Mick’s Stories on Losing Thousands

1.     If the Agent Has Buyers, Why Are You Paying for Advertising?

For years now, I have been telling my clients and staff that advertising does not sell homes. You can imagine the response that I get, a rebuttal of all the reasons advertising works. I am not saying that advertising does not work to promote an agency or reach buyers and sellers; I am saying it does NOT sell homes.

Selling one's services is a primary goal of real estate advertising. They use this tactic to entice both buyers and sellers. They promote the company as a whole, not just one specific location. When looking for a home, most buyers never end up purchasing the one they initially phoned about, and of the few who do, the majority would have bought it regardless of whether or not it had been advertised. They fall in love with the property when the realtor shows it to them, and they buy it because it meets all their requirements. This means that the vast majority of real estate advertisements are useless as a sales tool. The agencies, on the other hand, promote themselves at the vendors' expense.

Real estate advertising, which can exceed several thousand dollars on top of the commission, is a common method by which sellers worldwide are swindled out of thousands of dollars. Agents not only benefit financially from having sellers foot the bill for their advertising campaigns, but they also enjoy perks like discounts and rebates from the many platforms where their clients' ads appear. The number of homes sold has not increased, despite the proliferation of real estate advertisements across many channels, since there will always be buyers, sellers, and people who need or want to relocate for work or personal reasons.

The public has been duped by the real estate industry into believing that the most heavily advertised agents are also the best. However, if we apply some common sense and consider some of the most widely advertised brands in the world— McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and so on—we realise that they are most likely not items that are good for us. But we keep putting our faith in agents who take thousands of dollars in advertising funds from their clients in order to promote their businesses.

“ The public has been duped by the real estate industry into believing that the most heavily advertised agents are also the best ”

Your real estate agent will undoubtedly receive enquiries for your home after advertising it. However, a real estate agent has numerous listings from which to choose. You may rest assured that the real estate agent will not compensate you in any way for using your home as a marketing tool, even if a potential buyer contacts them after seeing an ad featuring your property. So, next time an agent asks you to pay thousands for advertising, ask yourself this simple question - If the agent already has interested buyers, why are you footing the bill for advertising?

As Neil Jenman quotes, “You are the seller of a home, not the buyer of advertising.”