My having worked on marketing with real estate agents, brokers, developers, and investors for more than 30 years helps me (and, consequently, my valued clients and students) to readily identify marketing opportunities even when there aren't any.
One of the most
important things to do is to be ready to turn a negative
in to a positive no matter how many of few
years of experience. There are times
when things do not go as hoped or as planned, especially in real
estate. The news article below describes one such time, in which a
multi-million dollar property sold for over $400,000 LESS than the
asking price and below a sales price from 2013. (This sale occurred in
the Fall of 2019.)
The article
about this property sale appeared in the Chicago Tribune, which remains
one of the largest newspaper publications in the country. It so happens
that the reason for this story is that the 'featured' home was once
owned by a former Head Coach of the Chicago Bears.
However, this
sale of the house had nothing to do with the former coach, who did
rather well with buying and selling the property earlier in the decade.
The "negative"
in this story is the report that the home sold for $400,000 under the
asking price and for less than it did in 2013. (This is only one example, since we know this continues to happen today.)
Within the
story it is noted that the agent, Paige Dooley, "declined to comment".
This is exactly where an agent needs to turn that negative into a
positive. Trained journalists know to report the specific results of
attempts to contact an individual for a story. Frankly, declining to comment is the worst thing she could have done. Declining comment infers that Paige had
nothing to say about this story.
It is as though
she is admitting that she did not do well for the sellers and wanted
this story to go away. There are likely to be potential home sellers
reading this story that would be less likely to consider her for selling
their home because she gave NO explanation for a deal that was not what
it should have been for her client.
I try to advise
my clients and coaching students about looking for the benefit of outside
publicity. Dooley had the opportunity to be quoted in the Tribune, at no
cost, and could have turned that in her favor. Chances are she spends
marketing dollars on social media and advertising of her services.
Positive publicity in this newspaper and its web site would normally
cost a large amount.
What she should
have done is commented about how "This home is one of many great
opportunities for buyers in Winnetka to secure a great deal!". Had she
done so, she would have pointed out how this buyer got a home in 2019
for less than it cost in 2013. Such a quote would have made readers of
the story think that if they contacted her, she would help them find a
good deal.
By
declining to comment, she put out only a negative impression. To me, this was a 'double' negative. The first is that there are no reasons for a potential buyer or seller to contact her. The second reason is that the reporter is not likely to contact her for a future story, meaning she lost her chance.
Do not decline comment and lose out on publicity. Be ready with a positive spin. I can't help but think about how much her income would have increased if I had been her marketing and/or research person.
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