I've noticed salespeople can have a tendency to misunderstand advertising and vice versa.

Real estate has always been the province of salespeople (agents), but the internet has ushered in professionals with an advertising mentality, primarily in the form of venture funded dot coms.

Misunderstandings of the relationship between sales and advertising led and continues to lead both parties into making crucial mistakes.

Correct advertising influences the minds of your target audience. So when the salesperson is sitting down with a prospect, the stage has been set for the salesperson to close the deal.

In the absence of advertising (also referred to as branding, positioning, and a bevy of other trendy and traditional names), sales is much more difficult. It can be impossible in a highly competitive environment, or in a market where the prospect has compelling options in their mind from companies that have successfully advertised.

On the other hand, without sales, advertising alone must close the transaction without any human interaction, such as in e-commerce or direct mail. Or commissioned sales people become salaried clerks and order takers, who are not charged with affecting or closing sales, such as in retail.

The error of (some) advertising people is they tend to believe advertising does all the work, and salespeople aren't necessary.

The error of (some) sales people is they tend to believe they do all the work, and advertising doesn't have anything to do with the sales they make. They are even suspicious of the investment in advertising.

On the contrary, however, depending on the product and the market, both are required, in varying complimentary degrees.

In the case of real estate, more than one company has tried to disintermediate sales people, otherwise known as real estate agents, from the transaction.

Sales people are required to effectively transact sales in real estate, because the product is not commoditizeable and the transaction is inherently complex. Such a market environment requires sales people to initiate, monitor, nurture, cajole, or whatever it takes to close transactions.

Anyone who has spent any time with real estate agents has experienced their 24/7 interruptions from buyers, sellers, title companies, mortgage brokers, and others, as they attempt to smooth out numerous bumps in the roads to make deals go through.

On the other hand, real estate has traditionally been a sales dominated industry, which means there is certainly room for the consumer advertising mentality. All things being equal, companies which include smart consumer advertising in their models, without crossing the line and marginalizing sales people, will win market share when competing against companies who neglect consumer advertising and rely strictly on the traditional "real estate agents are everything" approach.

Recommended reading for traditional real estate companies: Positioning by Trout & Reis.

Recommended reading for non-traditional real estate companies: Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller.

Published: March 14, 2006

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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