How To Run An Estate Sale Business Yourself: Top Tips for Driving Traffic
When starting an estate sale business, it can be difficult to pull in the initial traffic to drive revenue. Much like any other business in the estate sale industry, you must build a reputation and make long-lasting connections. To ensure your estate sale succeeds you must put in extra work to earn the trust of potential clients.
As a great low-investment business, estate sale management can bring you a sense of empowerment and stability while also increasing your annual income. Whether you choose to hold an estate sale yourself or hire professional estate sale companies, each approach has its benefits. A DIY estate sale gives you more control and flexibility during the process and allows you to keep all the profits. However, it requires substantial time and effort and may be emotionally draining, especially if the items belonged to a deceased loved one. On the other hand, estate sale companies bring ease, efficiency, and specialized market knowledge, potentially maximizing profits and reducing the stress involved.
But, how do you bring in more traffic to your estate sale? How do you standout from the competition? Blue Moon Estate Sales has put together a list of some helpful tips and tricks to elevate your sales tactics.
Understanding Estate Sales
Estate sales are a unique and effective way to liquidate a large volume of personal belongings, often involving a wide range of household items. Unlike garage sales, which typically feature a smaller selection of second-hand items, estate sales can include everything from everyday household goods to valuable antiques and artwork. This makes them a more comprehensive and potentially lucrative option for those looking to sell a significant amount of personal property.
What Is an Estate Sale?
An estate sale is a method of selling off a family or individual’s belongings, usually conducted over a few days. These sales often occur when someone is looking to liquidate a large number of items, such as after a loved one has passed away or when downsizing for a move. Estate sales can feature a wide variety of items, including furniture, kitchenware, collectibles, and high-ticket items like antiques and artwork. This sets them apart from garage sales, which typically involve fewer items and focus on offloading second-hand bargains.
Why Do People Have Estate Sales?
There are several reasons why people might choose to hold an estate sale. One of the most common reasons is the need to liquidate personal assets after the death of a loved one. Estate sales can also be a practical solution for those looking to declutter before a move, make some extra money, or help elderly parents relocate. Additionally, many people use estate sales as an opportunity to downsize and simplify their lives, or to raise funds for a specific purpose. Whatever the reason, estate sales offer a structured and efficient way to sell a large volume of items.
Preparing for Your Estate Sale
Proper preparation is key to ensuring a successful estate sale. One of the first and most important steps is to take a thorough inventory of the items you plan to sell. This will help you stay organized and ensure that nothing is overlooked.
Take Inventory of the Items You Want To Sell
Taking inventory of the items you want to sell is a crucial step in preparing for your estate sale. Start by deciding what you want to keep, sell, or simply get rid of. Go through the house from top to bottom, making a detailed list of all the items you plan to include in the sale. Be sure to include as much detail as possible on your price tags, as this will help potential buyers understand the value of each item.
For high-value items, consider getting a professional appraisal to ensure you’re pricing them correctly. Categorize items into groups such as furniture, kitchenware, artwork, and collectibles. This will make it easier to organize and display them during the sale. A comprehensive inventory not only helps you keep track of all items for sale but is also crucial for pricing and organization during the sale.
By taking the time to properly prepare and inventory your items, you’ll be well on your way to a successful estate sale.
How To Run A Successful Estate Sale Company
At Blue Moon Estates, we want our franchise partners to learn, grow, and experience a large ROI. Understanding the estate sale process is crucial, as it involves careful planning and management of numerous tasks. To do so, you must know how to market yourself and the property you’ve been hired to represent. Hiring a professional estate sale service can significantly help in marketing and organizing the estate sale, ensuring a higher ROI. By taking advantage of untapped marketing strategies, you’ll be able to stand out and increase revenue at your next estate sale.
Advanced Item Research
When customers attend an estate sale, they aren’t just looking for a bargain, but an experience. By researching larger or older estate sale items before an estate sale begins, you’re able to bring that knowledge to the forefront. Identifying valuable items can attract more buyers, as they are often drawn to the potential for increased profits and the excitement of bidding wars. Checking thrift stores can also help gauge the value of items and leave room for negotiation in the sale price.
