selling your home much easier,
selling by yourself requires an additional commitment of time and
energy. Still, over 900,000 homes are sold every year in the U.S.
without the involvement of a real estate broker. About 20% of annual
home sales are accomplished on a "For-Sale-By-Owner" basis.
With knowledge, common sense and
patience, you can sell your own home.
REALTY-MART AMERICA / RANDY BESS REAL ESTATE
Randy Bess
Licensed
Broker in: Alabama, Florida, Georgia & Oklahoma
MAIN OFFICE
1881 NE 26th Street
suite 212
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33305
DATA
INPUT LOCATION / RANDY BESS
200 2nd Ave. South #359
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
877-367-9486
Info@MlsUnited.com
MlsUnited.com
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2002-2004 Realty-Mart
America / Randy Bess Real Estate - All Rights Reserved
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