Look at these custom yard signs from Mariana Wagner’s iTeam real estate brokerage in Colorado Springs, Colorado:
Mariana reflects: “Not exactly how yours is set up, as our wind and freezing temps make the hanging sign a disaster, but these rock. (We have installed a 1-800# on the bottom of each sign, as well.)”
I like the white space, especially, a vital design element I too often leave out. And I really like the way that Mariana and her team play with the Keller Williams color scheme without being imprisoned by it.
I’m dying to hear how they sell — the houses and the brokerage.
Technorati Tags: real estate, real estate marketing, real estate photography, technology
Missy Caulk says:
I like these too. What material did she use? Living in cold Mi like Mariana’s cold Colorado, would like to know if you do.
December 20, 2008 — 7:31 pm
Greg Swann says:
> What material did she use?
We use 30 gauge aluminum coated on both sides with the sign material, a self-adhesive vinyl. If Mariana is checking in, perhaps she’ll reveal her secret formula.
December 20, 2008 — 7:35 pm
Todd Carpenter says:
I know about 1000 real estate agents. If any of them asked me to give them just one piece of advice, I would tell them to copy Derek and Marianna Wagner every chance they get.
December 20, 2008 — 7:42 pm
Jim Gatos says:
Is that a picture of the house?
Why would you need a picture of the house on the sign…?
Isn’t the sign in front of the house?
So you have a picture of the house for sale, in front of the house for sale…
I don’t know.. this one I just don’t get it…
I can only imagine what it would cost..
December 20, 2008 — 7:51 pm
Barry Cunningham says:
@ Jim…with the Cowboys playing like crap…you just made my night!! LMAO!!
@Todd…when you advise those 1,000 agents tell them they can probably improve their income by 25% or more by just answering the phone! No use in putting out a sign if you don’t answer the phone!
Lastly…what’s the purpose of the sign? Just wondering? Seriously…
December 20, 2008 — 7:59 pm
Susan says:
Very nice looking. I would like to see something like ‘Call Mariana for price’…her name is probably unique enough. I don’t know if it makes any difference, but I notice there are no area codes…where I live it would make a differnce.
December 20, 2008 — 8:11 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
The posts that seem the most innocuous……
December 20, 2008 — 8:17 pm
Greg Swann says:
> Why would you need a picture of the house on the sign…?
Ours look like this:
We always use an elevation as the big picture on the sign.
> I can only imagine what it would cost.
What you’re seeing here costs about $250 for a listing. There are other things we do — such as custom directionals for the neighborhood — that add to those costs.
Here’s a question for you: How much does it cost you when a listing doesn’t sell?
I’ve been talking about custom signs for coming on three years. Mariana is the fifth Realtor we know of who has done them. Like the others, she will knock the socks right off of her sellers and their neighbors. If you can buy marketing like that — and substantially improve your chances of selling the house — for less than $250, go get it.
Inlookers: I conceal nothing. That search is actually a good companion to the video I’m posting in the morning.
December 20, 2008 — 8:20 pm
Greg Swann says:
> Lastly…what’s the purpose of the sign? Just wondering? Seriously…
To stop traffic. They work.
December 20, 2008 — 8:22 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
The signs should have a Web address. It seems like you are forcing the consumer to call—which we know they don’t do anymore, right?
They know our trickery and chicanery. Whenever I see stuff like that, I quickly pass over it because then I have to make some sort of commitment to it.
December 20, 2008 — 8:25 pm
Greg Swann says:
> The signs should have a Web address.
Ours do, and we always show the price on a huge rider, as well. We wrote the book on this, starting more than five years ago.
But: Each man to his own saints.
What do your custom signs look like, Kevin?
December 20, 2008 — 8:34 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
Greg
We can’t do them. Company policy and Miami Beach ordinance(s).
The most we can do is Web site rider and phone number.
Hey Greg,
This is off-topic but I was just scanning your authors/contributors and I see a glaring void:
A huge top-producer ala Dolly Lenz would be the crowning jewel.
Just an observation.
Merry Christmas.
December 20, 2008 — 8:41 pm
Greg Swann says:
> A huge top-producer ala Dolly Lenz would be the crowning jewel.
We had one. He left us for Agent Shortbus. Raised the average IQ in both blogs.
(That’s an old Bob Boze Bell joke.)
Seriously, we miss Russell, but he’s doing more and better work there, and his writing there anchors the place, a worthy accomplishment. I’m not hostile to adding anyone new, but I’ve been turning everyone away lately. We don’t need more, we need better, and all I’m interested in is better — better ideas, better writing, a better, stronger, more-enduring impact.
Were you in Orlando? I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet you. We’ll be in San Diego if you make the scene.
Merry Christmas, Kevin.
