3 Reasons Why You Need to Include Inactive Listings in Your Marketing Strategy

Any luxury real estate agent knows that the amount of work that goes into selling a luxury home can be daunting. There are so many details to include, lots of people to communicate with, and a laundry list of to-do’s that go beyond the closing.

When we finally get to those “under contract” or “pending” stages, we become laser-focused on making sure things go right so we can finally make it to that closing table. 

It’s no wonder that once a deal is done, we want to be done. However, there’s still work to do. 

While taking the training to become a certified luxury home marketing specialist can make all of these things easier to execute with the right tools in your luxury home marketing tool belt, the nature of the work will always be challenging.

The thing is, all the hard work you put into that listing can actually continue to work to your advantage, if you let it.

When we talk about how to sell luxury listings, we go straight to talking about the importance of having high-quality photography, great listing copy, showings that wow prospects, and generating leads both online and offline. 

What we don’t talk about is how important those past listings (that you put so much work into) can actually strengthen your marketing strategy for your current listings. 

When you take the Institute’s training to become a certified luxury home marketing specialist, these are the kinds of out-of-the-box perspectives we aim to develop in you. 

Let’s take a look at three reasons why you should include your inactive listings in your luxury home marketing strategy:

1. It Creates Social Proof.

No one likes to be first. When you walk past a restaurant at dinner time and no one is in there, what do you think? Our tendency is to assume that if there’s no one in there, it must not be good. Human nature is to want some sort of “social proof” as we call it these days, that other people have put their stamp of approval on things before we try them.

Especially in the luxury real estate world, clients want to know that they’re working with an experienced agent (this, of course, becomes a paradox if you are a new agent and don’t have many sales under your belt, but there are ways to get around that). 

Posting about your new listings on your social media accounts and your website is necessary, but when you also include your sold listings or those under contract, it tells a prospect that you’re active, capable, and other people have trusted you with their home without actually having to say it directly.

2. It Creates Urgency

In any market, but especially in a buyer’s market, showcasing inactive listings sends the message that listings are moving and there isn’t much time to mull things over. Often, when there’s an overflow of inventory like we’ve seen throughout most of the latter half of 2019, buyers tend to assume that there is ample time to decide whether or not they really love a listing. 

Showing your buyers that there’s still movement on the market, and that the listing they’re considering might not be available for them to see for much longer, can create a sense of urgency that simply flooding your platforms with new listings just can’t do.

3. It can make current price points seem more appealing.

Context can change everything. A $6M home may seem pricey, but when they see that you’ve just sold a handful of homes at the $8-10M price point or more, the $6M home starts to seem more appealing.

Though luxury clients tend to be more savvy about what’s going on in the luxury real estate market, they aren’t immune to buyer psychology. If you can contrast current listings next to ones that have sold for much more, buyers will tend to use those higher price points as an “anchor” and will be more open to paying the slightly lower price in comparison, even though the price is still relatively high. This kind of tactic can be seen in plenty of restaurants and stores, and it’s easy to why.

Becoming a certified luxury home marketing specialist is more than a designation.

The Institute arms you with a new way of looking at luxury real estate. From monthly webinars to free CE, members gain access to practical strategies and tools to build their client database, earn new luxury listings, negotiate effectively, and more.

Beyond getting noticed by the affluent, we teach you how to win in any market and finally take your business to the next level.

If you want to become a certified luxury home marketing specialist, click here to find out about our trainings.