As a current buyer, I hate not having information available to me. I want pictures, virtual tours, flyers, the works. You have the internet, it should be utilized to its fullest.

As I drive home from work every day, just taking a trip through the side streets to look around, how do you expect me to call you and remember your phone number? I just hand my agent the stack of flyers and tell him that I like these and want to see more like them.

Don't get me started on the phone capture system. It is working against you. I hate having to call an automated service to find out simple things such as addresses, prices, number of bedrooms. Then to have an agent call me back at some random time? Where did I agree to that? I get enough marketing calls, now I have you calling me at dinner time or during a movie? If I want information, believe me, someone will be calling you.

Maybe withholding information was good in the sellers marketing boom of the last 10 years, but it certainly isn't something I appreciate today.

I like flyer boxes. If I don't have a pen and paper handy (or a Blackberry) while I'm walking the dog or driving by, I can get a phone number from the flyer.

Bill-without repeating what the other' s have said, I personally LIKE flyer boxes. I have one in front of my own home currently, and I have gone through a good 100 or so flyers since putting my home on the market. I attach an MLS info sheet WITH price, floor plan and my business card. I leave it up to my clients as to whether they want one or not, but I always advise that they do. The more ways info gets out about the house, the better in my opinion. I also feel strongly that some people will not call to find out about the house themselves, because they do not want to be bothered by agents that that feel will possibly hound them. They may want to pick up a flyer to bring it by a co-worker that they know may be looking. Again, the more ways the house info gets out there, the better. Just my 2-cents worth. Good Luck!

Bill,

Interesting. I think I am in the minority here, but I think the flyer boxes are a good idea. True most of the flyers are going to go to neighbors and looky loos not serious buyers, but who cares? The goal is to market a home, so how is having more information available to the public a bad thing? The more avenues the more opportunities for a potential buyer to find it. Just my thoughts.

There is no "right" answer to this question. I do what I do, and your agent does what he does. I use flyer boxes and I put all the info on the flyer, including price. My listings have their own web page and I have a sign rider for the domain. Yes, I might like them to call me, but I also like them to see all of the pictures, the virtual tour, etc.

Your agent finds that his way works best for him.

Bill,

I'll second what Gordon has to say: "Every REALTOR has his or her own way of doing things." I however DO like to put the price on the flyer because I think that the general population is skeptical when they see a flyer with no price on it. Besides, most people can go online (to Trulia!) and find the price of most houses anyway. Okay, that's my two cents... Hope that helps.

Ben Bailey
Windermere West Valley http://www.ArizonaPremiereLiving.com
480/220-8022

Michael,

Why would you want Trulia to "put a fork" in this question???? It might be beating a dead horse to you but there are new users to Trulia all the time like me and it certainly wasn't a "beating a dead horse" question to me. I had never seen the question that Sylvia linked us to so this was the first time I had seen it discussed.

Four months from now there will be new buyers, sellers and Realtors on this site that have not found this site yet. If the question bugs you why don't you just not answer. There are hundreds of other questions you could spend your time answering to benefit those who read this site and you would never have to even "click' on any questions that you think are "dead horse" questions.

Trulia....If you put a fork into questions like this you will also be putting a fork into the new users of this site that you are hoping to continue attracting.

I use a flyer box for my listings. It can be a pain for the agent to keep up with, but that is our job, right? I do give the seller the option. Most want them. I also have a webpages for each listing, with a domain ryder on my sign, but that does not give a buyer the information they want right then. I have been out riding around with buyer clients and they've complained directly to me about a property not having flyers available. Like I said, today people want information and they want it now.

Bill, I think you should insist on flyers if you want them. Your agent is there to work for you, and though his advice is important, you have every right to right to ask for your property to have every marketing tool available. A flyer with the right wording and great photos, will make a buyer want to see the inside of your home!

Good luck to you in selling your home!

I always use a flyer box. It's more exposure for your property. Besides, that person picking up the flyer may be doing so for another person. Good luck.

Bill,


>> "not take a flyer and read the info because that will decrease the number of intresed buyer ..."



