I got this question in my in-box from a market rep the other day.
Hey Dan,
I am just trying to figure out here who is the enemy here.The recession or to much free media for the realtors ?
While other busineses are fighting the recession only, and will come back. We are fighting free platforms all over the place. What say you ??
Here’s my answer.
Charles,
I’m sorry for being so slow in getting back to you on this. I’ve been swamped and then lost track of the e-mail. I apologize.
We’re fighting heavy headwinds and they are coming from multiple directions. It’s frustrating.
The proliferation of free web listings makes it easier for agents/brokers to say that they don’t have to do any paid advertising. That works for them when they aren’t making any real money from commissions.
But it doesn’t help them stand out. It just gets the listings out there, into a bunch of different searchable database, just like every other listing in the market.
When I search the homes for sale in my home town, more than 100 are returned in just one price bracket.
How do I pick the agent? What makes them stand out? Do I want to spend all that time researching 100 homes?
There’s still a place for marketing solutions that help agents stand out so that they get more than their fair share of the business. That’s what The Real Estate Book offers.
Our challenge today is that agents aren’t seeing their incomes rise. So they don’t want to spend for high-visibility, quality advertising. As a result, a lot of people are saying there’s no need for that kind of advertising. Those people are being self-serving.
There’s a need. There just isn’t enough business to justify it.
When the market turns, we’ll see our fortunes turn. That will be a good thing.
Dan
The challenge is being able to wait through the downturn.
