No Takers (at least, not yet)
It’s certainly an understandable request from a frustrated homeowner whose home isn’t selling: spend more on print advertising, specifically ads in local or even national publications.
Unfortunately, veteran Realtors know — even if their clients don’t — that that’s not how homes are sold these days (the local MLS, search engines, social media, and old-fashioned agent networking are).
So, how do good agents parry clients who insist on such outlays?
With a variation of this exchange:
Client: “I think the reason my home isn’t selling is because you’re not doing enough print advertising.”
Realtor: “After all the hard work we’ve done prepping, staging, and marketing your home online — plus all the showings that’s generated — I strongly suspect the explanation is a (still) too-high price.
However, I have a proposal: I’ll advertise your property as frequently as you like, with print ads as large you want. You pay for the ads, and if they sell your property, I’ll reimburse you double the amount you paid.”
Client: “Umm . . . that’s OK.”
Once that dialogue is out of the way, Sellers are usually more amenable to honestly comparing their home to recent Comp’s (“Comparable Sold Properties”), then revisiting their asking price . . .
P.S.: For truly upper bracket properties, strategic print ads may be appropriate.
