Contents
Whether consulting with an owner as to the best way to sell
their home or in casual conversation, the question is frequently asked, "Where
are real estate buyers coming from?" Real estate professionals hear it all the
time and yet an amazing number of different answers are brought forth. The
National Association of Realtors has generated numerous reports detailing
sources of buyers over the last several years. The data has been very interesting
and very widely distributed. However, many real estate professionals seem to be
unaware of the results. The results are not surprising and show that far and
away the buyers are dependent on real estate agents and the Internet.[i] The results below show all sources that a buyer may use so there is overlap.
- Real estate agent - 84%
- Internet -84%
- Yard sign - 59%
- Open house - 48%
- Home book/magazine - 31%
- Builders - 24%
- Television - 9%
- Billboard - 7%
- Relocation company - 5%
Frequently, though, in a small community, such as the
Volusia and Flagler county real estate markets, agents will minimize the impact
of online marketing. Because the State of Florida is heavily associated with
second home and retirement homes, they feel that the Internet is less of a
factor. One would assume that the presumption is that second home buyers are
less research oriented and buy while they are on vacation. Perhaps retirees are
in the wrong demographic to use a computer and the Internet to conduct
research. These conjectures fail to stand up, however, when compared to the actual
data.
The intent of this article is to examine the strategies most
effectively used to find buyers. Ultimately, we'll attempt to explore how
buyers are most effectively using the tools at their disposal today, and how an
effective real estate marketer can reach out to connect those buyers to the
appropriate sellers.
While much of the content of this article will deal with
residential tools and techniques, the basic tenants also apply to commercial
properties. Commercial real estate tends to require a specific skill set with
regards to an agent's knowledge. However, the strategy to market a commercial product
(including land, office space, or business brokerage) is very similar. The
commercial market does use different tools to accomplish the same end goal.
Where there are specific differences in strategies, the author will strive to
point them out and explain the differences.
Also noteworthy is the focus on the Volusia and Flagler
County markets in Florida. While much of the article is generic in nature, the focus
is on home buyers and sellers in the primary market of Adams, Cameron & Co.
The market area is on the east coast of Florida about 60 miles south of
Jacksonville and extending an additional 60 miles south along the coast. Below
this area (known as the Fun Coast) is the Space Coast known for the Kennedy
Space Center. The market area also extends westerly about 40 miles with the
westernmost portion serving as a bedroom community to the Orlando market.
Within the two county area are four submarkets:
1. Greater
Daytona Beach Area - known for Motorsports, the home of the LPGA, multiple
Bike Week events, and generally a popular tourist destination, Daytona Beach
serves as a cornerstone for communities such as Ormond Beach, Holly Hill, South
Daytona, Port Orange, Daytona Beach Shores, and Ponce Inlet.
2. Flagler
County was the fastest growing county in the United States for a number of
years. Palm Coast, is the center point of Flagler County and has been a hotbed
of activity for a number of years. Hammock Dunes is the newest community and
boasts an annual PGA Champions Tour event along a fantastic oceanfront course.
Bunnell is the county seat for Flagler County, and Flagler Beach is a surfer's
paradise.
3. The New
Smyrna Beach Area is just south of the Greater Daytona Beach Area and
includes Edgewater, Oak Hill, and New Smyrna Beach (another surfing and
fisherman's dream).
4. To the west, is the West Volusia Area which includes DeLand (the Volusia County seat),
Deltona, Orange City, Lake Helen, and Debary along the I-4 corridor. In
addition, the area includes more rural settings to the north such as Pierson,
Astor, and Barberville.
Looking back there are a wide variety of strategies that have
been employed to market properties. Yard signs have been the staple of the
industry for a number of years. In the very early years, it was not uncommon
for a property owner to sign agreements with a number of different brokerages.
The result would be a grouping of signs in the front yard. Further, there was
an absolute lack of communication between brokerages. When one brokerage found
an interested buyer, they would have to reach out to all other companies in
order to determine if homes were available that represented a good match.[ii]
Luckily, things have improved. Over time the Multiple
Listing Systems (MLS) evolved. Initially, the MLS systems were books that were
printed regularly. Later they were contained on microfiche. For the last
several years, fortunately, we have had computers to simplify the process.
