Utilizing All Marketing Tools To Sell

A: Its been a while since I wrote about this sell-side topic, but I have been asked recently by fellow brokers and individual sellers what marketing efforts I like to use to provide services 'above and beyond' what normal full service brokerage firms offer. In terms of selling at top dollar, I believe in the maximum exposure = maximum profit potential model. In the end, its the traffic/feedback received, or lack thereof, that is the best indicator of whether you are priced right or not and what level of action may be needed.

In today's world, buyers are very savvy! The convergence of technology and blogging has brought a wealth of information and individual perspectives to the computer screens of buyers out there adding transparency and information to an otherwise very mysterious transaction process. Thats all a good thing! But for brokers that do their best to market a client's property and get them top dollar, sometimes things don't go as planned. Is it the broker's fault? The brokerage firm? The seller? The property? The price? The marketing services? What?

Well, it could be a combination of any of those things but there is a way to assure your seller that it is not your fault or the quality of marketing efforts. That is why I inform my clients exactly how I will go about marketing their property when I first meet them, as well as provide them with REAL DATA on what their building and comparable units are selling for. No need to mess around here with lies about promising a selling price $200/sft higher than a recent comparable sale. If the seller is that stupid to work with the agent that promises the highest price, than I don't want to waste my time with their overpriced property! So, I choose the honesty route and hope that the quality of service is appreciated.

Broad based marketing covers the listing's inclusion in ALL brokerage systems at my disposal: TAXI, OLR, ROLEX, LIMO, etc. to share the property's details with every brokerage firm doing business in Manhattan. I fully understand the importance of co-broking (some 7/10 deals are co-brokered) and inviting the brokerage community to view my listings. Then I do the standard corporate marketing services that include the brokerage's webad, feeds to sites like nytimes.com, nymag.com & streeteasy.com, building mailings, brokerage office emails, brokers I know that do business in that building, and weekly NY Times print ads. Going out of your way to show the property when a call does come in is an individual character trait. But what else can I do to pro-actively get more exposure for my clients listing? Here are two highly efficient services that I like to utilize which are not covered by most standard brokerage marketing services:

1. Feature The Listing on Streeteasy.com

My use and feelings about streeteasy.com are known here. I think its a great buy-side search site with a wealth of information about NYC listings, neighborhoods, buildings, past solds, and school zoning. But for brokers, they also offer a 'featured listing' service for an extra fee of $50/week. A no brainer in my mind. For that cost, your listing will rotate with other brokers that bought this service on their main site and at the top of all search results. Here is an example of how this added service can help gain exposure for a property listing; in this case for my seller of a Trump Place 1BR/1.5BTH Condo:

If I can get a few phone calls from this marketing service and find a buyer that otherwise may have missed the NY Times print ad or the listing that was combined with every other similar listing out there at this price point, then its worth it!

I know that Streeteasy gets over 150,000 unique visitors a month, and I want my listings at the top in plain view of all those prospective buyers!

2. E-Blast Manhattan Brokerage Community

There are two companies that offer brokerage e-blasts to pro-actively promote a listing (great for open houses or price reductions) to brokers. The hope here is to reach out to a broker who may have a client whose needs match the details of your client's listing! You can't just assume that all brokers know how to find a particular listing and you never know who has that perfect client looking for just the type of property that you are trying to sell. What if that broker missed your listing and never brought it to the attention of their client?

You never know. I have sold properties before using this kind of service. I usually send out an e-blast to advertise a open house or a price reduction. You have to be careful though not to overuse this service and stale out the listing!

The two firms that I consider using for e-blasts are:

A) OLR
B) Gotham Photo Company

UrbanDigs Says: Never just put a listing out there and wait for a call to show it! These are relatively low cost options that can greatly expand the exposure that the listing gets; and in this business, marketing is everything! If the marketing efforts are high quality and you use every known medium at your disposal plus these added efforts to maximize exposure and still aren't getting the traffic, then its a price issue. Giving your client transparency with your overall traffic and feedback from prospective buyers that do see the property is absolutely crucial information that the seller should know! Sometimes its NOT the broker's fault! Sometimes, its the market and the price that is to blame and unfortunately there is nothing that we can do about the market. Which leaves us with the price! Don't be ashamed to ask your seller for a price cut, especially if you put in the extra effort and go above and beyond what is provided by your full service brokerage firm to get the word out. Cutting the asking price is still the most direct way to stimulate traffic for any listing so be sure you stay on top of recently closed sales in the building and surrounding area to assess where you currently stand! Good luck!

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