Renovation: a Promotion Tool for Real Estate Agents

A real estate agent once asked me to work on the design of his flyer. He told me to come up with a creative and innovative design that stood out. He was new to the industry and had very little experience. I knew from the beginning that just a creative and innovative design isn't going to help him attract clients - especially considering how much competition he has in a busy city like Toronto. So I decided to concentrate on ways to promote his image with the use of gimmicks and promotions. Why? Because the truth is no one is going sell with an agent who has very little experience unless he/she had something "special" to offer.

The concept of promotions in real estate is not new at all. Many agents use promotions to attract clients to sell or buy with them. Most real estate agents chose to give offers such as "low commission" or "a chance of winning something". These offers are too common and have very little impact on the buying/selling experience. In such a situation, it is beneficial to use a differentiation strategy to set yourself apart from the competition.

Here's a promotional tool that will get your clients all excited: renovations. When getting your flyer designed, I suggest that you add a coupon for a "free renovation worth $500" to your flyer. This would give your clients the opportunity to renovate their existing house before selling it to the buyer. The main benefit to this is that the renovation would add value to the house, so the seller can make more money from the sale. Also, the real estate agent makes more commission because the house now sells for more. Sometimes, the seller may be in a hurry to sell the house and may not have enough time for renovating. In this case, you can offer them a renovation they can use towards their new home. Of course, since you won't be making any commission from the renovation of a new house, you might want to lower the value of the renovation (to possibly around $400).

Why would a customer get excited from this promotion?

Firstly, it helps them make more money from the sale of the house. Think about it this way: if the sale price of a house went up by $2000 just because of a small renovation, then they get to keep most of the extra money made (a portion of it goes towards your commission). They may also get the feeling that they "saved" on commission fees by making the extra money.

Secondly, it gives the client the opportunity to be creative with the renovation of their own house. Any creative activity that lets the client chose what they want to renovate gets them excited. "Should I get granite countertops, marble flooring, or some new appliances?" This decision-making process is quite thrilling to witness or to be a part of.

Thirdly, when your client is involved in this decision-making process, they may consult you for your opinion on what you think is a worthy renovation. This "consulting" factor builds a dependable relationship between the client and you. This relationship would make them come back to you for any future purchases or sales of homes.

Lastly, a renovation is reflected by a tangible product that will get people talking. For example, after renovating someone's house, they might throw farewell parties just before moving. The guests will notice that the house was recently renovated and may ask your client about it. Your client will mention that they got their house renovated for free by their sales agent. Hence, your image gets promoted which will lead to more sales for you.

So basically it's the tangible result of a renovation, such as new carpeting or the construction of a deck that gets people talking about you. This word-of-mouth benefit is something that other promotional strategies such as "lower commission" or "a chance of winning something" can't achieve very effectively.

In the end, everyone wins - your client gets more money, and you get more commission from the increased price of the house. You also end up getting more clients from a better "word-of-mouth" process. Try this tactic in your next promotion and watch your reputation grow.