What Gives????? - Posted by Len

Posted by Vic on January 30, 2001 at 02:21:26:

Wayne,

I agree that if you do get responses over holiday weekends that it will most likely be from motivated sources. But the fact still remains, that you will have far fewer calls during this time. That’s not to say you shouldn’t advertise at this time, just that more often than not you will have a very limited, if any, response.

Personally, I do advertise over holiday weekends sometimes. It just depends on what I’m advertising for

Vic

What Gives??? - Posted by Len

Posted by Len on January 28, 2001 at 20:15:11:

I ran my first classified ad this past weekend (Sat & Sun). Where I live it is really costly to advertise but I figured hey! If I don’t advertise I won’t get calls.

Well it’s Sunday night 2 ads later and NOT 1 CALL!!! NOT A SINGLE CALL!!!

Does this happen to everybody? I am out $74.00 for just 2 days of advertising! How can you guys afford to keep doing this especially when not a single call comes in?

I live in a very, very large city and you would think that someone would call!

My ad reads:

I BUY HOUSES
CASH!
Any area, Any Condition
No Equity?..No Problem
(555) 555-5555

So I ask this. What Gives?

longterm strategy - Posted by Carmen_FL

Posted by Carmen_FL on January 29, 2001 at 17:59:47:

I run ads for a month; it’s cheaper than running it for 4 weekends, here, and it keeps the name out. I’ve found, with all different kinds of ads, that the weekends are pretty much dead (e.g. when I advertise a home for sale, I may get 3-4 calls all weekend). Monday is slow too. But from Tuesday-Thursday, the calls flood in. Friday it slows down again. Who knows, people probably set the Sunday paper aside to look at and circle, and call during their lunch hour the other days.

On an “I Buy” ad, I would say it would take a while for people to see, recognize, realize they need your service, and then call. So if the ad’s only been out this one time, I wouldn’t be surprised not to get responses. However, if you can keep it out there, you should get calls. Personally (unscientifically), I like to go after my sellers directly, with postcards & flyers (since I create and copy my own, I can send out 350 postcards, and create/hand out 1000 flyers for $74, which is what I do when I have more time than money - pick a neighborhood and start walking - I like the door-to-door thing, but it is time consuming, or putting them on cars, although some people get mad at that). Put them everywhere you can think of that won’t fine you. Bandit signs are good too,and they tend to stay up longer than one weekend. I seem to get a better bang for my buck that way. You’ll have to figure out what works best for you.

Re: What Gives??? - Posted by Vic

Posted by Vic on January 29, 2001 at 03:11:40:

Len,

First of all, don’t get discouraged. My phone hasn’t been ringing at all either & my ad’s been in the paper for about 3 wks. I know from experience though that you have periods like this when no one calls. If you stick with it, what will happen is everybody will call at once.

I don’t know if Joe was joking or not, but I do know I have gotten some of my best calls on Mondays. Not sure of the reason, but Mondays for some reason has been a good day for me.

Also, one other thing to keep in mind is that this was the Super Bowl weekend. The motivated sellers you’re looking for are probably more interested in the game than they are in selling a house. Perhaps it’s that kind of thinking that gets them in trouble in the first place.

Just hang in there. All you need is one deal to pay for the ad for the whole year.

Vic

Re: What Gives??? - Posted by Jim C

Posted by Jim C on January 28, 2001 at 23:56:44:

I actually ran my first ad today (Sunday), too, and guess what? No calls either. But I’m not going to get discouraged. I figure if they call, they may call during the week, and if not, there’s always next Sunday.

Even if I don’t get any calls, I’ll just have to change my strategy. I’ll have to start calling people in the paper or sending out postcards. Whatever it takes, I’ll do.

Just don’t get discouraged. It may take some time, but in the end, it’ll pay off big time!

GOOD LUCK and keep at it!!!

Jim C

Re: What Gives??? - Posted by Marc in PDX

Posted by Marc in PDX on January 28, 2001 at 21:56:53:

You didn’t mention your competition in the ad space? But, just remember: Advertising is a long-term thing, not short term. (Just like real estate itself, I might add.) You might have to run your ads for WEEKS without a call. But don’t get discouraged, and keep things in perspective: ONE DEAL will make all of the ads, even at your $300 a month, pay for themselves. I repeat: ONE DEAL.

Re: What Gives??? - Posted by JoeKaiser

Posted by JoeKaiser on January 28, 2001 at 20:31:41:

The calls come in on Mondays, Len.

Joe

Re: longterm strategy - Posted by Will

Posted by Will on January 30, 2001 at 21:37:18:

Should you still run ads even if your primary focus is flipping (at least for the moment)? Will

agreed… - Posted by eric-fl

Posted by eric-fl on January 29, 2001 at 09:37:02:

typically it is not wise to advertise over any 3 day or holiday weekend. super bowl pretty much applies to that as well.

On The Other Hand . . . - Posted by WayneMD

Posted by WayneMD on January 29, 2001 at 11:16:05:

On the other hand, if you advertise over a holiday and you get a response, you know you will have a highly motivated person. My wife and I had a huge argument over whether to place an ad during the Labor Day weekend and I finally relented just to keep her from making my life miserable. She was right. We had two full price offers the next day and one of them went through. So I will not let a holiday hold me back again.