When it comes to marketing homes for sale, there here's no need to hide our marketing and what we do - we're good at it and whatever agent you decide to partner with better be good at it, too. If you don't end up working with us, then at least have your agent check off this list:
Property Consultation
Believe it or not, bringing a property to market properly can take anywhere from a week to several months depending on what is needed. Everything starts with an initial property consultation where we walk the property, we discuss what you are trying to accomplish (it's not always about the highest price; more often than not, time is just as or more important), we take notes and then we lay out a rough plan with details to follow.
When we are looking at your home and planning on bringing it to market for sale, we are of course considering the impact we want to make on a potential Buyer, but we don’t stop there. We also consider how their agent will perceive the home; we think like the Buyer's home inspector (what repairs are they going to call out and should we do them now or later?) as well as the Buyer’s appraiser (are all of the minimum compliance standards met?). And then we come back to you - how do those participants’ needs & expectations impact the way you’re going to live in the home for the duration of the listing & sale? We add that back in and then we think it through again until we find balance.
The more we plan ahead, the fewer obstacles we'll encounter along the way in reaching your goal, whether that is effecting a quick sale, or patiently waiting for the highest net price over a period of time.
When it comes to the actual marketing steps, here are most of them, in a more or less ordered manner:
Repairs & Improvements + Compass Concierge
If your home is in tip-top condition, then we can skip this step, but most folks need a cleaning and window washing before we start scheduling photography, video, 3D tours, etc. If you need more than a superficial cleaning (ie, the home needs repairs + improvements), then we'll talk about which repairs/improvements will best support your selling goals, we can refer qualified contractors to you and we can help you review quotes & bids.
Compass has a unique program called "Compass Concierge" that covers up-front costs of repairs and improvements, with the costs paid back at the closing of the sale through sale proceeds. It essentially is an almost cost-free way to leverage Compass' money to your advantage. There are program parameters, of course, and we would go over those in person.
Staging
After repairs & improvements, staging is generally the next step, but is not always required or affordable (this is one of the marketing steps we partner with you on). Based on our initial planning goals, we would select one of our staging partners to bring the right touch to the home. Some stagers are more focused on coastal-transitional styles while others bring a Boho eclectic feel and still others have a contemporary flair... Staging the home usually takes no more than a day, but scheduling that staging might have to happen a month in advance, so we always talk about it early in planning stages.
Architectural + Aerial Photography
Our photographers & videographers are some of the best in the business and we've been partnered with them for well over a decade at this point. That degree of longevity accrues to your benefit - we have high standards and nothing leaves our desk without looking excellent. Our aerial drone photographers are licensed by the FAA and follow the strict rules & regs demanded of them.
Video Tours
A video tour is generally part of our marketing approach, but like staging, it is not right for every home we list for any number of reasons (sometimes you really don't want to see a big video pan of your neighbor's house, for example). When we do see an opportunity for video, it is usually scheduled within a day or so of the property photography, that way the home is in tip-top condition.
3D Environments
The Matterport 3D environment has become the standard for delivering excellent interactive 3D property tours and is a great way to have Buyers go through the home before coming to see it in person. Just like our video tours, our 3D tours are usually scheduled within a day or so of the property photography, when the home is in pristine condition. You can explore one of our 3D environments here - https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=LMTTZmuHaCT
Print & Direct Mail Marketing
Print marketing runs the gamut from direct mail to property brochures to magazine ads. Every property is unique and we tailor our print & mail marketing campaigns to suit.
Floor Plan Renderings
Floor plans for homes are a small but important part of our marketing. A well-rendered floor plan gives a Buyer an at-a-glance look at the home's layout, and appraisers love them. If your home is a production home built after 1975, oftentimes we already have your floor plan on file. If your home is a custom home or we can't find your plan, we'll have one custom drawn for us to use. It's an extra step that makes a difference and can actually cut down on unnecessary property showings since a Buyer can decide whether or not the layout is suitable for them ahead of time.
Copywriting
We recognize that our clients' homes are all unique, whether they are a production home built in the 1980's or a custom estate in Laguna Beach. We take our copywriting seriously and endeavor to express the qualities in your home that you love so a future Buyer will love them, too.
Property Website
We create a custom-built property website for every one of our listings so we can showcase the home on our terms. While the MLS is the absolutely best way to reach a massive home-buying audience, quite a bit is lost in the compression of the photography it delivers and the accompanying media displayed. A custom website allows us to serve up large format images, property videos, easy to use floor plans and additional property details in a space that is not competing for the Buyer's attention with other homes and ads.
Social Media Marketing + Advertising
When it comes to social media, there really are two principal platforms for engaging would-be Buyers - Instagram and Facebook - so those are the two we stay focused on. We run regular posts about the new listing, broker previews, open houses, features, etc and we also run paid versions that drive traffic to the property's website.
Open Houses + Broker Preview
Typically, we schedule a Broker-only preview within the first week of launching the property. The preview is a way to showcase the home to local agents which is good for them, but is also really good for us as we gather critical feedback about the home from our colleagues. Public open houses are usually scheduled for the weekend following the broker preview; after that, whether or not you want us to hold more open houses is really up to you. Some Sellers prefer as many as possible until the home sells while others don't relish the constant public exposure. It's really up to you; we're flexible - so let us know.
Remote Video Tours for Buyers
We know every Buyer won't always be able to make it into the home, so we've become good at hosting Buyer video tours, either in real time or recorded and sent later, depending on their needs and availability. Agent-led video tours aren't always the highest quality - we're agents not videographers, after all - but they are a good stand-in when someone can't be there and we've sold several homes based on first impressions made over video.