Selling Your House in Virginia Beach - Virginia Beach Neighborhoods

If you can shift your view into the world of the buyer, you are half way there. Understanding the buyer is the key to a quick and easy sale.

Having young children taught me more about sales than nearly 15 years in the Navy. So when I left active duty and fell in love with real estate, I had a lot to learn. Contrary to the image of the used car salesman, I found that sales require finesse and preparation. Successful salesmen set the stage to let the customer buy. It is imperative for the buyer to come to her decision on her own. Nowhere is this truer than when selling your house.

I joke that I got my MBA through Amazon.com. Here’s a look at one of my bookshelves.

How to Sell Anything to Anybody by Joe Girard
Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith
The Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Soft Selling in a Hard World by Jerry Vass
All Marketers Tell Stories by Seth Godin
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn
Endless Referrals by Bob Burg
Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them by Stephan Schiffman
Neuromarketing by Patrick Renvoise
Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell
Zig Ziglar’s Secrets to Closing a Sale
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller
The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb
You, Inc. – The Art of Selling Yourself by Harry Beckwith

…and the list goes on and on. There are many ideas in these books that repeat themselves, but one stands out above the rest. Successful salesmen don’t sell, they help the buyer buy. You can’t force your kids to eat their dinner; you have to present it to them in a way so that they decide to eat it on their own.
You may live in the best neighborhood in Virginia Beach and have the best house in the neighborhood, but the buyer does not want to hear it from you. There are over 3000 homes for sale in Virginia Beach right now.

600 say they are beautiful.
100 say they are the best.
250 say they are gorgeous.
1000 say they are great.

Will you stand out by telling the buyers you are the best? Not likely. Simply being the best home in the best neighborhood is not good enough for today’s buyers. You have to show them. You won’t be selling your house. You will be helping them discover that your house is their best choice.

Declutter and Neutralize

After living in a home for many years, it is tough to imagine how another person might feel when seeing it for the first time. That first impression is extremely important. It is crucial that we get it right. As a general rule, take away any personal belongings that might stand out. Start packing early and clear off the horizontal surfaces. Put the family pictures in boxes.  Neutralize as much as possible. White trim and off-white walls are very popular in new construction and HGTV. You can’t go wrong with neutral. Most of the time this is all that is needed. Every family is different; every house unique. It is normal to be anxious about the details. I will be able to help you out with anything you might have overlooked.

The most important thing about selling your house is understanding that you are not really selling your house. It is my job to get buyers into your house. It is our job to get them to love it. Only then will they buy it.