It’s human nature that we’re attracted to things that look good. Over 400 years ago in the Middle Ages a phrase was coined: ‘Clothes make the man.’ It’s a statement that’s rung true over time, and today is even more relevant than ever. How we present ourselves is important.
In a crowded market place, looking good helps you stand out. In real estate this isn’t just about how agents dress or their focus on grooming and presentation, it also applies to marketing material and to the home itself. If care, attention to detail and expert thought goes into presentation it attracts attention and impresses buyers.
The Importance of Personal Grooming
When you look good, you feel good. Your confidence and self-esteem soars, and people gravitate towards you. This is extremely important for business professionals such as lawyers who should always make time and financial investments into their appearance. They will get judged on this and often it’s used as a measure of success.
Think about it. Say you run a business and you’re looking for a lawyer to take care of all your ongoing legal concerns and compliance. You organise meetings with a couple of lawyers in your area. Lawyer A rocks up in an old vehicle. He’s wearing shorts and trainers and looks pretty scruffy, although he seems to know what he’s talking about and you have a good conversation. Lawyer B drives a really nice car and is immaculately presented in an expensive suit. You also hit it off with him and have an informative chat.
The only difference between the two lawyers is their appearance. Bearing this in mind, which one would you choose to sell your home? Most people would say Lawyer B, simply because his appearance gives the impression of a more successful agent who’ll sell your home for a better price.
Does Presentation REALLY Matter?
According to economist David Hamermesh in his book ‘Beauty Pays’, good looking women make 8% more than the average, while good looking men make 4% more. The biggest factor in what determines ‘good looks’? Grooming and presentation.
A study called “Beauty and the Labor Market: Accounting for the Additional Effects of Personality and Grooming” goes even further with the stats, stating that ‘being very physically attractive’ means a 12% increase in wages, while even “being above average attractiveness” meant a significant increase in wages. The study also found that being well groomed or very well groomed resulted in a 4-5% increase in earnings.
On a similar note, a survey conducted by Career Builder found that 69% of hiring managers said that a top turnoff about a candidate was if they were badly dressed.
What these stats tell us is that being well groomed and presented conveys capability. People are more willing to put their trust in you and your abilities, and you’ll reap career and financial rewards as a result.
Online Presentation
In a world where so much of our business and communicating is done online, it makes sense too that ‘virtual looks’ of a business also matter. When you’re thinking of working with a business or buying a particular product, the first port of call is usually the Google and social media, where you can do a bit of research on them. If someone has poor reviews, a bad website or average content, chances are you won’t do business with them.
When it comes to their content, there’s also a difference in businesses who produce educational, informative and engaging content and those who produce plain content simply focused on sales. Skilled, polished content marketing helps a business look good. In fact, according to the Content Marketing Institute, effective content marketing has conversion rates six times higher than traditional marketing methods. Original content really matters to our online looks.
Property Listings and Presentation
When a property goes to market, presentation is everything. The home itself needs to look good, as does the marketing material. This includes videography, pamphlets, copywriting and of course one the chief components is professional photography, which according to realestate.com.au gives the following benefits to a listing:
- Attracts 89% more buyers than standard photography
- Increases enquiries by 89%
- Increase clicks to an online listing by 68%
- Secures a higher selling price with 52% of professionally photographed listings.
To get a property looking its best for sale, many real estate agents turn to home staging. When done by a qualified expert, staging furnishes a home in a visually appealing manner that allows buyers to see the potential in a home. A profile by the National Association of Realtors in America found that home staging increased the dollar value of a home by between 1% and 10% over 39% of the time. It also led to a faster sale over 50% of the time.
If you want to talk more about presentation and how important it is to real estate, get in touch with The Henry Wong Team®. We’d love to run through some of the marketing tactics we use to earn the trust of buyers and make properties look good.