December 20, 2008 — 8:55 pm
Todd Carpenter says:
@Jim – when I see a home I’m interested in, that doesn’t have a marketing flyer, I use my camera phone to take a picture of the sign. A picture of that sign would include the house itself, in addition to their contact info.
@Kevin – Dereck and Mariana have developed a revolutionary real estate 2.0 marketing strategy. They actually ask for the sale.
December 20, 2008 — 8:57 pm
Jim Gatos says:
Gregg, NOT being adversarial here to say the least.
Generally speaking, Sign calls are a VERY effective way to generate leads. Your signs feature the logo of the Bloodhound, which take precedence here. Marianna’s signs don’t.
If I were at a driving distance, I think I would have a hard time “getting” Marianna’s signs. Your signs have the information most drivers need to memorize until they have a chance to grab a pen and paper. I think the name, the logo, and the phone number are a little harder to read with Marianna’s signs. Perhaps it’s perception.
I still fail to see the logic of placing a picture of the house on the sign at the house itself. Hey, if it works for you, great. Run with it. I think it would probably be a good listing gimmick and perhaps the neighbors will talk, but I can’t imagine it could help sell an overpriced listing. Then again, any decent sign will help sell a market priced listing… If your signs stop traffic, that’s a good thing. I can actually see someone stopping. Will it actually sell the house? I don’t think so….
December 20, 2008 — 9:02 pm
Greg Swann says:
> I think it would probably be a good listing gimmick and perhaps the neighbors will talk, but I can’t imagine it could help sell an overpriced listing.
We don’t take overpriced listings, but we work in a market where owner-owned homes — not short sales, not REOs — are not selling at all. We do everything we can to swing the balance our sellers’ way. We know the listing strategy we deploy works, because buyers tell us what made the difference for them.
Watch this space, Jim. We’re the future of listings marketing.
December 20, 2008 — 9:19 pm
Jim Gatos says:
I think I spotted the main difference between Bloodhound’s signs and Marianna’s signs. The paragraph takes precedence on Bloodhound’s sign. I can see someone pulling over to read it. The pictures take precedence with Marianna’s signs.. There is a big difference..See the difference?
December 20, 2008 — 9:20 pm
mariana says:
Greg – Thank for the Bloodhound promotion!
Here are my versions of some short answers to questions in no particular order… (Any answers requiring more thought will be addressed tomorrow.)
Why a picture of the house? to stand out, and get more attention from drive by’s.
Why this sign … at all? We have decided that it is more important to market the house – not the agent.
Why not say ‘call mariana’? We promote our team – Wagner iTeam. (and just one area code in southern Colorado).
Why just a phone number and no website? Good point and it is already on the drawing board for the next batch of signs.
Cost and materials? $35 for the custom insert – high durabilty coroplast. Reusable: metal frames $23 ea and sign riders $12 ea.
December 20, 2008 — 9:27 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
Greg,
Even though Orlando is close—I’m just a little burned on the whole thing; have my nose to the grindstone.
December 20, 2008 — 9:33 pm
Greg Swann says:
> The paragraph takes precedence on Bloodhound’s sign.
That was the marketing idea I started with, years before it was possible to do custom signs. We knew that that paragraph of text would make people stop, because they couldn’t read it without stopping. I sit a block and a half away from our signs and watch the traffic stop in the rear view mirror. We know the signs work to stop traffic, and that’s all we need for them to do. Once they’re stopped, the house, the flyer and the web site address can make their unique appeals for the next step in the process.
We only need for each little marketing tactic to do one little job. The whole strategy, taken together, should get the home sold. Back when the market was sane, we could get full price of better in just a few days. Now getting to a deal is a much harder job, but we know that the tactics we deploy are working to sell our homes, because the buyers tell us.
The essence of the thing for us, and I would expect for Mariana, too, is that we try something new and see how it works. If it slays dragons, we test ways of making it even better. If not, we test to see what we’re getting wrong. These are her first custom signs, and I think they’re pretty sharp. Let’s take a look in a year and see what she’s doing.
And: You should take this idea for a spin and see where it gets you.
December 20, 2008 — 9:35 pm
Barry Cunningham says:
Kevin I’m with you!
When we sell homes, which lately seem to quite a few more than usual, it’s becasue they “found” it online, requested a showing and then bought it.
I have a question…how many cars go down that particular street in a day, month…and what percentage of those driving down the street actually are in the market for a home.
I guarantee that for $250.00 I can drive more traffic to the website than a sign can ever hope to.
But hey…if it works so be it.
@tcar…saw your twitter comment…am I not allowed to have an opinion? So in your opinion, hearing a different point of view is somehow stomach turning?
December 20, 2008 — 9:37 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
oh man…I’m getting my mini-Diet Cokes out. This is better than ActiveRain!
This is gonna be good
One word: Flamebait!
