The Real Estate Bloggers

Posted: 07 Jul 2010 07:38 AM PDT

Salesman Today’s real estate agent is in a much different place than agents in the past. Marketing in the past was throwing some buzzwords into a classified ad and holding an open house.

The world has changed since those days.

The New York Times today has a great story of how an apartment was marketed in 1977 compared to how it was marketed in 2010.

When Michele Kleier wanted to sell a nine-room apartment at 1125 Park Avenue in 1977, her brokerage firm paid for a one-and-a-half-line classified newspaper advertisement that offered the rough location (“Park Ave. — Low 90s”) and succinctly read “Superb condition. Sun filled. Excel. maint.” With that ad, she found a buyer willing to pay $145,000, today’s inflationary equivalent of $522,000.
This spring, when Ms. Kleier wanted to sell her 45th apartment in the same building, she invited 75 brokers to the eight-room apartment for an open house and seafood lunch catered by the Atlantic Grill restaurant. She featured the apartment on the HGTV television program “Selling New York” and paid to have the listing prominently displayed on several influential real estate Web sites. via The New York Times

This is an important concept to grasp. If you are a listing agent no longer are you just in a sales position. In fact, I will take it a step further.

A good listing agent is a marketer first, then a salesperson.

With the rise of of the internet and consumer expectations marketing a home for sale is crucial if you are not selling solely on price. Buyers now can see hundreds of homes online in their target markets. They are no longer beholden upon the agent to be the only filter in their home search.

So focus on learning marketing techniques. Learn how to present your home in the best possible light to your target market. Know your potential buyers and their wants and desires. And then develop your marketing to touch them.

When you recognize the difference in your approach you will see your sales skyrocket.

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The Evolution of Real Estate Marketing