One of your jobs as an estate sale franchisee is to become a storyteller. Familiarize yourself with what you’re selling and tell the stories of each object to your customers. In doing so, you’ll become more personable and approachable, not to mention more likely to make a larger sale.
Create Unique Business Cards
Become a memorable face in the crowd when you elevate your business standards with unique and customized business cards. It's no longer enough to provide a business card with your name and phone number on the back—drive your business by standing out.
Start a conversation with your business card. Whether you choose a unique material such as wood, metal, or plastic, or you mold it into the shape of your logo, it's important to keep your business in the back of your customer's mind. Other ways your business card can stand out include:
3D elements
Imprinted logos
Functional business cards
Unique shapes
Unconventional materials
Professional Estate Sale Promoting to Attract More Potential Buyers
Spread the word about your estate sale and bring forth more business than ever before. Generating estate sale leads is essential for attracting potential clients and ensuring a successful event. We’ve compiled a list of helpful tips to implement the next time you’re hired to host an estate sale. Most estate sales typically last for two to three days and require careful planning and logistics to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Effective estate sale promoting is crucial to attract a larger crowd and increase the chances of selling more items. Utilize traditional methods like signs, flyers, and newspaper ads, as well as online strategies such as posting on estate sale websites, community forums, classified sites, and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Additionally, using Facebook Marketplace can help in promoting the estate sale and selling unsold items. It is also a great platform for checking prices and buying and selling various items, including home decor, artwork, furniture, antiques, vintage, and collectibles.
Use Proper Signage
Surprisingly, a lot of estate sale shoppers stop by just because they saw some signage while driving. Take the time to post large, legible signs on major roadways and proceed to line the route with signs, leading them directly to your estate sale.
Take things to the next level by posting fliers on bulletin boards at supermarkets, local shops and gas stations.
Get Involved in the Community
Community takes care of community. By getting involved in your local community in some way—board meetings, swap meets, social groups, mom-to-mom sales—you’ll gain valuable insights into local estate sales and meet new people who can help spread the word. You never know, they’ll likely show up at your estate sale to show support and bring a group of friends with them.
Offer Food & Beverage
Elevate the game of estate sales by providing beverages and light snacks for customers to enjoy. Whether you choose to bake cookies and buy a veggie tray or simply offer bottled waters and various cheeses, your customers will be delighted with the treatment and more likely to stay longer. Lingering estate sale customers allow more opportunity to sell them on the dresser they've been eyeing.
Keep in mind the placement—you don't want items ruined due to spillage or crumbs.
Use a Unique Attraction
If you're feeling adventurous, you can go big with your memorable moment. Just as some real estate agents attract buyers to a home with over-the-top attractions, the same can be done for estate sales. Inflatable air dancers and large balloons create quick buzz around the neighborhood and among passersby.
Blue Moon Estate Sales Does It Best
When you franchise with Blue Moon Estate Sales, you’re setting yourself up for an abundance of opportunities. Many estate sale companies operate within the industry, often run by licensed professionals such as appraisers, brokers, or auctioneers. Our franchisees collaborate with one another to increase their individual revenue and the collective revenue of all. By leveraging the expertise of professional estate sale companies, you gain specialized market knowledge and access to a large pool of potential buyers, ultimately maximizing your profits. While there is a growing trend of individuals managing their own estate sale, especially among older adults looking to downsize or embrace a minimalist lifestyle, joining the Blue Moon Estate Sales franchise community offers unparalleled support and resources. Learn how to drive traffic to your business, interact with like-minded people, and increase your revenue.
Advertise and Drive Traffic to Your Next Estate Sale
Be unique, drive traffic to your estate sale, and increase your profit. Featuring your estate sale online can help gather potential buyers and foster a loyal customer base. Holding a successful estate sale is crucial, and Blue Moon Estate Sales can help you achieve that. Our community of franchisees, along with our experts, are all ready to guide you to successful business practices. Visit our previous blog to learn about starting an estate sale business and everything you should know. Using price tags is essential to ensure organized displays and facilitate inventory checks.