December 20, 2008 — 9:45 pm
Greg Swann says:
> @tcar…saw your twitter comment…am I not allowed to have an opinion? So in your opinion, hearing a different point of view is somehow stomach turning?
Certainly a central defect of Twitter is that the TwitterPated manage to communicate to everyone they’re trying to impress that they routinely talk behind each other’s backs. Even so, as repugnant as that might be there, I don’t want any of it spilling over here. If you were insulted there, defend yourself there.
December 20, 2008 — 9:49 pm
Barry Cunningham says:
Hey Kev…no flamebait..just wondering aloud what the big deal was to tweet that I made a bad comment? Funny the comment above mine wasn’t mentioned.
Hey man..if someone wants to use a sign and field calls..whatever calls end up coming so be it…I personally would rather be on South Beach at the Clevelander throwing back a Mojito and letting my website handle all leads and most of the sale.
I prefer not to spend more than 8-10 hours per week on real estate. Not in it for the fun. Here to make money.
So in that vein, I questioned the need for the sign. I guess that was bad. Whatever!
Here’s a stat for TODAY only! Had 82 BUYERS register on our site looking for homes and it cost me a whopping 28 bucks and I did not have to answer a phone, go to a property, buy a sign..get the picture?
Converting the heck out of our regs and had two closings yesterday and never even met the clients or saw the properties.
Only mentioning this because I seriously don’t understand the need for a sign. Had 7 listings last month..never put up a sign…all went to contract in under 72 hours..from buyers already in the pipeline.
Kevin ya know it’s just a bit of playa-hatin!
December 20, 2008 — 9:59 pm
Barry Cunningham says:
Hey Greg..ain’t no defending going on and none needed. tcar’s tweet was an afterthought…just wondered about the reasoning. you know me by now…i don’t feel a need to defend myself
December 20, 2008 — 10:03 pm
Kristal Kraft says:
Mariana told me about her new signs the other night. Until then I wasn’t familiar with them. Now that I see Greg’s example also, I think they both rock!
As a Realtor who works frequently with buyers who are new to town, I can’t begin to tell you how beneficial a sign like this would be. First it’s different and very eye catching. The photo of the elevation would certainly make sense particularly in an area where seasons effect the way the home looks from one to the next.
Having all the info clearly visible would be a treat, we could determine in a jiffy if the home might work.
Years ago I needed to move a ton of REO’s. To be different I hand made some bright yellow posters with the price on them. They weren’t a pretty sight, but they got people’s attention and I sold houses.
Yes, the neighbors didn’t care for the style, but the buyers noticed and bought. When the neighbors saw my results, they appreciated my creativity.
Of course this “system” pre-dated brochure boxes.
I’m going to tell my broker we need to do this. I’m sure Mariana will share her source.
December 20, 2008 — 10:14 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
Oh, man I could feel that this one was gonna be good—-right from the start.
All the heavies are in here. I may have to go get MORE mini-Diet Cokes!
Where’s Ann Cummings when you need her?
December 20, 2008 — 10:26 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
Greg,
Do you think you could swing an extra back-link, for the holidays, for me?
December 20, 2008 — 10:27 pm
Laurie Manny says:
Branded signs are not a new idea. They have been very popular here for many years and they work. My signs, designed over 6 years ago, with the blue ocean in the background can be seen from 3 blocks away when placed on a tall pole, they are a little oversized.
The tall pole you ask? Well obviously you don’t have listings in areas where your signs have graffiti painted on them, get sliced up, and are used as playground swings for badly behaved children. The cost of my 2 sided custom signs roll in at about $250 each. Thats enough to make you want to go hunting when somebody takes one out.
Sign calls don’t roll in here like they used to when buyers were out driving around on weekends looking for open houses. They no longer go to the opens much here as they are sitting in the comfort of their living room shopping on the internet.
However, leave no stone unturned. Call do come in from the signs IF the property is along the ocean, and open houses do work, IF the property is along the ocean. You know – lookeeloos.
Your signs are very nice Mariana, I would make the phone number a little larger and add your site address.
December 20, 2008 — 10:37 pm
Laurie Manny says:
Kevin, you are a link ho, stop begging and instigating!
December 20, 2008 — 10:39 pm
Todd Carpenter says:
Barry,
Mariana has an online presence. A pretty damn good one. Tell me, what would $250 do to boost her rankings? Please be specific as you are obviously the expert here.
December 20, 2008 — 10:40 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
Oh,man this is better than hoped!
What happened to ARDELL’s comment???
December 20, 2008 — 10:46 pm
Ann Cummings says:
I think Mariana’s signs look great, and are very eye-catching. We all look for things that work, that are different than the regular ho-hum routine stuff, and I think her new signs fall into that category. I agree with Laurie about making the phone number a bit larger and adding her website, which I saw she said was already on the drawing board. If I were out with buyers and drove by one of her signs, I’m sure they would cause us to stop and check them out, and isn’t that the goal – to get people to stop & check out the info on the sign??