I have a funny feeling your agent still has his first communion money .....

If one thinks that flyers don't work .. then they need to tell that to the 500,000 people that showed up at the FBR Open in Phoenix this year .l.o.l.. plus I sold 50 condo's off flyers, but who's counting..?

The "real reason" why some agents won't or don't use them - free marketing on your dime and on your time...

Call 1-800-buy-home - you betcha ...

- your potential buyer: "I was calling about the home on 123 Elm, and you were asking how much ..?"

- your agent: "the seller is asking $99,000 ..."

- your potential buyer: "we were really looking at only spending $89,000..."

- your agent: "no problem .. I have 15 listings at that price or less, lets make an appointment for me to show you them tomorrow night .."

All of a sudden, they are no longer "your potential buyer" - funny how that works.

If they've got *Your flyer* in their hand and they're calling about it.? .. then I want my home shown first - not one of 16 others on Sundays caravan.

It's great for agents, it's called a "shotgun effect" .. fire something off and you'll hit a buyer somewhere, someplace .... but it flat kills the marketing for the consumer at hand.

You need an overall marketing approach, MLS, pricing and flyers need to be updated every 3 days etc, etc..... but I certainly don't want to be passing my agent tomorrow night while he's showing my buyers his listings off his 800#.



Good luck and happy hunting.!

Bill-Keith makes a good point. Internet exposure whether it be MLS or other offerings by an Agent, go a long way to at least exposing your home to potential buyers. A flyer box, just like OPEN HOUSE'S, have probably the least success rate, but when combined with a TOTAL Marketing plan, you just never know, and in the current Market the industry finds itself in, it definitely doesn't hurt. Just my 2 cents worth. Good Luck!

Hi Bill -

I agree with Maureen and several other answers. I put out the flyer box with some inside pictures and the price. I have talked with A LOT of Buyers and they all say the same thing - if the price isn't on the flyer they throw it away. Yes, they can do some research and find the price on the internet. But most Buyers want answers immediately. And they don't want to call a Realtor and hear the sales pitch. A lot depends on your area and price range.

Did your agent discuss this as part of the marketing plan for your home when you interviewed them? If it's a strategy that you spoke about and the agent is not delivering, that's a different issue you need to discuss. If you didn't talk about it, you might want to insist on the box once your home has been on the market a while, as another source of advertising. Good luck. This market takes some patience!

Nicole Sleeva
nsleeva@cbpreferred.com

Bill,

Yes, agents employ differing tactics--some sensible and some plain silly--in the conduct of their real estate business. But I suspect that you're asking the question because you're not comfortable w/your agent's reasoning, right? If so, you're in good company--especially if you're a consumer information person.

My belief is that the more people learn about my listings, and the easier it is for them to learn whether it meets their basic requirements, the more quickly we can conduct serious prospectve buyers w/the sellers. Use of flyer boxes is one of information dissemination practices that helps complete this essential objective.

But won't you lose some lookers that could be coverted into a buyers?

I suppose, but so can making it more difficult for people to get their hands on what should be basic and publicly-available information. Besides, the point of the flyer should be to help reach as many people as possible, but then to spend time w/only the most serious.

Someone that picks up a flyer and then calls for a viewing is a much warmer prospect than someone that knows nothing about the property.

Am I wrong!

GerryV

Bill,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for asking this question. If you hadn't asked this question I would never have realized just how many Realtors I would NEVER hire to represent me. The % is crazy high. WOW! Before I started reading the 32 answers I figured maybe only one or two would agree with your agent.
This is why we as sellers are told over and over by so many advice articles that we NEED to INTERVIEW at least 3 Realtors before choosing one to represent you.

There are some really good answers to this question below as there are some really excellent Realtors who give advice on this site. Listen to the ones who are great and allow the other ones to keep selling other peoples houses, just not yours. The Realtor you have now works for you. Sometimes it's easy to forget that. Be respectful like you would to any employee but also be direct if they are not representing you in the best possible way.

