One of my new coaching clients contacted me because they were having great difficulty in closing the sale and wanted help. He was great at making appointments but his conversion rate from appointment to sale was really low. He blamed the quality of the leads, he blamed the lead providers. He said he would be brilliant if only he had more quality leads. During our discussions I discovered his telephone skills were really good but once he got to the appointment, here’s what happened:

He became complacent.

Because he had the appointment he thought he could just “show up” and “throw up”.

In other words, because the decision maker had agreed to see him he thought they must be really interested and all he had to do was show up and present his product.

WRONG!

The secret is continual emphasis on relevance. You may have a number of products and all of those will have certain features. You need to know which ones are relevant to your prospective client. To do this you must engage in conversation and ask questions, then you can present a relevant solution which meets the exact needs of your client. Your client is only interested in “What’s in it for me” They don’t want to hear about everything in your armoury.

So here’s what to do:

After you have carried out the questioning part of your sales process and discovered your clients;

• Present situation
• What they want to achieve ideally
• The challenges that are stopping them from achieving their ideal objective
• The impact of those challenges, including the emotional and financial impacts.
• The benefits of change

Recap on the information that you have gathered. This gives your client the opportunity to hear it all again and confirm that what you have recapped is what they actually said. Then AND ONLY THEN start to present your solution. It is important to raise interest at the beginning of the sales presentation but this must be maintained throughout the meeting. Again… The secret is continual emphasis on relevance. The only thing relevant to your customer is the answer to his question ‘what’s in it for me?’ The answer to this question must of course, always be A BENEFIT. What doesn’t seem to be so obvious is that a benefit is not the same as a feature. FEATURES are what companies put into their products/service. What a customer buys is not the feature itself, but what the customer gets out of it. These two are linked by the ADVANTAGE

Let’s look at an easy way of remembering this:

F.A.B.

Feature – what it is

Advantage – what it can do

Benefit – matches the need of the customer

This can be presented to the customer in the following way:

Start by restating the NEED. This will help you to keep the FAB statement relevant.

This is what it is – Feature

This is what it can do – Advantage

Which means that – Benefit?

Example

Customer Need

“We’ve paid too much money over the years trying to maintain a poorly installed roofing system on the business properties that we rent out. One of our buildings is the Headquarters of a national manufacturing firm.”

“They are furious when the roof leaks and are threatening to cancel their rental agreement with us. This is our largest tenant and if they terminate their contract our profits will be affected to the tune of 40%. It could be months before we find another tenant of their size and stature.”

Feature

“Our AllWeather solution uses a high density coating and has a warranty of 40 years.”

Advantage

“AllWeather sticks to all surface imperfections, seals all cracks and crevices and prevents any leakage.” (This addresses the problem)

Benefit

“This will ensure that your tenants will be satisfied that their factory will be free from leaks and will withdraw their threat of cancelling their contract with you. Which means that you won’t have to spend time and money looking for another tenant.”

“We will provide you with a certificate of warranty that you can show them to satisfy their requirements.”

“At the same time this will allow you to increase profitability by lowering your previous maintenance costs.” (This addresses the impact of the problem)

Things to remember:

• Sell only the benefits that relate to your customer’s problems/gaps or interests.
• Make sure that when you present the benefits of your product or service that you include, how the benefit addresses the emotional and financial impacts.
• Have your proofs ready at hand to support the statements you have made. Testimonials, Case studies, Data, are all very powerful in substantiating your claims

Presenting the solution as we have called this part of your process, is the point at which you match your clients’ problems, gaps etc. with your solutions. Therefore you should now be able to see why the questioning section is so important. Unless you identify your clients’ situation, problems and gaps and impacts, it is impossible to match your solutions successfully.

Going back to my coaching client, it was nothing to do with the quality of leads or his ability to close. It’s all in the questioning and presenting the relevant solution.

Please leave me a comment below, sharing your thoughts on sales conversations, good and bad. Sharing is how we all improve.

Find A Way and be the Best You Can Be

Dylis

Email: [email protected]

As a network marketer, you are a very valuable resource when you know how to present effectively. Continue reading this MLM training article and learn about the different presenting scenarios so that you can become a valuable resource to your MLM team.

