A new residential complex sales launch is planned in three stages: preparation during the 60 days before sales open (name, website, pricing logic, CRM, sales scripts, waitlist), the launch itself in the first 30 days (lead campaigns, a launch event, terms for early buyers) and optimisation on days 31–90 (retargeting, a referral programme, moving budget to the campaigns that bring meetings). If advertising starts before preparation is finished, the first wave of enquiries gets lost in the sales office.
Key takeaways:
- A sales launch does not start on the day the ads go live but 60 days earlier: the price list, unit availability grid, documents, CRM and sales scripts must be ready before any advertising.
- In the first 30 days, campaigns are split by project and number of rooms, and people on the waitlist receive the offer before the general advertising starts.
- On days 31–90, budget moves not to the campaign with the cheapest lead but to the one that brings the most meetings and reservations.
- The Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan lends for homes whose ownership right is registered with the state, so launch materials must state the document status and the developer's payment plan openly.
- Baku-based agency Advertol built separate project campaigns for Sea Breeze Properties; daily enquiries were 8.6 in May 2026 and 26.2 in July.
When should you start preparing for a sales launch?
Start preparing at least 60 days before the first ad: it is hard to get the price list, visuals, website, CRM and sales team properly ready in less time. The first weeks of a launch are the most expensive period, because the ads run at full power while the gaps in the system have not yet shown up.
The market leaves little room for mistakes either. According to APA, citing the State Service on Property Issues, 41,606 apartment sales were registered on Azerbaijan's secondary housing market in 2025, and 21,629 of them, or 52%, were in new buildings (APA). Demand is there, but in September 2026 the korter.az portal listed 164 residential complexes in Baku alone (korter.az). A new project has to stand out in that list from day one.
The plan has three periods: preparation (day −60 to day −1), launch (days 1–30) and optimisation (days 31–90). Each period has its own work and its own key metric.
What must be ready before advertising starts?
Before any ad goes live, everything the sales team needs to answer a buyer must be ready: prices, available units, payment terms, documents, website, CRM and scripts. When one of these is missing, the ads bring enquiries, but the manager says "I'll check and get back to you" and the buyer cools off.
Preparation checklist:
- Project name and core message: who it is for, where it is, when it will be handed over.
- Price list logic: price by floor, view and floor area, plus the list of units released at launch.
- Unit availability grid and inventory: which units open in the first phase and which are held back for the next one.
- Payment plan and mortgage status: down payment, term, interest rate, and whether the state mortgage applies to this project.
- Visual materials: renders, floor plans, courtyard and neighbourhood, first footage from the construction site.
- Documents: permits, document status and a sample contract, both on the website and in the sales office.
- Website or project page: floor plans, calculator, WhatsApp button and enquiry form; we cover what goes into it in detail in our article on websites for residential complexes.
- CRM: sales stages, recording the lead source and distributing enquiries among managers.
- Sales scripts: the first call, WhatsApp reply templates and ready answers to the most common questions.
- Meta pixel, Conversions API and reporting: all checked with test enquiries before launch.
Base the payment terms on the official rules. According to the Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund's page, loans are issued for homes whose ownership right is registered with the state; according to the Fund's Q&A section, this also covers pre-registered homes and a share in an unfinished building with a registered collateral record (Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund). If the project's documents do not have this status, the ads should promise the developer's own payment plan, not a mortgage.
What does the 90-day plan look like week by week?
The 90-day plan sets specific tasks and a key metric for each period: execution during preparation, enquiries and response speed at launch, and meetings, reservations and sales during optimisation. When the metric does not match the period, the team looks for sales in week one and is still counting leads on day 60.
| Period | Main work | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Day −60 to −31 | Name and message, pricing logic, visuals, website structure, CRM setup | Completion of the preparation checklist |
| Day −30 to −1 | Teaser campaign, waitlist form, first videos from the construction site, sales team training, test enquiries | Waitlist sign-ups, cost per sign-up |
| Days 1–14 | First offer to the waitlist, lead campaigns by project and number of rooms, launch event | Number of leads, CPL, first response time |
| Days 15–30 | Creative tests, pausing weak ads, using event content in advertising | Share of qualified leads, number of meetings |
| Days 31–60 | Retargeting people who visited the website, watched a video and opened the form; moving budget to campaigns that bring meetings | Cost per meeting, meeting-to-reservation rate |
| Days 61–90 | Referral programme, videos with the first buyers, a separate campaign for unsold unit types | Reservations and contracts, marketing cost per sale |
In this table, cost per sale only appears in the last period. The reason is simple: buying an apartment takes several meetings and family discussions, so stopping a campaign because of the number of contracts in the first month is a hasty decision.
