ANSWER:  It depends on when the product was created…

Have you ever been faced with these questions in your own business?

• “How do I increase my sales?”
• “What do I say in my ad that will make people call right away?”

If so, you could gain a lot of insight by understanding the lesson that is clearly demonstrated in the series of ads shown above.

The ads are for two well-respected corporations: Dell and Mercedes-Benz.

What do cars and computers
have in common?

Not much if you approach things in an ordinary fashion.  An obvious difference would be price: computers cost hundreds of dollars, while a car costs tens of thousands.  One product sits on your desk…the other on your driveway.

The first two ads on the left were used by each company in its early years, and the second set are current examples.  Even though the two “products” appear to have nothing in common, note how similar the first two ads are.  The layouts are similar and each is copy-dominant.

But look what happens in the second set of ads—they both rely on photos and graphics and there is almost no written information.  At first blush, this seems a little confusing because one set of ads uses words to do the selling, but then it gets reversed and the entire pitch is communicated with pictures.

However, it all makes sense if you consider the ads in terms of life-cycle of a brand.  Long ads—ones with lots of copy—are needed when a company or product is unknown.  Long ads are helpful because information can be used to educate the consumers about what sets the product APART from the competition.

This is branding’s sole purpose—it tells consumers what makes you different.  Dell was the first company to sell computers direct, and Mercedes was first to introduce a super luxury brand to the American market (when launched in this country, a Benz was twice the price of a Cadillac).

The question is not as simple as, “Does a long ad work better than a short ad?”  The better question is whether you’re selling a new product or a well-known one.

What do these examples have to do with selling homes?  A lot.  As you’ll soon see.

Remember: Branding is nothing you do to the product…it is a perception that exists in the mind of the consumer.  For example, if you stopped the average person on the street, he knows that “Blockbuster” means video rentals…that “Dominoes” delivers pizza…and that “eBay” stands for online auctions.

Long ads are well suited when you are building a brand.  Short ads are fine for maintaining an established brand.  At this point, Dell and Mercedes-Benz are household names so long ads are not needed.

What’s best for selling a house…
LONG or SHORT ads?

Because homesellers are too close to their situation, they often make a misstep when they put their homes on the market.

They know all about their home and what makes it special, and they assume prospective buyers will easily recognize its positive attributes.  But the consumer has never seen any of the homes that are on the market.  Buyers start with a blank slate.  They will form an opinion about a home based on the marketing material they see.

Unfortunately, most houses end up being promoted with “me-too” real estate flyers that simply list boring statistical data such as:

• Bedrooms: 4,  Baths: 3,  Year Built: 1994,  etc.

If you allow a house to be marketed with details that are COMMON to many other houses, it may never escape from obscurity.  For example, houses in Westlake (an area outside Austin, Texas, where I sell homes) are often marketed with a theme that stresses the highly acclaimed Eanes School District.  But why rely on a feature that is guaranteed to be available at every other Westlake house?

A seller may in fact have the best home in the neighborhood, but it may not make a difference if the consumer never gets the message.

When you set out to market a house, it tracks the same path as bringing a new product to market.

This means that houses are tailor-made for using long ads.  Since no two houses are alike, there is always plenty of information you can communicate to the consumer.  And you cannot bore consumers with straight facts.

It is better to use a “story ad”—ads that sell by telling an interesting story.  In theory, holding an open house is a sound marketing idea because the consumer gets to use all of his senses to see the house and get a “feel” for the floorplan, the yard and the neighborhood.

But an open house may only produce a handful of people who walk through.

However, a well-written ad, that is widely circulated, has the effect of one voice speaking to thousands of potential buyers.  The law-of-averages kicks in at this point, and your odds of finding the right buyer increase exponentially.

Here’s an example of a “story ad”…

(click the image to open the ad in a PDF)

This ad is an example of the type of message needed to bring a beautiful home to the forefront in a glut of inventory…

When the seller called me, this house in the Lakeway area of Austin had already been on the market for a year, and there were about 90 other “for sale” houses in the immediate area.

This home really was the best house in the neighborhood, and there was not a thing wrong with the seller’s price.

How do you get a prospective buyer interested
enough to come see your listing?

I wrote this long ad above that told about the home’s unique design, materials and lot.  The seller got THREE offers, and the home sold in less than 30 days!

