Agents: It’s Time To Get Comfortable Again

The Only Way For A Newspaper To Survive

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Newspaper.

Newspaper who?

Exactly.

It’s almost embarrassing for me to write about why you shouldn’t advertise in newspapers so I won’t. Instead, I’ll update you on just what newspapers are doing to stay afloat in such turbulent times. You may ask “why does this matter to me as a real estate agent?” It’s a great question and the answer is simple. In the future, newspapers will still be a part of your business model but it will take a major paradigm shift from the newspaper industry before it makes sense for you to get involved again.

Not long ago, Shorewest REALTORS, a Wisconsin based real estate company, published the below  advertisement in their local paper.

“Thank you for reading our property ads. Starting January 1st, our Open House listings will no longer appear in this paper. All of our listings are featured on Shorewest.com”

Shorewest Last Newspaper Ad

This ad is a bold example of just what real estate companies are finally doing. Slashing their newspaper budgets. In my opinion, this was a great move by Shorewest.  However, it doesn’t mean that newspapers are out for good.  Not yet at least.  In order to survive, newspapers will need to undergo a complete overhaul of their business models, content and delivery.

For years, the newspaper industry has been over exaggerating their circulation and providing very little value added.  They all add very little benefit for a company/agent trying to target a very small and specific demographic market.  Advertising in newspapers has become much like dropping fliers for your product from an airplane.  You just hope that it lands in the right hands but most of the time, much of it is a waste.

In their current state,  surviving newspapers are finding other ways to make money while providing additional services to companies–especially to mom and pop shops.  Just some of the methods of creating new revenue identified by the industry include

• Website advertising with a new push for greater Search Engine Optimization
• Direct mail services and fulfillment
• Website hosting for easy lead generation
• Custom newspaper printing
• Call centers/sales support to qualify leads from your ad

Besides the value added aspect, newspapers are being forced to rethink the kind of news they deliver.  After all, why should I have to wait a whole 24 hours before I receive major international news. I can look that up anytime on the web, have it delivered right to my phone, or watch it on TV.  For these reasons the industry will have to create more magazine-like articles of special interests.  Instead of trying to become the first to break a story, they will need to investigate stories that have already happened and give the side that no one knows.

Take one of today’s events as an example.  The Internet has already blasted the headlline “Justice Souter To Retire.”  Tomorrow morning I will scan through the headlines and read this exact same headline. If a newspaper wants to sell newspapers, its headline should read, “Obama’s Arsenal of Possible Choices for Supreme Court.” This article would contain in depth information on each candidate and would be of great value to anyone interested in this particular topic.

If I had to put my money in futures of the real estate company, I would place it with companies that would allow me to customize my own physical newspaper with the news that interests me, with only the ads that I care about, and delivered to me only on Sundays. This concept is being lightly considered by only a couple of companies.  From an advertising standpoint, this would be a format that would be well worth putting money into.  Couple this with a whole group of services that I, as an advertiser could use, and this could be a good thing.  Newspapers, you have a lot of work to do before you can make sense to me again.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, “Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing”

The First Time Homebuyer Stats You Need To Succeed In This Market

Century 21 has come out with some killer research and statistics on a very important demographic. First time home buyers. If you do not have an aggressive plan on targeting this demographic, sit down and beginning thinking about how you are going to approach this audience. Many believe that this group will be the group to spur the housing market into more profitable times.

Important takeaways from the article include:

• 78% Of Potential First-Time Home Buyers Say That Now is a Good Time to Buy
• 85% say they consider current home prices affordable
• 56% of potential first-time home buyers are considering purchasing a foreclosed or short sale home
• 63% are open to purchasing either a “fixer-upper” or “as-is” home
• 75 percent of potential first-time home buyers believe it is difficult to get a home loan right now (This one is important to overcome!)
  
• 59% of potential buyers rated their understanding of the process as only “fair” or “poor.”

Read the entire article and research findings HERE

Fried Chicken and Pot Holes

Another great example of Guerilla Marketing at it’s best.  KFC offers to fill in potholes across the U.S.  Read the article.

Read more about Guerilla Marketing on Blog of Geese right here

How Long Will You Last?

