Dear Glen,

We are getting ready to sell our home.  Everything is clean, staged, and photographed, and we know what price we want to list at, but we’re not sure which approach to take with our marketing. We have a sign, and we will be on social media. Is that enough?

Ready in Ravenna

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Dear Ready,

Quick question: If I gave you one piece of candy to eat every day for a year–what would happen? Probably not much except a lecture from your dentist and a few extra ounces on the scale.

What if, instead, I tricked you into eating 365 pieces of candy by tomorrow morning? Probably lots of terrible things, and then we wouldn’t be friends anymore. But, at a minimum, I think we can all agree it would be something you wouldn’t forget!

What does this have to do with selling your property? I’ll tell you. The first approach is exactly how a lot of sellers approach marketing. One patient piece of candy at a time.

• Put up a sign…wait to see if anyone stops by
• Run an ad…wait to see if anyone calls
• Post on Facebook…wait to see if…wait, why was I on Facebook?
• List on some FSBO website…wait to see if anyone emails
• Have an open house…wait and pray that someone who’s NOT an agent shows up

Just like the one-a-day candy approach, this might eventually produce results, but it won’t be what you want. Why not go face-first into the candy dish from day one? Welcome to:

“Shock and Awe” marketing.  
(insert monster truck rally echo here)

Instead of dipping one toe into the water, I want you to cannonball off the marketing high dive while actually screaming, “Cannonball”!!

People tend to notice you when you do stuff like that. Trust me…I know. By the way, Cindy, that family reunion will NOT be the same without me–just saying. Sorry, the hurt is still fresh, but anyway…

The goal of marketing is to have buyers feel like everywhere they look, they see your house. Before you have your first showing, you need to absolutely pummel the market with your property. I mean it: ads, signs, open houses, flyers, websites, MLS, social media, balloons, maybe even fireworks.

Make buyers think that your property is a circus and they are the 8-year-old who somehow scored a ticket. You want them lining up at your first open house begging for a front-row seat; all hopped up on cotton candy and ready to buy.  And guess what…when you get enough of those buyers, you’ll create what we like to call the “BFF” or Buyer Feeding Frenzy.

You’ll have yourself an old-fashioned auction buzz, and you, my friend, will be able to command top dollar from the best buyers. This is not a fantasy. Over the past two decades, we have witnessed the effects of Shock and Awe and the BFF more times than we can count. This approach involves one of our favorite real estate “truths,” which is:

Nothing motivates a buyer like another buyer.

When you draw a crowd for your first public showing, you are increasing the odds that two or more interested buyers will show up at the same time. At that point, human behavior takes over.

When one interested buyer notices that another interested buyer is kicking the tires on “their home,” it’s on. If you happen to get more than two buyers to notice each other, it could turn into Pamplona right in front of your eyes.

But all of this hinges on you taking a bold approach all at once rather than seeing what works. The sporadic approach dilutes your marketing power, and your home will fade into the background. Yes, eventually, someone will find it, and maybe they will offer you what you’re asking, but is that what you want? No! You want a line of people fighting over your property.

Use all approaches and use them all from the start. You mentioned a sign and social media, and those are certainly major pieces of candy, but in today’s market, you will also need the MLS. Nearly all buyers start their search online, and all roads start with the MLS or Multiple Listing Service. Being in the MLS also means your property listing will spread to over 200 other Realtor websites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Redfin, and so forth.

But, as you probably know, the only way to get your property in the MLS is to list with a Realtor. Naturally, you are listing by owner to save money, but what you save in commissions will likely cost you with a lower sales price from lack of exposure. Luckily, you can now have both through our Flat Fee MLS approach.

With our system, instead of paying a local Realtor 6-7% of your price to work with you in person and put you in the MLS, we charge a low Flat Fee to work with you virtually. You still get your property into the MLS, so you’ll have the full marketing power that you’d have with a Traditional Realtor, but with us, you pay a lot less and keep a lot more control over the process.

In addition to saving thousands in commissions, we let you choose the buyer agent commission. You also get to choose how much help you want through our unique Menu of Services, which allows you to decide if you just want marketing (Silver), want us to review and consult on all offers (Gold), or you’d like us to be your guide from opening day to closing day (Platinum). You decide and only pay for the services you want.

The best part is, regardless of which package you choose, your property gets the Cannonball marketing push that homes need to make sure every buyer on the planet knows you’re selling. That’s the kind of marketing that gets results. That’s the kind of marketing that pulls in hungry buyers. That’s the kind of marketing that leaves no stone unturned and a lot of other metaphors to help you see that an immediate and Shocking marketing approach is the only way to get maximum market value for your property.

Without the MLS, you’ll be slinking into the pool using the kiddie steps. While that might get you invited to next year’s reunion–it’s no good for marketing your home. Trust me–I’m a Realtor. Just kidding…trust me anyway.

Before you actually stick that sign in the yard, make sure you and your property are 100% ready. Or grab our Ultimate Seller Bundle, a free comprehensive collection of tools that cover everything from prep to closing and everything in between. With over 50 pages of forms, checklists, and templates, you won’t miss a thing. Pick up your free set here.

As always, I’d love to hear from you. Was this helpful? Do you have other questions? Do you want to confess your biggest selling fears or family event faux pas?

Hit me up HERE with your thoughts and comments. I read and respond to every email…eventually.

Best of luck,

Broker/Realtor
Ohio Property Group, LLC
Author: “You Can Sell It”

To get started listing your property: 

1. Go to OhioMLSFlatFee.com
2. Select the package that fits your needs.
3. Use Promo Code BLOG to save $25 at checkout.
4. Start saving crazy amounts of money.