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I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, “It’s better to give than to receive.” Well, believe it or not, that turn of phrase may not apply to the use of yard signs for selling homes. When placing a sign in the yard, that sign has a dual purpose: it is meant to give information and also to receive (leads, that is).

With the real estate market hopping these days, I’m seeing lots and lots of yard sounds all around town. But, can I actually read them?

For Sale Signs – Showstopper or Deal Killer?

A For Sale sign needs to be a showstopper, or it needs to cause a driver to want to slow his car just a little bit.

If you want to kill it in real estate this season, you may need to do quick evaluation of the quality of your signs. Is your sign a showstopper or does your signage need improvement? Are your signs bringing in the homebuyers? Are they cementing your brand throughout the neighborhood?

How’s My Real Estate Signage? Take this Quiz

Take this quick 3-question quiz to evaluate whether your signage bites… and follow directions on how to fix it.

• Standing 30 feet from the sign, can you read your name and phone number? If your answer is no, then you need to make a change. Every yard sign needs to seen from far away. Fonts need to be large and created in colors that are easy to read from a distance. Don’t select colors that blend with the surrounding environment. For example, avoid greens because they are usually a predominant color in a home’s front yard.

• Do your name, logo, and phone number contain handwriting or serif fonts? A serif font is a typeface that includes a slight projection at the end of a letter. Times New Roman and Courier are serif fonts. Examples of sans serif fonts would be Helvetica or Arial.Believe it or not, those little tails can be hard on the eyes. Don’t get me wrong, there’s many a beautiful logo that includes a serif or handwriting font. However, for passersby who are moving at a high rate of speed, stick with sans serif fonts because they are generally easier to read.

• Does your sign capture homebuyer information? Gone are the days when a sign in the yard prompts the phone to ring off the hook. With the right systems, you can actually capture the phone numbers of those individuals who are interested in your listing. Text response systems and toll-free automated response platforms will actually capture the phone numbers of prospective buyers. Forget about a flyer box. When you use systems like these, not only do you deliver the information in seconds, but you also capture a prospect’s phone number.

If you want your signs to bring in the business this season, you may need to modify them a little bit. The key is to make it simple for prospective buyers to see the sign, make a call (or text), and quickly obtain the information they want. In this way, the yard sign will give, and it will also receive.