Tag Archives: Buying

Whilst estate agents may extol the virtues of triple aspect rooms, double garages or south-facing gardens, it’s usually the smallest of detail that makes a house irresistibly a home for us. A lovely client of mine told me this week that during the viewing of her current home, a whole family of tiny goslings came to the kitchen stable door to be fed. She was absolutely charmed, and they decided to buy the house at once. So it may be the way the sunlight streams in through the kitchen window, or the sight of a robin on the garden gate. These little but captivating images are extremely powerful, and can easily tip a wavering viewer into making an offer.

So how can a seller use these details to make their house more appealing to buyers, and give themselves an advantage over the competition?

Photography – instead of the photographer taking lots of wide-angled shots of the main rooms (yawn), encourage him to photograph some evocative details: a roaring log fire, a jug of Pimms on the garden table, horses in a nearby field, a freshly baked cake on the kitchen table.

Add atmosphere to the viewing – use the same approach when it comes to viewings; add atmosphere and a sense of homeliness with clever touches. Try some subtle music playing during the viewing, put some breadcrumbs out for the birds just before they arrive, add a reading corner with a comfy chair, lamp and a good book laid as if only just put down.

Paint a picture – if you conduct your own viewings, describe to your viewers how you use each space. For example, how you love to cook whilst watching the kids play in the garden, how you walk to the nearest pub on a summer’s evening, where you put the Christmas tree. If you can help your viewers to visualise the house as a home, you will give them the best possible chance to imagine themselves living in it.

Try making a list of all the things you love about your home, and plan how you can use these to turn your viewer into a buyer.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Who will buy your house?

Most sellers, when asked this question, will respond with something to the effect that their house holds mass appeal. I think this point of view could cost you an early sale. Have you heard the saying “specialise or die”? Marketers will tell you that if you don’t specialise, and find your own niche, you won’t attract your target buyer strongly enough to beat off the competition.

In order to make certain your house acts like a magnet to attract your most likely buyer, you need to first identify them, then find out as much as you can about them.

Identify

Ask your agent who he considers to be your most likely buyer, and why. Then look at your viewers: what kind of age group are they in, and what ‘life chapter’ are they currently at? Are they ’upsizing’ or ‘downsizing’? Couple or family?

Motivation

Are they looking for a quieter life at a slower pace, or do they want to move somewhere urban and cosmopolitan? What would they expect to pay and what are they able to pay?

Aspiration

What are they looking for? Do they want great restaurants nearby and a train station within walking distance? Or is it and Aga and space for chickens that they’re searching for?

Match their needs. Your buyers are trying to spot clues that your house is what they’ve been looking for, so make sure they find them: the urbanites may well be pleased to see a bottle of champagne, a state-of-the-art coffee machine and some chic coffee table books. Those buyers wanting an idyllic rural life will be hoping to see an Aga cookbook, a handpicked posy or a homemade loaf of bread.

Remember – know your buyer – win the sale.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

My family and I were lucky enough to be invited to the wonderful Henley Regatta recently, and I had some great takeaways from it I wanted to share with you. I always see marketing lessons wherever I go, and feel that something as uniquely English as the Henley Regatta has a lot to teach us about super-successful marketing and branding.

I’ve blogged on this each day this week, and here’s your first: The Brands.

Look around at the companies who have associated themselves with the Henley Regatta and it really is a “Who’s Who” of branding, as well as a “Who’s Going to be Who” selection. Think about sophisticated ‘river fashion’ mixed with quintessential English style and food, and you’ll come up with brands such as Joules, Boden and Crew. The cars were all Range Rovers, BMWs and Mercedes. The drinks on offer were Champagne and Pimms, and the food would not have been out of place in the tearooms of the Ritz.

But what’s the lesson when we’re trying to sell our house? Firstly, look at the kind of buyers you expect to find your home the most appealing. Are they Henley Regatta goers? If so, give them clues that your home is for them. Take a leaf out of the Henley Regatta Marketing Book for Beginners and sprinkle some appropriate lifestyle clues liberally around your house. A jug of Pimms and a fruit cake on the side in the kitchen, Cath Kidston wellies by the back door and a Mercedes in the driveway – even if you have to borrow one! These are all signs to a buyer that your home is right for them.

If your buyers are not Regatta types, then you need to identify what type they are. Are they doggy people? Then leave out a copy of Your Dog magazine, and a map of local dog walks, and perhaps borrow a muddy Volvo! Maybe they are the sophisticated urban type; then leave around West End tickets, an ultra modern laptop or iPad and a bottle of Champagne in the kitchen. You get the idea.

Get to know your buyers; read what they read and go where they go. The more you can convince them that they can lead the life they seek in your home, the more likely you are to persuade them to buy it. It takes a little research work and some staging effort, but it’s oh so worth it.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.