Having a good understanding of the different types of sales and marketing teams is key to the success of any project. Having an agent who brings value and buyers to your project is important. They have many strategies to do this including:
- Established networks and database
- Channel Markets. Access to prequalified buyers locally, interstate and overseas. Note that the cost of commissions under channel marketing are substantially higher.
- Similar projects that give you access to buyers within your target market.
There are a few ways you can put together your marketing team.
- Non-exclusive agency/Multiple listing. This method involves engaging multiple real estate agents, providing them with the marketing collateral and allowing them to independently market your project. This option works well for small house and townhouse projects where you are not selling a high volume of stock. It’s important to review the value of the databases that each of the agents brings under this arrangement. The main advantage of this option is that if you have one agent who does not perform, it won’t adversely impact your project.
- Exclusive Agency. Having an exclusive agency means you’re signing one agency to market and sell your project for a set period of time. Under this arrangement, this agent receives a commission regardless of whether they are the effective cause of the sale.
- Sole Agency. This is simpler to an exclusive agency except for the fact that if the agent is not the effective cause of the sale, they do not receive a commission.
- White label. An option that has become more popular by developers in recent times is to bring in an agency or agent who are happy to be white labelled under the developer.
This means that the sales agent falls under the developer’s brand and acts almost like an internal sales and marketing team to the developer. The main advantage of selecting this option is that the developer is able to maintain more control over the process and is able to utilize their own brand or grow their own brand throughout the project.
Matt Grbcic, Founder MG Group
