Real Estate Agents Tell You Advertising is for Your Benefit. Find Out Who’s Really Benefiting from Their Ads and How to Select the Right Real Estate Professional For Your Needs.
In the following weeks, I’m going to address four of the biggest myths in real estate advertising, in the process educating you on how to select the best real estate professional the next time you’re ready to move. I invite you to read this report and hold on to it until the need arises to hire a Realtor.®
Myth No. 1 - If you hire a Realtor® who will advertise your home, it will help your house sell.
Surely you've seen the ads. In fact, as a whole, they’re hard to miss. Newspaper real estate sections and the free real estate magazines you pick up in grocery stores and realty offices are full of page after page of nothing but house advertisements. However, decades of research show that less than one percent of buyers actually buy the house they called on from the ad. How can this be? Why would Realtors® keep paying for these ads, you ask? Well, keep reading.
House ads are designed to serve Realtors,® not maximize value for the consumer. When you select a real estate company or Realtor® based on the quantity of house ads they run, it’s a recipe for disaster. In essence, you’re selecting a Realtor® by default, and in hindsight, I don’t think anyone wants to do that.
Realtors® who run house ads do so as an enticement for you to call them. When you call, the Realtor® immediately knows you’re a hot prospect, and they begin asking questions about what type of home you’re looking for. They now have the opportunity to convince you they can help you find a match. As soon as you agree, you’ve selected your Realtor® by default.
In reality, consumers should be the ones doing the interviewing by calling Realtors® and asking about their qualifications and experience. We all have access to the same property information, so anyone you work with should be able to find a match to your property. What you should be looking for in a Realtor® is a match to your personality and style.
It’s important to me for my prospective clients to understand how the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) works (see “Solving the MLS Riddle”). The truth of the matter is that more than 60 percent of all homes sold are sold through the MLS by effective real estate agents, not classified real estate advertising or house ads. Additionally, those agents who consistently run tons of house ads often have less time and money to provide high-quality service.
Rather than advertising homes, I choose to advertise myself and the services I can provide. I know long-term success in real estate is ultimately about developing a partnership with my clientele, and I don’t want clients to choose me by happenstance. This creates a win-win situation in that consumers who choose me as their Realtor® have a knowledgeable sounding board for any questions that might arise at any time. Much like having a family doctor or lawyer, many savvy consumers prefer to have a Realtor® with whom they have developed a relationship long before they need to buy or sell a home.
So when selecting your Realtor,® pay no attention to who is running the most house ads. Agents who tell you they’ll advertise your house are only serving their own needs, not helping you. If at the listing presentation the agent promises to advertise your home, they’re doing so primarily for their own personal gain, leaving less time to focus on doing the most effective things to get your house sold.
Erich Salas