Today, not only do brokerages have access to the properties that are available
but most buyers have ready access to the available properties as well. There
are several exceptions, though. In many areas, certain property types are still
not included in these systems:
1. Commercial
property is often not included. Some brokerages that specialize in
commercial property prefer only to work with other commercial specialists and
consider the MLS to be a residential outlet.
2. Property
listed with an out of area broker can be particularly difficult. A seller
may choose to work with an agent who conducts their primary business in a
different geographic region. In some cases the regions can be very large. In
Florida there are three very large regions covering large sections of the
state. However, there are countless smaller regions. Within the Volusia and
Flagler County areas there are four different MLS systems in use. An agent
belonging to one may or may not list in others. The vast majority of agents
belong to only one of the four systems. Property at the borders can be
difficult to find because of the uncertainty as to which system is in use.
3. Manufactured
housing is very popular throughout the country today. Various MLS systems
have different rules with regards to what can or cannot be included. Some allow
all manufactured homes, others allow none. Still others require that they be
listed when the land is conveyed but forbid them being listed when the land is
not conveyed. The rules do change from location to location.
4. Confidential
(or Pocket) listings refer to an older practice that is in limited use
today. There are situations in which a seller would like to sell a house but,
for one reason or another, doesn't want anyone to know. These situations are
very difficult for a marketing broker because it is almost impossible to deploy
the vast majority of the resources at hand. However, they do exist and are not typically
listed in any MLS.
There are reasons, however, for the different rules. Certain
areas have requirements that are different from others.[iii] To that end, when data is homogenized in order to be combined into a single
system (such as in generalized sites), sacrifices must always be made.
Today, there are more solutions available than ever. In
addition to the items discussed above, marketers have countless other medium at
their disposal. We can examine the various tools and techniques in order to
determine the most effective overall marketing strategy and marketing mix.
Long ago, print advertising became the natural progression
to reach out to potential buyers. As the market areas grew and the likelihood
that a particular buyer would drive past the perfect house diminished, real
estate brokerages needed a better outlet. Print refers to several different
types of advertising outlets, the most popular being Newspapers and Trade
Magazines.
The first print outlet was newspapers. Locally, the primary
newspaper, the News-Journal, was organized in 1925[iv] and is still in operation today. Typically, real estate advertising is
conducted on Sundays, the day in which open houses are traditionally held. It
also has the advantage of having higher readership than other days and most
newspapers offer a larger Sunday paper and many provide a real estate section
which is contextually targeted for potential buyers. An exception to the rule
would be commercial real estate which is often included in the business section
in a separate ad in order to reach business people who may be more interested
in leasing or purchasing office space or investment property. The primary goal
of advertising in the local newspaper is to generate awareness of the type of
properties that are available rather than to highlight any one particular
property as there is rarely enough space to describe a brokerage's complete
inventory.
Many marketers have made the mistake of repeating the same
property week in and week out with the intent of providing greater exposure.
Because newspapers offer such a small slice of the overall inventory, a reader
seeing the same property repeatedly will likely consider the property stale and
be concerned that something is wrong with it due to the highly
repetitive nature of the newspaper. Further, advertising the same home
repeatedly reduces the likelihood that a buyer will find a property
sufficiently compelling to generate a phone call. Best of class solutions to
the challenge of determining which properties to advertise should focus on the
best deals, selected across a wide price range, with repetitiveness taken into
consideration.
Historically, the local paper represented one of the better
advertising techniques for a few reasons. As distribution is daily, with a real
estate section weekly, the marketer has the ability to provide timely
information in a manner that is not available in some other mediums. In
addition, the newspaper readership was traditionally very high among a local
population meaning that an advertiser could reach a substantial percentage of the
local target market.
Unfortunately, in recent years newspaper circulation has
been declining steadily as evidenced from the chart below which reflects a
local newspaper[v]. Results from advertising are closely aligned
with these results.

