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Vattoy's Views
Selling Your Home?
Then You Need A Marketing Plan
By Barrie Vattoy
Prudential Sterling Realty
Marketing your home is more than placing a sign in your yard
and placing an ad in the local newspaper. To get the most exposure
for your home, you should have a marketing plan that has clear
objectives and specifically outlines the resources that will be
used to reach potential buyers.
Each marketing plan should be designed around your property and
capitalize on its most desirable features. Therefore, you need
to be honest with your real estate professional about the condition
of your home, and what’s the final price you will accept
for your home. Your real estate professional may advise you to
get a home inspection upfront to determine the current condition,
so that you have time to make any corrective work. This can make
your home more saleable and help avoid unpleasant surprises and
expenses later on.
Rarely is the successful marketing of a property the result of
a single activity. Therefore the marketing plan should list the
types of tools that will be used to expose your home to buyers.
Yard signs, newspaper ads, and listing with a Multiple Listing
Service should only be the beginning. Other resources may include
company tours, Open Houses, “Just Listed” postcards
to clients and surrounding neighborhood, and referrals.
And don’t forget technological tools. Studies show that
more and more people are using the Internet during their home
search. Your exposure can now be worldwide instead of just contained
in your neighborhood. So you want to make sure that your marketing
plan reflects how you will reach that audience. Besides listings
on their personal websites, your real estate professional may
list your home on Realty Link or their affiliations’ website
such as Prudential.com. Another popular technological tool he
or she may use to market your home is virtual tours, which allows
viewers to get a 360-degree preview of your home without leaving
their computer.
When marketing your property, there are really two audiences
you are trying to reach—home buyers and other real estate
professionals. Make sure the plan includes action steps on how
each audience will be marketed to.
An effective marketing plan will also spell out specific dates
for marketing activities such as company and broker tours, Open
Houses, postcard mailings, and newspaper advertisements. Yet,
it should leave room for unscheduled events such as following
up with sales professionals or brokers who preview or show the
home.
The action steps should also include checkpoints, possibly at
the 15-, 30- and 45-day mark, to review activity on the home and
determine if changes need to be made to the marketing plan.
As the home seller, you should be kept in the loop on activity
of your home. The marketing plan should state how (such as by
mail, phone email, or even through a website) and the frequency
(daily, weekly).
Of course these are just guidelines, but can give you an idea
if the marketing plan your real estate professional has proposed
to you has to be refined. You need to be comfortable with the
marketing strategy for your home. An effective plan will not only
put you at ease, but give your home maximum exposure so that hopefully
you will have a quick sell.
Find out what your property is worth on today’s market? Call
604-618-8108
Do you have questions about Real Estate Financing?
Your One-Stop Source - Click
Here!
Prudential Sterling Realty
# 226-3355 North Road
Burnaby, B.C.
V3J 7T9
Fax 604-939-1797 Page: 604-618-8108
e-mail info@vattoyviews.com
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