How do sell Faster & Higher - Part 4 - Lifestyles: Aspiration and Desire

How do sell Faster & Higher - Part 4

Lifestyles: Aspiration and Desire

This is my favourite part of selling houses.  This is the bit that makes all the difference.

So firstly lets get down to two of the main reasons for purchasing:

Emotional – Things we form an attachment to.  We are human and hard wired to feel emotions.  People act on emotions.  It is the main reasons we give to charities, it is also the main reason we pick the products we do.  For instance we buy holiday because of the happy people on the adverts, we often buy products because of the way they are portrayed in the media.  Emotions are a powerful motivational factor for a purchase.

'Dream Lifetsyles' by Ferrari

Desire – a want, a need, an aspiration.  We purchase things that perceive to promise a lifestyle, a way of life, an answer to a problem, a social status symbol.  For instance we buy designer perfumes to make us feel more desirable, to make us a little more like the celebrity that is endorsing, with the sleek physique, the glamourous lifestyle and the perfect hair and nails.  Car manufacturers are brilliant at creating this desire, BMW, Audi and Mercedes are amongst the best.  They create an aspirational lifestyle within their 30 second adverts to flick the right switches with consumers. To push their ‘buy’ buttons

So if this is our main motivation to buying why aren’t more people adopting this simple technique in selling their houses?

The truth is Estate Agents got lazy.  (I have to say that this does not apply to all, I know many a good Estate Agent, from far and wide check them out on my twitter)  The peak of the previous housing bubble saw the houses walk off the shelves, many before they even touched down on the Estate Agent floor.  Therefore the work involved in selling was pretty much abolished.  Have they recovered and upped the ante?  Some have.  To my level?  I will let you decide.

So the question now is:

How can I create a lifestyle to make my house sell FASTER & HIGHER?

The main thing is to avoid triggers for people to to switch of emotionally.  As we explored in part 2 uncompleted DIY is a trigger.  It means people will start to look more analytically at the purchase and are less inclined to listen to their emotions.  The analytical hat reduces the emotional need.  We automatically hinder our ability to feel.  A survival technique pre-programmed into each of us. 

Expert tricks to ensure you trigger positive emotions:  

Photographed by VMOVE - Lancaster Property

Lighting – You cannot get enough light in a house.  We all know that natural sunlight increases serotonin.  Happy emotion.  Use it. Its free.  Open curtains wide.  Turn on all lights.  Do you have any dark corners.  Light them up. Lamps, wall lights, tall floor lamps all increase the amount of light in a home.  Look at the different types of lights.  Keep kitchen and bathrooms well lit, the use of Spotlights, down lighters or new energy efficient LEDS work best here, go for a softer light with more warmth for living rooms and bedrooms.

Sumptuous fabrics – Have you got a wooden floor? Leather sofas?  Both in the same room?  This can appear a little cold with all those cool to the touch materials.  Add some drama with different textures, floor to ceiling curtains to bring back the luxury or a selection of Mongolian fur cushions, of set with a crunched velvet blanket draped over the sofa.  This gives the room depth and prevents it feeling clinical.  This will evoke feelings of desire for luxury.

Fresh Flowers & plants – literally breath new life into your home – they help with delicate scenting to provoke feelings through smell and plants actually help to calm people while “positively enhancing perception and contributing to well being” (Helen Russell, Surrey University) which is why new office design concepts actually include plants.  




Sell the dream - This often requires a little thought before hand.  Think of luxury brands, of things that people class as ultimate luxuries and make sure they are on display.  The trick is not to go over board but to place things about so that it's recognised as a luxury but not thought about as strategic product placement.  Put out your best designer bottles in your bathroom.  Limit it to one or two.  Borrow empty bottles off friends and relatives.  Do you have a designer coffee machine? Dress it up.  Make it a feature in your kitchen without it being too obvious.  Brew a pot before your viewing and leave out the tools for the job on the countertop.  Create an image of a designer lifestyle.

Space is key:  If you have a small room this could be identified as a flaw.  And can create a negative reaction.  Negative thoughts are powerful.  So make your room feel bigger with these simple tricks: (I’m not taking the beige brigade here either although a light colour will help)

Mirrors:  Sell the dream - This often requires a little thought before hand.  Think of luxury brands, of things that people class as ultimate luxuries and make sure they are on display.  The trick is not to go over board but to place things about so that it's recognised as a luxury but not thought about as strategic product placement.  Include these.  If it works in the room place it facing the window.  This will not only bounce the light around the room but is also seen as good Karma, bouncing negativity back out. 

Reflective surfaces:  Opt for a picture(s) in a frame with a glass front instead of a canvas.  Try laquered vases as opposed to matt ones.  They work in a similar way to mirrors making the place feel much bigger.

Show off the floor: whether it’s a bedroom or a living room opt/or borrow furniture on feet.  The more floor space you can see the bigger it will feel.

Light it up:  As before. Plus they can be angled to all the dark spots in the room or to the reflective surfaces to brighten it all up.  Clever.

Happiness is key.  People like to feel happy.  Happiness breeds more happiness.  Make your viewers happy. 

I'm Victoria Green.  I give tailored, expert, bespoke advice just like this for free during your Market appraisal. Sometimes we all need a little extra help.  We cover Morecambe, Lancaster, kendal and all surrounding areas.  

Just give me a call direct on 01524 230722