“You Stick to That One Thing and the Rest Don’t Mean Sh*t.”
Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [Holds up one finger] This.
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit.
Mitch: But, what is the “one thing?”
Curly: [smiles] That’s what *you* have to find out.
–“City Slickers”
What’s the secret to real estate marketing?
Grizzled cowboy “Curly” from the movie City Slickers was on the right track, except that — at least in my experience — it usually doesn’t come down to “just one thing.”
It comes down to three or four (and you certainly hope that one is “location”).
Just like in “City Slickers,” the trick is to figure out which three or four features matter most — and then to skillfully showcase and market them to prospective Buyers (and their agents).
And then, yup, relentlessly sticking to that message, and ignoring everything else.
Happy Medium
What makes “3” the magic number?
Simple: 1 is too few, and 5-6 is too many.
Too few highlights or points of interest, and Buyers are likely to be underwhelmed.
Too many, and everything starts to blur, and the home’s key strengths are lost.
There’s also a purely logistical consideration: with limited space in marketing materials, 3 or 4 main points can literally be made bigger and more eye-catching than double that amount.
P.S.: So, what’s the right number of main points to make in a listing presentation? (a Realtor’s sales pitch to a prospective home Seller).
Industry conventional wisdom is four to seven.
As opposed to an ad that has perhaps 5 seconds to catch someone’s attention (if not imagination), a listing presentation is typically a one-on-one meeting (usually about an hour) that allows for much more substance and depth.
See also, “Too Much Information” — Realtor Version.”
