Making it as a seller's agent isn't as easy as it once was. Stories circulate, almost like urban legends, of agents - once upon a time - who merely had to sign a listing agreement, slap the minimum required details into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), and sit back while the world beat a path to their door. Buyers engaged in bidding wars for the opportunity to pay nearly half a million dollars for homes of less than 1,000 sq. ft. in some neighborhoods. This was unheard of at the time. Real estate agents who could snag listings did well for themselves.
Times have changed; the glory days have passed. You have to work harder once you've signed a listing agreement. Try these award-winning marketing strategies for your next real estate listing and see if your results improve.
First Things First: Professional Photos
During the glory days mentioned above, many real estate agents didn't even bother to publish listing photos in the MLS. They didn't have to. Today, you not only need to add photos of your listing, but you should have a professional take them for you. Quick snaps from your cell aren't going to cut it for the thousands of potential buyers who will eventually see them. Is that your thumb in the photo? Instead, let potential buyers become scroll-happy, dreaming as they scroll. This means staging the property at least on some level, too. Clean, declutter, and take away the most personal effects; you'll allow potential buyers to more easily imagine living in the space.
While You're At It: Shoot a Video
Some professional real estate photographers will string the listing photos together into a virtual tour, and that may be better than nothing - so long as you can publish the tour as a video on YouTube. (No potential buyer wants to wait forty-five seconds for a virtual tour embedded in Adobe Flash to load, especially when said tour is just the regular photos zooming in and out.) Ideally, however, you'll shoot a separate video of the property - or have someone with access to professional equipment and at least semi-professional skills shoot and edit the video. And for heaven's sake, don't try to monetize your YouTube listing video; that's so tacky.
Treat the Listing Like the Application for Money That It Is
So many real estate agents hurry their way through MLS input like it's the last thing they're doing on a Friday before leaving work. Unfortunately, the MLS feeds a vast array of other portals - places both online and offline - that are viewed directly by potential buyers. Think about this as you balance the laptop on your knees in the back of an Uber and race through the required MLS fields while also talking on the phone. Instead, try this: Treat the listing as though it were a resume or grant proposal; treat it as though it were an application for money, because that's exactly what it is, both for you and the seller. Go the extra mile and accurately input as many of the non-required, yet helpful, fields as you possibly can. If writing isn't your thing, consider paying someone to write a Dream Homes Magazine-quality property description for you.
Opt for the Manual Input Every Time
Data is automatically picked up from your listing in the MLS and spread throughout various real estate search platforms. One example is Realtor.com. If you pay for an upgrade with Realtor.com, you have some amazing marketing options! You can manually edit the data fields, description, and photos. Do so! You also have the opportunity to stand out by adding eye-catching headlines. And you can pay a little extra to have your listing show up ahead of others when buyers search for homes. All of these give your listing an edge to potential buyers. Identify other major real estate search portals and do the same for each.
In conclusion, follow these strategies and your office manager is likely to be ordering crystal "Best at Marketing" awards made with premium materials for your wall at the realty office. You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to your clients.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of realtytoday.com
