BRANDED VERSUS UNBRANDED MARKETING: Surviving in a down market.

The market is dreadful. We all know that and there isn’t anything we can do to make buyers start buying again. That is a market force we have no control over. We do have control over our activity however. Frankly, that’s why most Realtors are starving. They do not have the work ethic or marketing platforms in place to create the leads required to survive in a market like this. On occasion we get the “I only want to work with buyers” remark. This article is meant for those of you who do not have tunnel fission! J

We all know the importance of marketing our names to the public to create awareness. What most Realtors do not know is that this approach is effective only with people who already know you. To survive in this business, it is critical to market to people who do not know who you are. If you find yourself in a situation where you have very little activity, listings, or closings, maybe it’s time to ask yourself a tough question. What can I do differently?

Did you know that branded sites such as BobJonesSellsHouses.com on average create less than 3% lead volume? We have branded sites. I can tell you from experience that the lead volume from our unbranded websites is like night and day and the main reason why we created SellMyHouse.com.  What most Realtors do not know is that, per various marketing reports, unbranded websites create at least 3x the lead volume that branded sites offer. Why? Visitor comfort level! We all know it. Everybody is afraid that they will be attacked relentlessly if they fill out a form on a Realtor website. Personally, I believe the stat listed above could easily be 10-20 times more effective based on our experience. The use of unbranded websites is vital to being successful when reaching out to the public for additional lead bases. This is not to say that you shouldn’t have a branded site. On the contrary, this is vital to creating the professionalism needed for your existing clients.

What would 3x the lead volume do to your income? The answer to that is simple. We have Partners all over the country who have seen their listing bases triple because of our affiliation. In this market, if you aren’t utilizing every resource available to you to survive, well, then you might not.

SellMyHouse.com was structured to be a significant marketing asset for our Realtor Partners. We operate on an exclusive basis, we charge no money upfront for leads, there are no franchise fees, and most importantly, we offer an unbranded solution to our visitors that they desperately crave. We are already at the top of every major search engine under several key real estate phrases.  Because we are uniquely positioned to offer a variety of services to our clientele, SellMyHouse.com offers the most powerful unbranded opportunities in the industry for our Realtor network. The combination of our lead generation technologies and service platform combined with our Realtor, FSBO, and investor networks create tremendous opportunities for our Partners. Ohh, we also operate a call center that gives you a buffer to lean on when our leads need a push one way or another.

So how can you use our company to not only survive, but thrive in this market? It’s simple. BUY INTO THE SYSTEM!

  1. Learn the system. If you have not taken the time to visit our Realtor section or attend our weekly conference calls it will be difficult to create a client base. Most of the questions that we get from Affiliates about our system are answered in both areas. We get emails once a week that says “Most of your leads expect me to buy their house.” That is a dead give away that you have not embraced our system because you do not know how to answer this question. By learning our system and how some of our leads are generated, you will be able to convert that lead into a listing. More info
  2. Use the brand. It’s like owning a Porsche but never driving it. What’s the point of owning it if you aren’t going to use it. In the case of SellMyHouse.com, you don’t even have a monthly payment to own this Porsche! Market the brand.
    1. Put the SellMyHouse.com sign riders on all of your listings to drive more buyer traffic. Result: they may not buy your listed house but find one on our site. Guess who they are referred back to as a Buyers Agent? J
    2. Send the SellMyHouse.com stop foreclosure mailers to default clients in your market. Result: The content on our website creates the ‘act now’ scenario needed to get their property listed asap.
    3. Add the logo to your personal marketing material such as your website and business card. Aligning yourself with our brand is a very powerful marketing tool. Our name is advertised all around the country. Result: Instant credibility with the client.
    4. Add SellMyHouse.com into your listing presentations to improve closing ratios.
    5. Add your listings to SellMyHouse.com for more exposure. Result: Create 3 to 4 times more buyer and seller lead volume.
  3. Use our auction system to become the liquidation expert for pre-foreclosures in your market. Banks are becoming very aware of our liquidation platforms and are extending foreclosure deadlines for their clients who use our service. Give yourself and the client more time to price the house right and find a buyer to avoid foreclosure.
  4. Embrace our FSBO service. 80-85% of FSBO sellers end up listing with a Realtor. 70% hire the first Realtor they talk to. Why not embrace the system and guarantee yourself this lead source? Help us find and work closely with our FSBO affiliates who market our service to clients. We have proven that this is a tremendous lead source for our Realtors who work the process correctly. The time is now to start building this service in your market so that we a ready when the market turns positive.
  5. If you become one of our Partners, we’ll introduce you to our investor and partner networks. SellMyHouse.com is always exploring partnership opportunities that will benefit our Realtor network. We have several in place that offer Realtors in our Partner Program an opportunity to enhance their lead volumes.

The best part of all of this, whenever a lead is created it goes right back to you because you are our exclusive Realtor in your market. If you understand our model then you know that by embracing our partnership we can help each other dramatically expand income opportunities for both parties by building long term brand awareness. It is possible to triple or quadruple your monthly income with our platform.

By following our Partner Marketing Plan, it is probable that you will see your client bases expand dramatically. Our Realtor section explains this in detail and gives you access to all of our marketing platforms.