How We Market a Listing: Teaser, Coming Soon, Then Launch

The best time to sell a home is when there's maximum attention focused on it. Our coach calls it the parade. Everything we do before and during a launch is designed to build that parade, and to make sure every possible buyer can join it. Here's how we market a listing, step by step.

Step one: the teaser campaign

Before a home is officially on the market, we start building interest without giving away the address or photos. Something like, "We've got an amazing lake-view home coming up," or, as my teammate Mike Pillow might say about one of his listings in Central Ohio, "We've got a 50-acre horse property coming up in Knox County."

People start asking questions. That's good for the seller, because it builds a list of interested buyers before day one. Yes, it's good for us as agents too. But bringing more buyers to your property is exactly what we promise every seller when we sit down at the kitchen table. That's just doing our job.

Why the teaser doesn't include the address or photos

There are rules we follow. Under the National Association of Realtors' Clear Cooperation Policy, once a property is marketed to the public, the listing has to go into the MLS within one business day. That's there to keep the market fair and keep anyone from limiting competition. Some people complain about those rules, but in my opinion, without them it would be even more of the Wild West out there.

Step two: a short pre-market window everyone can see

Next comes a short public window before the home goes active. In the Columbus MLS, where Mike Pillow works, agents can use coming soon for up to two weeks. When he started, he used the full two weeks and found the listing went stale before it even went live. Now he usually runs coming soon for a week or less.

His typical plan: start coming soon on a Monday or Tuesday, go active on Friday or Saturday, and use those few days to build up the parade.

Here in Northeast Ohio, MLS Now removed the coming soon status in 2021. It's now introducing a new pre-market status called PREP, a time-limited window that automatically converts a listing to active after seven business days. We plan to use it the same way: short, public and focused on getting the house ready.

Why two weeks is usually too long

A long pre-market period can make a listing feel old before it ever goes active. The excitement peaks and fades. The real reason for a coming soon period isn't extra marketing time anyway. It's to give the seller a few days to finish getting the house ready to show. If the house needs two more weeks, I'd often rather wait and start the pre-market window next week.

Step three: launch weekend

We like a home to go active with an open house the same weekend. Weekend open houses still get the best turnout, although it's worth getting creative with weekday evening open houses too. Every buyer who heard about the teaser and saw the pre-market listing now has the chance to walk through.

Pricing matters just as much as timing. All the buzz in the world won't help a home that launches overpriced, because the first buyers through the door are usually the most motivated ones. We want them to walk in and see a home that makes sense at its price, so the parade turns into offers instead of questions about what's wrong with the house.

What about delayed offers?

When MLS Now dropped coming soon, the head of the MLS pointed out to me that agents could still list a home and use delayed offer acceptance, meaning the listing goes active but the seller won't review offers until a set date. I think that can frustrate buyers. Someone who submits an offer on Wednesday doesn't love waiting until Sunday. But it proves the same point: giving buyers time to find out about a home is better for the seller.

Why we market to everyone

I like the idea of phased marketing. Building excitement before launch works. I just believe it should happen in public, for every buyer, not inside a private network. More buyers means more competition, and more competition is what gets sellers their best result. When a seller accepts an offer after full exposure, they don't have to wonder whether they left money on the table.

Thinking about selling?

If you're thinking about selling in Northeast Ohio or Central Ohio, we'd love to walk you through exactly how we'd launch your home. Schedule a time with me or someone on our team at 21mike.com.

Mike Ferrante
The Mike Team at LPT Realty
www.21mike.com
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