By Melanie Robitaille Sr. Staff Writer and Graphic Designer
Hockey player turned Sales Representative, Hunter Waugh, has only been in the real estate game for five short months. He’s already earned close to what the average person makes in a year with the help of EXIT’s Ad Center, and he can’t believe more new agents aren’t doing the same.
“I just wanted EXIT Ad Center (EAC) for good, early brand awareness and exposure. That was the goal for the first three months; invest a bit of money and a bit of time and have people see me, even if it was just passively,” he said as he looked up his past ad’s analytics on the convenient EAC dashboard. His savvy he says, he owes to the webinar hosted by Samantha Morris, EXIT’s VP of Digital Marketing and Annette Anthony, EXIT’s VP of Technology Engagement.
Now up to 10 listings in five months, a goal he set for himself to achieve before 2021 year end, Hunter is very happy with his results saying, “I know that half of it wouldn’t have come without these ads just because of exposure. I can click on any number of past ads that I’ve used, and they all have 15,000, 20,000, or 30,000 views and clicks on return.”
Hunter advertises everything from the listing and open house to video walk throughs on principle, even though he realizes most homes will likely sell in a week. Why? Because his most recent Facebook ad garnered him 45 leads in five days.
“My phone has been ringing off the hook. Sometimes it’s people browsing, sometimes it’s buyers working with agents already, but then other times it’s potential new buyers, and as we all know, buyers often turn into sellers, and it’s all kept here nicely in a database that I can go into.”
His success also comes as a result of the support of his franchisees and fellow staff at EXIT Realty Lake Superior, Brokerage, one of the most well-respected real estate firms in the area. EXIT is known as a reputable brand, which he builds upon with the help of his graphically inclined sister, in his own posts, sticking to colors, fonts, and a template style to create vital recognition and consistency that he expands into other marketing opportunities like his postcard campaign.
“It builds and builds and builds,” he explained, reminding agents that promotion isn’t something that happens overnight, a factor he noticed in the difference between how Google ads perform compared to those on Facebook. “I started directing people to my website, then to filling out an online form. When I got my first cold lead that turned into a listing, it was massive because inventory is so low here right now. I put out an ad offering free home evaluations, checking the percentage of house pricing increases over the last year. Someone filled out the form, I did the evaluation and that turned into a $300,000 listing. That little $49 investment paid for an entire year’s worth of using EXIT Ad Center. It’s just so easy and passive, but the return is huge.”
After what was only meant to be a short stint in the country, Hunter fell in love with Canada and the people of the city that locals call The Soo. Among them, his fiancé and the Trembinski family at his office. He’s carving out a name for himself across Sault Ste. Marie, ON with his uniquely New Zealand flare, and is now known in the area as, “Your mate in real estate” thanks to his efforts.
Have you been taking advantage of EXIT Ad Center? This platform is included as an EXIT Realty member benefit. EXIT Associates can login to the Resource Center to create a campaign in minutes.
