Batman, 10,000 B.C., And My 10-Second Rule To Selling Properties Fast

Hey, what's up? Damian here. I just saw two brand new movies. Actually one of them was from Netflix. I saw 10,000BC. Also my wife and I just saw the brand new Batman: Dark Knight movie in the IMAX. It reminded me of a very important, simple, but very very powerful way and lesson you need to know about how to sell properties fast. It's called the "10-Second Rule".

Now before I explain how this Batman, 10,000BC and selling houses all tie together, let me kinda give you a back story. If you know anything about me you know that I've had a very very interesting amount of time that I spent after college. Did some different stuff, way off the beaten path. For a while, especially when I was a senior in college and 1-2 years out of college, I was really into film screen writing. It was what I wanted to do. I wanted to try to write movies and screenplays so I got really really into it.

One of the best pieces of advice I always heard was they would always say 'When you're writing a screenplay and when you're watching a movie there's something called the 10 minute rule.' That basically goes like this: If you're watching a movie and by 10 minutes you don't like the movie, scrap it. Trash it. You're gonna hate it. Throw it out. Don't bother watching it. Because if after 10 minutes they don't have you, the movie is not for you. You're not gonna enjoy it. You're not gonna like it.

Now when I first heard this I started to test it, because I didn't really believe it. So I would turn on these movies and then at 9, 10, 11 minutes and I would go 'This is horrible! But maybe it'll get better. And sure enough at the end of every one of them I still ended up hating it. And on the opposite side, if I loved the first 10 minutes, I also really really enjoyed the entire movie. And this played out and was completely true with the two movies I just saw, which I just mentioned.

I saw 10,000BC. Actually my brother-in-law had recommended it because he knew I loved Apocolypto. Actually Charlene and I really really like that movie. If you haven't seen it, it's awesome. Check it out. And he was like, 'See 10,000BC. It's just like Apocolypto. You'll like it.' We turned it on and like 5 to 10 minutes into it I turned to Charlene and said, 'This is horrible. This is like something you would see in the Museum of Natural History. The acting is horrible. The dialogue is horrible. It's just goofy.'

Charlene was like, 'Well, let's just wait a little while longer. Maybe it'll get better. Maybe it'll get better.' And I was like, 'Babe, it's not getting better. Let's just turn it off and cut our losses. But then I said, 'Ok, Fine.' But sure enough, it was horrible. It was horrific. We laughed about it, made fun about it for a couple days. Just really really didn't like it.

Sorry if you liked it, Just wasn't our taste. Just really didn't enjoy that movie at all. And the 10 minute rule was absolutely true.

On the flip side, the plus side, we went to see Batman at the IMAX which was awesome. In the first 2 minutes I'm sitting in front of this giant 4-5 story screen and they do this sweeping pan of the city and literally I feel like I'm falling out of my seat into the city. It was phenomenal. Everything, within the first couple minutes I was like, 'This is gonna be great.'

And sure enough it was spectacular, awesome awesome awesome movie experience.

Now, this is all interesting Damian but what does it have to do with selling houses?

Well there's a 10 minute rule for movies, which actually works, and I hope I save you from watching some bad movies. There's also a 10 second rule when it comes to selling properties. Yes there's a lot of math and a lot of technical stuff involved with selling a home. But at the end of the day you gotta remember buying a property is an emotional decision.

So people, whether they're investors or new homeowners or motivated buyers or motivated sellers, when they look at your property, they're making an emotional decision. Emotions, just that first impression, very very very very very quick. When somebody walks up to a property, in less than 10 seconds, they have it in their gut whether or not they're gonna be like, 'No, no way not interested. Or, 'Wow this is the place I think I can see myself in.'

Perfect example, when my wife and I were looking to buy our first home, this was just before we got married; we were starting to look to buy a home for when we got married, and we would go through neighborhoods and developments.

If we pulled up to a house and saw Big Wheels and bicycles just thrown all over the front lawn and garbage cans in the street, even if the house was gorgeous, just immediately, Boom! In less than 10 seconds we were like, 'This isn't it.' The neighborhood, the upkeep, the quality of the home is just not for us.

On the flip side, when we saw the first home we ever bought, we opened the door and there was laminate flooring throughout. It was light. It was clean. It was fresh. As soon as I walked in, I still remember just how impressed I was with how bright and open what was a pretty small town home looked. We ended up purchasing that property.

What you need to realize is sometimes you gotta return to basics. Look at the properties you're trying to sell, whether it's your own or properties you have invested in and you're looking to turn them, whatever the case may be. Always stop and apply the 10 second rule. Not only for the positive stuff but even more importantly for the negative stuff. Is there anything that someone can see in the first 10 seconds that will turn them off?

And I'm gonna be a little hard, give you a little tough love here; don't make excuses. Don't say, 'Well, you know, they understand. I told them I'm gonna fix the porch later. I told them all the dead grass in the front just grows back in a couple months. I told them it'll be ok. They can use their imagination and look past it. No way, ok. Home buyers are shoppers just like any other shoppers. If something turns them off they're gonna look somewhere else. They're gonna buy somewhere else.

So when you look at your property ask yourself the 10 second rule. If I didn't know my property from a hole in the wall, if I walked up there, within 10 seconds is there anything I would see that would make me say, 'Not interested in this property.' That's step # 1. Step #2 is in that first 10 seconds are you giving them anything that's gonna get them excited?

It may be hard to believe, but just like negotiation and good selling can turn regular sellers into motivated home sellers, the same is true with buyers. A buyer who is not so anxious to make a purchase can be turned into a motivated buyer when the right situation is presented. And that's your job!

The place that you're actually looking at now is from our new home here in Florida that we're renting for a little bit while we're getting used to the area. When they showed us this area and they showed us this townhome and we first walked in, there was a courtyard before we ever got to the house. This is the first time I've ever had a home with a courtyard. When I saw it I was like, 'This is gonna be awesome. In 10 seconds I was like, 'This is one of the nicest places we've seen. I'd love to live here.' Just instantly. That that quick.

So remember the lesson from 10,000BC and Batman. I should have shut off 10,000BC. I knew I was gonna love Batman and it turned out. And the same thing, that same 10 minute rule I learned a very long time ago in movies, it applies with my 10 second rule with properties.

Think about it. Apply it to your properties. Be harsh with yourself. Be critical, because if you're not, your potential home buyers will be. And you will miss out on it, especially in a market where there's a lot of properties. The 10 second rule becomes the 4 second rule because there are so many choices out there.

Again, hope this tip helps you. It really really is important, and it really really does speak to the emotional buying decision behind a home buyer. So put it to use and start selling your properties that much faster. Thanks for stopping by. Talk to you soon.