Did They Forget to Mention The Road to Success?
“Selling ice to an Eskimo” is something I am sure that you have heard before. Typically, successful salespeople will use that idiom to brag to their peers and friends. However, they will rarely tell you their methods and how long it took them to become persuasive in the way they are.
Although selling something to someone that does not need it can be highly controversial, if we step back and think about what people need and sell only that, we will be obliged to reform our society and frankly become boring and flat like a pancake (of course we won’t need pancakes). On the other hand, if we are going to be realistic, this world survives on desires, wants and is hooked on nice-to-have things more than ever.
Now, shelter is one of the things people need but, a minimal, cozy, posh condo is definitely a want.
If you are in the real estate business I bet you are working on promoting condos or similar properties, while “shelter” is a word you probably never use when referring to properties.
Selling a property is extremely hard, that is for numerous reasons, one of which is the high price of properties and the fact that a property is one of the most expensive -the most for many- single “things” people are purchasing. So yeah, it is not like they will say… ”crap I don’t like this apartment, it was a wrong choice, let’s go get another one next week”. Buyers are feeling challenged and vulnerable to make a choice while at the same time for property agents it is another day at the job. If you want to succeed in that market you are obliged to act empathetic towards your clients, and often to go over and beyond for them in terms of client service and psychological support. Is no wonder you will hear stories by successful realtors where they describe doing extreme 6am morning coffee meetings or midnight calls just to reassure their clients.
Property presentation is one thing sellers should really think about. Even if your property is great for you, if you want to sell it you have to make it appealing to your potential buyers. Enter: Storytelling. Spending time to put together an interesting story around the property can highly increase its value. A story can be incorporated in your ad texts, but it also can be visual, using the magic of staging and concept photography. Storytelling is not only about selling on a higher price but also selling faster.
Always remember: “doing nothing” is free, but it always results to “nothing” in return. Everything else comes with a cost. If you cannot afford to invest money in achieving your goals you can invest your time and effort.
I hope you sell that ice 😉