Now, that said, if you live 50 miles outside of a city, down an old country dead end road and can't remember the last time a car ever came within 100 yards of your house then just ignore this answer and trust your Realtor as a fly-er box will probably be a waste of time and money.

I have called lots of Realtors because of the fly-er. But, I have NOT called one time when the price was not on the fly-er. I figure that if they don't want to put on the price it's for a number of reasons and not even one of those reasons is in my interest as a buyer.

How many places that you purchase items from do not tell you the price. How many of you would shop at any store where the price wasn't listed and you knew you had to talk to a salesman who earned his living on commission every time you wanted to know a price of something.

Catch up with the times! Consumers want info! A lot of info! The more the better!

There are lots of people who hire the very first Realtor they talk to and the house eventually sells. They are doing themselves a big disservice.

INTERVIEW, INTERVIEW, INTERVIEW! Ask each Realtor "What is your plan to market my house"? After asking at least 3 successful agents in your area you will start to see a difference. Once you find out what the top of the line agents are doing to market your house you will be Sooooooooo happy you didn't just go with the first guy you thought of. The difference is usually night and day!

Thank You again for asking this question. I really, really got emotional when I read all the responses. There is a reason I throw any and every flyer away when there isn't a price on it. The reason is clear as a bell when you read the responses of those who tell you why they leave the price off. I don't want to talk to that person ever. Uggggggggg....Errggggg they probably have a 2nd job calling me in the middle of dinner. That approach works too, otherwise they wouldn't keep paying people money to do it. But, those people interrupting me in the middle of dinner are making minimum wage...these people are Real Estate Professionals who are wanting to force you to call them and listen to their spiel just to find out the price of something you might want to buy. What's the most irritating thing about an open house? It's the Realtors who are hitting on you every step of the way and not leaving you alone. I know you want to make money, I get it....now just leave me alone! I thought I knew why the telephone number wasn't on the paper....now I know for sure. Ergggggggg

Bill, you may be losing some potential buyers by having a flyer with a price. BUT, you are loosing A LOT more potential buyers by not having the flyer with a price and all the info you can provide.

Sorry for venting, I was in a good mood until I a lot of these answers. I am going to go back and read the answers from the Realtors who are in touch with today's buyer like Julie Waller, Cheryl Barce, Graham, Nicole Sleeva, Rob Graham, Gerry Vasquez, Ben Baily......ok, ahhhhhh, now I am feeling better again. There still are lots of Realtors who actually do know how to MARKET the most effectively.

Shawn,

Good point ..

The phone capture system might be wonderful for the person who has one, but it seems their retention level is low ... . a claims adjuster from Florida told me a very interesting story about phone systems a few years back after the hurricanes hit ...

the average caller will spend 2.3 minutes trying to reach a source for an emergency or a claim ..

the average caller "rushed" will spend 1.5 minutes trying to reach a source for an emergency or a claim ..

the average caller with interest will only spend 34 seconds trying to reach a source for just basic information ..

The reason why insurance companies do it .. it cuts down their phone activity by 29% and that cuts down their claim activity by 17% ....

Quite an extraordinary figure, saving 17% of your claim activity because of time, and most of it being medical claims.


-

Bill you have spurred a great debate, I am a fan of the flyer box or paper airplane hanger as some of you may refer to them as. I however have a slightly different approach, for the first week or so I include the price, this allows all the neighbors to get my flyer in there hand see my marketing tell their friends to buy the house in their neighborhood etc. then I remove the price to cultivate the phone lead and get the serious buyer to call me or for that matter their agent of choice. This forces the buyer to take action and if they are serious they will pursue the property. another marketing approach is to put all of your agents active listings on the back page of your flyer as well as all of his other listing flyers this now gets exposure for your property all over your community by piggybacking on the rest of the agents listings you share the synergy of the marketing your agent is doing community wide. It is important that your agent get all of his listing clients’ permission because some sellers do not see the value in this unless the benefits are explained. Good luck.