Here’s how I did it (and the same steps you can follow to sell your listings quicker):

STEP 1: Interview the seller on what made THEM interested in the house

STEP 2: Find your story-line by pulling out some of the unique benefits of the home from your research

STEP 3: Write a “story ad” that communicates the home’s difference

STEP 4: Place your ad in local publications where it will find the right buyer

Believe it or not, it really is that simple.

All kinds of excellent products fail in the marketplace because of weak, tame, and ineffective advertising.  This includes homes when all that’s used is a traditional flyer to communicate a list of features.

Learn how to investigate what makes a home truly different than the others on the market.  And then communicate that difference in a way that targets and benefits the potential buyer.

More examples to come in my next article…stay tuned!

[Ed note: Copyright Stan Barron.  Reprinted with permission.  If you, or someone you know wants to sell a house, please give Stan a call at 512-345-8585.]

You’re about to see an extraordinary example of home marketing. If you believe you could write a homes ad like this (or brochure, flyer, web page, etc.), you’re well on your way to distinguishing yourself as one of the preeminent home marketers in the country.

You’ll also sell your homes faster and for more money than most other agents, and have a distinct advantage capturing listings. You will be in the “elite of the elite” when it comes to home marketing.

But it’s likely you won’t answer “yes,” because statistics say that less than 1 out of 200 agents truly understand how to market and sell homes like a world-class pro.

The good news is that’s all about to change, because today I’m going to show you an amazing example of home marketing, plus give you a simple 5-Step formula for writing ads, brochures, web pages and more – the easy way.

A few weeks ago a good “direct marketing” friend of mine in Austin, TX called me because he needed to sell one of his homes and met an agent who gave him a series of ads as part of his pre-listing package.

You can see one of his ads as a .pdf by clicking here.

What was so amazing to my friend (and, of course me) is that this agent combined long-style, emotional direct response copy with absolutely stunning layout, making his home truly unique and irresistible to potential buyers.

My friend questioned the agent, Stan Barron, about his remarkable ads, who said that for years he had studied direct response advertising and honed his skills to the point where all his marketing is heads and tails more successful than any other agent in the area.

To the untrained eye, you might think that his ads are simply beautiful photos with verbose descriptions. After all, who would read all that print??

But the pro realizes that to capture interest and stimulate desire in a potential home prospect, you need to tell your complete story and use certain “strategies” to convert the prospect to a paycheck-cashing client.

A buyer not interested in the home won’t read 5 words about it, but an interested prospect wants as much information as you can provide. So give it to them.

Would you like to learn these strategies, so you can differentiate yourself and your homes from other agents, and (quite literally) multiply your income?

I thought you might, so here are 5 simple steps for creating blockbuster homes ads (and all your marketing) in your business.

Open and/or print the ad in the link above, as I’m going to use it as an example of brilliant marketing…

Quite frankly, the reason why some agents are great marketers is because they simply do their homework. The secret is to be efficient at the process by knowing what questions to ask and having a keen sense of observation.

And, by the way, if you think this exercise only applies to multi-million-dollar luxury homes, think again. You should do the very same exercise with a production tract home.

So the first step is to identify unique features and benefits about the home you’re looking at. Now, when I say unique, I’m talking about very specific and captivating features and benefits that clearly stand-out and appeal to a potential buyer.

Not every home appeals to everyone, so you also need to identify who would be the perfect buyer for the home, given the features and benefits you discover. The process involves asking questions in 4 areas…

**The owners: Who are they? Why did they buy/build this particular home? Do they have any quirks that are reflected in this home? What do they do for a living? What are their hobbies or passions? Do they have special needs that are reflected in the home? What was the owners dream for the property and how did they accomplish it?

You’ll notice in the ad that the agent identified certain things about the owners, like he’s a Ferrari driver, must love cars because of his 5-car garages, and he’s a bit of a high-tech recluse who really wanted privacy.

**The history of the property and details about the area, land or subdivision: How did the owners find the land/home? Who owned the land/home before the current buyers? Are there interesting historical landmarks nearby or on the land?

You’ll notice in this ad the agent discovered that the home is set on a double lot at the end of a dead-end street, and appears to have grown out of its natural surroundings. He then adds that the property sits on the edge of a vast wilderness and protected wildlife habitat.

Do you think this is going to appeal to someone interested in very private, open and protected spaces? You better believe it!

**Architecture, design and construction details: What is so unique about the design of the home? What unique materials were used in construction? Are there special features and benefits about the design that might appeal to a certain buyer?

**Lifestyle benefits of the home: What is the best use for this home? How did the current owners use it? Is it a party home or is it a great refuge from modern busy life?

