Quick Changes, Big Results: Quadruple Your Leads With These 3 ‘For Sale’ Sign Ideas
Sat, Dec 6, 2014
Let’s get real and talk about the classic For Sale signs most agents use to advertise their listings. We’re all guilty of using them at one time or another, but none of us really know why. It’s another one of those “do what everyone else is doing” strategies that simply isn’t effective at generating interest or qualified leads. So why do agents still use them?Mostly, because they don’t know an alternative. For Sale signs have such a classic look that it’s strange to think of any other way to use them. As you know, I like to mix things up and try new things, so I’ve experimented quite a bit with different types of For Sale signs — and over the years I’ve found three killer cost-effective For Sale sign ideas that increased my sign calls by 400%.
Why Traditional For Sale Signs Don’t Work
For Sale signs weren’t always so ineffective. Decades ago, when agents first started using them, people were more settled. They didn’t move very often, so when a big For Sale sign was propped out in someone’s front yard, it drew a lot of attention.
Today, the average person moves every 3-5 years — which adds up to a lot of For Sale signs. You might go for a quick walk around your neighborhood and see a dozen or more For Sale signs during the trip. These lawn signs now fall under the same category as billboards or commercials — they’re just one more sales message that we’ve become blind to.
For this reason, you’ve got to grab the attention of the buyer if you want to stand out.
Change Your Messaging
The first way you can stand out is with your sign’s messaging. Think of these signs as free advertising space for you to focus on your USP and why buyers should call you instead of the dozens of other agents in your town.
Instead of the same old “For Sale” message, focus on benefits. Persuasive messages such as “Buy this Home for Super Low Down” or “Move up to This Home and I’ll Buy Your Home for Cash” will tap into buyers’ motivations and beat “For Sale” any day.
Something’s Going On Here
Another attention-grabbing sign is what I call my “something’s going on here” sign. These signs pique buyers’ interests by giving them a way to learn more and continue the process.
For example, I’ve used signs to promote my Sunday Tour of Homes that were very effective in generating leads. In addition to having the interesting messaging, I also made sure the signs were a bright yellow with glaring red to catch attention, and crisp, clear lettering to make it easy to take the next step.
Give Them What They Want
When prospects are driving around looking for houses, they want one main thing: information. When they spot a house they like, they want to know as much about it as possible, as quickly as possible.
Before SMS technology, I used signs to promote listings on my Talking Houses program, which was an audio recording that played through the radio. Drive-bys could tune in on their car radios to hear details about the listing they’d stopped in front of. This was a double whammy — it gave prospects the information they were looking for and filtered out qualified leads from unqualified ones. Only the prospects who were a good match for the property called me, which made my work a lot easier. While Talking Houses isn’t a technology used today, this gives you an example of how, even years ago, I used this ad space (read front lawn) to market to your prospects, make it easy for them to work with you, and grab attention. Today we do this with text messaging, and whatever new technology comes down the pipeline. You can stand out from the crowd, and mixing up your signs is one of the best ways to do this. I turned this cost-efficient vehicle into a highly effective part of my marketing, and you can too. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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