Picture this: You are a property agent and even if the housing market is booming now, you still need to find a way to stand out among your peers.

So what do you do? In the case of Mr Anthony Lim, he decided to double his exposure - by plastering a photo of himself on both sides of his seven-month-old Toyota Vios car.

He has also displayed his phone number on both sides of the car so you can contact him.

Mr Lim, 30, is probably the only property agent here who has resorted to this gimmick, going by checks made by LifeStyle of 15 car workshops.

However, it is not uncommon to find people or companies sticking logos, phone numbers or marketing slogans on vehicles.

Indeed, Mr Lim, a senior marketing manager with ERA Realty Network, says he displayed his phone number on his previous car.

He also did the same initially with his new Vios and added the photo only in February this year.

"It's for business. All I want is business," he says of the move although he declines to say how much it cost to do that.

"I thought it would be different if my car had a picture instead. I'm trying to gain maximum exposure."

Well, his strategy has reaped dividends.

Mr Lim, who has been in the business for three years, estimates that business has improved by at least 20 per cent.

"Once, I stopped at a road junction and an HDB flat owner in Yishun saw my car.

"He called me and engaged me to sell his flat for him," says the ITE graduate.

Certainly, driving around is no longer a mundane routine for his car sparks reactions from motorists and pedestrians.

"Some may give me a very cold look but some smile at me. People like clients and other agents ask me about it but I just tell them that I?m trying to make a living and do better."

He knows of no other property agent who has followed his example.

Ms Lucy Soh, co-owner of Soh Guan Chuan Auto Supply, confirms that he is the first person to have made such a request.

The job is actually simple as it involves just pasting on a computer-printed decal on the car. Removing it is also a breeze.

Some of the more popular requests she gets are to put on racing car designs and Hello Kitty or spider-web decals.

The workshop charges from $200 for a simple design to $700 to decorate the entire car.

However, before you let your imagination get the better of you, note that the Land Transport Authority has guidelines on what is allowed.

For example, number plates, windows and windscreens should be free of advertisements or stickers.

Mr Lim believes that he has kept to the guidelines although his photo covers a substantial area of the car's windows.

"I checked with my workshop and it said that there should be no problems. I can't paste anything in front but I can paste it at the sides."

He says that the Traffic Police did stop him once.

"But that was because I had failed to display my renewed road tax decal and they did not ask me anything about the advertisement."