Building your reputation as a postcode area expert can be a highly rewarding way to increase your market share. For many agents however, the challenge of collecting and collating all the data required for a comparative market analysis report (CMA) can be a little daunting as it takes them away from income generating activities.
So earlier last year, Steve Osborn and business partner Jess Applebee launched the Postcode Book, an online marketing service designed to take care of all the mundane, time-consuming tasks like research, data entry and production required to create a CMA.
Twelve months down the track, Steve and Jess have been delighted with the response their marketing tool has received. They currently have over 90 regular real estate clients who order their Postcode Books on a monthly or a quarterly basis.
As Steve says, “We have worked with most of the major networks in Australia as well as many smaller boutique agencies or individual agents. Demand for the Postcode Book is booming and, as a result, we have grown from 3 staff to 10 staff in just one year.”
The Postcode Book is more than just a template CMA. It is a high quality, unique marketing tool that is completely customised with the agent’s brand and identity. Importantly, it also contains a list of settled properties made in the postcode area for the previous quarter including an image of the property and a detailed statistical breakdown on the sales results.
“Ordering a Postcode Book online is a fast and easy process,” explains Steve. “Agents simply select their postcode and upload their profile details. Our team then works with the agent to prepare a customised report containing the settled properties. A proof turnaround usually takes less than a week.
An additional feature of the Postcode Book that has been popular is the ability for agents to customise the back page with a choice of options. This includes the option to recover the full cost of producing the Postcode Book by selling up to 6 advertising spaces to local businesses. For some agents, this has proved to be beneficial in building relationships within the local business community, as well as partially or wholly recovering the cost of production.
The Postcode Book has received considerable praise from agents around the country and New Zealand as a result of marketing in the Hot Topics magazine and support from Lee Woodward from Real Estate Academy as he has travelled around Australia and New Zealand conducting The Complete Salesperson Course.
As Lee says, “The Postcode Book is a brilliant solution to one of real estate’s biggest marketing challenges. It provides an easy and professional way for agents to build their profile as a postcode area expert while allowing agents to do what they do best - prospect, list and sell.”
For further information on The Postcode Book, call Steve on 1300 590 494 or visit www.postcodebook.com.au