In this MLM training tip I explain WHEN you present your business versus when you invite someone to take a look at your business.

First let me give you a rule:

Until you can effectively present, you only use what is called the Inviting Formula.

My intention with this MLM training article is to introduce you to presenting concepts so that you can present when it’s best (for the prospect) for you to do so. Therefore, until you’re effective at presenting, continue using the Inviting Formula while learning to present.

How the Inviting Formula is different than the Presenting Formula

The difference between the Inviting Formula and the Presenting Formula is that the Inviting Formula’s purpose is to ask the prospect to look at a presentation IN THE FUTURE. The Presenting Formula is used when you’re going to present something (business or product) RIGHT NOW.

Take a look at the Inviting Formula and Presenting Formula below and notice the slight difference in the two formulas. The remainder of this MLM training article will explain this difference, so that you know which formula you should follow.

Inviting Formula

Greet

Qualify

Invite – to look at something IN THE FUTURE

Close to action

Follow up

Presenting Formula

Greet

Qualify

Present – to look at something RIGHT NOW

Close to action

Follow up

Inviting Formula Example: If you’re talking to a prospect for the first time and during the Qualify step you determine that the prospect does qualify for your business or product – you would use the Inviting Formula if:

a. You don’t know how to present effectively.

b. You’re going to have the prospect look at a tool (video, audio, brochure, etc.).

c. You’re going to have the prospect meet with you (hotel business opportunity meeting, one-on-one, conference call, etc.) IN THE FUTURE.

Presenting Formula Example: If you’re talking to a prospect for the first time and during the Qualify step you determine that the prospect does qualify for your business or product – you would use the Presenting Formula if:

a. You know how to present effectively.

b. You’re going to present to them RIGHT NOW.

How to Use The Presenting Formula If You Have Previously Done The Inviting Formula

From the Inviting Formula example above let’s say you chose to INVITE your prospect to meet with you in the future (such as a one-on-one). When you arrive at that meeting you would then use the Presenting Formula because you are going to present RIGHT NOW.

Since this is your first time talking with the prospect, you would spend a longer amount of time in the Greet and Qualify steps. In the Qualify step you determine that your prospect qualifies so you invite him/her to a one-on-one with you. In the close to action step you agree to meet with them at a designated location. The Follow-up step is not required unless the prospect doesn’t show up to the one-on-one. Assuming the prospect does arrive at the designated location for the one-on-one, you would do a shorter Greet (than when you did the Inviting Formula) and a short Qualify (just basically restating their needs/wants) and then DO the presentation in the Present step. After the presentation you would close to an action step and then follow up or follow through.

The Formula If No Previous Inviting Formula Has Been Done

Once you know how to present effectively, you start all conversations with prospects knowing that you COULD do the presentation (Presenting Formula) or you COULD invite them (Inviting Formula) to look at something in the future. You start out knowing that you could do either the Inviting Formula or the Presenting formula. Since you don’t know until the Qualify step which you will do…you do the greeting and in the qualify step you determine if you’re going to use the Inviting Formula or the Presenting Formula. The only exception of course is if you don’t know how to present effectively – then you would only use the Inviting Formula. As an example, let’s suppose you meet someone on an airplane and have the next 3 hours with them. You strike up a conversation (greeting) and during the conversation she says, “I am miserable at my job.” She obviously qualifies. You will make the decision (at the Qualify step) whether to Invite her to look at something in the future or Present to her right there on the airplane. If you choose to have her look at a video – you would use the Inviting Formula. If you choose to present to her on the airplane, you’ll use the Presenting Formula.

If there’s one thing you pick up from this MLM training article it would be this: When you know how to present effectively you are a valuable resource. The skill of Presenting is most valuable when you know when and how to use it. There are many times I don’t present, even though I am effective at doing it.

Enjoy the process of learning how to invite and present, and stay tuned in for additional MLM training tips on how to present, as there is a lot more to come, to help you master the presenting process.

Smallpox is one of the most devastating diseases in the history of mankind. Believed to originate more than three millennia ago in India or Egypt, epidemics caused by smallpox have decimated populations across continents.