Bil, I use all sorts of differing techniques to sell a home. Flyer boxes are interesting. I had clients who wanted one. THEY looked at houses and always loved picking a flyer from the box for price, features, etc. So I made up 200 flyers, gave them to my client and said your job is to keep that box stocked and to keep a record of how many disappear each day. Keep a written log! Being ex-military he immediately got on his computer and make a chart!! He would check that box everyday. He logged every day the amount of flyers taken. He'd call, giving me a daily report. Two weeks later he called to say he was out! I went over, sat down with him, looked at his great chart and said, "O.K.--we've given out 200 flyers is that right?" He replied, "That's right, here's the chart, great action huh?" I replied, "Yes, sir" (ex-military) then I stated, "We have given out 200 flyers. How many offers have we recieved?" The answer was none. "According to your chart, we have written proof that 200 buyers have viewed your home through the flyer and we've had NOT ONE offer. How much do you think we should reduce our price by?"
Many Sellers think all you have to do in this or any market is to put an ad in the newspaper, put out a flyer box and a for-sale sign and bingo--you're now IN THE BUSNIESS!!
I have one property now where I've just taken DOWN the brochure box and put on one of my "800" call capture numbers. I'm going to gauge the responses and see how many calls I get. I've gone through a scad of flyers, no calls yet and it's been a week!
Remember Bill, 90% of MARKETING is when you SET THE PRICE!! This has never been more true than in this market.

I sometimes use a drop box and sometimes don't. If a seller is out in the country or off the beaten path, then I do not. If on a great street, I will.
But, even when I do I don't put all the information on it. I leave off price or something to make the phone read. There is no right or wrong way to do it. He is correct in that if you give them all the information the phone will not ring. You agent on the phone has the skills to get them to make an appointment and see the house, a flyer does not do that. IMO

This is actually a good strategy. Many people will drive up, grab a flyer, see something they do not like and never call the agent or go inside. Your Realtor will do a much better job getting the potential home buyer physically in the home and emotionally put them in the home. If they are serious buyers they will call to get more information. I would recommend going along with the advice of the Realtor.

Good Luck

Every agent has their own way of trying to actually talk with people that see the sign and may have some interest. I preferr to have the flyers but not to include the price so that they still call to find out the price. I like people picking up the flyers because then they have a reminder in hand about the house.

That's just one Realtor's opinion.

Not really, because you just answered -) Did you know that the one I included below had 7 TUs for that question and 58 answers? So, I thought I had a right to answer also.

What's the most answered quetion? 224? Jordan's question takes first.

O.K. this might self-destruct after Michael reads it.

S-

Isn't there a statute of limitations on beating a dead horse!! Trulia--can we put a "put a fork in this question as it is done!"

Flyer Box and great flyers are must haves for me and my clients.

Although it also depends on the quality of the flyers your realtor produces. It's an art form. Great pictures, wonderful descriptions, website addresses; the whole thing. Poor quality flyers will definitely hurt, might prevent people from going to see a house if the house shows terrible on the flyer. This is true with internet presence.

I have people take my flyers and show them to their friends just in case they want to buy.

If they see what they like, they will call. Sometimes they will take one and go to open houses. Of course, it has to be priced right also.

My #1 priority is to sell the house for top dollars; and If I get a client due to my wonderful flyers or website, that’s just a bonus.

BTW, here is a thread from a long, long, Trulia time ago .. ...

http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/To_Brochure_Box_Or…

Sylvia

I think flyer boxes are a great idea and a wonderful tool. As a person who just recently purchased a home, I looked for homes that had the flyer boxes, so I could see pictures of the home, the dimensions and so forth. It saved me time and money. The flyer boxes let people get a peak into what is being offered which in turn will make them to WANT to see the inside. I

I think that is great advice. A good agent wants an opportunity to speak with a potential buyer and sell them on your property. Most flyers can't give all the facts. When a client calls on a listing, we can try to get them excited about your home. My experience is the neighbors take most of the flyers wanting to know what is happening in their area. Trust your agent, sound advise!

