Q: “Denise, I have taken your advice and created an online marketing listing presentation prop on a board, have some of my online syndication samples queued up when I go to a presentation, have samples of my flyers and just listed cards, and have a print marketing board summary. I have come a long way, baby! What do you suggest I add next? It looks like I have a bit of a break over the next few weeks and have some time to devote to something new.”

A: Great job! These will serve you well. Have you considered adding a prop that highlights the professional photography that you include? That has high impact value and it is actually not that expensive or time-intensive to put it together.

Step one is to go to a store like Michael’s or a scrapbooking store and get a photography or scrapbooking album. My preference is to use black acid-free sheets and, if possible, to not have the sheets in sheet protectors. It is classier to have the photos mounted directly to the acid-free sheets and not have the reflection of the sheet protector get in the way.

If you don’t want to have this in a book, I have also seen this very effective in a box with photos mounted on individual small boards, although I believe that 8”x8” is the smallest I would go.

Step two is to choose the photography you will highlight. In terms of choosing the photography, if your license with your photographer allows for the photos to be used for marketing purposes (just make sure you check), then choose 15-20 photos that represent the different parts of the home – outside, landscaping, backyard, decks and patios, entry, living room, kitchen (use a few of the kitchens), master, extra rec areas, and some special features such as built-ins and art alcoves. If you have drone photography, I would include that as well. I would suggest using a few different homes so people understand that the impact can be for homes large and small. You can send these to Costco or a photo printer to blow them up to the size that your book will accommodate. So if you have a standard scrapbook size of 12 x 12, blowing up to 8 x 10 feels like a natural size. Or you can blow them up larger and cut them down to a square if you want to follow the ratios of the paper. In this case, I would cut them down to 11 x 11.

People are very visual!! Having a photo book, portfolio, or box will provide you with a high-impact extra edge at a listing presentation!