It’s amazing how many articles lay out a boilerplate strategy on choosing the right real estate company.  Which ones will accomplish the mission of selling your home in today’s market? Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and understand who and why would be best fit to accomplish the sale of one of your greatest assets.
Look at how the company and agent presents themselves.
If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. Even a quick look into a company’s marketing will give you insight into how much effort they’d put into marketing your home.
The quality of the real estate agents or agency marketing materials should give you an idea of how serious they take the property marketing process. Homeowners often overlook the presentation details when deciding who the right person is to sell their greatest asset. Bottom line: CARE. Just picking up a company brochure or perusing their website can tell you a lot about their marketing plan and strategy. This also applies to social media sites and anything else publicly available about the company.
It’s all about the numbers, The key point here is it's just not the ones being marketed...Â
One of the most compelling parts of the real estate industry is the ability to use overall home sales as the main focus. When you break down these numbers, you’ll discover who’s doing what and how well they are doing it. Understanding the agent-production ratio is key. To get this number, take the amount of agents within the company, and then divides up the year’s total sales by the number of agents. The higher, the better. Other
 important statistics are the average days on market sold-to-list ratios on homes that sold.  Average days on the market stats will tell you how quickly the company tends to sell a home. Sold to list percentages, on the other hand, show just how close the final sale price was to the original asking price.
Interior and Exterior home photos will make or break it.
One of the biggest calamities when it comes to selling a house is a bad set of photos. Yes, the latest iPhone 5 is nice, and some smart phones now carry some great camera technology. However, there’s a lot more to home photography just a great lens or high pixel count. It’s all about the angles, preparation and perspective. It’s shocking how many homes fail to attract buyers on that aspect alone. Always make it a prerequisite to see the level of care that goes into selling a house based on an agents’ photography.
Uniqueness of the marketing.
When comparing notes between different companies, look at some of the intangible ways each home is highlighted. Time and effort should be spent to give prospective buyers an idea of just what makes each home special- not just a short summary. If the company is going to go the extra mile in providing those key details, your home will truly stand out against the competition. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer. When you do your own research, you should find the other listings compelling.
Social connections are hugely important to and real estate companies marketing stratigy.
Whether you like it or not, social media plays a significant and powerful role in getting the message out about your house. With some simple homework, you’ll discover how connected a company is on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. Keeping frequently-updated, attractive posts is extremely important and effective. It’s also about maintaining and managing relationships that can keep prospective buyers in the loop about what’s available. A well-executed page also indicates the ability of the agent to network properly.
Who Controls the Marketing?
Who executes the public realtions strategy- the agency or a third party? Is the agent you have a personal relationship with in control of how a home will be seen online?
There is sometimes a great divide on what a seller should expect from a company and how a prospective buyer is going to see the property. There is an overreliance on what third-party marketing websites that market properties and computer generated values. Unfortunately, these websites are not interested in what the individual seller needs. For these large companies, traffic and advertising revenue are more important than putting time and attention into your property’s image.
Key Point: Be sure to you know what level of control an agent or their associated company has over the various places your home appears online, and can manage it to a suitable standard. Targeted marketing is the right answer.
Ask for proof.
It is a woeful mistake to be sold on words alone. If an agent is keeping up with trends and market knowledge, they’ll stay ahead of competition. Coming up with the right price, for instance, is more than just comparing similar home sales. It involves a complete understanding of the real estate marketplace, and where your home sits in it. They should be able to demonstrate a clear and comprehensive picture of what buyers will see when they look for your home online, and know how to get inside the buyer’s head.
Getting the right person and real estate company saves money, time and aggravation. Armed with these tips, we hope this process has been made simpler for you.
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Posted by Anthony Licciardello on
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