Jeez, I don’t get people who blast others for trying something different.
Hey Kevin – I’m here, but a little late I see! I do have my Diet Coke right here, waitin’ for ys.
December 21, 2008 — 5:15 am
Tina Fountain says:
If the signs create as much attention with buyers as they did on this post, then it’s probably worth it!
December 21, 2008 — 6:27 am
Barry Bevis says:
Ive been doing these for almost a year now-
The main photo is either the back yard- they can’t see it!
Or a featured room- Kitchen, Living or Sun room.
I’ll never go back to regular signs. It cuts the crap calls and wows the neighbors.
Thanks for the inspiration Greg
December 21, 2008 — 6:53 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Hey..I’m not knocking her attempt here. My questions was why? I don;t understand why it casued such an uproar.
I merely wanted to know why one would spend money and time on a house sign when there are more effective means? I know conventional wisdom has been the use of yard signs. I am just questioning the functional utility of a yard sign in today’s technological age.
Not pointing a finger whatsoever.
Here is some information I’d be interested in seeing:
1. What’s the traffic count on that street (easily obtained)
2. How many expected impressions
3. What’s the movement in the immediate neighborhood? (ie..how many homes are for sale or have been sold in the last 6 months)
It seems that asking questions casues some people distress. I am open to learning..but in order to do so, it requires answers to questions, not a simple nod of great idea.
Obviously that bothers some but can’t figure out why.
Here’s the rub, and I am surprised no one understood where I was coming from. In the most recent National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers ONLY 15% of buyers found a home from a yard sign.
I utilize data that is available to me and I find a 15% pool of potential to have a very small ROI when I can get double the penetration for less money and time.
So when I ask a question in this regard, it’s becasue it does not seem to make any sense what I am reading and I am seeking clarification from other like-minded business owners.
My question above, that seemed to casue this stir, was simply…what’s sign for?
December 21, 2008 — 7:36 am
Greg Swann says:
> What happened to ARDELL’s comment???
It was deleted for flaming, as you could have guessed.
Kevin, I think you’re a funny guy, but if you pull a stunt like this again, I’m going to bounce you permanently for flame-baiting. Guests in our home have the right to be who they are, with the stipulation that they behave accordingly with all our other guests. You are still picking a fight even if you enlist someone else to throw the punch. I will defend your rights with the same vigor, but as hosts and guests we’re not going to pummel each other, not even as a source of amusement. Verb sap suff.
December 21, 2008 — 8:06 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Todd, this isn’t about Mariana’s web presence. Never was. She has indeed great exposure and branding.
My question was in the utilization of a yard sign for this listing. You see the paradox in all of this is that Mariana shows to be much more advanced technologically than the implementation of this sign would suggest.
She is superior technologically to most in the game. The utilization of this sign, given her obvious skills is like Oklahoma abandoning their 60 point per game, Heisman Trophy led offense in favor of the wishbone.
Like I said above…In the most recent National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers ONLY 15% of buyers found a home from a yard sign.
I utilize data that is available to me and I find a 15% pool of potential to have a very small ROI when I can get double the penetration for less money and time.
If the traffic count is not substantial I think that the $250.00 is spent in much better means. Both to garner impressions (branding) as well as traffic from REAL buyers..not the neighborhood lookie-loos.
What can you do to drive traffic..real interested traffic for $250.00? You’re kidding right?
I recently read somewhere that “The idea here is things are actually easier in a “rough” market than they are in a “great” market…..It’s not too often that a marketer gets to cut his costs in half (And more) while reducing competition at the same time!”
I think you know all too well the answer to your question.
December 21, 2008 — 8:20 am
Greg Swann says:
> If the signs create as much attention with buyers as they did on this post, then it’s probably worth it!
Damn straight! Good observation.
December 21, 2008 — 8:20 am
Jim Gatos says:
Like Barry, I only wanted to ask questions. I’m from “Massachusetts”, where we are a liberal state but pretty much very conservative in action. Am I conservative in my real estate career thinking? If I was I probably wouldn’t be here reading this blog.
The only way I can justify a big step like $250 sign panels is to ask ask ask questions until I exhaust every possible avenue of doubt OR encouragement. I NEVER make up my mind until I have everything spelled out and always take my time, unless I have an emergency on my hands. That line of thinking I picked up from Zig Ziglar 12 years ago and I’m glad I did.
