DEVELOPING A MARKETING PLAN

Many people don't realize there is a difference between marketing and selling. Webster's defines selling as "giving up property to another for money or other valuable consideration." Yet marketing is "the act or process of selling in a market; an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer." So, marketing includes selling, but it goes beyond that and includes other functions which take into account the buyer and the market. It includes pricing, positioning the product against its competition, merchandising, promoting or advertising, and delivering.

Most marketing courses compared the two by suggesting that selling focuses on the needs of the seller, while marketing on the needs of the buyer. Many sellers decide, " I need to get x dollars, " put up a sign, and wait. In contrast, marketing requires knowledge of the market and buyer, an effort to meet their needs, and an effective way of exposing the property to this market. It is only through this process that achieving the highest probable price can be accomplished with any degree of consistency. More specifically, the steps of properly marketing a house are:

• pricing the house competitively
• making it look its best
• exposing it to potential buyers
• negotiating the transaction
• follow through on all the details of the transaction (including financing) until closing.

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