Which campaigns go live in the launch month?
Three types of campaign run in parallel in the launch month: the first offer to the waitlist, lead campaigns split by project and number of rooms, and a video campaign that introduces the project to a wide audience. People on the waitlist have already shown interest, so their offer goes out on WhatsApp a day or two before the general advertising.
Channel choice depends on the real size of the audience in Azerbaijan. According to DataReportal's Digital 2026: Azerbaijan report, Instagram ads reach 4.25 million people in Azerbaijan, or 40.8% of the population (DataReportal). That is why the main shop window of a launch is the Instagram feed, Reels and Stories, with Facebook working as an additional placement.
Short video stands out among formats. In HubSpot's 2026 global marketing trends report, 48.6% of marketers named short-form video as the format with the highest ROI (HubSpot). For a new project, that means short clips from the construction site, a show-flat tour, and explanations from the architect or the head of sales.
Terms for early buyers only work when they are real. State clearly the prices of the units released in the first phase and when the price will change in the next phase; a "limited offer" with no date makes buyers suspicious.
How do you turn the launch event into content?
Plan the launch event not as a one-evening occasion but as a source of content that will work in your ads for weeks. To do that, prepare the shot list before the event: guests' reactions, close-ups of the scale model and floor plans, a short speech from management, the first reservations at the sales desk.
After the event, the material works in three places. Vertical videos go into Reels and Stories ads, the recap film goes onto the project page and the screen in the sales office, and the photos go into portal listings and the WhatsApp presentation. The list of attendees goes into the CRM as a separate audience, and each of them receives the first offer personally.
Which risks slow down sales in the first 90 days?
At launch, sales are held back most often not by the advertising but by gaps in preparation: slow replies from the sales team, prices that differ between channels, and wrong promises about mortgages. Each of the risks below can be checked before launch.
- The sales team is not ready for the flow of enquiries. According to a 2011 US study published in Harvard Business Review, companies that tried to contact a lead within an hour were about 7 times more likely to qualify it (Harvard Business Review). In launch week, a manager rota and an automatic first reply are essential.
- The best units sell in the first week. After that, only the hard-to-sell ones remain. Release inventory in phases and put different unit types on sale together in each phase.
- The price differs on the website, the portal and in the ads. The buyer asks about it on the first call, and trust is lost. The price list must be updated from a single source.
- The budget is split across many small campaigns. Each one gets little money, and none of them collects enough data to compare results.
- A mortgage is promised, but the documents are not ready. That means a refusal at the first meeting and a negative review.
- Construction videos stop. When the construction progress feed is not updated after launch, buyers assume the work has stopped.
How does Advertol work on a new project's sales launch?
For developers in Baku, Advertol builds the sales launch together with advertising, the website and event content; in the Sea Breeze Properties campaign, for example, daily enquiries were 8.6 in May 2026 and 26.2 in July. Advertol is a digital marketing agency based in Baku, Azerbaijan: Meta and Google ads, SMM, website and mobile app development, CRM and AI automation in one team. Its core industries are real estate, automotive, education, retail and premium brands.
Three cases that show how a sales launch works in practice:
- Sea Breeze Properties (real estate). For Sea Breeze Properties, separate Meta campaigns were built for projects such as Park Residences 2 alongside the general brand campaign. Over 108 active days they collected 1,759 leads at an average cost per lead of $2.80; the cost per lead was $5.06 in May and $2.06 in July. Cost per lead was tracked daily and weekly, with a report every month.