Admittedly, I have a hard time envisioning this in my market or at least, in my personal business. Then again, although prices and sales units have come down where I am, it’s probably a different story then where you are, Greg, and I have NO idea what the Colorado Springs market is like, Marianna. If a property is priced very competitively where I am it will sell. I’m still in “information gathering” mode for now. In my case, I don’t think it’ll cost me $250. A panel will probably cost me $150 in my area, my agency installs the posts and I can probably get most of the riders for pretty cheap. As a matter of fact, I may call a sign company tomorrow and I also have to run this by my manager. I can’t imagine he’ll object. If it’s not illegal or stupid, I can pretty much run with my suggestions.
December 21, 2008 — 8:29 am
Greg Swann says:
> Jeez, I don’t get people who blast others for trying something different.
Here’s the upside: It’s not all high-fives and way-to-go’s, but by probing through the guts of an issue like this, we all come away with a better understanding of what does and doesn’t work. No flames, ever, but a lot of put-up-or-shut-up. It makes everyone smarter in the end.
December 21, 2008 — 8:47 am
Todd Carpenter says:
Barry,
Had you attended REBlogWorld, you would know that it takes five people to handle all of the leads Mariana’s online presence creates.
Again I ask, how would you spend $250 on her site to make an appreciable difference in the online business she is already generating. I realize you won’t answer. Because you don’t have an answer. She gets online as well as anyone, but she also gets offline.
You don’t build a sign like this instead of creating an online presence. You do it in addition to building an online presence.
You should spend more time reading Bloodhound Blog and less time telling us all how REALTORS don’t answer their phones. The central focus of all of BHB’s marketing ideas is based on this premise.
Do Everything.
You’re a real estate marketer, not a blogger.
Don’t leave the “only 15%” people who buy houses from signs wondering if you’re not a great agent.
Show everyone else in that neighborhood that you do more to list AND SELL a clients home than any agent they have ever met.
Linda Davis is now well known for her Inman panel quote, “if you have a crappy business a blog isn’t going to help”.I don’t know, maybe it will help a little. But the truly successful RE bloggers are really successful because the are great agents to begin with. They know to do the little things. They don’t worry about the ROI of every action. They know that it just takes one person to be impressed by one small action to earn thousands of dollars from them as a future client.
December 21, 2008 — 9:01 am
Greg Swann says:
In the comments to this post about a custom sign we did in English and Spanish, you will find these remarks from Barry Cunningham:
The all or nothing fallacy comes up all the time when we talk about marketing ideas. No one who is doing custom signs is doing custom signs and nothing else. But if by a little bit of effort, I can turn 15% or 17% into 20% or 25%, then I am doing my job as a marketer. And that doesn’t even account for the added listings we will take as a consequence of our outsized efforts.
I’m not interested in debating these points with Barry, but agents who are interested in getting houses to sell without slashing prices could learn a lot from our archives.
December 21, 2008 — 9:03 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Todd, I didn’t need to attend REBlogworld. I did not mind promoting it for you, but it wasn’t my need to attend.
We keep 22 agents running constantly. We don’t “list” homes unless they are short sales or REO’s..why? Because we don’t have to!
We created a system wherein we have hundreds of ready willing and able buyers already in a sales funnel just waiting for the deal that meets their stated criteria to be submitted to them. Real easy and real simple. While others are sitting on dead listings, we are collecting big fat checks!
As I told greg and Ardell, we have a system using Adwords and some other things that allows us to pull in HUNDREDS of eager buyers each week. All for just about $250.00 bucks each week.
Most agents won’t spend the donero.
todd..the mantra is tired. We are solely involved in real estate to earn a profit. A substantial one at that.
We don’t deal with Sellers whatsoever..why? Yes, that may be a maket specific question or dillemma but we have more inventory down here than we know what to do with.
I understand the economic realities of supply and demand and work accordingly. Why would I run around trying to list a home or deal with that. We sell!
“You’re a real estate marketer, not a blogger.”…..whatever that means…we just don’t blog for other agents. We blog for buyers and guess what…it works!
In fact there are times when we don’t post for weeks..why? We don’t have to. We are seeded all over google on top ten keywords that we own and get tons of traffic from.
We spend less than 10 hours per week on real estate and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Not interested in reading about blogs and stories. I am interested in making money in ral estate and that’s the deal.
I guess you hit the nail on the head. You said that agents don’t worry “about the ROI of every action”…I most assuredly do. I am in business to make a profit and as such, from the pencils we buy to the marekting campaigns we execute..had better provide a solid ROI.
I don’t know..call me weird, call me stomach turning, but I think knowing how to ensure a health bottom line by watching the ROI on your spend is absolutely prudent.
I also have to clarify something you said. When you said that I am a “You’re a real estate marketer, not a blogger.” That was not entirely correct.
I am a marketer first and foremost and being involved in real estate is just ONE of the businesses that we are involved in. It’s not our sole source of revenue. We market a number of products.
We also utilize blogs, landing pages, squeeze pages, cpm maildrops and a plethora of marketing components to drive traffic and business.
