How
To Market Your Home For A Quick Sale and
High Price
Marketing
can be one of the most frustrating things
to do when you are selling your home without
a realtor. Here is a quick checklist to
help you:
1.
After you have prepared your house for sale,
Take a fresh look at all the good and bad
features of your house and put it in writing.
2.
Next, prepare a list of just the good features
and the benefit you have enjoyed from them
over the years. Write these out...benefits
followed by features. People are attracted
to the "sizzle", not the steak.
Benefits are your sizzle. People buy benefits,
not features, so get the benefits of your
house clear in your mind.
Give
this "sizzle list" to everyone
who comes to look at the house, post it
in the local community centre, put it in
all the mailboxes in a four block radius,
put a few in all the shops in the neighbourhood.
3.
Develop an "ideal buyer"profile
of who would be interested in buying your
house. People living in an area often have
similar characteristics. Describe the age,
occupation, income, lifestyle interests
and pet peeves. Put all this in writing.
4.
Use the benefit-feature list to write an
ad for your "ideal" buyer. Target
the headline so it stops your IDEAL buyer
dead in their tracks! Then use a strong
opening line to bring them in to the body
copy where you describe your house. Always
end with a call to action. Make it easy
for the buyer to reach you to ask quesitons
or for a showing.
Writing
powerful ads that work takes practice. Take
your time in writing and re-writing several
ads. You could easily blow away your money
on ads that don't get you a buyer.
5.
Put up a sign in front of your house. As
many as 50% of all houses are sold because
either the buyer or someone who knows the
buyer saw a for sale sign in front of the
house. Make sure the sign can be read quickly
as people are driving by.
6.
Have a sript ready when people phone about
the house. Keep your benefit-feature sheet
handy and use the appropriate points as
people ask questions. Be sure to ask a "closing
question" to bring people in to see
your house.
7.
Hold open houses. This is where you will
get to speak to people in person so you
can drive home the benefits. Be professional
as you walk around the house, highlighting
the features with benefits from the worksheet
you created earlier.
8.
Get feedback from people when they finish
the walk- through. If they seem interested,
follow up with a phone call within 48 hours.
9.
Be prepared for negotiations. Don't take
negative comments about the house personally.
They are talking about the house, not you.
By maintaining a professional attitude,
you will be able to get a better price.
This can be the most costly part of the
home selling experience, so be careful of
what you say.
10.
Have a purchase order form ready. Ask for
the sale. Always use a lawyer to make sure
you are not making an expensive mistake.
After the purchase agreement is signed,
beware of "buyer's remorse". People
often get scared and want to change their
mind soon after they put in an offer. To
avoid losing a sale, be sure to respond
with a counter-offer quickly.
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