A Specialist Article For Those Interested In Real Estate Development

From the desk of Colm Dillon ...

Author of 

"Residential Development Made Easy"

Hello Colm Dillon here ...

Real Estate Development Marketing!

When do you start?

As soon as you open your 'baby blue eyes' every morning!

"The Easy Part of Property Development is Spending Money" ... "Marketing Is What Gets It Back + A Bit More For Profit."

Anyone can spend money. It takes a good manager to spend it at a predetermined rate in line with a planned 'cash flow.'

So this topic is very important. People think Development Marketing is all about putting an advert in the paper, designing a brochure and following up the agents ... I don't think so folks!!

Marketing starts before you buy the land.

The location of the land impacts on marketing. Is it a desirable address? Is it in a prestigue location? What market sector of the buying public are you aiming for? Does the site have local prominence? Does the land have quality houses around it?

All of these questions impact on your marketing plan, the home designs you select, the costings and untimate sales prices.

So if marketing starts with the land selection, it logically then goes on to the
design stage. Assuming you don't want to just copy something you've seen another developer has done, you need market knowledge.

You need maket knowledge of the exact standard of product you are competing against in the market now. Remember you won't be producing yours for another 12 months or so and you'll want to improve on what is being produced today, so you have a market difference. An 'Edge.'

Marketing is no more than the presentation of your finished product to the
buying public in the most favourable light, highlighting all the benefits
your home has over the competition.

One kind of marketing style that is a failure as far as I am concerned is the one that is based on the "Numbers Comparison." I am sure you've seen the on site project boards.

Our house has 5 of these, and 6 of those ... when that guy's house only
has 4 of these and 3 of those.
 
The potential buyer will eventually want to know these things, but "Right Now" they want to know "How They Feel" about living in the place, on your Road, in this neighborhood.

Understand this: People SELL for Money ... People BUY with Emotion.

If they don't feel good in your place, it does not matter if you give then 12 of these and 20 of those ... OK?

I have always DEVELOPED and MARKETED on the basis of appealing to the human senses of See - Feel - Touch - Smell & Sound.

I transfer all those into my designs, because I am designing and building for
'Humans Beings' and human beings buy with emotions ... and if I do my work well, I'll make a profit.

So as a buyer, if a house looks good when I drive up to inspect it, I am favouable disposed to buy before I open the garden gate.

When my feet touch the pathway/ entrance foyer and see the lovely landscaping my desire to buy is enhanced.

As I enter the house and feel the ambience of the house envelop me I
respond in a positive way to buy, if I feel emotionally comfortable in the space.

When I smell all the new house smells, it translates into 'fresh' 'clean' 'new' and who doesn't want to buy fresh new things.

When I close the door of the house I enjoy hearing the sound of silence, which is conducive to rest and recuperation after a hard days work.

Think about how you respond to each house you inspect as you go about gaining market knowledge. Do you see, it does not matter how many 'bibs & bobs' the place has ... if they don't feel emotionally comfortable in the place, they won't BUY!

Can you see why this is my number one topic?

So naturally I write about it a great deal in Residential Developmemnt
Made Easy.

So now you have some idea why marketing starts as soon as you open your 'baby blue eyes' every morning ... marketing is a direct reflection of who you are and how you expresss yourself in creating beautiful livable space FOR HUMAN BEINGS.

The 'by-product' happens to be 'money.' And if you do it very well,
it happens to be 'Lots of Money.

Colm Dillon

I've spent 30 years in the development industry and have $1.2 Billion worth of developments completed.

That breaks down to about $800 million in commercial developments and $400 million in residential buildings.

While I was developing I would try to help people who wanted to learn "How To" become developers.

However I became frustrated when answering their questions, because I knew I should spend more of my "spare time" (none) giving a more complete answer.

Many questions required further elaboration and I just did not have the time. I searched the Web to get help for these people and found 'nothing'- not one usful bit of information.

So I spent a year writing, "Residential Development Made Easy." I now have students in all US & Canadian States and 83 other countries around the world.

To get it to the people who needed it, I made it into an E-book and it is now the only downloadable e-book in the world that teaches individuals how to become developers.

Book publishers are interested in sales numbers, and with the specialist nature of the development business, and the limited number of individuals who want to be developers, I cannot claim that the e-book is a commercial success, in publishing terms.

In fact, if I had to rely on a publisher to get the book to market in hard copy, it would still be sitting on my desk, instead of helping people enrich their lives.

"Residential Development Made Easy" has expanded and enriched my life beyond imagination and from the messages I receive my work seems to be helping others as well.

It is truely wonderful to be able to pass on your knowledge to others and see them grow. I would recommend the experience to anyone - do it.

With the help of the latest technology I will soon be able to mentor my readers "LIVE" from my home to their home, in Real Time, both Visual and Audio, and discuss their projects. All they need is a small Web Cam & a Mic.

Life has never been so exciting.