The fact is all agents do not sell homes in the same manner, especially those confused by today’s technology; however, many top producers who love technology find it is generally pointless to revert to “old school methods” such as printing four-color flyers and sticking flyers in a box on a sign post, even though they may still retain other dated marketing habits. Real estate has changed a lot over the years, and it’s changed even faster over the past 5 to 10 years. The real estate printing that used to work well for a Sacramento real estate agent doesn’t necessarily work so well anymore.

I love to tackle listings that other agents can’t sell because they tried to do it in print.  I just closed two homes that two other agents had tried to unload for months without any results. My approach is different, and I tailor each listing to appeal to my targeted audience. The first thing an agent should do is figure out who is the intended audience for that home? Who will be the buyer? And then market to that buyer using new technology.

I get such a kick out of sellers who come up with these age-old ideas that they believe are fresh and new when they don’t work anymore. They read it in a book somewhere, found it online, saw it on cable or maybe that’s how they sold a home 20 years ago. I worked briefly with an disgruntled and ornery seller last year who sounded like he was itching to cancel the listing because I did not want to put flyers on the sign post. I explained why flyers on the sign post was a bad idea. It was his idea, and he didn’t want it to be bad.

Putting flyers out in a flyer box in the front yard is a really bad idea for many reasons. For starters because kids steal them, if they aren’t removed first from the flyer box by a competitor. Second, it completely negates the purpose of the Virtual Agent signs I employ. My virtual agent signs allow a buyer to get information without talking to an agent, which is what some buyers prefer. They can:

• Call an 800# and get a virtual tour downloaded to their cellphone immediately
• Text to a special text number on the sign for an immediate cellphone download
• Use the QR code to retrieve immediate information to their cellphone.

There are also 3 ways to get more information by talking to an agent. They can:

• Call the large number on the sign panel to speak with a floor agent
• Call my cellphone number from the sign rider
• Call my buyer’s agent cellphone number from the sign rider

Walk by or drive by traffic can also go to my website on their smart phones to look at all of the property details. Others will find that home during neighborhood searches online from their home computers, laptops or iPads. Everybody is online and wired. If buyers can grab a flyer, they won’t use the Virtual Agent system or call. If they don’t call or contact me, I can’t track them or follow up, and they will probably never see the home in person. I capture all of their information when they utilize Virtual Agent. I don’t get that info if they bypass me.

If a buyer’s agent is showing a home, that buyer’s agent will print a flyer for the buyer with that agent’s contact information. They generally don’t want the buyer carting around a flyer with the listing agent’s contact information on it. That’s why sellers don’t really need flyers inside the home, either. An open house agent will print her own flyers; buyer’s agents print their own; and even buyers themselves print their own online flyers. It’s a waste of time and energy to produce flyers when the home is available to view online.

But you know what, even though I disagree, sometimes I will still print flyers for my sellers who insist. A hundred bucks buys a lot of happiness. But *print flyers are really unnecessary today for most homes in Sacramento. Real estate printing is a dead practice in town. Ask a top producer how things have changed in real estate. You might be surprised.

*An exception would be the luxury home market, in which brochures are the norm.