If You are a Seller Please look a My Seller's Principal Below:

Our Marketing Plan is focused on the client and bringing the client’s property to as large a market segment as soon as possible. The most important part of any marketing plan though isn’t marketing. It is execution. That means showing up for showings that are late in the day or on the wrong day, returning clients’ phone calls promptly, following up on showings, and making sure that I am representing my client’s needs professionally throughout the process. It is hard work that wins the day.

How I Market:

            Internet Marketing

The centerpiece of my Internet marketing is the virtual tour that I put together for each and every client.

Every virtual tour is composed of pictures taken by Agnes Donnadieu, who is widely recognized as the very best Real Estate Photographer in Chicago.

A sample of my virtual tours can be seen at 607Deming.com or at 340RandolphCondo.com.

These pictures not only are placed into the Virtual Tour, but they also form the basis of all other marketing pieces, including the Virtual Tour itself, which is morphed into a specific web site for the property.

The particular strength of the Virtual Tour that I use is the following:

It gives my clients 75% coverage of total Internet traffic as the site is sent to the Real Estate Sections of Google, Yahoo, and MSN in addition to 14 other web sites

The Virtual Tour can be expanded to the full screen, which provides the viewer with intimacy and clarity in a way other web sites simply do not deliver.

I also embed a site for PekaCity.com into the Virtual Tour, which is a site that provides the viewer with all of a property’s local attractions such as restaurants, banks, health clubs, and public facilities. The PekaCity Map is interactive allowing the viewer her choice of selections.

I also embed the floor plans for the property on the Virtual Tour.

Most importantly, I always add written commentary to each photo. As such, my clients always get to state their case fully for their property. (I always seek input and criticism from my clients)

Not only do I place my client’s virtual tour on these web sites, but I always try to give them priority placement. For example, my clients get a priority placement on Tribune.com, which is the primary web site that attendees of Open Houses use. Similarly, most agents merely allow their “feed” to go to Realtor.com. By contrast, I fully utilize the enhanced package that one can use to market properties on this all-important web site, something less than five percent of all agents do.

Additionally I market my residential properties on commercial web sites. (It has happened where I have found a buyer for my residential property through a commercial web site.)

I also market my properties on Keller Williams national web site (KW.com), which is the second most heavily trafficked real estate company web site in the United States. (Only the Coldwell Banker’s web site generates more traffic.) Keller Williams in Chicago chooses to market its properties off our national web site simply because a sizable percentage of buyers come to Chicago from other areas of the country. And if not, that buyer has any number of local sources.

Combined with a Tuesday Broker’s Tour is an “email blast” sent to area agents. It generally brings a 10 to 20 agent turnout for the Tour, where agent input is valuable.

Unique to all Chicago agents, I market my properties once a month to 250,000 agents in the 1200 richest Zip codes in the country. These Zip Codes account for the vast majority of buyers who move to Chicago and purchase a home. This is very expensive, but I have found that this email campaign produces results. How successful? I have sold a nearly $3 million dollar property using this technique.

Finally, one simply cannot understate the importance of proper marketing through the MLS. It is how the vast majority of our properties get sold. I do my very best to use all 420 “characters” that I am limited when inputting my agent’s remarks. Additionally, I always provide a virtual tour and multiple photos for my property.

Printed Material

My brochure/Flyer is based upon the Virtual Tour package. As such, it replicates what is in the Virtual Tour for the property. What distinguishes it from other agent’s brochures is that it promotes the client’s property rather than the agent’s name and/or company. (Those Koenig & Strey  silver glossy brochure covers look great, but they don’t promote the property.)

My Yard Signs are distinguishable for two reasons. They are as large as the Chicago ordinance will allow, and they have my personal phone number on the sign as opposed to the Brokerage’s phone number. And that is very important. Why? Because typically, the Brokerage’s number is on the sign, and as a result a prospective buyer calls the brokerage (when the office is opened) and reaches an agent doing “floor time” rather than the listing agent. Who does floor time? Newly minted agents who have no intention of selling the property about which an inquiry has been made, but who instead are trying to coax the buyer into having the agent represent them. By contrast, I have sold a property when I answered my phone at 11:30 at night.

Open Houses are still among the best ways to sell a property. And the best way to get people to come to Open Houses is to have LOTS of Open House signs. Yes, I know that there is “only” a  7% chance of selling a property at an Open House, but I would love to be able to go to any one showing knowing that there was a 7% chance of getting it sold.

Post cards are an effective way to leverage an agent’s listings. Many agents send out postcards to the rest of a condo when they get a listing in the condo (or in the case of a house) the immediate neighborhood. But that is not marketing the client’s property. It is marketing the agent. What I do is market my client’s property to people who can end up buying my client’s property. For example, when I have a listing in West Loop, I market the client’s property to Presidential Towers.

Pricing The Property

Pricing a property correctly from the beginning of a listing is the single most important aspect of selling a property. Price it too low, and of course, the property is being given away. Price it too high and the property will not sell while at the same time accumulating excessive market time that will ultimately deeply impair the final selling price of a property. Inevitably, a lower initial asking price would have fetched a better selling price, not to mention the additional stress that piles up over excessive months on the market. Yet, agents often price a property not to sell but to get a listing, and do so without giving real thought as to what is the correct price. What I do is bring my lap top to the client, and if necessary spend hours looking at all the relevant data so that the seller can make an INFORMED decision as to how to price a property.

Showing The Property & Follow Up

My strong conviction is that a property cannot be sold, but it can be unsold. As such, I always try to use a minimum number of words when showing a property. I react to the prospective buyer and look to add only to what I feel the buyer may have missed. No one needs to hear, “This is a beautiful granite countertop”, but it might help if one points out that there is dual zoned heating.

I also counsel a client as to how to optimize the look of the property, and if a property is empty, I stage the property.

The key though is to be as low key as possible and let the buyer know that you are there to inform. Vigorous representation of the seller is for another time in the process.

One of the most important aspects of selling a property is follow up. I use the LEAP Real Estate System to manage my showings and to generate email follow up with agents. The response rate is 30%, which is better than phone calls. And agents are much more candid in their assessment of a property. There are occasions where a prospective buyer had a perspective on the property that really is insightful and helpful, and I react accordingly.

Offer, Contract & Closing

If a property has been properly priced and properly marketed, the chances are very good that it will generate a market offer. And if my client gets an offer, I truly do my very best to optimize what my client receives. I have counseled clients to walk away from deals that were as little as $2000 apart. I am always mindful of my fiduciary duties to my client.  Beyond that,  there are so many things that can go wrong between the time an offer is accepted and closing. Accordingly, I have a 15 page protocol/manual that my staff and I follow to insure that a property closes on time. Often, a late closing can cost a client thousands of dollars. As such,  I find it imperative to make sure that all required steps in the closing process are being done, and I DO NOT ASSUME THAT THE “OTHER GUY (other agent, lawyers, appraiser, loan officer, management office, board members, inspector, brokerage, etc) is taking care of matters promptly. To the contrary, my staff is trained to take the lead on all closing matters to avoid any closing pitfalls. Once cannot overemphasize just how important this stage has become in the past two years.

So if this is the type of performance you feel would optimize the sale of your property, please give me a call at 312 485 9800 or send me an email at Scott@ScottFosterRealtor.com

All The Best

Scott R Foster