Hi Tracey -
Just wanted to defend agents who don't use tubes as I'm one of them! For many years I did this but found that the flyers were picked up by neighbors more so than those who might have an interest in the home. In inclement weather, they often became damaged due to rain and high humidity and sometimes turned into a soggy mess. I've also had kids roaming the neighborhood at night remove all the flyers and let them blow around the entire neighborhood.
More so, however, I wanted the chance to do one of two things - either describe the home to a potential buyer in detail over the phone to try to get them in the door or I wanted to encourage them to tour the home on my website so they could enjoy reading about all the amenities and viewing 30 or so photos.
So, rather than a tube, I have my cell phone on one sign rider and I have my website on the other. I regularly get calls on my listings or have people visit my website to learn more. For me, providing flyers with minimal information seemed to be more of a negative than a positive. I was afraid it was causing me to lose potential customers rather than gain them. I think the analogy I would use is that if I was out shopping for a new dress and Macy's had one page flyers describing each of their dresses, the dress of my dreams might not look as good on a flyer as it would in a catalogue on the web. But, a good agent would do what their seller directs them to do, even if they disagree.
Good luck!

Sat May 10 2008, 11:33

It depends where you live. Here in Lighthouse Point it is against city ordinance to have brochure boxes or info tubes attached. You should be able to discuss with your realtor your desire to have one and he or she can possibly explain why there isn't one, and if it is allowed, one can easily be provided.

Sat May 10 2008, 11:14

Good point. How hard can it be to get a stinkin tube? About $10 worth. Tell the Realtor if she/he can't afford a tube and some copies, how do they intend on marketing your home?

You are right...get your self a tube, and a Realtor that wants to work.

Thu Sep 13 2007, 20:57

I know it's going to be ok (I am an optimist). I told everyone on another thread that we fired our agent. It was agreed upon by owner of the firm that we philisophically do not align with our needs and their services. I have gone back to the original agent that I should of given my listing (complicated reasons). We will with that get a box of flyers for front of house. Unfortunately I have to wait a few more weeks to get out of out existing contract.

Thu Aug 9 2007, 07:30

To have the info about the home out by the sign save time for everyone involved. It let's the person looking at the home know if they want to check on the home any further. It let’s the agent know when and if the potential buyer calls that they have basic info about the home and they are interested. This gives the agent a chance to do a little prescreening of the potential buyer.

Selling or buying a home with a Realtor should be an example of great teamwork. I am truly sorry about your experience.

Wed Aug 8 2007, 22:33

Hi Tracey,

It all depends on your type of market. Around here, the results from that are nominal. 99% of all buyers have their cell phones on -hand and merely call from the sign. In fact, around here I often leave the flyers in the house, for them to take if they wish to. Your agent propbably knows the market best.

Wed Aug 1 2007, 10:52

Ok, everyone.. excellent answers..
We don't have a hotline. Only a number to my agent who tracks and captures the info.
I would prefer a hotline or something that gives more info if someone is interested.
I appreciate the thoughtful answers and theory behind them.
I do not have faith in my agent. I terminated my contract with the company last night. They have 30 days to sell my house if they want to make the money. AFter that, I want options (whether it's lease it out, I move and my husband stays until spring and we can sell in a better market etc. or we sell to a family member.)

Tue Jul 31 2007, 20:53

Hello Tracey,

The purpose of a sign is to get calls on a property.....right? So now if you can reach and get a piece of paper and read it and maybe that piece of paper doesn't jump out at you are you going to make the call to the Realtor? NO!

Once a Realtor gets a sign - they want to get the appointment to show the property. Let your Realtor do their job and represent your home! Nothing is a substitute for one on one! Everyone has a cell phone and would prpbably rather sit in their car and make a call instead of getting out and geting a flier.

Fliers disappear, do not generate calls, etc. It is one of those things like newspaper advertising, that sellers love to see but do nothing to sell a house.

If you do not have the faith in your realtor to - A. answer the call and B. respond to get the appointment - then you have a bigger issue. You are much better off without an info tube.

Best of Luck,
Linda J Sears

Tue Jul 31 2007, 11:51

I agree. There is a cost issue though. It is not unusual for me to go through 100/week. Ask your realtor why they don't do it. Some people think it's vital, some don't. Some people think if they're not willing to call then they're not really that interested and that probably holds true for some. My thought is, what if they want more info and want to go home and look at it on the internet or are just gathering info for their realtor. If the other 9 homes they saw had info and yours didn't they might not ever come back.

Tue Jul 31 2007, 08:00

Tracey, I agree with the rest of the professionals here who opt for the 800# hotline instead. It is much more beneficial as it provides the info and a way to track who is getting it. I wrote about this very topic on my blog just yesterday coincidentally. Here is a link, if you'd care to take a look. http://www.theblogthatatemiami.com/2007/07/30/no-info-tube-f… Having said that however, if your agent is NOT providing the hotline, then the least they could do is to provide you with the flyers you want. They're not expensive so that should not be a problem. But in my opinion they really do not generate very many calls.

