Effectively Marketing Your Home

1. Online Presence

The more eyes, the faster the sale. Gone are the days where simply sticking a For Sale sign in the yard sells a home. The internet is a terrific tool that your neighbors are using to get their homes seen by thousands of prospective buyers. Listing your home on the BLC/MLS and similar home searching sites will go a long way to getting your home sold. Reputable listing agents should have an effective and well-thought out strategy for this, that also leverages, depending on the price point of the property, multimedia presentations, interactive 360 virtual tours and more. 

2. The Price Is Right (Or Is It?)

You better hope it is. Overpricing your home because of emotional attachment to it will scare away even the most intent of buyers. With a wealth of information at their fingertips nowadays, a buyer can find out within seconds if your home price is comparable to others in your area. If it isn't, you just lost a possible sale.

The single best component to extremely effective and successful marketing is determining the appropriate List Price!  Pricing too low cuts into your bottom line, and pricing to high will not be justifiable to the buyers and they may conclude you as the seller are not serious nor realistic. The correct price will sell your home for the most dollars, in the shortest amount of time and with a high sales to list price ratio! Mitch calls this combination the "Trifecta of Real Estate!"  You can learn more about effective pricing here.

3. Staging

Home staging is a method of decorating that highlights your home’s features and assets to help buyers imagine themselves calling your place their new home!

According to the National Association of Realtors’ 2019 Staging Stats report, 40% of buyers’ agents believe that home staging has an effect on how a buyer views the home, with 83% saying that it makes it easier for buyers to visualize the property as their own. On the sellers’ agent side, 22% report that home staging increases the value of a home between 1% and 5%, and another 17% report that staging increases the value of a home between 6% and 10%. Beyond the potential increase in value, 53% of Listing Agents credit staging for either slightly decreasing or greatly decreasing the total amount of time a home is on the market. You can learn more about Staging Your Home For Sale here.

4. Photos, Photos, and a Lot More Photos

Taking only a photo of the exterior of the home isn't going to sell your home. Buyers want to see as much of your home (inside especially) as possible before they commit to contact you or your agent for a home viewing.

Nowadays buyers are as short on time as you are, so they'll resist any temptation to waste it. Consider professional photography as well and put that low-quality phone photo away.

5. Virtual Tours

As wonderful and eye-catching as photos are, do you know what trumps them? Video. A well-orchestrated multimedia video or an interactive 360 degree virtual tour of the home really brings the buyers into the home and gives them the emotion of being there. If done well, this should make them want to see more and that is what can lead to a home viewing. Don't ignore the impact of a buyer's emotions in a sale.

6. Direct Mail

An oldie and still a goodie. There's no guarantee a person will go online everyday or head to the local store to pick up a publication. They will check their mailbox, though. When they do, it'd be a great chance to put your home right in their hand — literally.

In 2020 the most effective direct mail campaigns also give the homeowners a website they can view, related to the mailer, along with the ability to connect through email, a phone call, texting and even social media.

7. Digital|Online

Digital marketing refers to any marketing method conducted through electronic devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops including advertising on social media including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube and similar apps . This also includes online marketing efforts that leverage a user's browsing history to place relevant ads on websites they visit. ... In this way, smart and effective REALTORS ensure that their marketing efforts are more likely to reach potential buyers, by targeting them where they spend most of their time.

8. Signage

Although it alone won't sell a home, it's still a key part in getting one sold. Some buyers are just more traditional in their approach and choose to drive around looking for homes that are for sale. Having a very nice-looking and clean For Sale sign will also get the attention of neighborhood visitors that may be there just to see a friend. That sign should also include current active contact information and a website that's specific to the home.

9. Curb Appeal

Once the buyer looks up from the For Sale sign in the yard, what do they see? Make sure the answer to this question is "an attractive home." Be sure to keep your home presentable as possible at all times while it's for sale. You never know who is driving by for a quick "peek a boo" and if the lawn is unkempt in the summer, the walks & driveway are not plowed in the winter or the siding needs to be painted or pressure washed, potential buyers will presume the home has not been well cared for and they'll just keep on driving. And you will never know about the sale you just cost yourself.

10. Open Houses

Following the previous 9 steps will hopefully lead to an influx of buyer interest and more importantly, home showings. 

