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This article is part of a Domain content series aimed at helping agents get more wins this Spring.
For Adelaide agent Kate Smith, vendor-paid advertising (VPA) has not only enabled her clients to get the best possible result for their home’s sale but it has led her and her team to revel in the expertise of renowned real estate coach James Williams.
Smith, the owner of Semaphore-based Harcourts Smith, has been training with Williams for several years after she had hit a point in her career where she wanted to reach that next level.
“There were multiple trainers in Sydney but no one in Adelaide that you could actually get in front of,” she says.
“I think when you are training with someone you need it to be on a consistent basis, and I think that face-to-face training is really important – to have someone who is prepared to hold you accountable and knows what they are talking about and do the hard yards and be there with you in the trenches.”
Williams’ teachings about VPA have proven invaluable for Smith, who says not securing VPA was a disservice to a client.
“We call it an investment because we are investing in their property and getting the best possible outcome,” she says.
“With James, he is very much about how you can best service people. And if you are prepared to service them, over-service them and then you will be rewarded with the business and it’s about doing that on a consistent basis.
“It’s not about hindering and annoying potential future vendors. It’s about making sure we can negotiate to the best of our ability and make sure that we get the best result, and the VPA aspect [it’s] translating to the client the investment you are putting in to make sure we can get the best dollars for their home.”
Smith, who has been in real estate for 20 years following a career as a professional basketballer, says she has not experienced many challenges in securing VPA for a sale and often presented vendors with case studies showcasing its merits.
Smith believes, without a doubt, that VPA results in a faster sale.
As an agent, Smith says she had a fiduciary duty to make sure she was promoting a property to the best of her ability and VPA was an integral part of the process.
“So if you believe that [VPA] is the right thing to do, that is going to come across to the client as well,” she says.
“I think in the instance of when you are up against multiple agents, you’ll probably find some agents will drop their VPA and include it in the sale. So straight away the vendor is potentially jeopardising the result of their sale.
“So it’s about explaining that to the client that going forward, we can match what they are doing but you are not going to be promoting the home the way it should be.”
Strong marketing campaigns comprising of social media, quality photo flyers, a staunch online presence via a premier package with Domain and print advertising, including newspapers, are among the components of Harcourts Smith’s VPA.
“The quality we are putting out there … we are very particular about how we present the client’s home,” Smith says.
James Williams Coaching was something all Harcourts Smith staff completed on a weekly basis.
“With real estate, you need to be training and it’s much like being a professional sports person,” Smith says.
