When Advertising, Use Nets, Not Fishing Rods Part 1

October 7, 2009

Whatever real estate market you’re working in within North America, you’ve no doubt seen a shift toward a buyer’s market in your area in the past 2 years.  In some markets, a better word is landslide.  Reportedly, only 1 listing in 20 is currently selling in Atlanta, Georgia.  So with a shift in market conditions, you also need to understand how your advertising should change as well.  A shift to a buyer’s market is all the more reason why you need to understand and use the advertising with a net philosophy.  You’ll get better qualified prospects while avoiding the tire kickers.

Prospecting is a lot like fishing.  Most real estate professionals prospect with fishing rods.  They don’t do much (if any) advertising unless they get a listing.  Once they get a listing, only then will they start actively advertising.  It’s like going out and chartering a boat to get that listing exposure to the many fish in the sea.  These reps will spend many hours holding that rod (IE their listing), hoping a fish that likes the kind of bait they’re offering will come along.  Many fish may come near the boat but won’t see the fishing line.  There will be plenty of false flags along the way: catching their hook on seaweed or driftwood or catching bait fish.

Here’s how the fishing analogy plays out in real estate in clearer terms.  Most agents only actively promote themselves once they get a listing, and the only thing they advertise is the listing itself.  The problem with this approach is any buyer who comes along may or may not be interested in what you’re selling.  If they aren’t interested, they’ll pass on by your ad.  You might know of listings for just the type of home these people are looking for in your focus area, but since your advertising is so specific and single property centric, your advertisements are very much a yes or no proposition.  Unfortunately, most of the time the answer is no.  Even worse, most advertising is highly anonymous, so you won’t even know how many “no’s” there were, much like you’d never know how many fish swam near your hook but never bit.

When you have a buyer’s market, it’s like having far more boats out fishing than normal, each with fishing rods, but the same number or fewer fish in the water.  The fish (and buyers) can be all the more discriminating, so the answer to your ‘hook’ in these circumstances will be ‘no’ even more than when there’s a more balanced market.

Filed under: Marketing Tips,Networking Tips

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