People buy a house, but it’s their emotions that turn it into a “home.” Try to identify the emotional attachment the current owners have to the home.

The purpose of your headline is to 1) Attract attention from the right kind of buyer, 2) Communicate the most unique features and/or benefits of the home, and 3) Most importantly, cause the reader to want to read the ad.

So in reality, the headline is the “ad” for the ad.

Here’s how you craft your headline: Take all the interesting details you discovered from Step #1 above and select 2 or 3 of the most unique and valuable details to craft your headline around.

Remember, you need to first get a bead on the type of buyer who would be interested in the home – then select the 2 or 3 details that would most appeal to that specific buyer. Remember, we’re talking target marketing, not mass marketing.

Next, write 15 or 20 (or more) captivating headlines. Since the headline accounts for at least 85% of the success of your ad, spend at least 85% of your time on the headline.

In our example, Stan used something about his seller, then talked about the privacy and space of the home. He identified these as the most important facts and features about the home.

Now, you’ll notice there’s a sub-headline, or what I call “Deck Copy.” Your deck copy can be used to add-on to your headline in order to stimulate even more desire to read your ad, brochure, home flyer, etc.

In this case, Stan further focused on the private setting, exotic pool and guest house – and really hit home with the 3-sides of greenbelt. He also decided to include the price in the deck copy as it helps to qualify the buyer.

Your lead, or opening sentence/paragraph, is almost important as your headline. The purpose of your first sentence is to simply motivate the reader to read your second sentence, and so forth.

It sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But if your reader stops reading at any time, you’ve lost a potential prospect for the home (or to help find a home).

So the goal of your lead is to say something that will motivate your reader to read on. In this case, Stan opens his ad with an excitement sentence (surge into the “red zone”).

He then focuses on the 3 most important features/benefits of the home: 1) close to town, 2) dazzling architecture, and 3) privacy.

Is this starting to make sense to you?

You’ve captured the reader’s interest with your headline and deck copy. You’ve further heightened it with your lead. Now it’s time to really dig into their emotions with the body copy.

Read how Stan brilliantly describes the features and lifestyle benefits of this home. He even talks about what the home would look like if viewed from a helicopter, and he talks about how the owner spent heavily to “orchestrate” the residence.

Why is he doing this?

Because he wants to reveal the UNIQUENESS and VALUE of the home. People naturally gravitate to things that are unique, one-of-a-kind or dwindling in supply. It’s how you tap-into and agitate human desire.

You can see that he writes his body copy as if you were taking a walking tour through the property, and he uses very emotional descriptions and details of the home – these are all the items he discovered during his detective work in Step #1 above.

Over my 34-year career I’ve seen thousands of examples of agent marketing. And in practically every case the single most important (yet MISSING) ingredient is a solid call to action.

Remember this: NO ONE will ever respond to your marketing without a specific, meaningful, self-serving and irresistible REASON for doing so.

No call to action, no response – you’ve wasted your money and time.

Aside from advertising in the wrong mediums, this is the single biggest reason why 95% of most agent marketing turns out to be money flushed down the drain.

If you look at this ad, on page 2, you’ll notice Stan has a sub-headline that says, “How to See This Home.”

Then he does something I think is brilliant: He qualifies potential buyers. Why is he doing this?

Actually for 2 reasons, I believe: 1) Because there really are conditions to seeing this home, probably rightly placed by his sellers, and 2) Because creating a qualifier, or “take-away” actually makes a potential buyer more desirous to take the next step – as you just learned, people want things that are dwindling in supply or hard to get.

So Stan tells the reader, “no casual lookers” and asks the potential buyer to contact their own agent to set an appointment (he also knows that, if they don’t have an agent, they will call him directly).

He then gives his phone number and web site address where people can view more about the home.

The only thing I would add to the close would be a few more reasons to visit his web site: Perhaps Free consumer reports, an exclusive home buying program, etc.

Other than that, you’re looking at one of the very best ads I’ve ever seen for marketing a home, and you can create ads just like this if you simply follow the 5-Steps above and look at this example.

One additional thing worth mentioning: Did you notice that every photo of Stan’s ads uses a caption?

Why does he do this? Because photos naturally draw the eye, and having a caption helps relate a benefit or highlight a feature and DRIVE the reader into the copy.

Oh…I almost forgot: Want to see another one of Stan’s ads?

OK, then Click Here and you’ll see another ad example – this one uses a great qualifier right in the headline. Study it right now, and start creating great advertising for your listings.