In fact, results of transaction based information (such as
real estate and stock information) are outpacing the declines of general
readership. While most information is available in other mediums, such as
television and Internet, transaction based data is more readily available and
more timely on the Internet leading to a substantial decline in the
effectiveness of newspaper advertising.
In addition to the local newspaper circulation, there are
also local classified focused advertising mediums using the same quality print.
In the Volusia/Flagler market the best example is the Pennysaver which provides
a comprehensive list of products for sale from homes to cars to services. The
classified genre is also most effective for generating calls from potential buyers
by showing examples of the types of inventory that are available. In this case,
featuring investment properties and affordable property tend to generate the
most activity.
In the realm of print real estate marketing there are a number
of industry specific publications. Typically, in the Volusia/Flagler market,
these publications have distributions ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 per
publication. Typical distribution locations are in hotels, restaurants,
convenience stores, and other tourist friendly locations. Occasionally they are
also available in waiting rooms such as doctors and dentists offices.
These publications feature a series of advertisements from a
number of agents and/or brokerages. They tend to be full color and promote a limited
number of listings. The goal of advertising in these publications is not
necessarily to help a buyer find the perfect property for their unique
situation but rather to stir interest. Like newspaper advertising, displaying
the complete inventory of a brokerage would be cost prohibitive. Ideally, by
spurring a reader's interest in a featured property, a brokerage can generate a
conversation in which a much more comprehensive list of properties can be
provided to a potential buyer.
Examples of this genre include national, franchise
publications such as The Real Estate
Book, and Homes and Land. These
national advertisers also tend to publish the listings that are advertised in
the print publications on their online counterparts. In addition to the
national publications there are also regional and local publications such as
the Digest of Homes,
and Market Showcase. These have limited online exposure but tend to excel in
local distribution.
In recent years there is no question as to the increase in
the number of potential buyers switching to the online realm in order to find
property. The trend is not surprising when you consider the real time data that
is available when compared to any other medium. New listings can be distributed
more readily, changes to prices and availability are almost real time, and the
ability to search for exactly the right property is greatly enhanced. While no
website has as much data available as a Realtor, the accessibility by the end
user is greatly enhanced by the timeliness and 24/7 retrieval opportunities.
Most brokerage companies today offer comprehensive websites
that allow users to search for available properties. ?The most effective of these are provided by
localized companies rather than the national or international websites.
Examples of these include the Volusia and
Flagler County Area's Leading Real Estate Company or Long Island's Premier Website. These
websites offer regionalized features for people who are moving to the area.
Typically they help a buyer to identify specific aspects of a local community that
aren't available on national or multinational sites. The primary users of these
sites are local consumers or buyers who have identified a particular area in
which they would like to purchase.
Many brokerage sites employ a technology known as Internet
Data Exchange (IDX). While the technology provides a cheap and simple solution
for implementation of a website, it falls well short of providing the type of
service that most buyers require. Whether you are buying or selling, avoid
brokerage websites that rely on the IDX interface as they simply don't provide
the level of service that a custom interface can provide.
In the online world, studies have shown that the acceptable
response time to an online user can be as little as fifteen minutes. In order
to determine the best possible websites, try to indentify a brokerage that
employs advanced technologies that allow an agent to be alerted when a buyer
has interest in a property. For buyers, wouldn't you prefer a faster response
time when you want more information? As a seller, do you want to lose that
interested buyer in a prolonged response time? The best of class solutions
provide:
1. frequent updates to the listing information (at
least daily)
2. real time response on their own listings
(preferably by e-mail and text message)
3. integrated follow up system to remind agents to
follow up with buyers
Another important aspect of a best of class brokerage
website is the marketing effect. If the website is not heavily marketed in
abundant locations throughout the Internet no one will find it. A website
without sufficient advertising to drive users is akin to having a telephone
without telling anyone the number.
In addition to the local brokerage websites that provide
high quality local search capabilities, there are a number of national search
providers. These companies aggregate data from brokerages around the United
States or around the globe in order to provide comprehensive search
functionality for buyers. Typically, these sites have the advantage of
providing robust search engines along with a substantial number of properties.
