Barefoot Blog

The title is a little misnomer. There really are no new marketing ideas, but just like fashion, old ideas come around and become new again. Here are some old ideas that are still fresh!

Paint a picture, don’t write an ad: There are thousands of homes listed in the MLS. To make your listing stand out, write a great description. Ask the seller what he especially likes about the house and feature it. “Sitting on the 15’x 20’ back deck watching the dolphins” is a much better description than "large deck."

Stop the negative talk: I have a friend who is the highest selling Realtor for a particular chain in this area. If you ask her how she’s doing in this market, her upbeat answer is always “Great!” And she’s only been selling for three years!! Yet, I’ve spoken with many other Realtors who aren’t as successful and they are full of doom and gloom. They even write blogs and newsletters filled with statistics about the poor real estate market. Guess what? People have to sell homes in this market and people also need to buy homes in this market. As a consumer, which Realtor do you want representing you? Mr. Doom and Gloom or Ms. Positive?

Call backs: I have a lovely couple as a client thanks to two real estate agents who never called them back. I wasn’t surprised that they complained to me about agents not returning their phone calls. It is more common than we know. When someone leaves me a message, I call them back. Yes, there are a lot of tire kickers, but there are also buyers. Treat each phone call like the person is buying or selling a million dollar home is some of the best public relations advice I can give.

Word of mouth advertising: The oldest form of marketing is a positive comment from someone who has used your services. I have a favorite saying from author Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Enough said.