Thanks to a campaign of universal vaccination the last naturally occurring case of smallpox was in October 1977 in Somalia. Two years later the World Health Organization (WHO) certified it as eradicated. This was sanctioned by the World Health Assembly (WHA) on May 1980.

There were two types of smallpox recognized in the 20th century; variola minor which had a fatality rate of less than 1%, and variola major which had a fatality rate of around 30%.

Initially after infection with the virus, prior to getting the rash, there was a period of sudden onset of high fever, headache, backache and malaise. After 2-4 days, the rash would begin to appear.

The rash progressed through several stages; from raised bumps to fluid- filled, hard and firm vesicles with a depressed center resembling a belly button.

The lesions appear on the face and extremities, including the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. The lesions are at the same stage of development in a given area.

Rarely, in 5-10% of smallpox patients, variola major would take a fulminant, hemorrhagic course where it was rapidly fatal. In such patients, the lesions are so densely confluent that the skin looks like crepe rubber; some patients’ exhibit bleeding into the skin and intestinal tract.

Smallpox is extremely contagious via respiratory secretions or direct contact with fluids with an incubation period of 12 days average. The illness usually lasts 4 weeks and the person would be contagious until all the lesions scabbed over and fell off in 3-4 weeks leaving pitted scars.

It is exclusively a human disease with no known animal or environmental reservoir hosts.

So how does the clinical presentation of smallpox differ from chickenpox? During the first 2 to 3 days of rash, it may be all but impossible to distinguish between the two. However after that:

Smallpox

Fever: 2 to 4 days before rash
Rash: Pocks at the same stage of development, deep seated
Distribution: More pocks on the extremities
Pocks on the palms and soles: Usually present
Death: 30%

Chickenpox

Fever: At the time of the rash
Rash: Pocks in several stages (crops), more superficial
Distribution: More pocks on trunk
Pocks on the palms and soles: Usually absent
Death: Rare

If you are looking for a gift idea for an 18th birthday present, you are certainly faced with a challenging task. Like all great gift ideas, you need to understand who you are buying for and what is happening in their lives. Only in this way can you find the perfect 18th birthday present idea.

Coming of Age
The 18th birthday for most teenagers is one of the biggest milestones in their lives up to that point. High school is finished along with all the accompanying stress of homework and in many cases, peer group pressure. Life is changing and adulthood is upon them. Some of their old high school friends may fade away or even move away to college. The prospect of deciding their future seems to be an unfathomable event. Confusion, elation, and uncertainty form a cocktail of emotions.

Yet in the midst of this excitement comes the opportunity for celebration. And of course, one of the ways we celebrate occasions such as this is by giving a gift.

The Teenage Mind
Having a teenage daughter myself, I can tell you with great confidence that you are facing a monumental task. Teenagers tastes seem to change by the week. One day, a certain clothing brand is popular and the next day they wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a t-shirt with the company name on it. Music and electronics trends also change at lightning fast speed.

I have chosen to avoid buying my daughter electronics because I feel that if I did, she would spend even more time plugged in than she is already. Despite my attempts, her part time jobs always allow her to buy her own electronics and I can tell you, the iPods and portable devices change faster than I can keep track of.

My point is that if you are trying to decide on the perfect gift for an 18 year old, you’re going to have a very difficult time finding something that they are going to love. And don’t you want that for them? Buy something for them that they are going to love.

Gift Cards – The Best Solution
My daughter absolutely loves gift cards because she loves to shop. Shopping is a form of creative expression for teenagers because it allows them to express their choice without any influence from the parents. In a survey by the National Retail Federation, 98% of teens surveyed had either received or given a gift card in that year.

Because my daughter doesn’t have a credit card (thank God), she hasn’t been able to shop online yet. Teenagers are just dying to experience more online shopping because they haven’t been old enough. A gift card allows them to do that. It’s also difficult for a teen to go shopping by themselves if they don’t have a car. So make sure you buy a gift card that allows them to shop online.

Find a Gift Card With Many Product Categories
It’s of no use to give a book store gift certificate to an 18 year old when all they really want is a new hoodie. Or what if you bought them a gift card to a clothing store, but it turns out that they’ve just decided that the store brand is out of style? The best solution is to buy a card from an online merchant that offers multiple product categories such as clothing, music, DVD movies and electronics. Let them decide and they will love you for it!

