Are you considering putting your home on the market? If you have decided to sell your home, you didn't come to that decision lightly. Your home is where you have spent years making memories and celebrating important milestones, so there can be a lot of emotion surrounding listing your home. Even if you are excited and ready to move on to the next stage of your life, selling your home can be an overwhelming process. As you are preparing to sell your property, there are many things you need to consider, but no decision is more important than the one you will make choosing your listing agent. Whether you are working with someone you already know or you are searching for a local expert, hiring the right realtor to sell your Hickory real estate can make or break your sale.

So how do you know who should sell your home? What qualities should you look for in a listing agent? Your agent should demonstrate many positive attributes, but one of the most defining traits should be their marketing prowess. Why do you need a marketing expert, and how can a master marketer sell your home faster? Here's everything you need to know about hiring a top-tier marketing master.

From the moment you sign a listing agreement until you reach the closing table, selling your home can be a long process, but working with the right agent can be gratifying. But before you list your home, you need to ask yourself one simple yet important question: why? Why are you selling your home, and what do you hope to get out of the process? There are many different reasons you could be listing your home. You have finally saved enough money to purchase your forever home, you could be moving cross-country to pursue a new career, or you could be leaving because you need to downsize. Regardless of your reasons, you must be laser-focused on your 'why,' especially when other aspects of the selling process become stressful or overwhelming. Knowing your 'why' will help you determine what your goals are for selling your property.

Once you have chosen your listing agent, you and your realtor will need to get together to create a marketing plan for your home. Remember your 'why' and use that as a starting point for your marketing strategy. Ideally, you are working with an agent with a proven track record for selling homes in your neighborhood. Regardless of their experience level, it is essential they have a SMART plan for selling your home. So what is a SMART plan? A SMART plan is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Every marketing master uses some version of a SMART plan to get their listings sold for top dollar.

By implementing a SMART plan for your listing, your agent can get your home sold in the timeframe you want and net a higher profit than with traditional marketing methods.

Once you and your agent have figured out a SMART goal for selling your house, it's time to get to work creating a results-driven marketing strategy for getting your home sold. In the past, marketing efforts were limited to putting up a "For Sale" sign in the front yard and hoping for the best. Sometimes, the agent might put an ad in the newspaper announcing the listing or even host an open house. Times have changed, so these methods are no longer effective.

The Internet has completely changed how agents market their listings. With over 90% of home searches beginning online, connecting to prospective buyers is more crucial than ever. While most agents implement the Internet to some degree, many have adapted their passive, ineffective marketing strategies to the Web. The online equivalent of "putting a sign in the yard and hoping for the best" is putting your listing on a home search website and doing nothing else. There are hundreds, or even thousands, of listings your home will have to compete with at any given time. Nothing kills the momentum of your listing faster than lazy, passive marketing.

If your agent is a master marketer, they won't stop there. Doing so is a disservice to your marketing efforts. Instead, your agent will incorporate other marketing methods, including creating a single-listing website for your property. This will not only increase your listing's web presence, but it will also increase the likelihood of connecting you to an enthusiastic, qualified buyer who is ready to submit an offer on your property. This is just one of the many strategies your master marketer will use to sell your home.

Much of your agent's marketing efforts happen long before your home goes on the market. Prior to listing, you and your agent will collaborate to get your home showroom-worthy. Your agent will likely recommend specific measures, including:

Once you and your agent have made your home showroom-worthy, the real work begins. Ensure your home is as welcoming as possible. The more comfortable prospective buyers feel in your home, the more likely they are to imagine themselves calling your house their brand-new home. With your agent's marketing mastery, it will only be a matter of time before a qualified buyer makes an offer on your listing.

Are you considering selling your home? When it’s time to move, you can count on Joan Everett to get your property sold. As one of Hickory’s top-producing sellers for over 30 years, Joan understands how important a targeted marketing strategy is for getting your Hickory property sold. Contact Joan today for your free home valuation.