On Tuesday of this week, we listed our home for sale.
We've already had five showings, two of which were yesterday evening, during dinner hours.
My wife had baked chocolate chip cookies that afternoon, so on a whim we put some cookies on a plate for the people who would be seeing our house.
We could have simply put the cookies on a plate, assuming our visitors would know what to do. But we did not do that.
Rather, we put the cookies on a plate, set out some napkins, and left a note next to the plate.
I will tell you what I asked my wife to write in just a moment. But first, let's examine the frame of mind of these "prospects."
I assume that a home buyer who comes to see a house for sale feels a little bit awkward. Almost like they are intruding. They are in a stranger's home.
I also assume that a home buyer will feel uncomfortable taking a free cookie. Without specific instruction, they might wonder if they are permitted to take one.
What's more, if they eat one, they might feel obligated to reciprocate in some way. So they need reassurance that it's okay to take a cookie.
With that in mind, here is what I asked my wife to write...
Baked fresh today. Please take one. Enjoy! :-)
Do you want to know something? Out of the six cookies we left, we discovered that five of them had been eaten while we were gone. I thought that was pretty good considering a maximum of six people came into our house, and maybe as few as four.
Copy always matters... even if you're offering something for free.
Marketing 101, get them in with a free cookie then upsell a house :)
Posted by: Kyle Tully | September 07, 2007 at 05:40 PM
One of the copyriters that works with me, Terri Dumont, is selling her house too -- As Kyle says, Great upsell Ryan.
I'll be sure to pass the idea long. : )
Shaune
Posted by: Shaune Clarke | September 07, 2007 at 07:30 PM
VERY good post, Ryan! . . . And hilarious comment by Kyle Tully!
Thanks for the laughs.
Posted by: John Holzmann | September 07, 2007 at 08:27 PM
I wish I could bake!
Posted by: sjwyatt | September 07, 2007 at 08:46 PM
Hey Ryan,
Before my potential buyers came to look at the house, I'd baked banana bread. The house smelled great!
When they asked me the price of the home, I told them $20K more than I was originally thinking.
They have an appt w/the banker this week as they want the house.
It's a wonderful banana bread recipe! :-)
-Terri
P.S. Can't beat the personal touch...in every aspect of life and business.
Posted by: Terri | September 08, 2007 at 12:39 PM
@ John - Glad you liked the post. :-)
@ Terri - Way to go! Getting $20K more than asking would really be something...
Posted by: Ryan Healy | September 09, 2007 at 01:18 PM
Ryan,
Copy always matters.
For example...
A credit card company tried to raise the rate on my credit card because my payment arrived 1 day late due to me forgetting to send it (oops).
I tried to contact customer service on the phone to ask to have my rate returned to the normal.
Didn't work.
So I sent them a letter...and utilizing my copywriting skills...persuaded them to give me an even lower rate.
:) It worked.
Lesson here? Watch your credit card statement, and copy ALWAYS matters.
Joseph Ratliff
Posted by: Joseph Ratliff | September 13, 2007 at 01:13 PM
@ Joseph - Great illustration. Thanks for sharing. (Credit card companies are nasty, aren't they?)
Posted by: Ryan Healy | September 13, 2007 at 03:05 PM