Marketing Your Home: Creating Interest From Day One

Marsha's Home Selling Series — Part 4 of 7

In Part 3 of my Home Selling Series, we talked about professional photography and why I consider your home's online photos its first showing.

But great photographs are only useful if buyers see them.

Once your home is prepared, priced correctly and professionally photographed, the next step is getting it in front of potential buyers—and making it easy for interested buyers to see it in person.

That's where a marketing plan comes in.

It Starts Before the Listing Goes Live

One of the first things you'll probably notice is the For Sale sign going into your yard.

Even something as simple as sign placement deserves some thought. I like to involve my sellers in deciding where the sign should go. I want it positioned where people approaching from either direction can easily see and read it.

If we're planning an open house for the first weekend, I'll also add an Open House rider with the day and time.

I recommend a first-weekend open house whenever possible for a reason.

There are qualified buyers who have already been looking but haven't found the right home. They're watching for new listings, and when one appears that fits what they're looking for, they often want to see it right away.

An open house gives several potential buyers an opportunity to see the property within a relatively short period of time—often just two hours. Combined with individual showings, that can create a lot of activity while the listing is still new.

The more interested buyers who see your home early, the better our opportunity for an offer. Strong early interest can also put a seller in a better negotiating position.

Getting Your Home in Front of Buyers

When I enter your property into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the information can then be distributed to many of the real estate websites buyers use to search for homes.

That's why what goes into the MLS matters.

The professional photographs, property description, features and open-house information all work together to make a buyer stop and think:

"I want to see this house."

I've sold listings to buyers who learned about the property or open house through one of the major real estate websites. Online exposure really does bring buyers through the door.

I also promote new listings and open houses through my social media pages. And as I continue becoming more comfortable with video, I'm adding another tool to my marketing—virtual property tours that can give buyers an additional look at a home online.

Don't Forget the Neighbors

I like inviting neighbors to the open house, too.

I tell them:

"This is your opportunity to pick your neighbor. Do you know someone who would like to live here?"

A neighbor may have a friend, relative or coworker who already likes the neighborhood and has been waiting for an opportunity to move there.

Sometimes marketing isn't just about reaching the buyer. It's about reaching the person who knows the buyer.

Make It Easy for Buyers to See Your Home

Before the listing becomes active, I ask my sellers about any days or times when showings won't work. We establish those restrictions ahead of time, and I enter the appropriate showing instructions.

I use an appointment service to help coordinate showing requests between the seller and the showing agent. I also recommend allowing a lockbox to be used.

Making the home accessible doesn't mean giving up control. The information needed to enter the property isn't provided until the showing appointment has been confirmed.

I also recommend that sellers leave the home during showings.

Think about what most of us were taught growing up. Don't walk into a stranger's home. Don't wander around freely. And certainly don't start opening their closets and kitchen cabinets!

Now we're asking buyers to do exactly that.

We want them to look in the closets, see the storage space, open the kitchen cabinets and take enough time to imagine themselves living there.

When I show a home and the seller is there, I've watched my buyers become uncomfortable. They often walk through more quickly, don't look as closely and may hesitate to tell me what they're really thinking.

Even a negative comment can sometimes be useful. If we know what's concerning a buyer, it may be something that can be explained or addressed.

But we can't address something we don't know about.

Whenever possible, I also recommend taking your pets with you during showings and open houses.

Some buyers are afraid of dogs, and even hearing a dog bark may make them uncomfortable entering the home. With a cat, buyers may spend the showing worrying about accidentally letting it outside. And sometimes someone loves animals so much that the pet becomes the center of attention.

We want buyers focused on your home and whether they can picture themselves living there.

A Few Sensible Precautions

Before showings and open houses, I recommend putting away valuables, medications, important documents and other personal items you wouldn't normally leave accessible to visitors.

It's simply a sensible precaution when preparing your home for showings. Protecting your privacy and belongings is part of preparing your home for the market.

Give Buyers the Information They Need

One of the documents my sellers complete before listing is the Seller's Property Disclosure. I ask them to answer it as accurately and thoroughly as they can.

If a pipe leaked, for example, disclose the leak and explain how it was repaired.

I make the disclosure available through the MLS so a buyer's agent can access it for their client. Most buyers want as much information as possible before deciding whether to write an offer.

The Seller's Disclosure is an important document, and it deserves more than a paragraph. We'll talk much more about it in Part 5.

Marketing Doesn't Stop After the Showing

After someone sees your home, my work doesn't stop.

I request feedback from the showing agent. If we haven't received an offer, that feedback can give us valuable insight into how buyers are seeing the property.

One buyer's opinion doesn't necessarily mean we need to change anything. But if I begin hearing the same concern from several buyers, that's information we should pay attention to.

I also keep a record of the agents who have shown the property.

If something changes with the listing, I can let them know. And if an offer comes in, I can contact the agents who have already shown the home. If their buyers are thinking about writing an offer, they can let them know that now may be the time to make a decision.

That's another opportunity we don't want to overlook.

Marketing Is More Than Advertising

Marketing a home isn't simply putting it into the MLS, placing a sign in the yard or posting photographs online.

It's creating interest and then doing something with that interest.

It's making the home accessible, giving buyers the information they need, making them comfortable enough to really experience the property, listening to their feedback and following up.

And each step we've covered in this series builds on the one before it.

We prepared the home in Part 1.

We priced it carefully in Part 2.

We created its first online showing with professional photography in Part 3.

Now we're putting all of that preparation to work by getting buyers through the door.

Marsha's Tip

The first few days your home is on the market are important. You don't get a second chance to be the new listing.

My goal is to have the pieces in place before we go active so we're ready when those first buyers start looking.

Putting You 1st Is 2nd Nature!

Coming Up in Part 5

What should you tell a potential buyer about your home—and what happens if your home had a problem that was repaired years ago?

In Part 5 of my Home Selling Series, we'll take a closer look at the Seller's Property Disclosure, why being honest and thorough matters, and how proper disclosure can help protect you even after the SOLD sign goes up.