What to do about it...
The market has changed, there is no question about that, yet homes and still selling. The consumer has been changing for quite some time now, yet they continue to buy and sell homes. Inexperienced agents who have never been through a down market should know that it's not the market...and it's not the consumer. Back in the late 70's early 80's when interest rates were hovering around 17-18% ...people were still selling, people were still buying...and agents were still making money. The trick is knowing how to adapt to the current market.
I recently read an anonymous quote:
"Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass.
It’s about learning to dance in the rain."
Many agents looking for a way to cut back on their expenses now feel they have a good reason to drop print advertising. Many website-only program are pushing online services, saying that 'print is dead'. They couldn't be farther from the truth.
Print still drives the internet and should still be an integral part of any marketing campaign. We print over 25,000 magazines every 28 days and track our returns each time we deliver a new issue...something our competitors do NOT do. We have never recorded less than a 2% return...which simply proves the publishing industry's consensus that local, targeted niche magazines are the most effective form of print advertising. Consumers still thrive on color magazines.
Even Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman of the board of Keller Williams Realty International, was quoted saying, "Most of the high-tech agents we surveyed confessed that as much as 50 percent of their traffic came from offline marketing. It's a bit counterintuitive but the best way to succeed online is to market your website offline."
Yet, the real estate industry has yet to understand how to effectively USE print media. Many agents simply see it as an necessary expense to satisfy their sellers. These are the real estate agents and Brokers who have not learned what other business has proven successful for many years. If you are not bound by the fear of changing old habits, then visit our blog, "Frankly Speaking" to learn more...