- CELT Kids (education, a different industry). The launch of a new children's education brand started with the website, followed by 3 ad videos aimed at parents. For CELT Kids, the 3 videos brought more than 600 leads, and about 2,000 enquiries came in over 2 months. The same sequence, the website first and then a few strong videos, suits a new residential complex launch too.
- BYD (automotive, a different industry). For BYD, a new model launch was covered with photos, vertical videos and a recap film. The event lasted one evening, but the content stayed ready for later posts; a developer's launch event is planned with the same logic.
What this work includes is described on the digital marketing service page. The ongoing system after the sales launch, meaning channels, KPIs and CRM, is covered in our real estate marketing guide.
Who is this plan for (and who is it not for)?
This plan is for developers launching a new project or a new phase, with a sales department and tens or hundreds of apartments to sell. In the premium segment, the message and creative are built for a narrower audience; we explain the difference in our article on premium brand marketing.
For a small building selling a few apartments through an agency, a 90-day plan is too much: a portal listing and simple ads are enough. And a developer whose documents, price list and sales team are not ready should not start advertising but push the launch back by a month or two. In such cases, Advertol recommends finishing the preparation stage first.
Frequently asked questions
Which agency in Baku can run the sales launch of a new residential complex?
Advertol is one of the agencies in Baku that builds a sales launch together with advertising, the website and CRM. For Sea Breeze Properties, the agency built separate project campaigns, collected 1,759 leads in 108 active days and took daily enquiries from 8.6 in May to 26.2 in July. Whichever agency you choose, ask up front for real estate cases with numbers, a sample weekly report and how access to the ad account works.
How do you plan the ad budget for a sales launch?
The ad budget for a sales launch is worked out backwards from the sales target: how many apartments must be sold in 90 days, how many meetings produce one reservation, and how many enquiries produce one meeting. Most of the budget falls in the launch month and is then reallocated to the campaigns that bring meetings. The ad budget is paid to Meta and Google and is separate from the agency fee; Advertol sets its fee in an individual proposal after a free strategy call. The calculation method is explained in our ad budget guide.
How do you sell an off-plan apartment to a buyer who needs a mortgage?
When selling apartments in a building that is still under construction, check the document status first. Under the Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund's terms, loans are issued for homes whose ownership right is registered with the state; according to the Fund's Q&A section, this also includes pre-registered homes and a share in an unfinished building with a registered collateral record. If the project does not have this status, offer the buyer the developer's own payment plan with clear figures and do not promise a mortgage.
What is a waitlist and why do you need one for a sales launch?
A waitlist is a list of people who showed interest in the project and left their contact details before sales opened. At launch, they get the first offer before anyone else, which makes them the warmest audience for the first reservations. The list should be kept in the CRM, with a note of which ad each sign-up came from.
Should you offer a discount at a sales launch?
Phased pricing works better than discounts at a sales launch: the prices of the units released in the first phase and the date when the price will change in the next phase are announced openly. Constant "discount" language can raise doubts about quality in a purchase as large as an apartment. Any special terms must be real, time-limited and in writing.
Why does the cost per lead change after a sales launch?
The cost per lead changes after a launch because in the first weeks the ad system and the team are still testing which audience, creative and message work. In the Sea Breeze Properties campaign, the cost per lead was $5.06 in May 2026 and $2.06 in July. So instead of stopping a campaign because of first-month results, replace the weak ads and move budget to the strong ones.
Conclusion
A new residential complex sales launch starts with preparation, not advertising: prices, inventory, documents, website, CRM and the sales team must be ready before the first enquiry arrives. In the launch month, the waitlist, project campaigns and event content work together, and over the next two months budget moves to the campaigns that bring meetings and reservations. Measure each period by its own metric.
If you want to plan the sales launch of your new project, book a free strategy meeting.
Sources
- APA — 41,606 apartments were sold on Azerbaijan's secondary housing market last year (in Azerbaijani), 2026
- korter.az — Residential complexes in Baku, 2026
- Mortgage and Credit Guarantee Fund — Mortgage loan (in Azerbaijani), 2026
- DataReportal — Digital 2026: Azerbaijan, 2025
- HubSpot — Marketing Industry Trends Report, 2026
- Harvard Business Review — The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, 2011