These tools are quite exceptional in providing information to those searching a
particular area.
These national providers also have shortcomings. The sites
tend to include limited data based on the number and quality of brokerages
participating. Some larger brokerages choose not to participate in order to
increase the effectiveness of their own sites. Smaller brokerages tend not to
have the resources to support uploading and maintain the vast amounts of data
necessary to promote themselves. In addition, many of these websites require
monthly or annual fees to maintain the data on their sites. These fees can be expensive
and even cost prohibitive for some brokerage companies or Realtors?.
Examples of these sites include: Realtor.com, LuxuryRealEstate.com, ReloHomeSearch.com, Front Door (by HGTV), Trulia.com, Zillow.com, Yahoo! Real Estate, Google Base, Oodle.com, Land Watch, Resort Escape, Point2NLS.com, ActiveRain.com, Craig's List, Hotpads.com, PropBot,
and PropSmart
The best of class real estate brokerages will develop
solutions that will automatically include all applicable listings to each of
these sites. As listing information is updated, the information on all of the
corresponding websites will also be updated meaning that buyers are finding
recent and relevant information.
In addition to brokerage websites, many agents also have
their own websites. With the importance of the Internet in marketing today, the
best brokerages will provide websites to the agents and maintain them to ensure
that the most recent and relevant information is available for their customers.
Like a top quality brokerage site, the agent sites should provide real time
feedback to the agent when a potential buyer inquires.? They should also keep track of potential
buyers so that agents can be sure to provide appropriate service to them.
Direct marketing is a tool to ensure that a marketer can
reach out to the group which has the highest opportunity and propensity to buy.
There are several methods that can be used to reach out to appropriate buyers.
The goal of direct marketing is to reach out to the right people in order to
maximize the number of interested parties per attempted connection.
In the marketing industry, what the real estate industry
calls a farm area, is called geo-targeted direct marketing. Simply put, the
concept is a geographically targeted area which is particularly appropriate for
a marketing message. There are several examples of how this works through a
direct marketing method. One example is the direct neighborhood. In most cases,
the immediate neighbors have a number of attributes that make them appropriate
for our marketing messages. First, they likely have an interest in the local
neighborhood and may know friends or co-workers who would like to live nearby.
Second, they have the means to purchase a home in the area and likely know
people who have the means to purchase a home in the area.
Another opportunity is to identify move-in areas. When
targeting move-in areas, we identify neighboring communities who may be apt to
move into a home that is to be marketed. For example, there may be a move-up
area in a particular subdivision. Some areas contain single family attached
homes (townhomes), single family homes, and high end single family homes in the
same neighborhood. One strategy would be to develop a mail strategy to target
owners of the townhomes in order to promote one of the single family homes that
is available. By this method, the marketer could present a possible replacement
home for an expanding family.
The key to e-mail marketing is to ensure that we are using a
permission based marketing strategy. Marketing through the use of unsolicited
mail to a large group of people is not only counter-productive but is
potentially spam, and illegal. That being said, we have techniques available to
us to market directly to appropriate individuals who have requested information
from local brokers and agents. Our systems provide the ability for our listings
to be promoted to interested buyers who would be interested in particular
properties. We have the ability to market directly to people based on the
preferences that they have set as buyers. We can put only applicable properties
in front of these buyers, increasing the value of each and every e-mail.
The marketing world has been changed dramatically over the
last several years as marketers try to take advantage of a number of new
approaches to reaching consumers. There are several different names that have
been used to mark a progression from 1:1
Marketing (made popular by Don Pepper and Martha Rogers in their landmark
book), to Gorilla Marketing, to Viral Marketing. Each of these represent a new
approach to reaching consumers. Ultimately, they have certain aspects in
common. Specifically, rather than simply advertising a product with the intent
that the consumers will respond to the advertisements, they are geared at
reaching out to individuals on a personal basis. Each of these practices has
its own flavor but they are all designed to influence the consumer in a way
that is vastly different from the advertising approaches of the past.
The challenge, of course, is adapting these techniques to
property sales. Whether selling homes, land, or businesses, these approaches
become more difficult. There are several approaches that brokers can use to
tackle that challenge. Some are old and others are newer. However, this aspect
of marketing is vital to the effective sales strategy.