Now, I want to give special THANKS to Stan Barron for allowing me to use his incredible ads as a marketing lesson.

By the way: If you have any referrals for the Austin area, feel free to give Stan a call – your clients will thank you for introducing him.

AND…if you’d like to learn more about the elements and strategies for direct response success (these will change our life and income almost on the spot!), here are a few books you should buy and DEVOUR (don’t worry, they’re inexpensive and can be found on Amazon.com):

** Advertising Secrets of the Written Word – by Joe Sugarman

** Scientific Advertising – by Claude Hopkins

** Breakthrough Advertising – by Eugene Schwartz

** Anything by John Caples

** The Robert Collier Letter Book – Robert Collier (use Google to find a copy from Carl Galletti)

I have hundreds of books in my library, but these 5 will give you enough information to turn you into a marketing and copywriting expert in no-time flat – and that means lots more money in your pocket. Happy marketing!

In this installment, you’ll discover a simple, step-by-step way to maximize the effectiveness (and profit) of every marketing dollar you spend…

How to Track and Measure Your Way to Success

I could write a complete book on the importance and ways to track and measure your marketing (and other areas of your business), but here’s a quick primer you can quickly use in your business…

Why do you want to track and measure your marketing?

Three reasons: First, you want to know where you’re getting most of your business. When I ask agents where they get most of their business, I usually get a blank stare or they try to remember or estimate where their clients came from.

Both of these are problematic. You need to know exactly where your clients are coming from so you can exploit that source further for more business. It’s easy once you start to measure.

The second reason why you want to track your marketing is to know how well you’re spending your marketing dollars. You don’t have an unlimited budget, so you want to spend your money in the most productive places as possible.

The third reason you want to track is you will never know how well any marketing effort performs unless you have a reliable system in place to tell you – AND, you’ll never know what your marketplace wants until they tell you. The only way to know is to track and measure.

What do you want to track and measure?

You can be as detailed as you like, but I usually track the key areas that bring me business, then go from there.

This includes Ad Tracking (both display, classified, radio, etc.), Listing Tracking (how well you’re marketing off your listing: sign tags, flyers, just listed/just sold, etc.), Target Farming tracking (how many leads you get from “target” farming, and your cost to generate a client) and Referral Tracking (how many referrals do you get each year from your continuity marketing, such as Service For Life!^®). You can even track your results from cold prospecting.

How do you track and measure your marketing?

There are 2 steps in measuring and tracking marketing. The first step is to use a simple “tag” on everything you do. A tag is an identifier that lets you know where your lead or client came from.

For example, let’s say you are running a display ad for homes you have for sale. You should use a toll-free 800 number (hotline) for information about the home, with an identifier in the ad (such as “call 800 222-2222, and enter extension 111”). This way potential leads call the number and enter the identifier code to listen to information about the home. By having a dedicated tracking number, you can “source code” the leads and clients that came from that ad.

You can do the very same thing with info-tube flyers, classified ads, farming, and even referral tracking. Just assign a unique tracking code (hotline extension or dedicated number) to each response system, and simply total and report the results on a weekly or monthly basis.

Now, the second step in the measuring and tracking process is to establish a report you can review on a regular basis – either weekly or monthly. You can create your report any way you want with a simple spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel.

On the left column, simply enter the lead or client name. Along the right columns, simply enter the marketing promotion and they “type” of contact (“I” for Inquiry, “P” for Prospect, or “C” for Client). Again, you can create your report any way you want, but here’s a simple example…

5 Helpful Marketing Measurements

Now that you have your report together, it’s time to measure how well your marketing efforts are performing.

Calculating your success is easier than you think. At the end of each week or month, take time to evaluate your marketing efforts. Total up all the check marks on your marketing tracking form to determine which methods work best for you. Consider dropping efforts that either do not perform, or the cost per sale is too high.

Here are 5 simple calculations you can use to measure your marketing performance:

Know the Difference Between “Response Rate” and “Return on Investment”

In closing, I want you to see an example of how and “uneducated” agents can lose a lot of money – and I don’t want you to fall into the same costly trap.

Not long ago an agent called me and said he was really disappointed with his marketing results. He told me that he placed info tube flyers just like the ones we teach here at Agent Inner Circle™, and after 2 months only got just 1 client from them.

He said that 1 client is a lousy response rate and he probably won’t continue the promotion.

So we talked. I asked him how many active listings he had. He said 4. I asked him how much he spent to keep those info tubes full with his “Premier Properties Flyer.” He said about $40 on each listing per month.

