“Dress for Success.” We Love this Old Adage as it Applies to Home Buyers Searching for their Next Home on the Internet.
We literally have about FOUR SECONDS to grab the attention of a prospective home buyer who is likely glassy eyed after searching endless hours for the perfect next home. “Zillow. Realtor.com. Trulia. Some website. Where did I see that again? It was the one with the beautiful back yard. Remember it had that crazy kitchen with the red cabinets? That one has terrible pictures…or NO pictures…ugh” We hear comments like this repeatedly from so many of our buyer clients, and really do feel for them. Falling in love on line is serious business in real estate, and we just had to share the importance of putting our listings’ best foot forward when it comes to marketing.
What prompted me to write this article this morning is the National Association of Realtors annual chart shared by our very own Marketing Guru Mike Balzotti, which demonstrates the importance of a property’s web presence. Look at where we’ve come from in ten years as buyers are educating themselves before they enlist the help of a realty professional. This can work in the seller’s favor if they have gone to market correctly, and it can also immediately eliminate those contenders who didn’t have that impact on the internet. Look at these numbers:
What does all this mean?
The stunner is clearly that 43% of buyers say they originally found the homes they ended up buying by searching online. What’s missing here is how much of that online search process for our buyers was guided by us as agents using MLS portals, for example. What’s also missing here is the importance of the sellers’ listing agents in guiding them to “dress for success”, bringing their properties to the digital forefront. Despite the depth and vastness of the internet, real estate agents are still responsible for bringing these people together.
This is how our multimillion-dollar digital campaign fueled by Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty is all about capturing qualified online traffic, driving potential buyers from the NYTimes, Wall Street Journal, Daily Telegraph et al to SIR.com where only our listings are found. This valuable white glove service applies to ALL price points, not just the luxury listings.
For more information on how our Cashman Partners team can bring results to you as sellers or buyers, feel free to reach out to us!
Sally Cashman | Cashman Partners