Its a two-fold answer. Flyers can work and they do and they can deter potential buyers from calling the agent because the home is out of their price range or they think it is overpriced or the photographs are of poor quality, etc... and it does. You own the home, it is your investment. If you want flyers, you should get flyers. This would have been a very good question to ask during an interview process. "If I list with you, how will you market my home?" You may have chosen to hire someone else.

Bill, flyers seem to make good paper airplanes for kids in the neighborhood. I sold 40 houses last year and not one was ever sold from a flyer outside of the house. If you give too much informtaion on the flyers the buyers have no need to come in the door and/or call your agent. Your agent is trained to talk with buyers who call and tell them how wonderful your house is.

You would be better off having your agent put an 800 number in your yard. At least for people who call that their number is being caputured so that your agent can call them back. It is hard for us as agents to get people in the door if we can't have a conversation with them.

I used to also do flyers until I went through 500 of them at one house! I never got a call off of them anyway. I agree with your agent. If your agent is going to do a flyer I would put a photo of the outside of the house, just a couple of inside photos and then write something like "for more information on this lovely home please call 800-xxx-xxxx." That way they can take that number with them.

I hope this information helps! Best Wishes!

Excellent answers. We have clients that want them and we have clients that don't want them. We also have clients that don't want any interior pictures of the home dangling in the front yard for anybody to view.

We work with what the seller wants when we sit down and go over the marketing plan.

Just to clarify something --- "Because that will decrease the number of interested buyers" --- I hope you meant to say "because that will decrease the number of callers".

Of course --- Bad flyers could decrease the number of interested buyers -- just like Good Flyers Could Increase the number of interested buyers. It all falls into marketing and not just advertising. There certainly is a difference.

Regardless... you've put trust in your real estate agent to sell your home for a reason so you should be comfortable with the way he likes to market and what works for him.

Bill - I will likely be watching this one, as I am very curious what kind of comments you will get.

I, for one, absolutely agree with your Agent. There is no way to track who collects flyers, and thus no way to convert them into a good prospect for that house. A good Agent can convert those calls they receive, but if the calls don't come in, well 100% of nothing, is nothing.

Best of luck!

Buyers today want 3 things. Selection, affordability, and convenience. Convenience refers to how buyers can retreive information about homes without necessarily having to speak to someone. I have used both flyers and an automated 24 hr information system. The information system works best because it provides buyers with information they want but still captures phone numbers and names for me. The only problem with flyers is that your realtor won't know who is picking them up. At one home this month I was filling the box about every 3 days with 50 flyers but was only getting about 1 call per week from them.

Julie Waller, Cheryl Barce, Graham, Nicole Sleeva, Rob Graham, Gerry Vasquez, Ben Baily and a couple of others I might have missed.....GREAT ANSWERS! You really are in touch with todays buyers! Keep up the good work for your clients!

Bill, why don't you copy and paste the responses of the Realtors I just mentioned and print them out. Then bring the print out to your current Realtor and have a respectful conversation with him about what you expect from him and why you expect it.

Good luck to you.

Kenny Tate from Sandy Springs answered this question dead on the money. He only left out one thing. Why would a salesman miss a chance to have his/her name and phone number on a hard, print copy for someone to take with them. It's called "Branding" I wouldn't hire that agent.

Does your realtor make the information about your home available in another format and encourage the dirive-by to contact them? Perhaps a call capture system, an 800# with an extension devoted to extolling the virtues or your home? Does he/she have a dedicated web site for your home? Is either or both systems advertised on a sign rider? Does system have a call caputre ability to follow-up with interested visitor? I feel the answer to your question depends on what else the agent is doing to promote your home. I also feel that if you want a flyer box the agent should immediately install one. I am to assume you did not get a written, measurable marketing plan for you home where the agent spells out what they will do, how it will be done and when it will be done. As realtors, we can not imagine not doing one of these for our clients. Regards

Lots of good advice here. Just a few additional thoughts. When I was a house-hunter (pre-Realtor days), I was never much impressed with flyer boxes. The boxes were frequently empty. If they weren't empty, the flyers usually were soggy from some recent rain. If they weren't soggy, then they usually were just Xeroxes of the MLS listing.