Each real estate agent has a sphere of influence. This
sphere of influence includes people who they have worked with in the past,
investors who are constantly looking for the right property, and friends and
family or other contacts with whom they have business every day. In the
simplest example, if each agent has a sphere of influence of just 200 people,
the ability to market a given property to only ten more agents helps us to put
the property in front of 2,000 potential buyers. This is a primary reason that
the largest real estate brokerage companies tend to dominate a market for a
very long time. The value of additional agents who are interested in selling
in-house property is very difficult to overcome. Using the same conservative
assumptions as above, an office with 300 associates would have 60,000 potential
customers in the sphere of influence. A small local office with perhaps ten
associates would be at 2,000.
One of the most effective strategies is to market the
property within a local office. Depending on the strategy of the brokerage,
they may or may not have regularly scheduled meetings. The best practice in the
industry is to schedule weekly meetings to ensure that each sales associate is
aware of all changes to the inventory. While they may also be getting the
information in other formats, there is little substitute to hearing the listing
agent describe the property.
In addition to hearing about the property, some offices also
schedule time for the agents to visit the property and review it for
themselves. Clearly, having a team of professionals review a home will provide
for a more lasting impression in their minds when they are thinking about the
right property for a particular buyer. These visits have another advantage as
well. When a team of experienced agents visits a particular property, they can
share marketing ideas as well as suggestions for improvement that would speed
the sale of the home or generate the highest possible return. These suggestions
can, in turn, be shared with the seller. The old saying "two minds are better
than one" is true but twenty minds are better than two when it comes to quality
feedback.
In addition to marketing within an office, there is also an
advantage to reaching out to a brokerage's agents regionally. Most agents would
prefer to sell a property that is listed with their company than to sell one
that is listed with a different brokerage. Agents often prefer working with an
agent that they know and trust. They would certainly prefer to work with an
agent that they know is properly trained. In general, in-house sales tend to be
smoother transactions which result in a faster sale, a goal of both the buyer
and seller. Because of these advantages, it is very important to market to a
brokerage's agents not only on a local basis but also on a regional basis. The
industry best practice for sharing available property regionally is
multi-faceted. First, an agent from one office can easily visit a sales meeting
in another office and have their property toured by those agents if it is
applicable. At the very least the agent can describe the property in order to
determine if anyone has a potential buyer among their sphere of influence. In
addition, every property listed for sale should be available to other agents.
This can partly be achieved through the use of the MLS. However, if there are
multiple systems, you can quickly lose the regional impact. A better system is
to document every property newly for sale in the company and deliver it to the
agents using both e-mail and physical log sheets so that they are aware of, at
the very least, a property address, price, and the listing agent's contact
information. That will allow an agent with an interested party to quickly
inquire with regards to additional data. In addition to these strategies, a
weekly newsletter sent to all of the agents and information published on an
internal website can strengthen and reinforce messaging about particularly
strong opportunities. An effective brokerage will leverage all of these
strategies in order to ensure that all of their agents are aware of internal
inventory.
In addition to marketing internally, it is also very
important to reach out to other agents in the community. There are several
strategies to pushing the information to them. The simplest of these tools is
the MLS, which is available to all agents in a particular geographic community
who pay to have access. In addition to the MLS, there are other tools that help
to share information with other agents. In the State of Florida, a tool called MLS
advantage was created by the Florida
Association of Realtors. The tool receives data from most of the local MLS
systems and aggregates it in such a way as to allow any licensed Realtor? in
the state to access it. The advantage, obviously, is that even if an agent is
300 miles away, they can see the properties that are available in the local
community. Use of this tool by listing agents greatly increases the exposure
among real estate agents throughout the state.