• Ashley Furniture: Buy a room package and get a 42″ LG TV for only $199
  
• Chevy: Extended 0% financing
  
• Wendy’s tells us to stimulate our wallet with their 99 cent burger
  
• Switch to AT&T A Company That Will Be Here Tomorrow

With so much uncertainty in the market, company advertisements have turned to messages of outstanding promotions while educating the public about the stability of their companies.  Although no one wants to throw themselves into the pits of doom and gloom messages the fact is that the public is looking for reassurance anywhere they can get it.   They are also looking for deals anywhere they can get them.

Recently my wife and I purchased a home to be built in Florida.  We simply couldn’t pass up the low interest rates, the low price points and the thousands of dollars available in upgrades and closing costs.  Even after researching it myself, one of the first questions I asked was how the company was doing.  Before we decided to purchase, I didn’t know much about the builder.  We were looking for a reassurance that they would still be around in six months.  The last thing we wanted was a half-built home.

Keep in mind that most homeowners these days are looking for the same assurances.  Is your company reputable?  Will you be sticking around?  Is your company financially stable?  Is there anything you can do from an incentive/promotional standpoint?  Find answers to these questions and make sure your clients know them.

Identifying That ‘One Thing’ In Your Brand

Tonight my son, Evan, kept pointing to the back of my computer and saying “Dats Dada’s.”  Translation: That’s Dad’s.  It turns out that what he was pointing to was not my computer at all but a bumper sticker that is stuck to the back of my laptop.  The sticker has a picture of a blue feather that can also be seen on the front of my first book, My Blue Goose.  In many ways this blue feather has become a bit of a logo for many of my promotions.

What fascinated me was that my two year old son picked up on this, or at least it seems he has.

So often real estate agents haven’t found that one thing that the public can recognize quickly.  This ‘one thing’ can be just about anything.  This type of branding can be color scheming, a photo, a mascot, a way you pose in a photo and a slew of other things.

Take Carol Audette for example.  Carol is one of New England’s top real estate agents.  I remember Carol because growing up in Vermont it was difficult to NOT see her photo somewhere be it the newspaper, a

magazine, or the back of a shopping cart.  Her photo was the same all of the time–which as the branding experts know, it is the best thing you can do.  The funny thing is that her pose in the photo is the same photo I have spent many years telling agents not to make.  She is holding a phone to her ear and smiling.  The photo she used to use even had a cord attached.  I know! Can you imagine a phone that is attached to a cord!?  Even though I don’t care for the type of photo, the fact is that it works for Carol.

When you look at your branding, is there one thing that you consistently use to identify yourself?

Quick Read: Stimulus Bill’s Effects On The Housing Market

I sat down last night and went over some of the newly signed stimulus bill to see how it may effect those who are part of the real estate industry. Here is the one thing you NEED to know.

There’s a $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers only who buy between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2009 — this credit doesn’t have to be paid back, unlike the $7,500 perk available in 2008.  The home-buyer credit starts to phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income above $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers.

NOTE: Originally in the bill was a $15,000 tax credit for all home purchases made in 2009.  This item was cut at the very last second just hours before the bill passed in the House and Senate.

A Couple of Additional Benefits That Are Worth Knowing About:

• Those taxpayers eligible for the “make work pay” credit — up to $400 for single workers and $800 for couples
• Unemployed people will find their first $2,400 of benefits is untaxed, and they may qualify for reduced health-insurance premiums through their former employer’s group plan, or Cobra.
• Above-the-line deduction for sales tax paid to buy a new car in 2009. You can only deduct the tax on the purchase price up to $49,500

No Chicken On Sundays

I always seem to have a craving for Chick-fil-A on Sunday. The only reason I think this happens is because Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays. Have you ever noticed that you crave something more when you can’t have it?