Being multi-faceted allows us to look at the bottom line a lot differently than simply being an agent.
I am not seeking to “Show everyone else in that neighborhood that you do more to list AND SELL a clients home than any agent they have ever met”…could care less about showing the neighborhood my skills. Not important to me.
With 60,000+ units on the market here in south Florida and with half of them being in some form of distress, my focus is working with buyers who want to find the best deal that they can at the price that they want.
They seem to be responding in droves and I absolutely love the role of the entreprenurial arbitrageur who can make a somewhat easy profit by simply facilitating the purchase of the property that they seek to own.
The Seller? What do I care? Personally I believe that in this market taking listings is a waste of valuable Mojito drinking time or deep sea fishing time.
I watch the trends, I experiment with the technology, and implement what works for our benefit.
For a while now what works has been facilitating the needs of buyers. We found a way to automate the process and to be paid accordingly.
I work on the Pareto Principle and have no desire spending my time on the 15 percenters. Don’t have any need to..can’t even remotely imagine why anyone else would.
So i guess you now have your answer. Now I have a question for you.
If you could have an automated real estate business wherein you would not have to spend anymore than 8-10 hours per week and have more buyer leads than you could ever handle, and you would not have to write any more than maybe 3 blog posts per month, and you would NEVER even need to meet the client or see or show any property and you could take down $40-150k per month…would you still be taking listings and putting up signs?
The answer to that question is why I didn’t need to attend REBlogworld and may give you some insight into the capitalist nature of how we conduct business.
@ Greg, we had been focusing on a english only market…the spanish stuff was implemented…but rather online and yes, it is working great. Actually it was more Portugese than Spanish…but nonetheless..
December 21, 2008 — 10:00 am
Mariana says:
I am now combing through the comments, as I spent the night with our kids – We rented a limo to go out and look at Christmas lights. Why rent a limo to look at Christmas lights? Why create a custom sign for each listing?
To stand out. To do something that no one else is doing and effectively create a lasting memory.
Barry, I totally “get” your question. As a non-agent in the real estate world, looking in (you)… I DO value your inquiries. (Although you do have a near-copyrightable way of posing questions in a way that make everyone want to throw sharp objects at you. 😉 )
Why have a sign like this? Why even have a sign at all?
Our business is multi-faceted animal. (Keyword: “business”) Let’s talk numbers for a bit:
We have a web presence that brings in 6-figures of commissions each year. We have professional referral affiliations that bring in another 6-figures in commissions each year. Based off of our 2008 production, that leaves a whole ‘nother chunk of commissions that need to be accounted for.
Of course, there are the repeat clients and the personal/business referrals that are a part of our business plan.
In all cases, Derek and I have a goal of blowing the doors off of the “batting average” (ROI) of anything that we decide to implement in our business.
Signs are no different.
In 2008, 14% of home buyers cited “yard sign” as the way that they first learned about the home they purchased. (2008 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers). In 2007, “sign calls” accounted for the sale of 3 of our listings.
This tells me that signs DO sell homes, and like all of you, I have seen the signs that litter most yards, and for the past 7 years, I have been a part of that landscape.
In 2009, we wanted to UP that batting average. We figure … if we can sell 3 of our listings with the stock, company issued sign, then what would happen if we created a sign that truly stood out? So, we took a long, hard look at Greg’s Bloodhound signs and chewed on the possibilities for a couple months. The result is what you see above – the first step in raising the stakes in the yard-sign-game.
Are they perfect? Oh, heck no! Adding a web address is one of many tweaks that I have on our list for the next batch of signs.
But guess what? We have taken a definable step in the direction of making our yard signs not just a by-product, but an effective PART of our marketing strategy. We have decided to maximize the results of EVERY facet of our “business”.
December 21, 2008 — 10:15 am
Ann Cummings says:
Todd wrote:
“Don’t leave the “only 15%” people who buy houses from signs wondering if you’re not a great agent. Show everyone else in that neighborhood that you do more to list AND SELL a clients home than any agent they have ever met.”
I think an agent who uses signs like Mariana’s or Greg’s will generate a lot of new business from those signs BECAUSE they are so different than others. If they cost $250.00 and they bring in business, that’s short money in my opinion, for additional new business.
Barry – I think some people take exception to your comments at times because they tend to come across as a bull-in-a-china-shop style, and as though you know more than anyone else. You may know your market far better than anyone else, but as we all know, real estate is local and what works in your market may well not be the be-all-end-all in someone else’s market. If you really are geniunely interested in learning the answers as to why someone does something differently than you do, maybe a different delivery style might work better and not cause you to have to be on the defensive each time you comment on various posts. Just a thought….
