The real estate industry in South Florida is extremely competitive. As a real estate agent, in order to eclipse your competitors, you must provide more than just superior services. It is no secret that marketing is the lifeblood of real estate, yet very few real estate agents do it right.
Teaming up with a professional marketing agency can be one of the soundest decisions you make as a real estate agent.
Benefits for the agent:
- Enjoy increased visibility
- An easily recognized brand
- Increase your market share
The list goes on.
But there is more to it than the list above. Think about it: If you partner up with a professional agency, they can produce the marketing for each of your listings; hence, the value of your services will increase.
When you meet with a potential home seller and hand them your well-designed listing presentation, you can include the fact that their home will be advertised by a professional marketing agency. Not only will they be teaming up with one of the top-producers in the area, their home will be professionally marketed, which guarantees them a higher list price and a quicker sale date. Every seller wants to know that they are partnering with an agent that is going to do the most for them.
When you combine an excellent real estate agent with a professional marketing firm the benefits are endless. When meeting with prospective home sellers, discuss the value of working with a professional marketing agency.
Benefits for the home seller:
- Professional grade photography of their home
- Custom-created ads specifically for their home
- A dedicated marketing budget and campaign created for their specific home
- A professional grade video shot of their home
- Professionally written MLS description and copy
- Professional collateral materials promoting their home
In other words, their home will receive the dedicated attention that will result in a higher listing price and a quicker sale.
As mentioned previously, competition in South Florida is fierce, and only high-end work stands out. Poor-quality advertising is a dime a dozen, but those real estate agents who wish to stand out know that they must rely on a professional marketing agency.
What’s better than the best of both worlds? When you marry a marketing agency with a top-producing agency the duo is unstoppable — dominating market share.
I bet some of you are thinking, “But I can do my own marketing and save a bundle.” That usually ends poorly, and these are the drawbacks:
- Ads with typos
- Marketing that has no focus
- Branding that lacks consistency
- Overspending on media that is of little value
- Costly marketing decisions that offer no real benefits
- Marketing files that get lost (i.e. high res photos, logos, etc.)
- Poorly written home descriptions
- Bad photography
- Listing presentations that are not cohesive and offer not benefits
- Tacky stationery
- Collateral materials that don’t reflect the cost of a home
- Social media that sounds as those written by a high school student
- A nonexistent marketing strategy
- Ineffective display ads
- No public relations
When it comes to marketing, we have seen it all. We are happy that many forward-thinking agents are working with professional ad agencies to accomplish their goals. This partnership is only a recent phenomenon, and many are still in the dark ages. The evolution of the real estate agent is here; to be successful requires a strong partnership with a professional marketing agency. Be sure that when you do make the hire decision, you hire right (a topic for another article).
Laura Ure is the CEO of Keenability, a marketing agency specializing in lifestyle marketing that targets the affluent buyer. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter.