Selling Online Advertising to Vendors

Obtaining listings or instructions is the life blood of most estate agencies. However many realtors gloss over the Internet when presenting to prospective sellers or landlords, even though this medium has been the single most important innovation to the way we do business.

There are two types of sellers or landlords agents deal with: those who are Internet savvy and those who aren’t. You may need to have a different approach for each segment in selling the benefits of using the Internet to market their property. Good sales people will pick up on this quickly, however one question you need to ask is: are your customers more Internet savvy than you?

Here are the different approaches for each segment:

Non-Internet Savvy

While those who are not Internet savvy will likely know they need to be on the Internet, they probably aren’t sure how it works or what they should do. In this instance, your explanation needs to be simple and straightforward without too much Internet jargon.

Try using analogies they will comprehend. For example, relating online advertising to what they know - newspaper advertising. I would point out that their ad can be out there this afternoon, has the ability to go worldwide (not just the local circulation area), provides far more information and images, is available 24/7 for as long as required, and all for a minimal cost (if anything depending upon your policy).

Internet Savvy

When selling online advertising to the Internet savvy, you need to invest time in explaining what type of Internet advertising you are going to do, the sites that you are using, and the benefits for the seller. It’s easy to say “Don’t worry about the Internet, we are on all portals and have it covered.” While they may not say it outright, sellers will want to know that you have the knowledge to be able to maximise their listing online and handle the enquiry.

If your company has a good presence online, this may well be the reason you are sitting in front of the seller now. Make sure you are able to present to them effectively on how you will manage the sale or rental of their property online and reinforce confidence in your company.

So what can you present to them?

• A concise visual presentation of search pages, detailed property view pages, and basically how you will present their property both on your site and the property portals. (You can do this online by having a predetermined search that best presents your profile. If presenting offline you can use a product like “snag-it” that will assist in capturing images off the Internet.)
• Statistical data in relation to average page views for your properties from each of the property portals.
• Past sales over the Internet.
• The portals you advertise on and their associated content partners and exposure.
• The range of products available to them to enhance their listing and the benefits. (Most of the portals will have marketing support material. If not, develop your own using your own brand.)
• Testimonials of clients who have sold property through you originating from Internet enquiry.

One of the most important areas that you should cover with these prospective customers is your ability to manage buyer leads.

With one of the most common complaints against agents being their delayed or lack of response to emails sent - which these people have more than likely been on the wrong end of in the past - they are going to want to be assured you will not do this to enquiry on their property.

Discuss the ways in which you respond to buyer enquiry and how you will regularly keep them informed of response.

Quick Listing Idea:

You will have a database of potential buyers and the major portals will more than likely have a system for sending out electronic brochures to registered buyers with certain criteria of property and location (at a cost). Do some homework before you present.

“Mr & Mrs Seller, I have had a look at our database and also that of our partner property portals and there are currently a total of 267 registered buyers looking for property just like yours in this area. If you list with us I can have an electronic brochure in their inbox by tomorrow morning.”

This can become a very powerful tool if used correctly.

Related posts:

1. Buyers are Often Sellers Too!
2. Obtaining Instructions Part 1: Developing Relationships Online
3. Standing Out Amongst the Crowd
4. Back to Basics: Why Advertise Online?
5. Know Where Your Leads Are Coming From
6. Print Advertising is Obsolete – The Case for On-Line
7. Extreme House Selling
8. Terms Used in Online Advertising