The most frustrating experiences were caused by very good, very experienced agents who apparently had the same reluctance as your agent did. One agent in particular--like I say, an overall excellent agent--would keep the flyer box stocked with nice fliers with nice pictures of the house's interior. Only thing that was missing was the price; you had to call her (or go online) to find out what the house cost. As I say, that frustrated me no end...but maybe that's how you address the concern that your agent (and some of the commentors below) have: nice fliers, always stocked, but without the price.

Someone below gives a hypothetical conversation betweeen an agent and a buyer, with the agent steering the buyer to other listings. Yes, that can (and I'm sure does) happen. But it can go the other way, too. Depending on financing options, downpayments, credit scores, special city or county programs, seller flexibility, and a host of other factors, buyers often can buy more house than they think they can.

Maybe the conversation would go something like this:

- Your potential buyer: "I was calling about the home on 123 Elm, and you were asking how much ..?"

- Your agent: "Well, what price range are you looking in?"

- Your potential buyer: "We are looking at spending around $89,000..."

--Your agent: "That's good. Now, if we found a house that cost in the low $90,000s, would you consider it if it met all your needs?"

--Your potential buyer: "Sure, I guess. $89,000 was our starting point, but we could go up a bit if we had to."

--Your agent: "And if your monthly payments, on a nice fixed-rate loan, were something you could afford, would that be OK?"

--Your potential buyer: "Well, sure, of course."

--Your agent: "Well, then let's make an appointment to see 123 Elm Street. Which will work better for you: Saturday or Sunday?"

So, what's happened here? The agent has narrowed the negotiating range, not by coercion or misrepresentation, but just by probing the buyer's interests and flexibility. The agent certainly can be prepared to show the buyers other, slightly lower-priced, properties, but this way 123 Elm Street remains the focus of the initial meeting. That's just Negotiating 101.

Hope that helps.



- your agent: "no problem .. I have 15 listings at that price or less, lets make an appointment for me to show you them tomorrow night .."

Bill: I want you to think about this from a different angle...
What do you expect the flyer to do? Most flyers are not produced well enough to truly inspire a buyer who isn't already interested in your house to do anything. If they are not interested, you could have Stephen King write text and Michelangelo paint the pictures and still not get them to call. As others have said in a roundabout way is that any marketing piece should have one objective and that is to make the Realtors phone ring so that they can communicate with a prospect. It is my guess that you don't care what type of marketing produces a prospective buyer for you as long as one comes from somewhere. The important question is whether or not the agent has helped you price your property correctly.

I like flower boxes.......................

tman, the phone conversation goes more like this.

buyer: I'm calling about 123 Elm, what is the price?
Agent: You have good taste, that home is getting tons of calls, It is $99,000 for a 3 bed 2 bath with large kitchen and outdoor patio, is that what you are looking for?
Buyer: really we only want to spend $89,000...
Agent: Well all real estate is negotiable, but before we start making offers we need to find out it really does fit your family needs, would you like to make an appointment to see the inside?
Buyer: sure, how about tomorrow...

I have seen people look at a flyer and say, "I don't like the wall color and the kitchen looks too small". You cannot sell a home by pictures alone.

Tman, my job is to sell a home, and get them inside it.

also, why would I try to take them to other homes, if I have a listed that I NEED TO SELL? If the home is out of the sellers price range, then YES, I will try to get them into a home that is in there price range.

Bill
You have some great perspectives. Here's one you don't have yet.

You are concerned about selling your home. Over 90% of the time the buyer that purchases your home first sees it with an agent. So the chances are the flyers do not matter to the Realtor. Assuming your Realtor has it on the web, in the MLS, with some fabulous photos of a well-staged and prepared home, at the right price, you should be on the way to getting showings and offers.

Personally my experience is that in most cases I get more listings from listings and the marketing I do. So I do use a flyer box, not to sell your home, but to help sell me and my services. Your home being sold from a lfyer is a very unlikely thing, however one never knows!

You need to view your question in the context of the Realtor's marketing plan. Now, is the flyer box and For Sale sign are his plan...then you may have some concerns.