Real estate marketing.  Where is the wisdom?  That is a question I have asked rhetorically in years past when I hear of foolish decisions or major blunders in real estate marketing or any part of a transaction.  I hate to see a real estate transaction killed because of inexperience or foolishness.  On a national scale, there are huge changes underway in real estate brokerage and in real estate marketing.  Most people are aware there are huge changes taking place in the real estate industry, but  the big franchises have made some huge blunders.  I found myself asking that question again, “Where is the wisdom?”

Real Estate Marketing

Consider a great leader of the real estate franchise movement, Gary Keller, the founder of Keller-Williams.  What a success story that company has been, until recently.  I picked up a copy of Gary’s book, Shift, and was surprised that the creative business genius was gone.  Here is the founder of the franchise rallying his troops to work harder and to hold more open houses.  He instructs his agents to take open houses to an entirely new level with colored balloons and mailings to 100 adjacent homes.  What?  Did I really read that?  Did Gary Keller really write that?

I stopped to look at the date on the book, because maybe it was published in the 1960s.  No, it is a new book.  Our own National Association of Realtors tells us that only 1% to 2% of homes sell at open houses, and I am certain that statistic is valid only in a healthy real estate market, not a recession.  Holding more open houses and taking them to new levels is not exactly wisdom shouting from the rooftops.  This is not advise that will help Realtors sell those homes, nor is it sage advise for homeowners who need to get their homes sold as quickly as possible.  This is not exactly the cutting edge of real estate marketing either.

Where is the wisdom?  Once you start asking this rhetorical question, you’ll find yourself asking it often.

Real Estate Marketing Gone Wild

Gary was a national hero to thousands of Realtors who got rich with their revenue sharing program.  I have always thought of Gary as a genius, but in my humble opinion (and I truly mean humble, because I could be wrong) Gary suffers from the same handicap that so many of the other franchise and bricks-and-mortar brokerages suffer from:  they are stuck in an outdated business model that serves their own financial welfare more than it serves consumers.  Consumers are done with old ways of doing business.  They want and demand change, and Realtors are leaving the franchises in large numbers in search of a new business model.

Homeowners who want to sell their homes, who need to sell their homes, don’t need platitudes.  Homeowners want the truth.  They want to know about effective real estate marketing.  They want to know from their Realtor what actually works to market a home effectively today.  They don’t want false promises, pie-in-the-sky claims, or gimmicks that Realtors use to get listings.

Where is the wisdom?  Today I think homeowners must take responsibility to recognize where wisdom is not, and pursue wisdom where it can be found.  In other words, the world has gotten so crazy, I think it takes wisdom to recognize wisdom.

Real Estate Marketing and Wisdom

If you have a home for sale, my recommendation is that you seek out a professional Realtor with wisdom, but realize that it takes wisdom to recognize wisdom.  And that is certainly true when it comes to real estate marketing.

Last Updated on September 4, 2011 by Chuck Marunde