Last week I attended the CRS Sell-a-bration in San Francisco. The Sell-a-bration is a gathering of some of the top agents in the country. We spent 3 days of classes, conference session with top speakers and some fun social mixers. During the conference I picked up several pearls. One that I truly liked was the phrase: "A Pricing War and a Beauty Contest."
When describing the sale process to a potential home seller, this phrase sums it up in the best direct way I can think of.
In most parts of the country we are in a buyer's market. There is a good selection of inventory and prices are either flat or slipping depending on the area and type of property. With that said, what will make you home sell before the others in your neighborhood?
You have to win the beauty contest plain and simple. When the buyers walk in did you grab them? If they liked what they saw did the price scare them off and send them down the street? This is one of the hardest concepts for many sellers. They have lived in this home. Raised their family and have had so many great memories here. Their friends and neighbors have all told them their home is worth so much more than all the others in the neighborhood. Let me clear things up for you. It is not! Friends and family will tell you that to be supportive. Neighbors have a conflict of interest. They are hoping you will raise their property value by selling at a higher price.
To keep it simple, when you are getting your home ready for sale remember you are entering a Pricing War and Beauty Contest.
Great analogy, Randy! It's sad and laughable at the same time. :)
Wait...let me put my makeup on first...lol.
In any case, it IS the difference between selling and sitting...that's a FACT!
Isn't it surprising that people will believe the 'backyard' professiona; most all times ofve the real professional. That includes all facets of our lives!
Randy - I've been using that description for at least a year, and it does get the point across to sellers.
Randy -we've had a few houses/sellers that it was almost impossible to get them to understand that. And one potential seller even said, "well we'll just have to find a buyer that appreciates the value" - this is when they wanted to overprice the house... - it did look good... but it doesn't justify the higher price. ~Rita
Randy I had not heard "A Pricing War and a Beauty Contest." before, but it makes sense to me.
And by the way if friends and family think that the house is such a steel at even a higher price, then why do they not buy it??? :) :) :)
Good phrase...It is a war! And it is a beauty contest....if you don't win the beauty part then the price better be darned good!
It's really hard to win those beauty contests. I really want to see the swimsuit competition.
Remember the Chance or was it the Community Chest card in Monopoly?
You have won 2nd place in a beauty contest collect $10.
Second place sure doesn't pay much.
Randy - I really liked that one. I know I will be using it regularly.
Sally - Unfortunately too many sellers and agents are not getting it and they are not selling.
William - I have to overcome the damage caused by the amateur experts almost on a daily basis.
Sharon - It is an effective phrase.
Rita - I always ask them to put themselves in the buyer's shoes. Would you pay more when there are a lot of other homes available?
George - That is a good point. We both know the answer.
Gary - At the right price they will all sell.
John-:)
Brenda - In this case it may not pay at all.
Hey Randy,
I can appreciate the depth of meaning of that phrase. Not only do many home sellers not appreciate it, but too many real estate agents as well. I can name a couple of local agents who take all the listings they can, never bother with any kind of presentation or staging, and let the dice fall where they may. They get many listings that way, but their closing ratio is horrendous. They get more listings, because they can brag about how many listings they have. You think sellers would be more concerned with how many they actually sell.
I can think of a few that meet that description in my area.
The wrinkled truth! Great analogy...very nice post!
I heard that at a C21 CHristmas party in 2007. (All Islands did not sponsor a party in 2008, budget constraints). I had already forgotten about it. Great analogy. Aloha from Kauai
Mara - I definitely like it and am using it.
Ronnie - C21 Liberty Homes had our Christmas Party at Honolulu Country Club. Hopefully I will see you at the awards luncheon tomorrow.
Randy,
You won't see me. I left C21 in November and am working with Hawaii Life. We have the #1 trafficked website for Hawaii and it's a fantastic marketing tool. You can search the whole state from our site. Check it our sometime, www.hawaiilife.com. I trust you'll be getting some awards tomorrow or you wouldn't be going so, CONGRATULATIONS! You deserve it all!
Ronnie - Good luck with the move. I am sure I am getting some award, but honestly do not know which one. I never looked at the number required.
Doesn't matter. At very least, you'll get a nice lunch. See ya' round...
Ronnie - The lunch was OK. LOL
And your centurion level was.....
Ron - I got the Masters Emerald. There were not many Centurions given this year. The room was about 1/2 as big as last time.
State of the market... too be expected. Congrats on your Masters Emerald. Probably had something like that too had i stayed the course.
Hey Randy, we met in SF at the conferance and you got me into Active Rain. I am not quite ready to thank you just yet, i am not very good with this mouse. I also thought the cheap and cute referances were very good as well as the line I heard about stageing. Spend a little up front on stageing and it will amount to much less than that first price reduction. These are facts we all know but it helps to hear the spoken word. Congratulations on your Emerald...
Pam & Terry - Thank you, it was a tough year to win a sales award. I am working even harder and smarter this year. That CRS Sell-a-bration is what I need to get me motivated early in the year. I sure hope we have one next year.
It will take time to fully see the benefit of Active Rain. I have been doing it a little over 2 years and the last 6 months or so is when I really began to feel the full impact of it. It is liuke a snow ball it keeps building with time and effort.
Ronnie - Thank you. I was surprised to see how few awards they gave this year. I was on track for the Centurion the first half of the year, but it really slowed the 2nd half.
It really takes a lot of discipline to be present in AR regularly. It's nice to know you are reaping some benefits from your hundreds of thousands of points, and made a lot of nice acquaintences along the way too.
Ronnie - I am so glad I got on AR early. I have made many great acquaintances here.
When did AR really get going? Have you purchased an outside blog for $18? Do you think it's a good value? See ya soon...
Aloha Ronnie - I have an outside blog: www.HawaiiRandy.net
Randy, pricing seems to be winning out a lot these days in my neck of the woods. People just aren't willing to pay more even if the home is a beauty contest winner. In some ways, I think that is a good thing, as people are not maximizing their mortgage payment and being a little more conservative. Also, people aren't willing to travel to the more rural areas to buy a home these days either, no matter what it looks like and is priced at. Those areas are getting killed right now.
Troy, is the market getting close to bottom in AZ in your opinion or still trending downward?
Randy, do you pay 18 a month for the outside blog?
Troy - I guess the fear of gas prices jumping again has them moving closer in.
Ronnie - I have the outside blog.
Dude,
You must be super busy. I see the Cheese overtook you. You probably have a new angle on something even cooler. LOL Keep up the good work!