In the commercial realm there are a number of other tools
that are widely used to market properties. The most commonly used in our area
is LoopNet which is a national service promoting particular properties. Over
the last several years LoopNet has become the defacto MLS for commercial
properties. However, it is not alone, other companies such as CoStar are also
very important in the marketing strategy. The commercial aspect also has a
number of groups that meet with the goal of economic development or promotion
of commercial properties. Rather than using the electronic methods, these
groups discuss available properties and share information in a face to face
setting. They are sponsored by a number of different organizations, including
the city and county economic development departments, the chambers of commerce,
the associations of Realtors?, and in Central Florida there is also a special
association of Realtors? called Central Florida Commercial Association of
Realtors?. All of these organizations are very important links in the ability
to market commercial property.
Of course with so many licensed real estate practitioners in
the market place (over 5,000 in Volusia and Flagler Counties) it is very
important to recognize the value of offering a full co-broke commission. In any
agreement to sell property, the listing agreement will contract with the
seller. A part of the contract will be an agreement to share a portion of the
overall commission with an agent that brings a buyer. In recent years there has
been a trend to reduce the percentage offered to the buyer's agent in an effort
either to reduce overall commission and make the arrangement seem more
compelling to the seller, or to bolster the commission earned by the listing
agent. This has become one of the most common mistakes in the real estate
marketplace. A seller who offers a reduced commission is drastically lowering
the appeal and excitement associated with the property when compared to other
properties on the market. Take for example, ten units in a condominium
development who are all offering 3% co-broke commission, and that are all
priced at $100,000. If an eleventh unit comes on the market at the same price
offering 2.5% commission, the owner is, in effect, offering $500 less to a real
estate licensee for procuring a buyer. That small savings may be the difference
that makes it less exciting and appealing to the local real estate community.
Clearly, this is an overly simplistic example. Also, I should note that all
commissions are negotiable and that an honest real estate professional should
find the right property for a buyer regardless of the commission that they
earn. However, from a marketing perspective, I think it behooves the seller to
provide a competitive offering.
Of course, in these days of global markets we cannot depend
solely on the local or regional market. Rather, it is important to reach out
across the United States and, indeed, across the globe. It is very important to
identify opportunities throughout the United States as the barriers to moving
or relocation domestically are very low. In addition, there are a number of
prospective buyers who may be interested in second homes or retirement homes in
destination areas such as Volusia and Flagler Counties. Further, a property
owner selling a home is typically looking for a replacement home. When the new
home will be out of the area, an agent and brokerage need to know where to go
to find a professional with the type of intimate knowledge of the new area.
Brokerages work within networks to ensure that they have qualified, experienced
agents working in the new area to provide the highest possible quality of
service. To that end there are a number of networks which exist. Most people
are familiar with the real estate franchise systems. There are a number of
these solutions in existence and many are owned by a single company (Cendant
Corporation). They provide a solution for the small, independent brokerages in
a particular region to leverage some name recognition in the same way that a
local restaurant owner may join a Burger King franchise. However, in each
market, the most successful real estate brokerage tends to be an independent
company that is not affiliated with a franchise. The result should not be too
surprising considering the financial situation. A franchise typically requires
between six and ten percent of top line revenue to be paid not only by the
brokerage but also from each of the agents working for the franchise. That
money is taken directly out of the marketing efforts of the local franchise and
the agents associated with the franchise.
There is an alternative to the franchise solutions. Most of
the leading independent brokerages work together through a network called Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE). In fact, over 30% of all transactions in the United States were
conducted by an independent brokerage who is a member of LeadingRE[vi].
No franchise can begin to compete with that volume. In addition, of the top ten
brokerages in the country last year, six were independents who are members of
LeadingRE. Real estate brokerages within LeadingRE send buyers and sellers to
member companies. The agents and brokerages appreciate the fact that they have
certain assurances that their customer will have the highest level of service
throughout both transactions.

In addition to the sizeable presence in the United States,
LeadingRE also enjoys a substantial and growing position with brokerages across
the globe. With the change between the value of the dollar and other
currencies, including the Euro, the market opportunity internationally has
grown substantially (more on that below). With nearly 700 companies (5,500
offices) spanning 38 countries and 170,000 sales associates, the LeadingRE
network is a major part of the solution to finding international buyers[vii].
