|
Selling the Salesperson: The True Story of How I Sold a
Home That Couldn't Be Sold In the "Real World", Using the
Internet
Selling a product or service online doesn't always involve
an actual purchase online. Common sense applies as in any
business; what is the easiest way to make a sale?
The following example shows how you can use the Internet to
develop credibility and close the deal. Sometimes the
barriers of the market can be overcome with a little
ingenuity.
The following case study happened earlier this year, and
shows the value of finding a good person to sell what you
have to offer.
Goal
Sell a home in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
Background
Living in Lake Tahoe, these people had a home to sell and no
real estate agent interested. In a market of million dollar
homes, sold to movie and sports stars who would never live
in the home, the appeal of a lower priced home (talk about
relative) is small.
These people had no agents show their home; at an agent's
open house, only one agent came. She tried to push them
into deciding to sell their home at an extreme bargain
price.
They were stuck for six months trying to sell the home
themselves. They had little ability to sell. And no one
was making an effort to help them.
Solution
On the Internet were many real estate agents. The decision
was made to:
Marketing Strategy
- Advertised at Yahoo's Real Estate Section
- Advertised at several sites selling Lake Tahoe Real Estate,
and invited agents to our Web Site open house.
- Posted the home at FSBO sites, where real estate agents go
looking for listings.
- Write go for the throat ad copy that no one would buy a home
from, so that the agent could see this was a person in need
of help.
- Put the salesperson into role of hero rescuing the misled
FSBO.
Outcome
We created the Web Page in December and started promoting it
during that slow month and early January.
We found three real estate agents who emailed us, contacted
them and set up a phone call. Each was told of what it
would take to get this home's listing, with an understanding
of our conditions.
By February, we found our agent, By March, we had visitors
looking at the home in Lake Tahoe (it had snowed a great
deal, making visits slow in February to early March).
By the end of March, the home was sold. Client was out of
their home by May because of a great agent, who knew how to
use the Internet to generate leads.
Results
Previous offer with the first agent was $60,000 below final
selling price. Six months of time trying to sell the home
off-line turned into 2 quick months online to find an agent,
and two months for that agent to sell the home.
Increase in Home's Final Sales Price By Using the Internet
to Find a Motivated Real Estate Agent: $60,000
These Results Should Not Be Applied To What You Are Doing
Past results are not indicative of what you might get selling a home online.
After all, the agent and the location were central. We are making no claims as
to results you could generate. This is simply a case study of an innovative
marketing strategy that worked for this particular client.
|
