the more creative the marketing, the sooner the phone rings....

I see it as creative in the area of marketing Annette Lawrence , Palm Harbor, FL 727-420-4041 . We are salespeople and we need to create the desire to buy or sell. That's about it for me. 

Marketing can be creative.

Depends, on an agent to agent basis. Creativity can be a blessing or a curse.

I consider it a financial service industry that requires a certain amount of creativity for marketing and certain amount of experience for negotiating.

The best marketing is not only creative but flexible and can be adapted to different audiences whether buyer, seller, residential or commercial.

Every transaction has two sides with different desires and vales. I think it takes a great deal of creativity to first of all hear both sides and then deftly create a process that both sides will agree fits what they want.

Here are a few examples of when it helps to be creative:

# 1 In how you position and market a listing. Do you have the seller do a lot of repairs up front or deal with them later? Do you have the sellers paint and otherwise make improvements? If so, what colors and style? What about staging and professional photography?

# 2 How do you guide buyers so that they get the best value for their monthly payment? Financing, tax rates, insurance issues, inspection issues and anticipated repairs.

# 3 Negotiations. How do you keep the transaction friendly and working toward a win-win outcome?

I would say one of the major reasons new agents fail is that they don’t see when and how they need to be creative and then have the skill to pull it off.

Out of the box thinking is required in writing contracts and in marketing properties.  An agent that can't think out of the box is not going to go far.

When it comes to marketing properties, the same approaches don't work for every property.  You have to consider the most likely buyer and find a way to market the property like a shiny lure on a fish hook that gets their attention.  This week I introduced a property to market unlike any other property I have marketed this year.  I am going about the marketing piece via direct mail in a totally different way.

On the subject of contracts, I've had to find ways to bridge gaps between what a seller and buyer want when there seems to be a stalemate in negotiations.  The most creative deal I have put together involved my buyer client who was awaiting his top secret clearance adjudication.  That was the piece missing for the job relocating him to the market.  His financing was hinging on this clearance coming through.  The process was backed up by months.  So we wrote up terms that the financing contingency/settlement date would be automatically extended by 30 days, with half of the EMD being liquidated to the seller if that happened...even if the deal closed.  It compensated the seller for taking the risk of waiting.  It got my buyer the home he absolutely loved.

If you want to be successful in this industry, creativity is a must.

And you cannot argue with Barbara Todaro the marketing queen! Ring, ring!

Marketing is always creative.  Often we have to work with lenders t be creative getting a home financed

It can be.

Interesting how those creative people in real estate get stomped down quickly by the "we have always done it this way" crowd, the recent proclamation from on high regarding coming soon advertising for example.

I was at our state convention recently, sitting next to the president of our local board, when Hoss Pratt suggested some things that were not illegal, yet unorthodox, she almost had a fit when she heard his suggestions.

Annette,

Marketing is a creative endeavor, and each home, each building differs especially in the realm we operate in...None of our clients sell those ticky tacky homes...or deck chairs for that matter.  Want to lose a listing, tell the sellers that their home is not unique and there is nothing wonderful about it.  A

Successful professonals are usually creative.

Even rearranging the deck chairs needs some type of flair.

We have to be creative in our marketing to make your home stand out. We also at times have to be creative to get the deal done, it's all about the give and take at times.

Does "disruptive" fit the definition of  "creative"?

Yes in general but intuitive when effective

The marketing, the branding, the sales, the problem solving, the negotiating is all creative; when it's not is when it typically sucks.

Absolutely - Creative Marketing is a crucial element of the business.

Yes

No idea. 

Agree with all answers.

Creativity for marketing .. real estate sales should have, the operative word there is should, but we all know it is not always the case, extensive knowledge, training and understanding of the contracts used as well as the mechanics of how the sales and escrow process flows.