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You are here: Home / Blog / Words that Sell

Words that Sell

October 16, 2012 By maurasf

I’ve always said that words are the tools of a sales professional. Here’s proof that your words help you sell:

This is from the Wall Street Journal Oct. 5, 2012 issue:
Want to sell your house fast? It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.

How well can you sell?

Houses that real-estate agents describe as “move-in condition” sell 12% faster than homes listed without those words. “Starter homes” sell 9% faster. But be careful: A house called a “handyman special” sells about 50% faster, but the final price is 30% lower than listings that lack those words.

For the past decade, Paul Anglin, associate professor of real estate at the University of Guelph in Ontario, has been studying the effect of certain words in house descriptions.

One of the worst offenders is “motivated” sellers, which both lowers the sell price and slows the sale. Oddly, frantic pleas of “must sell” have no effect on sell time or price, Prof. Anglin says.

In a 2005 National Bureau of Economic Research study, words that depict distinct attributes—”granite,” “maple” and “gourmet”—correspond with higher sale prices. Words deemed “superficially positive”—like “clean,” “quiet,” “fantastic” and “charming”—are either ineffective or even hurt prices.

In a separate study, words that describe specific attributes are more likely to boost the selling price: Mentioning “garage” increases the sale price by 9.8%, “fireplace” by 6.8% and “lake” by 5.6%, says Thomas Thomson, a professor of real estate and finance at the University of Texas at San Antonio who co-wrote “Real Estate Agent Remarks: Help or Hype?”

Don’t mention minor improvements without citing more substantial ones. Bragging about your home’s recently painted walls or new carpet may decrease the final sale price, Prof. Thomson adds. These phrases may lead buyers to form overblown expectations, and they are disappointed after actually viewing it.

“It’s like putting lipstick on a pig. If you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig,” he says.

—Sanette Tanaka
A version of this article appeared October 5, 2012, on page M4 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: A Motivated Seller by Any Other Name….

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About the principal

Would you take auto mechanics classes when you buy a car? Maura did because she wanted to be able to work on her car. She takes that same approach to selling. She can show you how to get below the surface of selling to learn why and how different strategies work. She will show you which skills to implement that will shorten your sales cycle and increase your sales. She was Mobil Oil's first female Lubrication Engineer in the United States and one of Chevron's top 5 salespeople in the country. She knows what works for sales.

"I would recommend your work to other sales organizations who want to get better results from improved selling strategies."
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President
Houston Texans

Sales Expert at Allbusiness.com

Selling is the easiest job in the world. Just ask anyone who is not in sales. Read Maura’s ideas on “more brain…less mouth” selling to make your selling easier and more successful.

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