In addition to LeadingRE, Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate is
a powerful global network that is focused on luxury properties. The network
includes 1,500 brokerages around the world. In addition to offering referral
services, the system also includes print, online, and other marketing resources
targeted to reach out to potential buyers of luxury real estate. While the
definition of luxury changes from market to market (typically the top 10% of
property in terms of price), this is a fantastic resource to compare the
various offerings across several areas. For an area such as Volusia and Flagler
Counties, the comparisons are very positive. Consider waterfront property in
the State of Florida, a property in Ormond Beach will likely cost a fraction of
a similar property in West Palm, Naples, Miami, or other areas. These national
advertising tools help buyers to see the value savings.
In addition to other relationship marketing strategies, one
of the best solutions available is to hold open houses. A traditional tool for
bringing properties to a buyer's attention, they can be drastically more
effective when held by a trained real estate professional. There are a number
of tools and techniques that help to increase the number of potential buyers
who see a house and increase the likelihood that a prospect becomes a contract.
There are other tools as well. Some best of breed brokerages
will hold periodic open house events. Properly done, these events will include
hundreds of homes open in a given day generating a network effect among the
homes that are being offered. Because several homes will be available, a
potential buyer can build a much greater understanding of the inventory in a
single day. In addition, the network effect generated by moving a potential
buyer among several homes can be very fruitful for buyers and sellers alike.
In addition to open houses, it is very important have a
licensed, trained professional provide input into the home before it is shown.
A properly staged home can have a tremendous impact on the time it takes to
sell and the total amount that it can bring at market. In addition to properly
staging a home, a qualified agent can help to open the home before showings. By
opening the home, the agent can make sure that the premises appear bright and
airy.
Earlier we mentioned the growing importance of the
international market when finding buyers. Certainly the decline in the value of
the dollar is leading other countries to examine the United States as a
bargain. Investing money here is safe but can also generate substantial returns
for a foreign investor. When determining the best way to find international
buyers, consider how you might go about purchasing property in Europe. If you
were interested in a villa in France, what steps might you take to find that
perfect location?
You've probably selected one of the following:
1. Search the Internet
2. Ask a local real estate agent that you know and
trust to provide a reference
3. Visit France and find a local real estate
professional
4. Call real estate publications for the
appropriate areas and order books
Any of these solutions are applicable. These tend to be the
same solutions that generate leads coming into the Volusia and Flagler County
areas both internationally and from people who are out of the area. When
searching the Internet there are a number of web site solutions to use. If a
brokerage is properly promoting property through their own website and through
the appropriate other sites, international buyers will find the home they are
looking for.
When asking a local real estate agent for a referral, a
buyer is typically going to be taking advantage of a referral network. Again, a
brokerage that is properly established with a quality referral network will be
able to service that buyer when they come in.
Visiting a destination and looking for property is also a
frequently used solution. Typically when finding closer property it is easier
but it is certainly a viable strategy. When visiting a location, finding the
right real estate agent could be as simple as visiting an office, looking in a
magazine, or calling a number from a sign. In order to capture these buyers,
the best strategy is to work with the largest company.
The last strategy is also used from time to time.
Publications such as the Real Estate Book and Homes and Land will provide
numbers on the front of their publications. Anyone who is interested in a book
from another area can simply call to request one. When they do, advertisers are
provided with their name and number in order to facilitate following up with
more information.
Ultimately, the goal of marketing is always to find a buyer.
Among the various solutions above there are a number of advantages and
disadvantages to each. All of the tradeoffs must be weighed in order to
determine which of the strategies should be employed in a given scenario. Each
property is different and a strategy should be developed based on the relative
merits and the appropriate target market.
One of the keys to any successful marketing strategy is to
use multiple strategy elements. Depending entirely on a single approach will
almost always lead to failure. A proper marketing strategy requires a mix of
print, online, relationship, and direct marketing. Trying to find the
appropriate buyer without reaching out in all of the mediums is truly not
effective. Without any one of these strategies you will miss a portion of the
target market.