In busy Seller's markets, and during the right time of year, holding an open house can help create a sense of urgency with potential buyers that can lead to both more and stronger offers! While the most important first step is having the right listing agent to tell you how to prepare your home for individual viewings, honest, open and direct agents will also share with you that most open houses are only held so that the agent can meet and connect with prospective buyers and sellers. An extremely small percentage of homes each year are sold to buyers during an Open House! Serious buyers will rarely wait for an open house to find their next home! This means most visitors to an open house just happened to be in the area, they were looking for something to do, so they decided to check out an open house. While a place could appeal to a buyer, who had not seriously thought about selling, these buyers will not typically buy the first place they see. Plus, if the buyers are also current owners, with lower interest rates on their current home, then especially when interest rates are not perceived to be as attractive, these unmotivated buyers are less likely to give up their lower current rates, for a much more costly interest rate, for a home they just happen to see at an open house! For agents Open Houses are an effective marketing tool that only requires some of their time, and being able to kick sellers out of their home for 2-3 hours on a weekend. 

Below are the Steps that Mitch shares with his sellers to help make all showing effective… This would also include of course a successful Open House!

1. Start by depersonalizing and decluttering the entire home, including removing items from closets, kitchen cabinets and counters to make them look larger and give the entire place a deep cleaning including the refrigerator inside, outside and on top, as well as inside the Oven and be sure to leave the dishwasher empty of dishes and other items and also leave your washer and dryer 100% empty.
2. Try to keep the windows open, the day before and/or the morning of the open house, to get lots of fresh air into the home.
3. Remove anything of any value, emotional or financial, as well as any firearms, ammunition, and even pain medications and similar items. This would include cell phones and chargers, mobile devices including laptops, heirlooms and jewelry, and all financial instruments including cash. If you have a safe make sure it's either empty or locked and secure.
4. Remove any signs of pets including photos, pet dishes, crates, pet food and treats, leashes, toys and beds and pet ramps etc.
5. Avoid all aromatic cooking ingredients ideally for several days before the open house that might linger and still be present during the open house. 
6. Do not use air fresheners or scented candles to hide cooking, pet or other odors. They rarely work and they just make people think you are hiding some odor! Purchase before the open house a couple of “slice and bake” chocolate chip cookies. Then bake one roll in the oven right before the open house so that they are done 5 minutes before the open house will start. This will help hide the odors and will make your home feel even more appealing by bringing to the surface emotional memories like parents cooking with their kids and/or entertaining friends and family. You should leave the cookies out for visitors on a plate in the kitchen,  or on the breakfast bar or on the dining room table.  Note: Save the other roll of cookies to use right before 2nd showings by buyers!
7. Clean all windows both inside and outside, clean all bathroom shower doors and mirrors, and other mirrors in the home
8. Make sure all light bulbs are working and left on when you leave the home before the open house. Leave your TV turned on to a soft music station or if there are sporting events happening during the Open House leave the TV turned on to those events!
9. "Arrange" and neatly fold towels on all towel racks and towel hooks/rings, remove robes from bathroom robe hooks, remove hand towels from kitchen appliances, and make sure all commode seats and lids are closed. Also, all shoes and jackets should be 100% out of sight.
10. Lastly, plan to be out of your home, with any pets, for the entire time of the Open House!

pen Housepe Make this Open House experience emotional in a good way like baking cookies immediately before the open house and playing some relaxing music to use all senses to your advantage.  Note: avoid light fragrance or other scented candles that lead potential buyers to believe you are just trying to hide pet odors and other negative concerns.

From "For Sale" To "Sold"

Mitch can share statistics with you that make the point that attempting to sell your home without a great Listing Agent typically results in substantially longer days on market while also generating much lower sales prices. There's just too much that can go wrong, and buyers realize the main reason seller proceed without an agent is to save broker fees. However, even if buyers are comfortable representing themselves, the almost always feel that allowing sellers to eliminate the agent, and paying full market value is effectively overpaying for the home!  So, not having a REALTOR as your listing agent can cost you a lot of wasted time and money. Still, if you choose to go that route, then be sure to follow these simple 10 steps to try to get your home seen by more potential buyers.

Then, when you're ready for an experienced Greater Indianapolis Area expert to assist you, be sure to email Mitch@ToHelpUmove.com. Mitch is here to help you sell your home fast and for more money!

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