On Target

In the very big business of marketing, the most successful companies are the ones who know their target markets and how to reach them. These giant companies become giants by using very strategic marketing plans that reach out specifically to customers who buy and use what they sell. They don’t waste time, money, or other resources ‘hoping’ or ‘guessing’ where to make their marketing investments. They have a target and they aim carefully for that bullseye.

You may find it odd that these same principles apply to preparing property for listing in the real estate market, i.e. staging property for sale. After all, all humans use houses or apartments. True. However, the real estate market separates itself into layers depending on the price of the property, the number of bedrooms (read: families with children versus singles, and empty nesters) and other factors. Within each of these layers there are other layers dependent on location, lifestyle, and other, more subtle, differences. A strategic plan for selling your home or apartment must take these factors into account and address them definitively.

Naturally, you don’t imagine a family of six will buy your studio apartment unless they are looking for an investment property (another of those layers mentioned above). One of the key elements to successful real estate sales is being equipped to anticipate who will be buying your property and then refining the message (presentation) to make it as attractive as possible to the range of buyers in question.

The real estate market in the greater Sydney area is a very dynamic one. The competition is keen and the layers within the market can be razor thin. It’s for this reason that your selling agent will, no doubt, suggest that you bring in a professional to help with staging your property. A professional stager’s life is dedicated to making homes and apartments irresistible to the broadest range of buyers within the most likely target market. They do this through extensive research, countless surveys and studies, as well as through the use of focus groups. The data they gather is then used to understand buyers more fully, making home staging as scientific as it is artistic.

All of this information is essential to selling your property for the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time. This goes far, far beyond favourite colours and preferred flooring. This information can actually let you know where your future buyer is likely to go on holiday next year. But knowing how to apply this data is tricky.

Just as accountants and architects have their trade secrets, so do those whose life revolves around real estate sales. The assumptions a home-seller might make on his own about buyers don’t always translate to a perfect match of home to home-buyer. If your buyer is likely to be a young professional – an accountant or a lawyer – it does not mean one should install wallpaper featuring mathematical equations or quotes in Latin on the bathroom walls. It may be that your particular buyer will be put off by such reminders of work. Your home stylist will have the ultimate answers for you, and you may find them to be surprising.

There are times in life when one should sit back and leave the hard work to the pros. This applies to the running of railroads and the staging of homes for sale. Selling a home can be the most stressful business transaction in which you’ll ever take part. We advise minimising the stress whenever possible by investing in the services of a presentation specialist.

Not only will engaging a home staging professional unburden you from knowing what colour to paint the kitchen, it will also help you organise and supervise the work of tradesmen as they see to any necessary plumbing, roofing, and other systems repairs. Essentially, your home staging company – if you’ve chosen an excellent one – will make the sale of your home far less traumatic in the long term and will accomplish this for far less money than you ever imagined.

By focusing on a carefully crafted strategic plan when staging property for sale, your sales team can boost your sale and relieve your stress levels all while increasing your final profit. That’s a bullseye.