Who’s the ‘Knucklehead’??
“If one guy honks at you on the freeway, he’s a knucklehead. If five guys honk at you, you’re the knucklehead.’
–“Programmers Keeps Shows Prospects in Focus (Groups)”; The New York Times (5/11/2012)
“Ten showings, $10,000.”
–Real estate saying (translation: if a home has had 10 showings and no offers, it’s overpriced by (at least) $10,000).
Substitute “rips your house” for “honks at you on the freeway,” and the same dynamic discussed in the NYT article about TV focus groups applies equally well to feedback from prospective home buyers.
Namely, what any one person says is unimportant.
However, once everyone says the same thing(s) . . . you’d better pay attention.
Millions of Fans vs. One
Fortunately, there’s one key difference between TV shows and “For Sale” homes.
Whereas TV shows must attract millions of fans to succeed, to sell, a home ultimately must find just one (ardent) fan.
P.S.: My other favorite quote from the NYT article:
“I can appreciate listening to people talk about my show, getting some great, penetrating comments. But then you’ll hear someone say about a character, “She was mean to cats.’ And there were no cats in any scene.”
