Hire Santa ... and Other Seasonal Tips

Richard Elkman, MIRM, president of Group Two Advertising, a real estate marketing and advertising firm with offices in Philadelphia and Delray Beach, Fla., offers these recommendations to help builders overcome the holiday home buying malaise:

• Hire a Santa for a day or weekend and offer instant photographs of him with visiting children. Use a digital camera and encourage parents to enter the sales office to view the proofs and wait for printouts.
• Not building for a family market? Then promote a pet photo shoot with Santa. Ask for an optional donation to the local Humane Society.
• Display a "gift tree" in one of your model homes. Work with a local charity and use paper ornaments to provide names, ages and clothing sizes of disadvantaged children or families, along with their dearest Christmas wishes. Visitors take an ornament, fulfill the wish and return the wrapped package to your model for distribution.
• Enlist prospects to help feed the homeless during the holidays. Visitors who donate canned goods when touring your model can be entered into a prize drawing.