Million Dollar Principle #19 – Overpay for the Best-Positioned Marketing Advertisements
There are two kinds of marketing decisions:
Cheap and invisible, or premium and impossible to miss.
You get what you pay for — and in marketing, visibility is everything.
Never pay to be second, third, or fourth.
Skip the middle placements and save your money for top billing.
- The #1 position on Google
- The first billboard out of town
- The radio ad during the most popular morning drive segment
- The headline sponsorship at the most talked-about community event
That’s where the leverage lives.
Let me give you an example.
There’s a billboard on the way into Wenatchee — one that literally every single car has to drive by.
Les Schwab, a trusted Northwest tire company, had that location locked down for 26 years.
In 2022, when the company was sold to a California private equity group, my rep called me.
“This billboard is finally available,” he said.
I told him, “I’ll take it.”
He asked, “Don’t you want to know the price?”
I said, “No. That billboard is worth more than all the others combined.”
It cost 20% more than a regular billboard.
That 20% premium?
It changed my visibility in the market overnight.
Since then, I haven’t been able to walk through Wenatchee unnoticed.
The same logic applies to Zillow Premier Agent.
You can nickel-and-dime your way in at 5% voice share and hope for a few scraps —
or you can go in at 100% and dominate.
The agents who go all in?
They don’t blend in.
They crush it.
Matt Wagner, my radio ad strategist, taught me the power of endorsements during primetime.
He negotiates directly with radio stations to get their top talent to endorse your business during their most listened-to shows.
One endorsement from a trusted host during a morning drive is worth more than thousands of cheap, late-night airings.
Don’t fall for frequency.
It’s not about how many times your ad runs — it’s about when and where.
The same principle applies to sponsorships.
If someone asks you to support an event, only say yes if you can be the headline sponsor.
That’s how you:
- Earn the red carpet treatment
- Get the mic
- Get your name announced
- Receive real gratitude
- Get personally thanked
Otherwise, you’re just another logo buried at the bottom of the t-shirt, projecting smallness instead of strength.
Stop spreading your dollars across low-impact ads and placements. Pick your moments. Choose the best stage.
- One billboard
- One radio spot
- One headline sponsorship
That’s all it takes — when it’s the right one.
Nick McLean
The Reside Platform
P.S. Did you know I wrote a book?
Grab your copy of Million Dollar Agent: The Proven Playbook to Build a Real Estate Empire and learn my secrets.
