Many homeowners think that "marketing" their home amounts to
planting a "For Sale" sign in the front yard and placing a classified ad in the
paper. While these are elements of a marketing plan, they are only a small piece of
a comprehensive marketing campaign.The primary reason that most sellers use a
professional real estate agent is that the agent and his or her company have the knowledge
and resources that cannot be matched by a typical homeowner -- a marketing services
department to prepare brochures and flyers, direct mail agency to send mass mail-outs to
prospective buyers, television advertising production, connections with other cooperating
brokers in the area, hundreds of agents who will try to sell their company's listings,
access to the Multiple Listing System (MLS) used by all real estate agents in the area,
the ability to market homes on the Internet and other mass media, an "inventory"
of ready and willing buyers, knowledge of the financial and legal requirements of selling
a home, and so on.
Whether you use an agent to sell your home or try to do it yourself, your sales
campaign should consist of most if not all of the following elements:
- For Sale sign in your front yard and directional signs leading from major road arteries.
- Open houses held on the weekend to show your home to buyers.
- Listing in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) computer.
- Aggressive promotion to local real estate offices (up to 50% of all sales involve other
cooperating brokers acting on your behalf).
- Advertisements in selected local newspapers and other specialized market-specific
publications.
- Promotion of your home on the Internet.
- Television advertising.
- Nationwide and international exposure with corporate and government relocation agencies.
- Other innovative marketing strategies that may be useful or required for your type
and/or location of home.
