How can quality real estate signs can make a major difference?
Before we get started on design strategies that will help maximize lead generation, you need to understand the basics of what a good real estate signs should do. A good real estate should:
- Attract buyer leads to a particular listing
- Attract buyer leads to your brand
- Attract seller leads to your brand
- Help build your sphere of influence
That’s it. If you’re considering any design changes on your signage, ask yourself if it will help you with any of these four goals before moving forward.
Have a Clear Message
To further these goals, it’s important to have a clear message. Like any advertisement, a good real estate sign has one purpose: to convey a message to your audience. You can use design in order to make sure you’re sending the right message. Here’s how:
For most signs, you will have 4 basic messages:
- Your name
- Your phone number
- Company name or logo
- Descriptive text e.g. “For Sale” “Open House” etc.
While they are all equally important, if you have the option, I think your name should stand out the most. After all, active home shoppers will slow down for any real estate sign, but casual buyer leads or seller leads probably won’t. If you could only make them remember one thing, wouldn’t it be your name?
Use the Right Real Estate Signs for the Job
Okay. Now that you have a better idea of how to send the right message with your real estate signs, let’s quickly go over the different types of signs on the market and strategy for each one.
For Sale Signs
For sale signs act not only as an advertisement for your listing, but also an advertisement for your services. Generally speaking, you want to make sure your sign is visible and readable from a distance, and that your name stands out.
If you have a choice, the classic colonial post sign with riders is usually your best option. They are sturdy, have great height, and can be easily changed with sign riders.
Open House Signs
Believe it or not, there is a lot to cover with open house signage, so if you want an in-depth guide, check out my article on Open House Signs. For today, we’ll just go over the basics.
Like all real estate signs, the goal of an open house sign it to get buyer leads in to see your listing, attract future buyer leads and seller leads to your brand, and increase your sphere of influence. To do this well, you need to go big or go home. Here’s my recommended strategy for placing open house signs:
Use a Feather Flag as Your Main Open House Sign
Feather flags have two huge advantages over other styles of real estate signs:
- Height. Feather flags are often 6-9 feet tall so can be seen from much farther away than most signs.
- They move. Feather flags will flutter in the breeze, making them even more noticeable. Perfect.
How to Design an Open House Feather Flag
Your main “for sale” sign should have your name highlighted, so don’t worry so much about having it prominent on your open house feather flag. Instead, make “Open House” as large as you possibly can. We’ll tell you more below on where to buy feather flags and other types of real estate yard signs.
How Many Feather Flags Should You Buy?
If you’re just starting out on your own and are confident in your branding, I would order at least twice as many feather flags than the number of listings you expect to have. For example, if you have three agents working for you and expect them each to have two or three listings at a time, I would order at least 18 feather flags. This way, even if your agents get twice as many listings or you hire three more people, you will have enough for them all to hold open houses on the same day. You should also get a volume discount, so the more you order the lower the unit price.
The Weather…
Most modern real estate signs are made of materials that should hold up to pretty much any weather. That said, if you work in a sunny area of Chicago, aluminum might be your best bet. Plastic signs can fade and melt in very hot weather. They can also be damaged due to the cold Chicago winters.
Bottom Line
While branding is a big part of making your for sale signs and open house signs look great, you also need to use the right real estate signs for the job. In my opinion, that means using a classic colonial post yard sign for your for sale sign and a feather flag and directional signs for your open house signs.
Visit our Real Estate Signs Catalog to learn more about product options!
