Marketing Plan

Here’s a marketing plan I wrote for a listing client. Please feel free to use it as a template to sell your listing to a seller:

Milan & Prerna,

Firstly, thanks much for the opportunity to be of service. I greatly appreciate you both putting faith and trust in me and our brokerage. I promise to you that will at all times give my best efforts and will work hard to serve your best interests.

I’ve taken the time to put together this brief marketing plan to outline the steps that will be necessary to properly market your home. In our brief forays to look at property, I am convinced that if you move from Marina Towers, you will likely end up at either Turnberry Tower or the Waterview. I know that you prefer Turnberry because the condos are a little nicer, but you love the unmatched views from Waterview. If you decide you are willing to sacrifice on views then I think we should visit Wooster Mercer Lofts, or perhaps the Odyssey. Both Wooster Mercer and the Odyssey are newly-built luxury buildings. The only reason I even open this part of the discussion is because to say that it is a near certainty that we can find a condominium which meets your expectations and your budget.

However, I think the hardest part of this transition will be selling your current home. There are several hurdles which must be overcome to get you the maximum amount of money for the condo at Marina Towers. We are most definitely in a buyer’s market and Marina Towers lacks the luster it once had. Marry those two factors to a high condo fee and you’ve got a difficult sale to make. Although I think the sale will be difficult I think our brokerage can get this done with the best possible results for you. Here’s how:

Market Analysis

The sale of any home begins with a thorough inspection of the property and an outline all the important features and upgrades. After my walk-through of your home I believe some of the best features of the home are:

The view – Year round views of the Potomac River from every room.
The location – Marina Towers is great for commuters to Washington, Alexandria and Arlington
The condition – The condo is well-cared for with interesting accents and paints. It will appeal to almost anyone who visits.
The kitchen – The kitchen was recently refurbished and it shows.

It’s quite clear that you have one of the premier condos at Marina Towers. Typically one would determine the Fair Market Value of the property by doing a detailed written market analysis. Unfortunately there is not enough data to get a firm price, and ultimately it will involve some guesswork on our part.

There is currently one 3-bedroom condo for sale at Marina Towers and that is priced at $459,000. It has been for sale for 126 days (4 months). The interior of this unit is in a similar good condition to your condo. The view is from a much lower floor and looks toward the parking. I think if you offer your condo for a little less than this condo it will look like a real bargain. For this reason I suggested a listing price of around $450,000.

If you need to know how much money this sale will net to you I’m happy to provide an estimate of the selling expenses to show your net proceeds. Just say the word and I’ll figure this out for you. The next step would be to prepare and execute a listing agreement authorizing us to market your property.

Property Enhancement

At the time the condo is listed I’ll prepare a written home enhancement proposal to include a budget for your approval. This proposal will recommend repairs and improvements to sell your property for the highest price. Most homes require some tweaks, and upgrades, but what I saw in your condo was in top condition and without further inspection I have no upgrades or build-outs to suggest. In fact your home need very little in the way of staging. It is already a gem.

If we agree on any home enhancements, I’ll work with you to schedule and supervise the home enhancement program, with your approval. After we start showing the property, I may suggest additional enhancements and repairs based on feedback from potential buyers.

Home Marketing Plan

The first and most important step to selling your home is that I need to prepare and submit accurate information to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). We’ll need your help to get a clear copy of the floorplans at Marina Towers, which we will scan and make available to buyers. We’ll review square footage and other details in the tax records and make sure we have the latest info about the condo fees.

The listings in the MLS will include “perfect” digital photos of your property for the MLS and Internet web sites. About 90% of all buyers start their search on the Internet and our brokerage has one of the largest Internet footprints in the area. We will feature your property on numerous websites including:

In addition to prominently featuring your property on hundreds of sites we own, we’ll pay to advertise your condo on sites like Trulia.com and MilitaryByOwner.com.

We do not cut corners by using combination boxes. Instead, our brokerage uses the latest technology high-security computerized lockbox system to facilitate showings. Using photos from your home we will create a custom color photo brochure outlining the key property features.

We will prepare 500 small “listing cards” for you to distribute to your friends and business associates. These are basically business cards with your condo’s vital stats. You can leave these at the concierge, office or give to family and friends.

Condo Alexandria will mail “just-listed” postcards to everyone at Marina Towers. We will host several well-advertised “open houses” because I think your home’s strongest selling point (the view) can best be appreciated while in the home.

Communication

We will email you a link to the MLS presentation for your approval and we will send you links to some of the many sites where your home is featured. We ask that you contact us if you find any errors or if you have any suggestions to improve our presentation.

We will e-mail you direct feedback from other agents on all showings. As the market develops, we will call or meet with you weekly to report on the activity and review market conditions. That means that we will give you regular updated written market reports showing the latest market activity.

Myself or one of my agents will visit your home weekly to check on showings and refill brochures Together with your input we will constantly review our marketing strategy and adjust as needed to get your home sold.

Structuring the Sale

Once an offer is tendered, I will carefully review the offer for potential pitfalls and for boons. No matter what I think of the offer, good or bad, I will present it to you for your consideration.

As you know, money is not as fast and easy as it was a few years ago. We are not seeking someone who just wants to buy your condo. We are seeking an interested party who can actually afford to buy your condo. So, in addition to reviewing the offer, I will take the time to qualify the prospective buyers to be sure they are able to purchase your property. Together, we’ll determine an adequate purchase deposit to solidify the transaction.

If necessary I will help you prepare a strong counter offer to create a solid transaction that will close on time with no surprises.

Transaction Management

Myself and my staff will work hard to manage all the details of your real estate transaction. I stay on top of all other matters to make certain your real estate transaction closes on time and is hassle-free. We will perform tasks such as

Open escrow and review the escrow instructions;
Arrange for the home inspections and appraisals;
Oversee the loan approval process to be sure your transaction closes on time;
Order the preliminary title report and review the condition of title;
Order the condo documents including the CC&Rs, budgets, by-laws and minutes of board meetings;
Assist with all disclosures, supplemental disclosures, smoke detector, hot water heater and environmental hazard disclosures.

Should the home inspection find any necessary repairs, I’ll help to supervise any agreed-upon home repairs. As we head toward closing, I’ll provide updated preliminary closing statements for your review. Then, once we get to settlement I’ll help you review the documents at closing to make sure that every penny is properly accounted for.

Service After The Sale

At my direction the settlement agent will release your net proceeds to be wired into your bank account. If requested I can help you arrange for movers to get you to your new home.