As I sat in the wrap-up session last Friday at our Leaders in Luxury meeting and listened to people talk about what they found to be the “big ideas” and valuable takeaways, it struck me that although they came at it from very different directions, a number of our speakers had essentially the same formula for success:
- Identify and take advantage of marketing opportunities that others overlook
- Engage the senses to connect emotionally and meaningfully with your prospects
- Make it easier for prospects to visualize what their lives might be like as owners of the home
Take Frank McKinney for example. When it comes to presenting the home, Frank has an intimate and sophisticated understanding of the psychology of the “showing.” He has developed a whole set of tactics to help ensure that as the experience of seeing the home unfolds he is able to identify and exploit key opportunities to engage the senses and influence the perceptions of potential buyers.
Frank even talked about blocking the driveway so that rather than driving, the potential buyer must walk up to the home, feeling the smooth marble of the driveway or the soft grass underfoot, hearing the birds chirping and the wind weaving through the trees…smelling the freshly mowed lawn and catching glimpses of the guest house, which seen through the trees, looks as if it is floating on a lagoon… Engaged by the moment and the five senses, the buyer is at the same time relaxed and in a heightened state of awareness—the perfect preparation for the key moment that is about to come—the front door experience.
There is a heightened sense of anticipation that comes with that first opening of the front door. It is a key moment in the experience of a home, and Frank understands that this is an opportunity to embrace. From setting the stage with the approach, to what lies behind the door in terms of sights, sounds, smells, and tastes, Frank is an expert at magnifying this natural feeling and crafting an experience that engages the senses, envelopes the person in the moment, and helps them to connect with the home emotionally.
He is careful too, to create experiences that make it easy for prospects to see what their lives might be like as homeowners. From the detailed merchandising and staging of the homes to actually giving them gate codes and keys so that they can “come home” for an evening of relaxation, Frank helps them to experience the home as if it is already theirs. Achieving this mental “buy-in” is powerful. After all, it means that in order for a prospect to walk away, they not only have to pass on the opportunity in the abstract, but they have to be willing to give up something which they have already experienced as their own.
Likewise with master ad man and copywriter Stan Barron. Stan sees in the headline of an ad what Frank sees in the front door experience—a potentially make or break opportunity that most agents simply ignore.
While most folks simply plunk down the property address as the headline, Stan knows that a headline is often your best chance to get the attention of your target audience and effectively position the property. As Stan notes, a good headline is not a “safe” one, but rather a decisive one that will catch the attention of prospects (and chase away non-prospects).
“Tired of seeing big homes on tiny lots?”
“The right price—and location—for a new townhome if you can accept some road noise”
“Ultimate weekend house on Lake Travis. Priced high enough to ensure satisfaction”
Using his methods, you can take what most would consider to be a home’s shortcomings and neutralize them or even turn them into benefits. As Stan puts it, “Ads that admit fault are disarming, and it adds credibility to everything else you say…and ALL homes have some drawbacks.”
Beyond recognizing and taking advantage of the opportunity that headlines offer, Stan also emphasized the importance of using lots of casual, descriptive language to engage the senses and connect emotionally with prospects.
Again as he put it, “Don’t just say your listing has a covered porch…ask the reader to imagine starting weekend mornings there with fresh coffee and the newspaper…or suggest it as an inviting spot to write a letter to a friend or curl up with a good book.” Not only are these scenes evocative of the senses and emotions, but they help the prospect to take mental and emotional “ownership” of the property with warm and inviting experiences. Even if imagined, they are powerful.
