How your floorplan can boost your viewings

I love my job.  I'm a marketer, advertiser, negotiator, friend, protector, comforter, secret listing ninja, interrogator, creative writer the list is endless.  Our primary goal to move you from one house to another as easy as possible.

With that in mind there are a number of ways to increase viewings, and this one is using your floorplan to maximise your listing.

Why do we need a floorplan?

The floorplan assists you with planning how you could use the space, deciding how you could enhance what is already there and seeing if the house can work for you, helping you make a decision to view.  Many people actually use the floorplan to match against others to help make the right choice.

How can we maximise yours?

Rooms names

Ensure you label each room as it should be used.  Even if there is front living room and rear living room and you use both each day.  Label one as a dining room and one as a living room.  Remember you are trying to sell your home to someone else! Consider what they will expect in a home

Similarly bedrooms should be labelled as Master, Bedroom 1, bedroom 2 etc.  In order of size, it makes it far easier for your new buyers to allocate rooms to children.

Sizes

The dimensions of the room are essential on here too.  It's the easiest way to check their furniture fits, and what they will have to knock down to fit on the two storey extension

Flow

Buyers really want easy homes. homes that fit their lifestyle.  Having to walk through a bedroom to the bathroom simply won't do for family buyers and they will waste not only their time but yours too.  No one wants a timewaster! A floorplan reduces this risk and shows how all the rooms connect.

 

2D or 3D?

I use 2D as I was previously in construction so I work best like this.  Some prefer 3D.  This doesn;t matter so long as the diagram is clear and concise.  However the 3d versions tend to disguise useful under the stairs cupboards or WC's and make them quite difficult to see.

Clarity

This is very very very important and something that can get stuck. Plain floorplans are best.  When you start adding in colours it can get too difficult for the brain to see past this.  Colours distract the eyes.  Keep it clean and simple.

Garage and outhouses

An essential part of the space is the garage, for some buyers it is the reason they are moving and they see this as a very important space.  So add it on.  The more information the better.

Our floorplans are free too.  They are included as standard, always have been.

How does your floorplan compare? 

What to read next:  The BEST viewing ideas ever!  Created by you.

What to do next:  Download The Ultimate guide to selling your home in Lancaster

Did your agent roll out the red carpet?

I'm sat at the dinner table in a stunning restaurant, the service is incredible the evening meal is presented with a flourish.  I was sat with 5 other estate agents. ( I just love swapping ideas on the best ways to create a superb listing and of course ensuring your experience is fantastic) One of the agents at the table was married just 9 months ago.  Beautiful Catherine was telling me the story of her wedding dress. 

She had chosen the dress of her dreams.  Two days before her wedding she had a final fitting, and she walked in the shop.  It was hung in a plastic bag, still creased from it's journey, placed not so delicately on a rack to one side on the main shop floor.  The dress was hurriedly removed from it's cover as she made her way to the changing area.  The dress that she had obsessed over was put on by the sales assistant quickly, she was ushered out to the mirror and she felt....awful.

So what went wrong?

Her dress was not pressed, it was hanging in a cheap plastic cover, it was presented in a way that was not special, yet this dress was very special to her.  She was not treated like royalty when this is part of the preparation for one of the biggest days in her life.

What should have happened

The dress should have been pressed, hung on a satin hanger, highlighted by a single light, perhaps covered with a large pure silk cover.  As the cover was removed in a graceful sweeping gesture to reveal the delicate handmade ivory lace gown and twinkling crystals.  Her arrival should have been expected, strawberries in a pearlescent bowl and a glass of champagne for her while she waited for her final fitting.  It should have been exciting, and she should have been given the VIP treatment, as that one single moment she would remember for the rest of her life.  It should have been a story to tell her small nieces as they approached their wedding day, she should be able to reminisce with her friends on a weekend trip to London to re-live the run up to the best day in her life, as everything she had been obsessing over for months was finally coming together. 

Instead she walked away.  She never took the dress.

This is such a sad story I almost cried at the dinner table.  Moving house is just as exciting, the planning just as stressful, and finding a house just as important as Catherine's wedding day. 

