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Winter presents a few marketing challenges for real estate agents. Despite evidence to the contrary, plenty of vendors still cling to the old ‘spring is the selling season’ mentality and want to wait until the weather improves before listing. Winter in general tends to be slower, both in terms of listings and buyer activity. Then there’s the upcoming federal election; it’s scheduled for July 2 and again, lots of vendors will want to wait until they know the outcome before making plans – especially investors keen to confirm how any changes to negative gearing might affect their portfolios. And there’s also a long weekend in mid-June and school holidays for two weeks from June 25.

Given all of this, what’s the best approach for agents to take with their marketing to keep brand awareness high and support their winter listing activity?

First, maintain brand awareness

Don’t be tempted to take a break from marketing in winter! It’s a mistake we see time and time again. The weather cools, the market slows, and lots of the industry jet off to warmer climates for a mid-year break. It’s easy to let marketing slide for a few months. But not only does that make it harder when agents eventually get back to work drumming up listings for spring, the door is left wide open to savvy competitors who flood the marketplace with their own advertising. It doesn’t matter how big your market share is; people have short attention spans and if you disappear for too long, you’re doing damage to the brand you’ve worked so hard to build.

There’s a simple solution; automate your winter marketing.

Top agencies will already have a marketing plan in place to carry them through winter and into spring, but if you haven’t planned that far ahead now’s the time to do so. Set a plan in motion for the next three to four months that accounts for letterbox drops, email blasts, social media posting and more. If you are heading off on holiday, once that plan is in place it can be delegated to a staff member so that momentum is maintained throughout winter.  This way, brand awareness stays high all year. As always, consistency is the key.

Address misconceptions about the ‘best’ time to sell

Within the industry, agents know that winter can be as good a time to sell as any. But vendors often don’t understand that, and lots of people have internalised the worst stereotypes about winter selling. So: how can you convince a vendor that listing in winter might actually be the best option for them and their property?

Make sure they understand the facts about listing in winter

• People need to buy throughout the year – the market doesn’t shut down during winter. Fewer properties on the market means less competition for homes
• Winter tends to dispense with casual, half-hearted buyers, and the serious buyers – those really keen to buy – are out in force. Using current market conditions to their advantage can ensure vendors achieve a satisfying price
• Presenting a home strategically will greatly increase its appeal to winter buyers

These points can be addressed in a few ways: through scripts that ensure your salespeople are clearly communicating the benefits of winter selling, and through marketing pieces like letterbox drops, brochures and emails that get potential vendors thinking about getting ahead of the competition and listing before spring.

How do you keep brand awareness high in winter?