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19 Jun

"If You List Your Home With Me, I Promise to Continue Breathing To The Best of My Ability"

Posted June 19th, 2007 | View Comments

Here’s an ad you may see if you’re in the market for an agent to list your home in the greater Sacramento area.  I don’t mean to pick on anyone in particular with this.  It turns out there are about eleven local web sites with the same ad:

How I [We] Market Your Home

Technology is a powerful tool in today’s real estate market. Our presence on the World Wide Web gives your home maximum exposure to potential buyers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Worldwide access to information about your home is available on:

National Association of Realtors® website www.Realtor.com
MetroList MLS website
www.MetrolistMLS.com
The Sacramento Bee website
www.SacBee.com
And my own site
[something-something.com]“

Marketing:  Getting a Silk Purse from a Sow’s Ear

The ad above sounds pretty good (except for the Middle English reference to something called the “World Wide Web”.  Beowulf used to call that the “Information Superhighway”.).  But here’s how the ad above boils down in terms of the work the agent actually does:

How I [We] Market Your Home

I put it in the MLS.

That doesn’t sound as good, does it?  But the truth is, I can have your home show up on www.Realtor.com, www.MetrolistMLS.com (that IS the MLS’s web site — duh), www.SacBee.com and “my own site” (actually “my own eight sites” in my case), and I’m going to tell you the awesome secret of my hitherto unknown marketing powers:  I’m a member of the Multiple Listing Service. 

You see, just by entering your home in the MLS, it will be listed on all the web sites that other agents advertise as their “marketing campaign” automatically.  It’s kind of like bragging “I will do actual breathing during your listing.”

“Wow, really?  Inhaling AND exhaling?  Clearly you’re a top producer, young man.  Where do I sign?”

If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ll know I have been working on a service offering called the ultimate online listing, and already it includes featuring your ad on over five hundred pages of web content (granted some of that is automatic now, but I did have to set it up once).  It includes featuring your home on Craigslist, Trulia, Googlebase, and the classified ad section of Sacramento News and Review.  It includes putting your fliers on multiple real estate web logs, both with a local readership and with a national readership. 

That’s just what it includes now.  I’m not done yet. 

And yes, in case you’re wondering, it also includes Realtor.com, Metrolistmls.com, SacBee.com, and my own (eight) web site(s). 

So yes, I’ll breathe during your listing, too, I’m just not going to brag about it.

When the sheer scope of it takes your breath away, then maybe I’ll brag.

  • http://realtorwives.blogspot.com Austin Realtor’s Wife

    I believe the Realtors that use the “you’re stupid and I will trick you, you uninformed sack” approach will eventually die off. Buyers and sellers are becoming more savvy and won’t be falling for this junk for much longer… you’re next, AustinRealtorWithWayTooMuchPlasticSurgery (you know who you are)!

  • http://www.sacramento-home.com/real-estate-agents/ John Lockwood

    Well, I don’t know. I’m not sure sellers really care about our marketing. I think they care more about themselves. Unfortunately I don’t know if I’ve found a way to get them to write on my blog.

    Maybe I should ask them?

    Any sellers reading this? Would you like to share your story?

    How about we move that to a top spot…

  • http://apexproperties.blogspot.com Rob Beland

    I can just see this company at their next staff meeting planning their next ad…

    “If you list a home with us in the month of July, we’ll put a sign in front of the property!!!”

    …For no extra charge

    -Great Post

  • http://www.sacramento-home.com/real-estate-agents/ John Lockwood

    Now you’re getting into the spirit! :) Thanks for stopping by and the kind words, Rob.

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