What is the difference between a good marketing plan and a bad (or no) marketing plan? (RE market, Realtor)

[audreylynn]

I am interviewing agents again to list my home for sale and have been advised this time to make sure I ask each agent what his/her marketing plan will be for my home. So ... How can I tell a good marketing plan from a bad one? What is included in a good marketing plan and over what time frame? What would "no marketing plan" be? I need my home to be sold quickly and just putting it on the MLS won't get the job done. I really need help in picking the right agent to get it sold! What should I look for?

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by audreylynn

I am interviewing agents again to list my home for sale and have been advised this time to make sure I ask each agent what his/her marketing plan will be for my home. So ... How can I tell a good marketing plan from a bad one? What is included in a good marketing plan and over what time frame? What would "no marketing plan" be? I need my home to be sold quickly and just putting it on the MLS won't get the job done. I really need help in picking the right agent to get it sold! What should I look for?

Get the marketing plan in writing, and as a condition of the listing agreement.
"Property to be marketed as spelled out in the attached marketing plan." "As a condition of the listing agreement" meaning that failure to execute the plan gives you the right to terminate the listing.
Everything else is just dust in the wind.

My marketing plan is two-fold, in that it has "Immediate" ('Immediate' defined as within 48 hours) items, and ongoing items.




The plan should include any of the following that apply and are agreed to by you and the agent:

• "For Sale" sign on the property
• Quality photography for MLS, flyers, and other sites. If you want a professional photographer, get that in writing.
• Virtual tour and/or video tour
• Floor plan for MLS and brochures
• Quality write-up on MLS, with the MLS listing forwarded to you for review.
• Syndication on the internet, i.e., Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo, and 25 to 30 other sites, minimum.
• Single property site
• Blog sites
• Open houses,how often, how many.
• Email blast marketing, if applicable. EFlyers, Listing Widget, etc.
• Direct Mail marketing, if applicable.
• Print marketing, if applicable
• Use of brochures or flyers in a flyer box
• Maintaining of feature booklets or flyers in the house, including disclosures.

Not all of those may be needed, and there may be other items that are customary in your market to make you competitive. But, it should be a list that the agent has readily available to commit to marketing your home professionally.
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[Silverfall]

Totally agree with Mike.

Find out if your flyers are color flyers. How often they fill the box.
Ask about communication and how often.
Just listed postcards
Broker tours
How often will you get new comps
Staging consults
Staging rental

These are a few more marketing items you might see.

Ask to see live, right now, marketing. Look at several of their listings and photos. Read descriptions. See samples of any print advertising, flyers, virtual or video tours.

Don't just let them tell you what they will do. Make them show you.

Then get it ALL in writing.

[NinaN]

80% of marketing your home is setting the price. If you need to sell quickly, spend most of your time looking at the comps and coming up with a price at or slightly below the comps. Not sure your market, but slightly below here often ends up in bidding wars that end up with a higher price than if you set your price above the market value. If an agent comes in with a suggested price much higher than the others, that's probably not the one you need.

One thing I insist on is professional photography that is in the MLS on the first day of the listing. The list above is good, but your local market and type/price of house will determine the items necessary to sell.

On this forum, one of the biggest complaints we get is lack of communication. When interviewing the agent, be sure to communicate your expectations and get agreement from the agent that you get the communication you want.

Also, ask whether the agent is part of a team and think about if you are OK working with a team. The biggest agents here have teams. Sometimes that's great because someone is always available to answer your calls. Sometimes it's not so great because once you sign the listing agreement, you never hear from your agent again and you are assigned to a newbie that doesn't really know what's going on.

[audreylynn]

Great information! Thank you!