December 21, 2008 — 10:20 am
Ann Cummings says:
Greg wrote:
“But if by a little bit of effort, I can turn 15% or 17% into 20% or 25%, then I am doing my job as a marketer. And that doesn’t even account for the added listings we will take as a consequence of our outsized efforts. ”
BINGO!!! There is a MAJOR reason to use signs like that or anything else that’s different – the ADDED business from those efforts.
As I was re-reading Mariana’s comment about what goes into her signs, I was going over in my mind who I could contact here in my area to create signs similar to that for my listings. I really like these custom signs!
Thanks for the kick-in-the-butt on this idea!
😉
December 21, 2008 — 10:23 am
Greg Swann says:
> We have taken a definable step in the direction of making our yard signs not just a by-product, but an effective PART of our marketing strategy. We have decided to maximize the results of EVERY facet of our “business”.
Precisely, and added profits are found at the margins. Good on ya.
Practical detail: We do our custom directionals on coroplast. Lately we’ve been adding an aqueous gloss coating. Makes the photos pop. YMMV.
December 21, 2008 — 10:27 am
Ann Cummings says:
Greg – in my last two comments, I had included quotes from Todd and from you, and yet they don’t show up in my comment. There were there when I submitted my posts, not sure what happened. What am I doing incorrectly?
December 21, 2008 — 10:58 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Ann..I am a direct person and as such not looking to waste time..just the facts…my comment to Todd wa sdelayed in moderation so I think it was missed.
Ann, actually outside of the re blogosphere we a re even MORE direct….you should try commenting on internet marketing forums and see how people react to BS. It can be frightening.
You comment had a number of “ifs” in it. I try to spend my time and money on things that are more documented than ifs.
I don’t know everything..never said that I did. But I do know marketing and I do know ROI and I do know the Pareto Principle and I know that there are no sure things but I like to err on the side of high returns and high probability.
You see I don’t implement campaigns on ifs. They need to be proven and worthwhile.
@ Mariana..well framed comment and thank you for answering the question. Thank you for addressing the ROI in your decision. Can you see why it made no sense when Todd said ROI was not important. Clearly you are indeed running a business.
If I could clarify for the 100th time…I personally am not an agent, but I..let’s say have a substantial interest in an agent’s business so it’s not exactly looking from the outside in. Let’s be clear that we are in the business from both sides. It’s that I personally am not licensed. Doesn’t mean those in our business aren’t.
It’s all about maximizing the ROI which you clearly understand.
Now, let’s address that ROI. You said that you mad 3 sales off of signs in 2007. You don’t mention 2008 so there’s no data there.
The only data we have is the overalll NAR data which says only 14-15 percent of buyers came from yard signs.
You then say that this data suggests that yard signs sell homes. From simple math this indicates that you would need at least 22 listings in 2009 with yard sings just to keep pace with the 3 sales you made from the pace set in 2007. (assuming that the amount of sales generated from yard signs does not decrease)
So if you need 22 listings to close 14% to just reach 2007’s totals, that would mean approximately $5,500.00 in sign costs not including design and placement time.
All to get to the level of 2007. But…we want to IMPROVE on past performance so we would need to either:
a. list a lot more homes and incur even more costs,
or b. close more of those homes that did not have the custom signs.
In any event, just to meet your past ROI, your increased spend would be at least $5,500.00.
As I asked earlier, how many people are going to see that sign and what is the traffic data on EACH of the particular streets. That’s to say if there are 22 listings that you have in inventory right now.
As a business person, do you not think you could spend $5,500.00 much more efficiently and receive a much..much..higher ROI?
That was my initial question and everyone went nuts as to the way I posed it. As you were absolutely right in pointing out that we are all running businesses, isn’t there a way to have a lot more limo rides?
By the way..try the stretch Hummer…it’s the ONLY way we roll.
Down here in South Florida ya gotta roll right!
Right Kevin?
December 21, 2008 — 10:59 am
Greg Swann says:
> Greg – in my last two comments, I had included quotes from Todd and from you, and yet they don’t show up in my comment.
Set off < between angle brackets > perhaps? WordPress eats anything that looks like an HTM command that it can’t understand.
Definitely not there, in any case. Let me know what the quotes were and I’ll fix ’em.
December 21, 2008 — 11:06 am
Mariana says:
Todd – You know more about the intricacies of our (Wagner iTeam) RE business than anyone else in the blogosphere (myself excluded) and I truly appreciate your insights. The interesting thing, here, is the wide variance of answers to the question:
What does it take to be successful in the business of real estate?
Short of illegal and immoral activities, there are NO wrong answers. Anyone can take Anything and be successful … with enough dedication.
Barry … I do have one question for you, though. Actually, it is more of a thought…
Per the above mentioned NAR study, “only” 14% of buyers cited “yard sign” as how they first saw the home they bought.
In the search engines, “only” 18% of people click on the PPC ads (compared to organic search results).
