The other morning, Bawldguy Jeff Brown left this note in a comment:
I’m jumping back into the San Diego investment property market as a lister. I’ve been ignoring my home folks since late ‘03.
I’m gonna be offering a broadly different choice for the seller. I’ll charge NO listing commission, but a small monthly fee for ongoing marketing, and my carrying costs at Starbucks.
Now that’s intriguing, ain’t it?
It’s been gnawing at me, so I called Jeff to talk to him about it. He explains it in his own words in the podcast linked below, but stop for a moment and generalize, if you will.
If you’re in a market with a surfeit of inventory, sellers are not the kind of blue chip asset they might have been a few years ago. Qualified buyers on the other hand…
If you can sell your sellers on the idea that, like Jeff, you will give them a knock-your-socks-off listing at a price that will save them some money, you will have acquired inventory you can use to attract buyers. I think you would have to list like Jeff plans to, totally turn-key — and you’ll have to decide where you stand on dual agency. But if listing stronger for less attracts more buyers, what do you have to lose?
Since he’s working with investors, Jeff’s strategy is even more intricate than that. Give a listen and see what you think.
Technorati Tags: blogging, investment, real estate, real estate marketing, real estate training
Sean Purcell says:
Interesting interview. I have gotten to know Jeff a little and he is passionate about helping his clients. I wonder if this concept might be limited to the commercial realm or can it be successfully expanded.
…you’ll have to decide where you stand on dual agency.
This example is one of the stumbling blocks to that expansion; dual agency passes muster easily with investors (where there is an assumption of sophistication and the locus of responsibility lies squarely on the client) but is one of the reasons that residential agency is perceived on a level with late night vitamin salesmen.
I can not wait to see how this plays out. It should be educational.
March 28, 2008 — 10:12 am
Bawldguy Talking says:
Sean — It’s easy, at least the way I see it, to avoid dual agency if that’s how the agent feels.
This model will generate several buyers as a result of the marketing — which the agent will certainly convert to sales of other agents’ properties.
The guy who taught me this model, is selling 1-3 homes through leads generated by his marketing. This doesn’t count his sellers who are often buying another home through him too.
March 28, 2008 — 12:25 pm
Barry Cunningham says:
We are going to implement a marketing strategy very similar to this. I like the out of the box thinking to use a cliche…
March 30, 2008 — 8:20 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Off topic..Greg record a 60 second spin on Unchained and forward me a link to the MP3 and we will put it on rotation on our show
March 30, 2008 — 8:23 am