You are paying for an experience not just a service.  This experience from start to finish should be the best one you have ever had.  From the first meeting with smiles and bubbling excitement, presentation of your property a priority, and a buzz of excitement that all the small things having been thought about, from the movement of wires to the small touches on your shelves.  The journey they take your prospective purchasers through, so they feel like Catherine should have felt whilst in your house.  The aftercare of those viewers, the feedback you get, the returned calls, the updates, the letters, the help you need, the sales progression, the occasional assistance with a lightbulb, the lighting of candles, the straightening of cushions, the time they spend with you or your buyers in your home delivering an outstanding service.  This goes beyond the day you move.

The service you receive should be

Remarkable

Irresistible and

Incredible 

This day has taken such a long time, were you given the red carpet treatment?

How are things with your agent?  Are you their VIP? 

What to read next:

Why the presentation of your home should be irresistible and how we do it

What to do next:

Download our ebook:  The ultimate guide to selling your home in Lancashire

Speak to Victoria: 
Why not call me direct right now and lets discuss your royal treatment on 01524 230722.  There's never a better time




I can't wait to hear from you

Perfect your Presentation

The presentation of your home is one part of the process you ignore at your peril!  It involves most of the areas of your home pre-sale and will determine whether your home has online views, in person views and will also determine whether the offers you receive are bad, good or fantastic.

Fact:  ALL presentation is equally important

The online advert on the portals sets the tone, infuses emotion, appeals to the desires of your buyers

The brochure feeds the expectations, sets your expectations and should create an excitement

The presentation of your agent will create a viewing experience you wont forget

and finally...

The presentation of your home will encourage offers

Online Advert

This is the best starting place to ensure more clicks and convert to viewings.  A blue sky is a great way to entice those extra views.  Care taken with toys and general de-clutter will keep your photo's clear.  Make sure your rooms look bright and inviting on the photographs.  Check them objectively too, if you're not happy ask for them to be re-taken.  Try and avoid too wide angle lenses too, they can look odd to your viewers. 

Top Tip:  Check the order of your photographs - they should be a natural order: living rooms, bedrooms, garden. Make sure there's no stragglers at the end, such as a picture of the loft or another angle of the toilet, it will spoil the flow.

Brochure

We still have many people calling for a hard copy of your brochure.  Some prospective purchasers like to feel and experience things before they make a final selection to view.  Ensure yours make them feel an emotion, ensure they have enough information, including an essential floorplan.  The brochure should be sent swiftly too.

 

A wedding invitation sets the tone of your wedding.  Can you see the difference?  I know which I'd prefer.  So how's your brochure looking?

This was inspired by last weeks blog

Viewing Presentation

There are many ways your estate agent can help increase the probability of an offer.  Here's just a few:  Agents should be dressed appropriately, smile and be able to answer ALL your questions there and then.  A viewing should be pre-planned to encourage the best outcome and the follow up should be quick easy.

Home Presentation

After passing the other presentation points your viewers should be really looking forward to the viewing.  The importance of following through for each viewing is imperative.  Clear away your clutter, open curtains wide to let in the sunlight and making your home as appealing as possible.  Little touches make a big difference, try lighting your fire, switching on your lamps and displaying some garden flowers in little vases will keep your buyers positive and impress. 

There are over simply hundreds of ways to impress them at this stage.  I'd love to share them all, but each client is different.  You often have individual requirements and we are here to establish what you need that will entice your buyers to offer closer to your asking price.

Finally here's a few pictures of companies that have perfected their presentation to create an unforgettable experience:

So how is your presentation?

Why not drop me an email rating yours, from online, brochure and in person, I'd love to know.

What to read next: Buyers Brains love balance - a mini blog on symmetry and how it affects your sale

What to do next: Visit our houses right now and get some inspiration

Want to talk about your presentation? I'd love to take a look at it,  call me on 01524 230722 if you dare!

Speak soon

The BEST viewing ideas EVER

Ever wondered what viewers love to see when they view houses.  Ever wondered what the secret is to get them to buy your house?

Click here to get your hands on the BEST VIEWING IDEAS EVER!

Enjoy