OPINION: Advertising for results

With Andrew Richardson, director, Jackson-Stops & Staff

As estate agents, our job is to sell property. Sounds obvious really!

However, some people judge an agent’s ability to do the job on the amount of advertising undertaken on behalf of each client, rather than on the strategy behind their advertising policy.

Clearly, it is virtually unheard of that someone will buy a property on the strength of an advert, without actually visiting it.

So the purpose of a property ad is not to sell the property, but rather to encourage a buyer to enquire further and arrange to see it.

Nevertheless research, and our experience, has shown that it is also unlikely that a buyer will go on to purchase the property about which they originally enquired from an advert.

The chances are that once they have made contact with the estate agent, then that agent will begin to gain a thorough understanding of the purchaser’s wants, needs, preferences and areas of potential compromise, and can steer them towards the property that most closely fits their requirements.

This can often turn out to be something quite different to the one that initially attracted the buyer.

The most important function of a property advert is to encourage buyers to contact the estate agent, so that the agent can then have the opportunity of doing their job in facilitating a successful sale.

So, when selecting the right estate agent to sell your property, don’t be too impressed with promises to advertise your property every week.

This could even cause your property to become over-exposed, leading to a reduction in the likely sale price.

We have found it far more effective to feature fewer but more-appealing ads, and then work really effectively with our registered buyers, leading to a happy outcome for all concerned.

So often, effective estate agency is more about strategy than actual tactics!