what it says in the book:

      "The real estate brokers who come to view your home are in essence competing against each other for the listing. And those brokers who have been around for a while have learned from experience that very few new sellers are prepared to hear the truth about what their homes are worth.

      "So rather than risk alienating you and losing the listing to a competitor, most brokers will tell you what they think you want to hear, rather than what your home is really worth.

      "After a broker has secured the listing, he'll work hard on it for months, gradually getting you to lower your price further and further until finally the home is sold."

The bullet:

what it says in the book:

      "If your interior designer has used your home to make a personal artistic statement, that's great while you're living there but don't expect it to translate well when you're trying to sell. Rather than overdecorating or overrenovating, try to create a neutral canvas onto which a potential buyer can project his tastes."

The bullet:

What it says in the book:

      "Make closets look larger by removing items that can be stored elsewhere. Arrange the remaining items in a neat, organized fashion. Brighten dark, dull closet walls with a coat of paint."

the bullet:

what it says in the book:

      "If you want to be extra aggressive, one thing you can do is to offer brokers a higher commission. Better yet, offer a cash bonus to the salesperson making the deal. (This tactic works best for lower-priced properties.)

      "You may find the idea of giving the broker extra money distasteful, even outrageous. But look at it this way: while the couple of extra thousand dollars you're parting with is a minute portion of the selling price, it's a huge portion of the salesperson's fee. Since it takes just as much work to sell an inexpensive property as it does an expensive one, why not give the salesperson a reason to work as hard to sell your property as he would one that was a higher price? Besides, if he's a good negotiator he'll be squeezing that extra couple of thousand out of the buyer (or more accurately, the buyer's bank!) anyway."

The bullet:

what it says in the book:

      "Another technique that is very effective in selling the hard-to-sell home is for you to provide financing for the buyer. If this sounds unconventional or makes you feel uncomfortable, remember that back in the late '70s and early '80s when interest rates were in the high teens, seller financing was more the rule than the exception. And if the banks continue their trend toward tight money, it may become the rule again, no matter what interest rates are. So if you're one of the sellers who doesn't need all the cash, you may use seller financing as a way to make the deal more attractive."

the bullet:

what it says in the book:

      "Nine out of ten homeowners today are operating under a terrible misconception that is costing them a great deal of time and money. I call this misconception the 'fallacy of time.'

      "The fallacy of time is the belief that in order to get top dollar for your home you must stay on the market a long time in order to hold out for the highest possible price.

      "In fact, the reverse is true. The less time a home sits on the market, the higher the price it's likely to bring. Homes that sell for above-average prices almost always sell quickly. And homes that sit on the market for a long time almost always sell for much less than they would have had they sold quickly."

the bullet:

what it says in the book:

      "And if you live in a state where real estate brokers aren't allowed to draft sales contracts, make sure your attorney doesn't drag his feet with the sales contract. In virtually all home sales, the contract of sale is a preprinted form that the attorney or his paralegal can fill out in a matter of minutes. Remember that you are paying your attorney a significant sum of money; it is not unreasonable for you to expect him to send the contract out that day. And make sure the contract is delivered by hand. I can't tell you how many times deals have been held up because the attorney put the contract in the mail."

the bullet:

what it says in the book:

      "Odors. It is a scientific fact that the human nose becomes impervious to a smell after it has been exposed to it for just a few minutes. Just because you can't smell an odor doesn't mean that a buyer first entering the home won't smell it. Pay special attention to the litter box and any other possible sources of odors in the home. Keep fresh air circulating by opening the windows or running the air conditioner. And you may consider providing a pleasant scent with fresh flowers, potpourri, or scented candles. If you really want to pull out all the stops, you can try old tricks such as baking bread, boiling cinnamon, or putting a drop of vanilla on a lit lightbulb before buyers arrive."

the bullet:

      Are you beginning to get the idea? I could go on and on with more examples but, really the best way for you to get the "knack" of writing bullets is to read bullet-laden ads and then, order the book or product the ad is selling and study it till you are proficient in spotting the "source" of the bullet. All the above bullets are taken from an ad I wrote for a book titled Sell Your House Fast. Here are the rest of the bullets of that ad:

      May I suggest something? Why don't you order this book and see if you can find the text in the book from which I extracted these bullets. The book is dirt-cheap and this will be an excellent learning experience for you. Not only that, it's the best book I've ever found on the subject of selling a house.

      And listen: Another crucial part of an ad or a direct mail promo is the ordering instructions. They have to be crystal clear! So, to help you get an idea of how to do this aspect of your promotions, I'm reproducing below the ordering instructions  I wrote for this book:

      Well anyway, whether you order the book or not, I hope what you've just read has given you some insight into how to write bullets and ordering instructions. You know, copywriting, when done well, is extremely easy to read but brutally hard to write. Writing is, I believe, the hardest job in the world. Especially if you do it right. And copywriting is the most difficult form of writing. When you're writing a novel, a short story or a non-fiction book or article, you can get away with a little slop.

      Not so with copywriting. There... every word... has to count!

      But don't despair, you can learn to do it. And, when you do, you can work anywhere in the world and the payoff can be handsome indeed.

      I'd like to conclude this issue by telling you a curious story. Not long ago, an officer from the third largest bank in the U.S. spent two days in Key West with me trying to get me to create their advertising. He was flabbergasted when I refused. He said the bank had ad agencies standing in line to "pitch" the bank into being allowed to handle their account.

      He was a nice guy, very sharp, and, when he left he understood, I believe, why I couldn't work on such an account. You see, what the bank wanted was more of the "same ol', same ol'." They run full-page ads in places like the Wall Street Journal with a picture of a guy in a rowboat and eight words saying something like this:

NATIONS BANK: The Power To Make A Difference!

      I just checked with Nancy Jones and the cost of running just one full-page ad in the full circulation of the Wall Street Journal is $114,605.28.

      Can you imagine that? Paying that much money to print eight words having no selling power whatsoever? Think about it: That comes out to...

$14,325.66 Per Word!

      It's curious to me. I bet Nations Bank has some of the sharpest executives in the world. I bet they watch every penny of their costs like hawks. I bet they measure everything from currency fluctuations to the square foot cost of each building they rent or buy. I bet when they make a loan, they learn everything about the buyer right down to the maiden name of his aunts. But, on perhaps their most important expenditure of all... their advertising... THEY OPERATE BLIND! I've never even seen them offer a booklet in their advertising so they can at least "semi-measure" the pulling power of their ads.

      But then, sometimes, I think it's me that's stupid. Just think, if I handled accounts like this and charged the standard 15% like ad agencies do, I could make $17,190.79 just for writing a lousy eight words every time they run an ad in the Journal.

      Oh well, it's just not my bag. What I like to do is write ads that make huge profits for my clients. I don't always succeed but often, I put more work into writing one ad than a conventional ad agency does in doing 10-years of work for one of their institutional clients.

      Do you have a project for which you need advertising written? If so, I strongly urge you to learn to write the advertising yourself or else hire a real copywriting expert to do it for you.

      Someone like me.

	Sincerely,
	Gary C. Halbert

Copyright © 2003 Gary C. Halbert.  All Rights Reserved.