Prospective Buyers want to see the house, inspect it, ask questions and satisfy themselves that it is the best choice. The presentation of your house should therefore be a Positively Overwhelming and Memorable Experience.

Buyers usually come with pre-conceived ideas of what they are looking for in a house. They may even have gone around "shopping". They would have a mental checklist in their mind to help them arrive at their decision.

You have to look at the whole selling process through the eyes if the buyer. What you show is not as important as what the buyers perceive. Perception is king and as sellers, you must manage the perception of the buyers.

Stage 1: Preparation Stage
How to make your house more Appealing?
As mentioned in the preparation your house for Showtime, the objective of this stage is to create an emotionally stimulating environment to the buyers. The goal is to give them a ?welcome home? feeling and convince them that this is where they will enjoy the comfort and pleasures of life.

Stage 2: Probing Stage
What are the needs and behavioral patterns of the buyers? You have to understand the motives, wants and personality of your buyers. Only then, you can help them realize the value and benefits of your house better.

Responsiveness: Are they willing to discuss and cooperate with you?

How motivated are the buyers about buying your house?

Eligibility: Are they in a position to buy your house?Needs: Can you meet their needs and requirements?

Stage 3: Presentation Stage
How to convince the buyers to buy your house?
Falling in love with a house is like falling in love with a person. It is better if the sellers are 'unobtrusive' during the presentation of the house. This will make the prospective buyer feel more relaxed and be more open about sharing his or her opinions after viewing.

Stage 4: Prevention Stage
What prevents buyers from buying your house?
You must expect buyers to raise questions, doubts and objections. It is part and parcel of the decision making process. When prospective buyers raise concerns, it is an indication that they are interested in your house. The best way to remove a concern is to prevent it. To do so, you need to apply the 3 P's strategy. You need to pre-empt a buyer's potential concerns prior to meeting him or her. You need to prepare the appropriate responses and if necessary, respond to them proactively. Hopefully a compromise can be made somewhere in between.

Stage 5: Position Stage
How to make the buyers believe (logic) and feel (emotion) that your house is the best choice for them? You will do well to remember the words of Sun Tze, the famous military strategist, 'Know your enemy?' Why? Because prospective buyers will visit other properties and make comparisons before deciding to buy a house. It is therefore important for you to visit and study other show-flats and properties, especially those that are in your neighborhood, so to ensure that your house is well positioned to achieve success.

The Art of Negotiation
Negotiation is the process of influencing buyers to purchase your house at the best possible price, terms and conditions. It is not a platform to obtain everything you desire, however, if you plan carefully and negotiate effectively and efficiently, you can achieve the highest possible price for your property.

The following are some negotiation tactics to help you achieve better success.

Plan for success
Before entering into a negotiation, you need to know what you want and how you can potentially achieve it. There is no point in closing the sale only to find out later that you have lost much money in selling the property at the contracted price. Therefore, make sure you have done your homework on your property financial calculation in the beginning so as to achieve your desired results.

Always negotiate face-to-face
This is the best way to size up buyers and promote the value of your house. If you negotiate over the phone, it is easier for buyers to say 'No'. They can also change their mind before they sign on the dotted line.

Set the stage
Always choose on appropriate time and place to negotiate with buyers. It should be ideally occur when they are in a good mood, not occupied with other matters and are in a position to make a decision.

Prepare yourself
An unprepared mind and uncontrolled emotion can kill the sale. If the atmosphere becomes tense or negative during negotiation it will not help to bring the sale to a close. Worse still, if there are disputes in which careless words are spoken, it may even kill the sale completely.

Negotiation is power play in action!
You should try to negotiate from the ?superior? ground. The party with lesser power, real or perceived, will find their position being eroded over a period of time. Power in negotiation is centered on your character (who you are) and competence (what you can do). To be successful, you should be able to build positive relationships, earn the right to be listened to and even be trusted. You need to be skilful in communicating to and persuading buyers to accept your offer. Project an image of professionalism and reliability. In addition, be pleasant at all times without being perceived as a pushover.

Negotiation is psychological
If you are not convinced about the selling price, do not expect to be able to convince others. You will only get what you believe, desire and deserve.

Negotiation is a management of perception
There is no need to be perfect to command the best returns although it helps. More importantly, you need to know how to influence buyers? perception about the value of your house. From the dressing up of it to the presentation, you need to communicate the advantages of the house and help buyers perceive the tangible improvements that it will make to their lifestyle and returns on investment. The principle is: The more they want the house, the more they will pay for it. Generally, there is an upper limit to the fair market value of your property so aim high - this will at least leave room for negotiation. However, do not set too high a price. It will deter genuine buyers and possibly make them feel insulted.

Stretch the deposit
When a deal is agreed upon and the option form is signed, it should be accompanied by a non-refundable deposit (also know as option money). The sum of which should be large enough to deter buyers from defaulting it should also cover the cost for removing your property from the market.

Do not close the door to any offer permanently. Like fishing, always have a 'bait' to attract buyers to review and improve their offers. Throughout the process, you need to be patient and be sensitive to every move of the buyers. In conclusion, remember that all of us will have to go "prepared" in any forms of property purchase.

contact name: James Tan
contact email: ah_then123@yahoo.com