The battle between Compass and Zillow over private listings raises serious concerns about consumer access to listings and the future of the MLS. But what no one seems to be discussing is how private listings rob you of the opportunity to maximize potential customers and build your personal brand.
Twenty years ago, when I wrote “Battle on Real Estate Discounters,” a key premise was: Maximum exposure equals maximum price. In my opinion, that premise has not changed in 20 years. The more buyers view your listing, the more likely you are to generate a higher price in the short term.
1. Private listings lead to fewer leads and less business
Listings generate buyer leads, and more than half of those buyer leads also have real estate for sale. This gives you the possibility to do three aspects: sales, listings, and listing buyers. If a buyer has a home to sell, it can be translated into four sides to generate even more leads. Best of all, these leads cost nothing.
In contrast, if your private listing is sold through another agent in your private network, you only have one side. The best you can hope for is to have two sides: list it and sell it to your own customers. In contrast, public listings can generate multiple buyer and seller leads generated from print and digital ads.
2. Lead sources you lose when you get private listings
Public listings allow you to market and generate leads across a variety of online and offline sources. Private listings, on the other hand, cut off your ability to generate leads from the following sources:
sign the call
Yard signs are visible 24/7 and increase visibility in your neighborhood. QR codes on brochure boxes and yard signs allow potential buyers and sellers to click and download all information about the property. QR codes capture a prospect’s phone number, often while the prospect is still in front of the property. Please call back immediately. That lead is probably yours.
Public open house
Based on 20 years of holding open houses, there is about a 3% chance that a buyer will show up and make an offer to buy your property. Here are the benefits of an open house that you forgo with a private listing:
Open House Day signage installed throughout the neighborhood
The more people see your sign (make sure it features your brand), the more likely they are to remember your name. This includes an open house rider with the next open house time listed on a sign in the yard.
Public and broker open houses
In addition to broker open houses, twilight and private open houses held during the week increase visibility beyond just a weekend open house.
Social media and portal advertising
You will no longer be able to advertise your open house on Facebook Marketplace, the “Open Houses” section of Realtor.com, or in local print or digital publications. You’ll also miss out on all the traffic that Zillow and Realtor.com generate. Like it or not, more people visit Zillow than any other site in the industry.
Lost face-to-face conversion opportunities
Open houses offer one of the best opportunities to meet potential buyers and sellers in person and instantly turn them into potential customers using your real estate resources via the NAR (RPR) or Spac.io apps. Both applications can load all list information.
When open house visitors ask for property information, ask them whether they would like the information by phone or text message. Enter your phone number or email and you’ll receive more information instantly. Best of all, it gives you contact information so you can convert leads instantly.
Video Marketing Opportunity Lost
This is a big deal because short and long-form videos on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are one of the most powerful ways to reach buyers and sellers. Private listings block such opportunities. Do you really want to disconnect from both social media and video marketing channels?
3. Problems with marketing using your name
Decades of research has shown that consumers are much more likely to remember a company that has a listing than an agent. The main reason is that most agents are still marketing using their own names. The diagram below shows exactly why.
Unfortunately, even today, most agencies still market their name as a brand. According to the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, people forget 70 percent of what they learn within 24 hours. When a potential seller sees a rider with your name listed, it’s usually smaller than a yard sign with the broker’s name on it.
You’ll also see your broker’s name elsewhere, as your broker probably has multiple properties listed in the area. Therefore, it becomes important to promote your individual brand in multiple locations.
Secondly, everyone has a hard time remembering names, mainly due to interference. Every day, we are bombarded with thousands of names in phone calls, emails, text messages, spam, and print and digital ads.
The secret here is to brand using features rather than names. Examples include AustinProbateSellers.com and HorseShoeBayGolfHomes.com. You don’t have to stop using your name for branding. Instead, combine it with features to help people remember you from open houses and ads.
4. Big trade-off: Private listings are a huge benefit to your company’s brand, not yours.
Listing builds your brand in the market. You will receive calls from billboards and advertisements. These leads arrive in your CRM, not your broker’s CRM. Neighbors will also meet you in person at an open house when you’re doing a showing or circle exploration in the area.
5. The biggest question: What’s best for sellers?
Buyers want to be able to access listings in one place, whether it’s on the MLS or a portal. Indeed, private listings may be necessary to protect sellers, especially if they are famous or wealthy who fear family members may be kidnapped, divorced, stalked, or abused.
At Inman Connect, Next Home co-CEO James Dwiggins expressed frustration that there are more private properties than listings on the MLS. As a fully qualified buyer, why should he be locked out of seeing these listings?Again, this is great for brokerage management, but is it in the best interest of the seller and potential buyer?
The bottom line? Whose brand do you really want to support? Your brand, or the brokerage firm that owns the private listing network? I know how to vote. We always prioritize what’s best for the seller.
March is Marketing and Branding Month at Inman. As the spring sales season begins, we examine the proven tactics and new innovations that are delivering results in today’s market, and celebrate the industry’s top marketing and branding leaders with Inman’s Marketing All-Star Awards.