We are a ‘give it to me now’ kind of society. Most companies want to give their product/service the way the consumer wants it. Burger King says “Have It Your Way,” 7-Eleven stores are open 24 hours a day, Sprite tells us to “Obey Your Thirst,” or how about this one….”I Want My MTV!“

Only a handful of companies have been able to tell the public that they will offer their product or service on their own terms. After complaints that its Ketchup took too long to come out of the bottle, Heinz didn’t change its packaging right away. Instead, like a scolding mother, it told us “Good things come to those who wait.” In this same way Chick-fil-A’s founder and CEO Truett Cathey decided to close his doors on the busiest of days in the restaurant business. His reasons really had nothing to do with creating the craving for Chick-fil-A as I described above but instead was done to:

“Glorify God by being a faithful steward to all that is entrusted in us”Read the entire Chick-fil-A closed on Sunday policy here (Quick-load PDF file).

What if, as real estate professionals, we weren’t the crazy people that much of the public views us as?  What if we actually created hours and advertised them on our business cards?  What if we told our clients and potential clients “Unless it is an emergency I do not work on Sundays?”  Or maybe the more Disney-esq way of telling them is “I am available to you Monday through Saturday afternoon.”

We may find that by doing this we are:

• refreshed by the rest that we receive
• our time is respected by our clients
• more productive since our hours are limited

What if… we actually created a craving for our services? Think about it and make the change.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, “Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing”

Agents: Buy These Two Books Right Now

I don’t plug too many books on my site but I can’t stay quiet anymore.

If you are an agent who is thinking about this tough market and you are not sure how you are going to pull through and become the successful agent you’ve had always wanted to be, buy a good red pen and these two books:

1. The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (McGraw-Hill 2004)

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent

2.  SHIFT How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times

Get This Book!

If you don’t already know who Gary Keller is, grab the agent next to you and ask them so they can laugh at you.  Gary Keller (along with Joe Williams) founded Keller Williams.  His experience and organization of the residential real estate profession is truly a textbook example of how you, as an agent, need to run your business.

Find out about the Keller Williams secrets of 8×8, 33 Touch, and 12 Direct.  This systematic approach to marketing not only works but works well.  It is also what I have been telling you about for the past 18 months.  Keller Williams agents: I’ll see you at the Keller Williams Family Reunion in Orlando in a few weeks.  Look for me at the Xpressdocs booth.

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, “Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing”

AGENTS: Let Graphic Designers Do Their ‘Thang’

When I worked for the University of West Florida back in ‘the day’ I’ll never forget an individual that had to approve the advertisements I was making before they were sent out. I was a young Communications major with a focus in public relations and advertising (I also had a lot more hair then I have now) and she was a 20-year administrative assistant. Every time I showed her one of my ads she said the same thing. “Look at all of the blank space on this ad!” she would say, almost horrified.”

In my presentations I often mention the importance of good design. It always amaze how many real estate professionals I hear from afterward that say “I am a graphic designer.” or “I do all of my own artwork.” To be fair I usually don’t ask them about their experience.

I don’t want to be insulting here but unless you graduated from a reputable school and have spent 4 years learning graphic design OR have spent years studying Quark, InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop, please understand that you are probably not a graphic designer. If you use Microsoft Publisher on a regular basis, it does not qualify you as a designer.

I bring this up because as a real estate professional, it’s important to protect your investments. Many of you hire designers to create a brand for you that will do one or more of the following:

• Attract attention
• Create familiarity
• Use a message to position yourself in the marketplace
• Show your professionalism

Whatever your reason for creating a brand it is important to allow the professionals to produce a piece that will best fulfill your objective. Again, assuming that you have hired a reputable person, let her do her job. Over and over designers have heard their clients say; “There is too much white space.” “Make my logo bigger.” “My photo needs to be big.” “Can’t my colors be brighter?”

Video From agencyfusion

I want to be clear. It’s not that you shouldn’t have any say in what your designer produces, especially if they are writing the copy for your pieces. It is that you need to let them have the upper hand.

Watch this video put together by agencyfusion. It outlines the things that agencies and designers hear all of the time from their clients. Plus it’s a lot to fun to watch!

Matthew S. Gosselin is the author of My Blue Goose, Exploiting The Wow Factor In Real Estate Marketing. The book can be purchased on MyBlueGoose.com or Amazon. Stay tuned for more information about his new book, “Stand Out, Stick and Stay. Transforming Real Estate Marketing”