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"People assume you can't be shy and be on television. Diane Sawyer, journalist and anchor of ABC's "World News" |
  TV SHOWINGS Star Power
Promote properties on your own TV show, seriously! |
2. Choose: Broadcast or Cable? There's a big difference in audiences between broadcasting and community access cable. "We wanted to be on a local network affiliate. Cable companies have a designated channel available [for you], and the viewership won't be as big. Our potential viewership is 840,000 [with local ABC 7]."
3. Make a Pilot A pilot show helps you win over a local television station and show other real estate sales associates how listings are featured. Using high-definition video, Secondo produced two segments. "First, we did a big Showcase Home with Monica touring it. In the second, we did little Spotlight Home vignettes."
"We (created) the pilot in less than three weeks," says Secondo, "and then showed (it to) ABC 7." Secondo wouldn't reveal what the station charges for her half-hour show, but says every situation is different anyway. "Be prepared to buy the time," she says. |
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 eah Secondo leads a double life—as a full-time sales associate with Michael Saunders & Co. in Bradenton and as executive producer of a weekly real estate television show. "On listing appointments," says Secondo, "I tell [sellers] I have this different option to highlight [their] home, and they say, 'Wow! You need to tell me more." But, says Secondo, the success of her television show (run separately from her real estate business and in partnership with Monica Yadav) is also tied to results that it brings other sales associates who pay to feature their listings on the show. "Linda Page [with Prudential Palms Realty in Sarasota] says the Monday after one of her properties was featured, she had over 700 hits on her website," says Secondo. "The Showcase of Homes," which is not affiliated with Michael Saunders & Co., features up to 15 properties and airs on Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. and Sundays at noon. |
Says Secondo, doing even a half- hour television show is not for the faint of heart. To do it right, she says, budget about $10,000 to build the pilot show and consider adding a supporting website (hers is www.theshowcaseofhomes.com).
Because the show, for her, is really about building a business that's separate from, but related to her real estate career, Secondo features only a few of her listings on it. However, a real estate show can be used primarily as a marketing vehicle should you choose to do so. Here's how. Even though Secondo is a 27-year veteran TV sportscaster, she leaves the on-air role to Yadav and focuses her time on the show's management. "Monica brings familiarity for the viewer because she's a local established broadcast journalist," says Secondo. Your television pro will also help you find a videographer with editing know-how (at $500 to $1,000 a day).
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4. Sell to Other Agents Where real estate professionals congregate, such as at large property-opening events and office meetings, Secondo brings a television monitor and pricing information. To appeal to a variety of budgets, she offers options ranging from $1,000 for a five-minute Showcase Home to $52.50 for a 30-second Spotlight Home (still photos provided by the agent). Real estate professionals receive a video file that they can use online. Secondo, who says that she does the show to promote listings and make a profit, says, "If you're doing it right, it's going to take off."
HERE'S HOW: 1. Partner with a local TV pro. 2. Make a pilot show. 3. Buy broadcast time. 4. Sell segments to other agents. |
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The Showcase of Homes featured in September 2011 Florida Realtor Magazine |
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