Often marketers make the mistake of looking to these
strategy elements as alternatives. Instead, an effective marketer will view
them as pieces to a puzzle. The puzzle doesn't work quite right without all of
the pieces. When we bring them together we start to find the value. Another way
to consider the impact of convergence is to realize that the value of cross
strategy marketing is the product of the marketing tactics rather than the sum.
Each time a different tactic is used it represents a greater overall impact on
the strategy.
That being said, the effectiveness of each strategy can
change from time to time. It is absolutely vital that an agent and a brokerage
closely monitor the effectiveness of each of the strategy elements and of each
of the advertising mediums. The simplest way to review effectiveness is simply
a cost per lead analysis. If an investment of $1,000 in the news paper
generates 15 contacts and that same $1,000 investment in an online site
generates 200 contacts, it probably behooves the marketer to shift some
dollars. Of course, there will be a point of diminishing returns.
In addition to the quantity of leads it is also important to
measure the effectiveness of the prospects. There may be sources of business
that generate many leads but few closings. These are not only harmful but can
be detrimental as they will consume time without generating results. There are
a number of tools that can be used to track the lead quality. In the real
estate industry, the most common tool is Top
Producer but more generic tools such as Sales
Force, UpShot, or ACT! can be used. The very best of real estate
brokerages will have in-house versions of these programs that are provided to
the real estate agents and that are customized to focus on a particular market
and tied to the marketing strategies that are applicable in a given area.
Local Results
Of course, what really count are results in the local
market. While there are countless discussions regarding the effectiveness of each
of these, an examination of local numbers becomes very important. For the first
half of this year, the results have been stunning. Within Adams, Cameron &
Co.'s offices each phone call into the office is logged and a source is
recorded. In addition, all inbound referrals through the referral department
and all requests that are sourced via our websites are logged and recorded. The
combined report shows where Adams, Cameron & Co. is generating buyers.

The most notable result is that the Internet is accountable
for more inbound leads that any other source. The brokerage website and the
various other websites have become the primary source of raw leads. Within
those numbers are a combination of calls to the office which are sourced from
individuals who are using the website and pick up a phone to call in and those
who submit online. The online submissions represent approximately 80% of the
category. Due to the quantity of leads, it has become crucial that agents are
alerted immediately when a potential buyer inquires. The technology mentioned
above to speed response time has become immeasurably valuable.
Relationship marketing is dominated by a combination of
co-broke calls (meaning an agent from another company) and people who simply
walk in the front door. There are also a large number of prospects coming from national
and international networks as well as referrals from various Chambers of
Commerce, etc.
Signs have always been an important part of real estate. The
most important aspect of real estate signage is quantity. Yard signs are an
excellent source to find prospects. However, only rarely is a prospect
interested in the property advertised by the sign that generated the call. The
true key to sign calls is the ability to promote the other properties that are
available to the potential buyer.
Lastly, print media continues to play a role. While this was
once the dominate method of finding buyers, the effectiveness has truly warn
away. Regardless, it is still an important aspect of our overall marketing
strategy. There are some buyers that cannot be reached any other way.
Helen Adams formed Helen Adams Realty, a general real estate
office in 1963. Under her direction and keen foresight, the company quickly
became recognized as the area's leading condominium marketing firm. Robert L.
Adams became a partner and sales manager of the firm in 1974. Within four short
years, Adams Realty became the dominant real estate company in the area with
acquisitions of several smaller real estate companies and the merger with
Cameron Realty in 1978. As President and Chief Executive Officer, Bob Adams
expanded services to include Adams Cameron Title Services and Adams Cameron
Auction Division.
Adams, Cameron & Co. is Volusia County's undisputed real
estate leader with total sales far exceeding any other company in the Daytona
Beach area. There is no other local real estate company that can offer more
associates, more offices and more full service capabilities than Adams, Cameron
& Co. can!
?The author, John
Adams, is a native of the Daytona Beach Area and is a third generation real
estate broker. His education includes a Bachelor's of Business Management
degree from Florida State University and a Masters of Business Administration
from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His business
experience includes several years with Arthur Andersen's Business Consulting
organization during which he handled engagements domestically and
internationally. He was a cofounder in a marketing company which he grew from
startup to $40 million dollars in revenue.