The more buyers who see your listing, trainer Bernice Ross writes, the more likely the sellers are to generate a higher price in a shorter amount of time.
Inman Events
Inman On Tour Nashville delivers insights and strategies for agents & leaders navigating today’s market.
The Compass–Zillow battle over private listings has raised serious concerns about consumer access to listings as well as the future of the MLS. What no one seems to be discussing, however, is how private listings rob you of the opportunity to maximize your lead generation and build your individual brand.
When I wrote Waging War on Real Estate’s Discounters 20 years ago, the key premise was “Maximum exposure equals maximum price.” In my mind, that premise hasn’t changed in 20 years. The more buyers who see your listing, the more likely the sellers are to generate a higher price in a shorter amount of time.
1. Private listings translate into fewer leads and less business
While listings generate buyer leads, over half of those buyer leads also have a property to sell. This gives you the possibility to do three sides (sale, listing and buyer for the listing.) If your buyer has a house to sell, that can translate into four sides and generate even more possible leads. Best of all, these leads cost you nothing.
In contrast, when your private listing sells through another agent in the private network, you only have one side. The best you could hope for is two sides, listing and selling to one of your own clients. In contrast, public listings allow you to generate multiple buyers and seller prospects that your print and digital advertising generate.
2. Lead sources you lose when you take a private listing
Public listings allow you to market and lead generate across a wide variety of both on and offline sources. On the other hand, private listings shut down your ability to lead generate from the following sources.
Sign calls
Your yard signs are visible 24-7 and give you strong exposure in the local neighborhood. Use a QR code on your brochure box and yard sign, where potential buyers and sellers can click and download all the information about the property. The QR code grabs the prospect’s phone number, often while they’re still in front of the property. Call back right away, and that lead is probably yours.
Public open houses
Based on two decades of holding open houses, the likelihood that a buyer will walk in and make an offer to purchase your listing is about 3 percent. Here’s the open house advantage you give up if you do a private listing.
Signage on open house day throughout the neighborhood
The more people who see your signs (make sure they have your branding on them), the more likely people are to remember your name. This includes an open house rider on the yard sign with the time of the next open house.
Public and broker open houses
Broker open houses, plus twilight and private open houses held during the week, increase your visibility beyond just a weekend open house.
Social media and portal advertising
You’ll lose the ability to advertise your open house on Facebook Marketplace and Realtor.com’s “Open Houses” section and in local print and digital publications. You also miss all the traffic that Zillow and Realtor.com generate. Like it or not, more people visit Zillow than any other site in the business.
Loss of face-to-face conversion opportunities
Open houses provide you with one of the best possible opportunities to meet face-to-face with potential buyers and sellers and then immediately convert them into potential clients using the Real Property Resource through NAR (RPR) or Spac.io apps. Both applications allow you to load all the listing information on them.
When an open house visitor asks for the listing information, ask if they want the information by phone or text. Once you enter their number or email, they receive the detailed information instantaneously. Best of all, you have their contact information — instant lead conversion.
Loss of video marketing opportunities
This is huge since short and long-form videos on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are among the most powerful ways to reach buyers and sellers. Private listings cut those opportunities off. Do you really want to cut yourself off from both the socials and the video marketing channels?
3. Problems marketing with your name
For decades, research has shown that consumers are much more likely to remember the company that has the listing rather than the agent. The primary reason is that most agents are still marketing with their names. The picture below illustrates exactly why this is the case:
Sadly, most agents today are still marketing with their name as their brand. The Ebbinghaus Curve of Forgetting shows that people forget 70 percent of what they have learned in 24 hours. When potential sellers see your name rider on a listing, it’s generally smaller than your yard sign with your broker’s name.
Also, since your broker probably has more than one listing in the area, they are seeing your broker’s name in other locations. Hence, the importance of getting your individual brand out there in multiple places.
Second, everyone has trouble remembering names, largely due to interference. We’re bombarded with thousands of names daily on our phones, email, text messages, spam and in print and digital advertising.
The secret here is to brand using a function rather than your name. For example, AustinProbateSellers.com or HorseShoeBayGolfHomes.com. You don’t have to stop using your name to brand. Instead, pair it with a function, making it easier for people to remember you from an open house or from your advertising.
4. The big trade-off: Private listings are a huge win for your company’s branding, not yours
Public listings build your brand in the market. The calls from your sign and advertising come to you. Those leads land in your CRM — not your broker’s. Neighbors meet you in person at open houses, when you’re doing showings or circle prospecting in the area as well.
5. The biggest issue: What’s best for your seller
Buyers want access to the listings in one place, whether it’s on the MLS or on a portal. Granted, there are times when a private listing is necessary to protect the seller, especially with celebrities, high-net-worth individuals who fear being robbed of having family members kidnapped, as well as in divorce, stalking or abuse.
At Inman Connect, Next Home co-CEO James Dwiggins, voiced his frustration when there were more private listings than there were listings on the MLS. As a well-qualified buyer, why should he be shut out from seeing these listings? Again, it’s great for brokerage control, but is it in the best interest of your seller and potential buyers?
The bottom line? Whose brand do you really want to support — yours or your brokerage who owns the private listing network? I know how I would vote — what’s best for my seller always comes first.
March is Marketing and Branding Month at Inman. As the spring selling season kicks in, we’ll examine the proven tactics and new innovations driving results in today’s market — and celebrate the industry’s top marketing and branding leaders with Inman’s Marketing All-Star Awards.
Bernice Ross is president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, the founder of Profit.RealEstate and a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,500 published articles.
Topics: Realtor.com | homeselling | listing agent Show Comments Hide Comments Sign up for Inman’s Morning Headlines What you need to know to start your day with all the latest industry developments Sign me up By submitting your email address, you agree to receive marketing emails from Inman. Success! Thank you for subscribing to Morning Headlines. Read Next
Forget ‘write me a post’: Use AI to build better client relationships
Use these 3 major mortgage shifts to generate listing and buyer leads
The Byron Effect: A legacy of leadership, service and results
How to capture massive share with AI secrets you can implement now
More in Opinion
Compass, control and the role of the real estate fiduciary
Clear collaboration in action: What the Compass-Redfin deal gets right
Jason Oppenheim: How Compass is 'weaponizing' secrecy
An open letter to NAR members: Be the change you're looking for
Read next
Read Next
Forget ‘write me a post’: Use AI to build better client relationships
The Byron Effect: A legacy of leadership, service and results
SCOOP: With merger complete, layoffs come for Anywhere and Compass
Compass partners with Rocket-Redfin to display coming-soon listings