You have created an amazing and enviable PPC campaign (or so I have read from your previous comments) by maximizing the effectiveness of that 18%, right?
I think that we can positively apply YOUR intense dedication to other business avenues – signs being no exception.
December 21, 2008 — 11:13 am
Ann Cummings says:
Ah, that’s exactly what I had done, used those brackets.
In the comment where I was trying to quote Todd,
“Don’t leave the “only 15%” people who buy houses from signs wondering if you’re not a great agent.
Show everyone else in that neighborhood that you do more to list AND SELL a clients home than any agent they have ever met.”
And in the comment where I was trying to quote you,
“But if by a little bit of effort, I can turn 15% or 17% into 20% or 25%, then I am doing my job as a marketer. And that doesn’t even account for the added listings we will take as a consequence of our outsized efforts. ”
Thanks!
Ann
December 21, 2008 — 11:15 am
Greg Swann says:
> Ah, that’s exactly what I had done, used those brackets.
Fixed. Sorry for the mix-up.
December 21, 2008 — 11:38 am
Barry Cunningham says:
Hi mariana,
becasue of our non real estate endeavors we bacame adwords hounds. We were granted certification by google and have been taught by some of the tops in the IM field. Adwords is amazing if you truly get into it.
The key is split testing ads, split testing keywords and really fine tuning campaigns.
I sent Greg a snapshot of last week’s campaign on a SINGLE keyword. We generated 14,000 impressions but over 500 clicks to the site. From there we converted over 300 of them into registered buyers and it cost us less than $300 bucks.
We spend about $1500.00-$4,000 per month on various forms of online marketing and we run with about 15,000 keywords spread over 150 various campaigns.
Once they land on the site, we designed a landing page wherein they take a survey and simply tell us what they want, where they want to be, how much they want to spend and when they want to buy.
From there it’s all automated and quite simple. I say simple now but it took quite a while to put in place.
From the snapshot I sent Greg this morning you can see we have engineered our campaigns down to a cost of about 24 cents overall and we’re talking HUGE keywords in some instances.
There is a very SPECIFIC way to craft the ad and design the campaigns that allow you to exceed the stated search criteria and to seriously increase conversions…and subsequently closing.
With your obvious abilities in the technological sector I am SURE if you applied it you would wonder how you would do it any other way.
We have also found that it really helps when you incorporate video AND organic as well. In some instances we are able to own as many as 7 spots in the top 10 in ADDITION to owning a great spot in adwords.
If you want to know more, email me off the blog and would be more than happy to share.
Like I said…never questioned your skills, only the reasoning for signs.
If you incorpoate some of this stuff you will be merely filling orders.
They tell you what they want and then you just go give it to them. Can’t be more simple than that and gives you SO much free time.
But hey..what do I know..just a beach slacker down here in Lauderdale, watching the game on one side of my montior while I manage campaigns on the other side all the while bobbing like a cork here on the boat.
What recession???
December 21, 2008 — 11:53 am
Mariana says:
Barry – “What recession?” Ha! No kidding… 2008 has been our best year ever.
December 21, 2008 — 12:23 pm
Barry Cunningham says:
Glad to hear it Mariana! Wishing you a very prosperous and safe 2009!!
December 21, 2008 — 1:12 pm
Brian Brady says:
“2008 has been our best year ever.”
Excellent work, Mariana. It’s easy to see why you’re winning the game.
December 21, 2008 — 6:44 pm
Mariana says:
*Update*
We installed the last of the 3 (above) signs yesterday afternoon. This morning we got a call from a homeowner around the corner from this listing:
“Hi. I live around the corner from X. I just drove by your sign in their yard. That is the coolest sign I have ever seen. We will need to sell our house this coming Spring. If we list with you, do WE get a sign like that? [yes]. Can we meet with you after the holidays to get the ball rolling?”
December 22, 2008 — 10:06 am
Greg Swann says:
> Can we meet with you after the holidays to get the ball rolling?
Bravo! I love it…
December 22, 2008 — 1:58 pm
Mary McKnight says:
All I can say is that Derek and Mariana are consummate professionals in all they do – from their websites to their signs. They know how to drive enough traffic to there businesses to be able to ask for and get the sale. In a market where many are struggling- they are thriving. I couldn’t say more than that. The other thing I really like about Mariana is she stays out of the petty stuff, her sense of humor is twisted and fun, but she knows how to keep nose clean online but let her hair down in the right circles. Kudos to the Wagner team and to Greg for posting their successes. And I wish you all a happy holiday and New Year.
December 23, 2008 — 2:59 pm
Greg Swann says:
> And I wish you all a happy holiday and New Year.
Likewise. All the best to you and yours, and here’s to a kickass 2009!
December 23, 2008 — 5:16 pm