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Down Home Selling 101

Dog On Porch I've been accused of being down to earth in my communication style with folks. I guess that is not all bad. It is friendly. And maybe it can be seen in my style of writing here.

I bring this up because I think in trying to discuss selling homes with homeowners many agents make this seem like some kind of rocket science. It really is Sales and they need a boost from Sales 101.

I call it Down Home Selling. Paint a word picture or tell a story of the next step in a homeowner's life. Like the photo I selected, say Imagine if, What if, If you could live anywhere, and then go on to describe that cabin with the porch with the dog AND life is now oh so sweet.

Don't make moving to another place so hard. Learn to paint a picture for folks.

Posted by Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth on 03/18/2008 10:30 PM

Comments (30)

down home selling word picture

Originally posted at: Gary Woltal's Blog: Down Home Selling 101

30 Comments on Down Home Selling 101

MAR

2008

Gary, so true, so true. There's no need to put more into it. It's about making the transition easier for your clients.

Gary - You have the right view, the objective is to connect with your audience, doing this is certainly not rocket science.

Gary, you sure packed a powerful message in such a succinct post.

Ray: People make simple things difficult too often.

Jennifer: I like how you described the relationship as a "connection."

Mark: Short and sweet.

Gary~Hello my friend! I would definitely agree you are down to earth and a humble one at that. I do agree with you on this topic. Sometimes it is made a little more difficult than necessary. Have a wonderful night my friend.

Gary, a very insightful approach, simple yet elegant. Thanks. Your writing style is easy to read, easy to understand, and paints a picture, what more could anyone want?

Gary - You are right about painting the picture with your clients. The biggest obstacle for many buyers and sellers is that they have a difficult time making a decision especially when it is the right decision...and this is where telling brief stories helps our clients.

Julie: They say to always keep it simple. Thanks for your kindness as always. I think kind is your middle name.

Virginia: Practice this word picture painting. It is an awesome technique.

Sam: Exactly. Talking from the experience of others helps out a lot.

Hi Gary,

Don't ever be concerned about being too down to earth. Do you have any idea what an inviting quality that can be, especially for consumers? It's a very stressful time for them and your/our demeanor can enhance or detract from their experience.

Lynda: Thanks for your reassurance. I think being friendly is all part of building trust. If you can't laugh with someone maybe you just don't have that connection thing going. I laugh with them even when things are going to hell. Everyone takes life way too seriously I think sometimes. Sure we all have problems, but that's one part of life we get to play the cards dealt us. Sometimes we'll get another better hand dealt to us at another time.

MAR

2008

Gary,

I have been selling real estate for some time, and have often wondered how buying a home came to be such a life or death experience. I bought a house sight unseen many years ago, and didn't lose a mnute's sleep over it. We need more down-home buyers!

This is 101 in the real estate industry; I can hardly imagine a person in our industry using terminology to confuse a buyer. This seems very counterproductive to the entire transaction, not to mention referrals. I know it happens but....jeez! This make me feel like a Saturday Night Live skit waiting to happen!

Gary - Part of our job is to make the buying and selling process as stress free as possible... putting what we do in simple, easy to understand terms is a great first start.

Gary, this is wonderful. You put it so eloquently. After all, aren't our hopes and dreams something we have painted in our minds already?

Gary, word pictures work in selling and other examples in life too. Telling a good story in a blog post, helps explain the situation, advertising in word pictures also helps.

Gary - Your writing style is very conversational, it give reader a good sense of what kind of person you are. I'm sure your potential buyers or sellers choose you because of your style.

What I think painting a word picture does for most people is to share ideas from our past experiences with other people buying and selling. We find common ground. Ideas and experiences are non-threatening and as Marzena said, it gets very conversational. That's when we become more the trusted advisor with the client.

Wow . It really can be that easy huh? I think people prefer simple over all the hype we as Realtors like to hand out . Thank you for the wake up call...

Gary - such a true post and point of view! I share that with you - this isn't hard folks but you have to want to help the people. It is about them and not you! If you are "down to earth" and can relate - you will succeed!

Gary--I don't know if real estate is really Selling 101 as much as Communication 101. Connecting with people and communicating information so that the two sides understand what is going on...The rest is paperwork. It doesn't have to be fancy...Down home works!

Word pictures are very powerful tools and if used right can help you generate good referrals and clients.

I know what you mean. For buyers, buying a home is an organic part of their lives. It is not a philosophical endeavor. We need to "keep it real" because it is very real for them.

Gary- If being "down to earth" is what you are, then you are being true to yourself and people will sense that. With me, it is pretty much what you see is what you get- no pretense. As such, clients never feel like they are being given a hard sell, and that I work on their behalf on what will work for them, not me.

Helping a client paint a picture is a great technique. "Imagine this house with the carpets you like, and look, your piano would fit beautifully right here", or, "Wouldn't it be lovely to sit in this backyard, smell the Jasmine blooming, and look at those hills?" (Unless they have allergies, in which case that isn't the picure to help them with!) A lot of people need help with visualization. Sometimes, too, finding out about the house they grew up in, may help. I grew up in a two story, and that is what I wanted when I bought my first (and to date only) single family home.

Hey gary, thats the beauty of Active Rain....after a while if we post enough the REAL person comes out...I think its the same in real life, and It gets reflected as we go about town. If we try our best to be nice to others on a regular basis, it will come back at us....Its good to see you posting such positive, straight forward helpful stuff

C ya

Gary... you are 100% correct... Some can make things seem so complicated... I love the K.I.S.S. methods myself.

Hi Gary. I agree... we need to involve the buyer's / seller's five senses when helping them to move on with their plans (whether it be buying or selling). Painting a picture like you did above is overlooked by most agents. Great job and keep doing what you do!

Sometimes I find myself painting the word picture of pricing the house right to "move on" with your life rather than being stuck in a house that's not going to sell. It all comes down in that case to how committed they are to moving. I've surprisingly found, some lack any urgency at all.

MAR

2008

Gary, Good topic...I have come to find that people like down to earth much more than "all business"

MAR

2008

Carol: You are right, in that people want a person they can relate to and not be sold to.

Gary: Nice post! I think we need to strike the right balance between "down home" and "up town."

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