The number one key to doing business in the real estate sales market is being people’s first contact. The last three surveys from the National Association of Realtors between 1999 and 2003 indicated that 66% of buyers stayed with the first real estate agent they contacted, but only 6% of this number came from websites. This number increases as people feel more comfortable finding their information on the Internet. There are three ways to show your uniqueness on the Internet: words, pictures, and interactive activities.
What is attracting potential customers to visit your website? It has the obvious: strategic alliances with lenders, title representatives, home inspectors, appraisers, and attorneys. Here are ten ideas that are not obvious.
1. Also use balloons at the open house. Print an action slogan on the balloon along with your URL – website address. An action slogan is very important, otherwise people won’t know what the URL is for. When you attend an outdoor event, like a fair, wear them, put them on your kid’s arm so you can find them, and hand them out. Take the balloons to kids’ baseball games or other sports. If traveling with balloons is difficult, call the show’s events office and find out if someone will be there with the balloon blowing equipment. When you get there, give them a few bucks to blow up some of you. You can order all sizes and shapes of balloons: http://www.gopromos.com/store/category.asp?CL=101A1276A1292
2. In brochures, add a request for action, such as “Find all homes for sale at any time.” Or change “anytime” to “24/7”. If you don’t have these in your brochures, go to an office supply store and buy some colorful labels from Avery, or maybe you have some in the office and create them yourself. Also add your URL to that action request. Go ahead and use the stickers for a lockbox action request, “If this home doesn’t fit your needs, visit [URL] for a comprehensive search of other homes in this area. “
3. Signage of homes for sale. Does your front lawn for sale or directional signs for open house have your website address? If not, please add them along with a request for action for all those who are not ready and are driving, or for those who do not have time to stop at that particular moment.
4. Community bulletin boards. Supermarkets, libraries, community centers. Publish your business cards at a minimum. Create small peel-off tabs brochures to suit your requirements with a request for action and its URL.
5. “Honk the horn, if you want to sell your house” can be a bumper sticker or a clear sign for the top side or rear of the rear window.
6. Glow-in-the-dark banners, stickers and stickers. Signage for the home such as: Visit [URL] for complete information on this property. Make it glow in the dark for nighttime visual efficacy.
7. What about the times you don’t have office duties? How about setting a table for 3-4 hours outside of grocery stores? Add a nice tablecloth, balloons, and a large sign, “Ask me anything about buying a house.” Now, “Ask Us Anything About Selling a Home.” Change focus every few hours to see which one suits you best. I do not suggest that you place both unless there are two. Create t-shirts with the same action request along with the URL. Use a tablecloth that is the same color as the shirt to help support your message and appeal.
8. Transit announcements. What type of transportation is available in the areas you focus on? Is there mass transit such as buses or subways? Don’t forget the taxis, inside and out, as well as the taxi ranks. Find out where your hotlines are. Sometimes, although rare, you can put an Avery sticker next to. A sign works well if you have this capability on your website: “Take a virtual tour of our latest properties [URL]. “
9. This is something I dreamed of and it really works. Install a button that people can press on the side of their car window that broadcasts a recording of the latest homes that are available for sale. Then park in obvious places for people to see the button. Add a sign on the inside of the window that gives them permission to press the button. Caution, this does not work with some car alarm systems.
10. Merchants. Where is dry cleaning done? Haircuts, massages or other frequented shops. Do you have any favorite restaurants? Can you store a card holder next to the cash register? As a former restaurant owner, the one I like best is when the realtor paid some or all of the cost of the menus. In return, we allow them to create marketing information on menus.
Testing is always important when trying new things. In selling real estate, uniqueness is the key. As stated in the latest 2003 survey by the National Association of Realtors, most people perceive that all realtors are the same. But you know you are not. However, how are you showing it? Be comfortable feeling uncomfortable. Create games, fun and stretch with your marketing. Let it be as unique as you are and then smile all the way to the bench.