The 7 Steps to Selling New Homes in an Over Saturated Market

Know your customer—In order to be able to deliver exactly the right property to the right person, you have to know who they are, what their family is about, and their preferences. We tend to stage and market a property for ourselves, appealing to our own tastes and sensibilities instead of that of our customer. When we learn who they are and appeal to them, the property becomes unforgettable because we catered it exactly to what THEY want.

Don’t over Stage or over Decorate—this is the tendency for many designers on new homes. They are out to showcase their design instead of showcasing a home which makes it hard for potential buyers to mentally place their own items and move themselves in. It is also often very specific to taste which is a huge detriment if it is not the taste of your potential buyers.

Never Show an Empty Property (or one that is dirty or in the middle of a rehab) - Don’t show a property until it is ready to be shown. The buyer will try to convince you that they can imagine the transformation, but really they can’t and you will lose them as a potential buyer. It is better to show the property when it is 100% ready to be shown, people will wait on it if you do a marketing campaign to entice them to register for a private showing while you are making the property unforgettable. If you don’t wait, then the property will still be unforgettable but more for the 2x4’s with nails in them and dead flies in the bathtub…not what you are going for!

Brake Stopping Curb Appeal—Most people believe this means mowing the lawn and picking up the grass. That is part of it, along with trimmed hedges, flowers and a mailbox in good condition. However, that is just the foundation of Curb Appeal. To make it Brake Stopping Curb Appeal, you really need to layer in Pockets of Emotion™ to catch their eye as they roll to a stop. Give them something to really enjoy, share with their family, sneak in for a closer peak, and tickle their funny bone. No one does this and yet, it will get them to come to a dead stop, every single time.

Create Simple Appeal with Pockets of Emotion™- Everyone wants to fall in love with their new home, so give them a reason to do so. A Pocket of Emotion™ is something that is selectively placed within the scene of each room that creates extreme emotion, laughter, gives pause, causes remembrance and ultimately lets the buyer make a strong connection and fall in love with the home.

Do Personalize- Most people teach you to de-personalize a property and that used to be the case but just as fashion changes, so do people and therefore, selling strategies. On new homes, where we currently have enough inventory for the next 2.5 years, it is especially important to add personality into the home. If, as a society, we did not want to see something personal, would Reality TV be such a hit? Give your new home a personality. Infuse it with the dream family that made the house a home. Show them a bit about the mom and dad, kids and pets—just make sure you really define your customer, so in essence they will be seeing themselves in the home.

Create Compelling Marketing and attach a Theme—With so many new homes on the market today, you have to differentiate yourself and stand above the crowd. You can do this with a compelling marketing campaign that speaks to your customers wants vs. needs. You must capture their attention with something so different and out of the norm which is the reason that you will also attach a theme to all of your marketing, carry it thru your Open House Event (which brings in 50-200 people) and even right into your curb appeal and effective staging. Imagine a Party with a Purpose. Everyone markets the same way and says the same thing. By capturing your buyers attention with head turning marketing, they will be first in line for your new home.

For more information on Karen Schaefer and her Proven Simple Appeal Selling Strategies, go to www.SimpleAppeal.com/Sell