I asked him how many calls he got all totaled in those months. He said he got over 110 calls, but most were lousy leads and interruptions.

I asked him how much in GCI he made from that 1 sale. He said his co-broker commission was about $9,600 on the buyer, but after deducting out expenses and splits, his gross profit was about $5,000.

“OK,” I said, “let’s do some simple math.” You spent about $160 a month on 4 listings, which totals $320 a month in marketing expenses for those 2 months.

You received 110 calls, which means you spent $2.91 per lead you received ($320/110 = $2.91). Of those 110 calls you actually closed 1 of them to clients – netting you a total of $5,000 in gross profit.

“Yeah” he said, but I only got 1 sale from all those leads.

And then I asked him, “If you went down to your local bank and handed him $320, and 2 months later he handed you a check for $5,000, do you think that would be a good deal for you?

He said it would be a windfall – an unbelievable return on his money. I said, “then why do you think getting $5,000 for spending $320 on your marketing is a bad deal??”

He said he expected more, so we talked about how to motivate more calls and convert those calls to clients.

But the point I want to make here is, while this example might be a little extreme, it happens ALL THE TIME with agents.

Why? Because most agents look at “response rate” and NOT “return on investment.” And so they quit promotions that are working, and implement promotions that are duds. They just don’t know the difference.

This is the single biggest reason why you should be measuring the effectiveness of your marketing…so you’ll know the difference between a windfall profit…and a hopeless loss.

Here are 5 more powerful marketing strategies to help you generate more clients and build a long-term viable business.

1. Market Off Your Listings To Generate Buyers and Other Listings. I’ve had dozens of agents who used this system and consistently add $100,000 to $250,000 per year in extra business.

Do you know the purpose of taking a listing? Did you say, “Sell the home?” If so, you’re like most “average” agents, and only partially correct.

The purpose of taking a listing is to attract buyers and other listings to your services. Your listing is actually a client magnet.

Think about this: buyers drive by the neighborhood, view your classifieds, open your info tubes, read your listing display ads, read your signs, and yet most agents give them no meaningful reason to contact them – to respond and get a hot lead.

Imagine how your business would grow if you implemented systems to motivate prospect calls with every listing you take? This is what I mean by “leveraging” your efforts for more business.

How can you take advantage of this opportunity? Here are a few proven ideas…

2. Market Off Your Listings Strategy #1: Premier Properties Flyer™. This is a fail-proof idea we teach in our 3-Steps system (www.3-steps.com)

Place an info tube or box with every listing sign and place multiple offers on the flyer – including other (similar) homes in the area/price range, offers for consumer reports, etc., and a 24 hour free recorded message to get the info – an automatic lead generation system.

And here’s more “leverage”: put a few offers for free “sellers” reports on the flyer to prompt potential sellers in the area to call you. Heck, it’s free prospecting.

3. Market Off Your Listings Strategy #2: Hotline Sign Tag Calls. Create a benefit-driven sign tag (not the usual kind), and a 24-hour “Free Recorded Message” prompting a call.

Program your hotline to page you (or someone who can respond immediately) the instant of the call – you generate a lead and call the interested buyer back within 30 seconds, saying, “I just noticed you called about ____ home and wanted to get back with you immediately.”

You’re now talking to a motivated prospect, at the right time (when they’re thinking about buying), and about something important to them (the specific home!). Convert the lead into a prospect and sell them a home.

Do you think responding to a caller the minute they seek out for information about the listed home makes a positive impression? You better believe it does!

Go to www.SixFigureHotlines.com and get yourself signed up in their free course and service.

4. Market Off Your Listings Strategy #3: Write Classifieds and Homes Ads That Create Calls! I provided you a free bonus Report with your Agent Inner Circle™ membership that shows you exactly how to write classifieds and home descriptions that motivate prospects to call you.

Get the report by clicking on the “Free Welcome Gifts” link above, read this life-changing information, and start doing it.

5. Market Off Your Listings Strategy #4: Create Just Listed and Just Sold Promotions That “Work.”

If the listed home is in a farm/are you want to own, send out just listed and just sold mailings with every listing you take. Why?

Because it will: 1) demonstrate you’re active in the area (and you’re a professional who follows-up), and 2) it will bring you new business by the boatload.

Important Tip: Don’t use anything but direct response methods, or you’ll be wasting your money. See Step 2 of the 3-Steps system for great examples (www.3-steps.com).