Seller Handbook

Decide to Sell

Create Marketing Plan

Manage the Offer

Close the Deal

To Buyer Handbook

Create Marketing Plan | Work With Buyers | Showing Your Home

Create a Marketing Plan

Tips Order a home warranty and then place a Home Warranty sticker on your sign - advertising that you have a warranty in place. Offering a warranty is a great marketing tool. Tell everyone you know that you are selling your home - many houses are sold through word of mouth. If your neighborhood has a newsletter, put an ad in it. Understand what the next step is before you talk with buyers. (see Define Offer Terms) Put Shown by appointment only on your sign. You don't want drop-ins.   Deeper Reading   Writing a Good Real Estate Ad   Caution   Don't discriminate! Treat every prospective buyer the same, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status, or national origin. Discrimination is against the law!   READ THE LAW

Assemble Marketing Materials

Good news: the best marketing tools for selling a home are not complicated or expensive. In fact, the best lead generators are often the simplest. Here are the three tools you'll need:

For Sale Sign

Widely recognized as the number one marketing tool, a simple For Sale sign is a must for any home seller. It should be big enough for passersby to read easily, and it should always include a phone number.

Advertising

Running the right ads will generate leads, but you want to target your buyer with the right language in the right places:

• Internet advertising is an obvious choice for anyone with computer access because of the tremendous exposure it can provide.
• Running newspaper classified ads can also be very beneficial. Feel free to include your new Owners.com webpage! (Ex: www.owners.com/AMT1234)

Home Flyer

This is your property's "brochure." The purpose of this flyer is to provide quick facts and help buyers remember your property, so it should be clear and brief. Provide all the pertinent facts (address, price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms), highlight special features, provide your contact information and include a picture, if possible. Put flyers in a tube on your For Sale Sign for people to pick up, and always provide them to anyone who views your house.
If you have a listing with Owners.com, you may print professional home flyers for free from your .

Advertise

Marketing your home well is the best way to attract potential buyers.

Your marketing plan should include:

• Online Advertising.
  Be sure to add pictures so that buyers can see your home easily.
• Offline Advertising.
  Advertise in the large regional newspaper and any smaller local papers that carry real estate ads and have wide readership. Include information about your online listing so that buyers can get additional information and financing tools. You can even include your Owners.com webpage (ex: www.owners.com/AMT1234)
• Network Online and in Your Neighborhood.
  Let people in your town and neighborhood know that your home is for sale. A yard sign with property flyers is a non-invasive way to find buyers in town.
• Build your Sales Team.
  Email your online listing information to friends and family so that they can keep their eyes out for a buyer.
• Hold an Open House.
  Optional: It is rare for a buyer to actually purchase at an open house, but you may want to try. If you are home on the weekends anyway, it can''t hurt.
• Offer Agent Incentives.
  Optional: Consider offering a commission to a real estate agent who can bring a buyer. If you decide to offer this, distribute your flyers to local real estate offices letting them know that you will cooperate with agents.