What's Your Marketing Plan?

I understand that the process of selling your home on your own is difficult.  There are a lot of parts to it that you may not have realized are even a part of it.

We've already discussed about Market Value, which leads to pricing your property.  I will assume that you already have that part under control.  The next question is HOW WILL BUYERS KNOW YOU'RE THERE?

There are a few different areas that my help you get a little bit of extra exposure.  I have included the good and the bad on them to help get you thinking if this is the right marketing avenue for you.

• FSBO websites
• The good:  Some people know these sites are out there and will search to find FSBO homes
• The bad:  Most buyers don't know they are there and are using an agent to look for a home.
• Craig's List
• The good:  Everyone knows about Craig's List.
• The bad:  People are afraid to contact owners off this site because all of the scams.  This opens you up as the homeowner to scams and people that target FSBO for other reasons.
• Newspapers
• The good:  This could give you exposure to people that are browsing that paper.  Plus they sometimes have an online version.
• The bad:  Not many people look in the newspaper for homes for sale any more.  Plus this can get expensive.
• Sign in yard
• The good:  Anybody that drives down your street will see your sign.
• The bad:  Only people that drive down your street will see your sign.

How would a Real Estate Professional market my property?  Because each agent has a different way of working their business, I am going to give you just some general ideas.  Most of these are something that I offer, and others I don't.  But again, this gives you a general idea as to what we do to get exposure for your home.

• MLS
• Why?  This is how agents "talk" to each other.  It's our first location that we go to when we are setting buyers up with homes to consider and these get emailed directly to the buyers.  This is also where we look when we are setting up houses for the buyers to look at.  We generally don't have time to search out FSBO homes to include in that list.
• Enhanced listings (Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc.)
• Why?  We know that buyers are looking on these sites for homes even before they speak to us or while we are working with them.  As a seller, you are able to place ads on Trulia and Zillow to let buyers know that your house is available as well.  Zillow has a part dedicated specifically to FSBO.  Agents can pay extra fees to get more pictures and more descriptions.  We are also able to get leads directly from the site letting us know when someone is interested in the property.  These sites are just not always up to date.
• Full-Color brochures
• In the information box as well as in the home, I like to use full color brochures that portrays all of the features of a home.  People driving by are able to pick up a flyer with all of the information about the house.  I choose to use full color because if the presentation is yuck before they even enter the house, they may think that it is yuck inside the house.  This is something that you are able to do if you have the resources.
• Virtual Tours
• For my listings, I offer owners the ability to have a virtual tour shot of their home, if they want this.  There is no additional cost to my client because it is part of my package.  If you wanted to hire a company to do this for you, the cost would be $100+.
• Why?  This gives potential buyers the opportunity to "look around" your house before ever stepping foot inside.  They can get a feel if their furniture would fit or if the layout is what they are looking for.  Having this also gives us higher exposure rates on the websites that we use.
• Open Houses
• This is something that every seller is able to use to their advantage.  The differences between you doing it and us doing it are quite drastic.  We generally advertise it in the Sunday Dispatch as well as on our websites.  We let our buyers know where we are going to be so that they can come see the houses that we have available.  We generally have a Safety plan set up in case something doesn't feel right when a looker is in the house.  You would be opening your home up to strangers, giving up safety measures as well as opportunity for theft.
• Yard Sign
• Yep, we do this too.  A difference being that someone driving by would have to call us for a showing instead of walking up to the door and ringing the bell asking to be let into your home.  Most buyers don't do that if it's an agent's sign out front.  There is also recognition to company names on the sign.
• Personal Websites
• All of my listings go on my personal website www.AngieTravisRealtor.com.  This gives anybody that is searching my site the ability to see what I have available on the market.  I also use Search Engine Optimization so that when a buyer may be looking by the number of bedrooms, price or neighborhood, your house would pop up as a possibility.
• Neighborhood Mailers
• Before my first open house, I send out invitations to the neighbors asking them to come in and take a look.  Some agents don't like the "nosy neighbors" but I embrace them.  This gives them an opportunity to know what is available in their neighborhood, but who better that may know someone that is looking for a home close to where they live?
• Current Buyers
• I email my current buyers each week with a little bit of information that may be helpful to them, and I let them know what houses I have available.  I already know that they are interested in buying, so why wouldn't I have them look at the ones that I am selling?
• YouTube
• Of course I have a YouTube channel.  Don't you?  I place my virtual tours here, informational videos as well as other helpful information about homes.  This is a great location to get people that are just searching through videos.
• Social Media
• I use these outlets to showcase my favorite features of different houses and get conversations going about them.  I also have access to something called SocialMLS that is an interaction on Facebook for me and my sellers that helps get the word out about their house and asks others to share the information.  Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinedIn.  You name it and I am going to use it to my advantage to get your home sold!

So I have given you some examples of what I do to get homes sold.  Hopefully this gives you an idea or two of things that you might be able to do to help yourself.  

I am going to go a step further and give you a couple of ideas that no other FSBO are doing that can make you stand out.  

1. I hate nothing more than receiving an email from a FSBO saying that they don't want to use me to sell their home, but they would be more than happy to pay me a commission should I bring them a buyer.  I know absolutely nothing about their home, where they are advertising or any way for my buyers to get information about what they have to offer.
• What you can do:  Create an information brochure that shows all of the features of your home, how to contact you and the price.  Next drive through your neighborhood and others around you and write down all of the agents that are selling homes in the area.  Mail them (you can get our information off of the internet guaranteed if you Google us) a copy of the brochure and a nice letter stating that you know they have listings in the area and would appreciate if they would keep your house in mind as well if they have a buyer that wasn't right for their house but wanted that area.  AND that you are willing to pay a commission to the buyer's agent if they bring you a buyer.  Now think of all those agents that are going to know about your house!
2. Let the neighborhood know!
• What you can do:  Use copies of those same flyers that you printed for above, and take them around the neighborhood.  I know that it's cold right now, but it's a great opportunity to be invited inside and chat with the neighbors to find out if they know of anyone looking to move into the neighborhood.  
3. Have you told your friends, family and co-workers?
• What you can do:  Use your own social media to let everyone know that you are selling your home.  Share pictures, features, upgrades, etc. and ask them to share it on their page also.  

If you need help putting any of these things into place, please feel free to contact me.  You can call or text me at 614-374-6353 or email me at Angie@AngieTravisRealtor.com.  I am always willing to help!

PLEASE BE SAFE WHEN ALLOWING PEOPLE INTO YOUR HOME!