It is well known in the auction industry that about 90 percent of Auction Companies partner with their clients by charging upfront marketing money. Why is this not part of the traditional sales model? Is it due to the amount of competition? Is it fear of losing the listing to someone that doesn’t have the courage to ask for the much-needed marketing money?

Whatever the reason, this topic is so dear to my heart due to seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on marketing for an auction, just for the property to sell at 65 percent of the last list price to a neighbor. I have been involved in many successful auctions and many not-so-successful auctions. Yes, auctions work in certain situations and they are the quickest, most effective way to determine fair market value on a given day. With that said, my goal in writing this article is to help my “traditional land selling friends” provide exceptional service to their clients by selling properties the first time around. I believe this is done by heavy market exposure, paid for by your clients.

How many of you agree that the best chance you have of selling a property is during the first six months? Have you ever asked your seller for upfront marketing money in order to help sell their property in the first six months? If not, you should immediately make some adjustments to your listing presentation and offer both a basic and a premium marketing package, then see what your clients choose. In my opinion, it should be part of your discussion, more importantly on the $500,000+, unique/hard-to-sell assets.

Most agents are afraid to ask for upfront money. They are worried that they may get a hard “NO” and get run off the listing appointment. This is so far from the truth. In fact, asking for upfront money solidifies your ability to do your job and shows a willingness to execute. Worst case scenario, the seller decides they do not want to invest in the sale of their property and you offer them the basic package, which is the package the next agent they interview will offer. In other words, if you are looking at a $2,000,000 property that is really going to take a specific buyer and your client/seller refuses to invest a few thousand dollars to help the sale, what does that tell you about their motivation?

Here is a quick “upfront marketing” script:

With this being a very unique property with a limited amount of buyers, we really need to hit the ground running with marketing. The best opportunity to sell this property is in the first six months of advertising before it becomes stale on the market. Over the years, we have seen hundreds of similar properties go to auction because they were not marketed properly in the first place. And the crazy thing about Auction is the seller ends up paying one to two percent of their reserve upfront. In order to hedge our bets, we should come out strong and hit every marketing avenue we can. With that said, would you be comfortable paying $7,500 upfront to market your property? We will credit you back every dollar you spend on marketing against the commission at closing. Basically if its $1,000,000 Listing at X% commission, charge $7,500 upfront, the net commission will equal $1,000,000 x X% – $7,500.

Below are the packages we offer…

Your Everyday Agent Marketing Package: NO COST

• A 4×4 Generic LAND FOR SALE sign
• Professional Drone Still Photos
• Advertised on Local MLS, LandsOfAmerica.com, Zillow, Trulia, LandWatch, LandandFarm, LandBrokerMLS
• One Targeted Facebook Boosted Advertisement

Mediocre Marketing Package: $2,500

• A 4×4 Custom LAND FOR SALE sign and 2×3 directional
• Professional Drone Still Photos and Video
• Advertised on Local MLS, LandsOfAmerica.com, Zillow, Trulia, LandWatch, LandandFarm, LandBrokerMLS
• Three-month showcase ad on LandWatch.com or LandsOfAmerica.com
• Flyers distributed local to property at major gathering places
• Email blast to top land agents across all of the US
• Two Targeted Facebook Boosted Advertisements

Blitzkrieg Marketing Package: $7,500

• 4×4 RANCH FOR SALE SIGNS (one on property and one on nearby Hwy) and (3) Directional Signs
• Professional Drone Still Photos and Professionally Edited Video
• Three-Month featured AD on Landwatch.com
• Three-Month Platinum AD on LandsofAmerica.com
• Website designed specifically for the property
• Bi-Monthly Email Blasts to all of the top land agents across the US through RLI
• Ads on LandsofOklahoma, Landwatch.com, LandsofAmerica.com, LandandFarm, Zillow, Trulia, LandsofOklahoma, LandFlip, Realtor.com, LandBrokerMLS, DuPont Registry, WSJ.com, craigslist, etc
• Ad in High Plains Journal
• Cover on Open Fences Magazine
• Cover on Homes and Land Magazine
• Local Newspaper Ad
• Flyers distributed local to property at major gathering places
• Four Targeted Facebook Boosted Advertisements

Now that you have seen my basic guide to upfront marketing money, I want to make sure everyone understands that asking for upfront marketing money doesn’t happen on every listing. There are many listings that I sell with a very basic advertising package paid for by yours truly. In addition, depending on the listing, I may adjust the packages and remove a few items to lower the cost. Another tip is having a “Marketing À La Carte” menu. This allows you to offer several options to your clients at a set cost. At the end of the day, make sure you are always using the marketing dollars to promote the property, not yourself. Do not charge the client more than the hard cost of the advertisement and be authentic. Your clients will appreciate it for years to come and become your “raving fans.”

Thanks for reading, if I can ever do anything for you or answer any questions, please call or email me.

This post is part of the 2018 Future Leaders Committee content generation initiative. The initiative is directed at further establishing RLI as “The Voice of Land” in the land real estate industry for land professionals and landowners.

About the Author: Drew Ary, ALC, has a vast knowledge of raw land, land with improvements, and farm and ranch properties. Above all, he has a passion for selling land and farm and ranch properties by bringing buyers and sellers together through honesty and integrity. Drew spent 10 years in the real estate auction world with roles as a Closing Coordinator, Project Manager, and a large portion as the Director of Farm & Ranch Sales. Drew moved to traditional real estate with Keller Williams Advantage at the beginning of 2017.