Tue Jul 31 2007, 03:20

Hi Tracy,

I don’t think this approach is effective at all, as there is no way to track the activity of inquiries on your home with this method. I use a tracking system that obtains the callers name and number (they get the # from the sign in your yard). Having this information allows me to stay in contact with the buyer in the event there is an open house or price adjustment on the property they have called on. It also allows me to track reasons why a buyer may inquire about a property, but then chooses not to see it, once given the information on it. (Most of the time it’s because it is out of their price range or they think it is priced to high) This method is much more beneficial to you as a homeowner. It really takes all of the guess work out of what your consumers are thinking when your home hasn’t sold.

Melissa Mancini, Realtor, CBR, GRI

Mon Jul 30 2007, 20:52

If you are using paper flyers and a flyer box, can you estimate how many you have printed and gone through to-date? My guess is your answer would be "no." Years ago, I used flyers and flyer boxes with my listings but quickly became frustrated trying to keep them in stock as well as not having anything to show for the effort. To the neighborhood kids, flyer boxes always seemed to provide the motherload of raw materials necessary for their paper airplane factories...

Then, I embraced the technology of a 24-hour recorded hotline. Unlike the "talking house," the recordings are much clearer and more reliable. I can configure multiple codes or mailboxes for a variety of marketing purposes and accurately measure the effectiveness of each marketing method. I can pre-load a flyer, seller's disclosure, copy of a survey or any other useful/pertinent information into the fax-on-demand feature thereby allowing callers to receive additional information automatically. Finally, if a buyer is really motivated and needs to speak to me immediately, there is a "zero out" feature which will route their call to my cell phone directly should they wish to ask additional questions or set up a showing appointment.

More importantly, though, it captures the caller ID of the person inquiring about the home affording me the opportunity to speak with the prospective buyer to see if they received all the information they needed, offer to schedule an appointment to preview the inside of the home, and ask for feedback why the particular home was not of interest to them (critical information for the seller especially when dealing with objections or deficiencies with the home). I demonstrate this system during my listing presentations which is quite impressive to most sellers.

Mon Jul 30 2007, 20:44

Tracey
We have Realtors that use both approaches.
One theory is that most of the info is on the Internet anyway, so why bother.
Plus, if they are serious, then the potential buyer will call the Realtor (we call this a "sign call")
and we have an opportunity to develop a new client.
I have tried the 800# info, that is basically the same thing...they have to call to get the information , you capture their number and try to help them find a home.
I can tell you that part of the objective when a Realtor has a listing is to find their next listing. My experience has been that, just as your Realtor has said, he doesn't think it helps sell your property. He's probably right. Over 90% of the time another agent brings the buyer who purchases your home.

However, if one wants to attract other potential home sellers, I would definitely use a flyer box or tube. An active listing can consume a hundred flyers a week easily, so it is a job. In my book I provide the flyers to show off to future sellers, not necessarily attract buyers.

I have not seen any research (and I am big on "prove it to me") regarding printed flyers for buyers.
The evidence is overwhelming that buyers (over 95% of the time), find their home first on the web, then through an agent. So from strictly selling your home, statistically, it does not matter.

Keith

Mon Jul 30 2007, 20:39

Tracey,
I use flyers, because in some of the regions where I work, cell service is spotty at best, and--believe it or not--broadband service is not even offered. Even under these extreme circumstances, I've not found them to be terribly effective. Thanks to new technology, there are are much better options. I asked a question related to this topic a few days ago; many REALTORs posted effective methods which work well in their markets. A link to that discussion is below in the line which says "Web Reference" if you'd care to have a peek at it. The bottom line is that different approaches work in different markets. You chose this REALTOR over many (dozens? hundreds?) others. Trust him/her to do the job.

Mon Jul 30 2007, 19:56

I opt for 800 phone numbers with a 24/7 pre-recorded message. I have not found much success with flyers. From the 800#, I can track how many inquires, and the caller has the option of a live transfer after hearing the message. It's more effective than flyers.

Other Real Estate Pros seem to have good luck with flyers, so it might be geography dependent.

Mon Jul 30 2007, 19:28

I put them in front of my listings. People take them, so they must like them. They are quite cheap.

Mon Jul 30 2007, 18:47

Tracey,

I've had a lot of success with Color flyers on my signs. People tend to hang on to them and it's more likely they'll be able to find my number when they're ready to call, as opposed to them writing my number on a napkin in their car and losing it! I always use color because people tend to see it from a distance, I have not experienced the same success with black & white copies.

Good Luck with your sale,

Milly Burleson
Realtor, CRS, GRI

Mon Jul 30 2007, 18:44