The Perfect Gift Card
When it comes to gift cards, I always buy my daughter the Amazon gift card. It’s truly an amazing no fee, no expiry date, card that offers all the product categories that a teenager could want with literally millions of products to choose from. Amazon is a marketplace, so you will find all the name brand products being sold by a multitude of local and global merchants, all under the trusted umbrella of Amazon.

We’ve all been there – you call your prospect back at the appointed time for your presentation and they tell you any of the following:

This isn’t a good time, OR
They only have a few minutes, OR
They ask you in an exasperated tone, “How long will this take?” OR
They tell you they have a meeting in 10 minutes, can you give them the information anyway?
Or any other put off that will cut short the 30 minute comprehensive presentation you had planned.

Most sales reps respond to these objection-like receptions by asking if they would prefer to set another time. That response might be appropriate with the first put off – the “This isn’t a good time,” – but with any of the others, I have a better technique for you.

Let’s start at the beginning. First, when you get this kind of response from a prospect you qualified a week or so ago, don’t be surprised! Face it: it’s a law in all sales – Leads Never Get Better! If you sent out the hottest lead ever, a “10″ on a scale of 1 – 10, then when you call them back, have you ever noticed that now they’re about a “7″?

And of course since most sales reps don’t qualify thoroughly enough, most of the leads they stuff into their pipeline are made up of sixes and sevens. And you can imagine how they are when reps reach them. So expect that your leads are going to drop in interest and receptiveness when you call them back, and then be prepared with a best practice approach to handling them. Here’s what to do:

Whenever a prospect responds to your call to do a presentation with one of the responses above – the “How long will this take?” – kind of response, don’t offer to call them back later, rather, get them to reveal their true level of interest to you and get them to tell you exactly how to pitch them to get the deal. Here are a number of statements you can use to do just that:

Responses:

“Sure, I can take as long or little as you need. Let’s do this: why don’t you tell me the top three things you were hoping to learn about this, and I’ll drill right down and cover those areas for you. What’s number one for you?”

OR

“Absolutely, we can do this pretty quickly. Tell me, what would you like to know most about how this might work in your environment?”

OR

“I understand, sounds like I caught you at a bad time. Let’s do this: If you needed to see or learn just one thing about this to determine if it might actually work for you, what would that be?”

OR

“No problem. Our presentation is pretty in depth, but I can do this. Go ahead and tell me two things that are absolute deal breakers for you, and I’ll see if we pass the test. And then if we do, we’ll schedule some more time later to go into detail on how the rest works, fair enough?”

OR

“In ten minutes, I can show you some things that will help you determine whether or not you’d like to spend more time with me later. In the meantime, let me ask you – what would you need to see the most to say yes to this?”

OR

“I understand, we’re all busy. Let me just ask you: has anything changed from when we last spoke?” (Now REALLY listen… )

OR

“Tell you what: let’s reschedule something for later when you have more time, but in the ten minutes we do have, let me ask you some questions to determine whether this would still be a good fit for you… ” (Now thoroughly re-qualify your prospect)

As you can see, the responses above are all aimed at getting your prospect to reveal to you both their level of interest and what it is going to take to sell them – or whether or not they are still a good prospect for you. Have some fun with these; customize them to fit your personality or the personality of the person you’re speaking with. Find your favorites and then, as always, practice, drill and rehearse until they become your automatic response when your prospect tells you they don’t have time for your presentation.

Copyright (c) 2015 Mr. Inside Sales

Flowers are considered as the greatest messengers of love and passion. They are widely used all over the world to represent love and care. You can give flowers to your dear and near ones at every occasion whether it will be a birthday party, wedding or engagement. Flower delivery is a lovely present for all big days. However, in this article I am not representing big occasions and the importance of flowers on these events.

I just want to signify that how you can also present beautiful flowers to your mother at Mother’s Day. Yes, of course you can show your love and affection with the help of these flowers. In that way you can give honor to a woman who is really important in your life. Mother is a woman that has no boundaries of love for her children. She is really kind and precious and those who have their mothers are really blessed. So, just to show affection and love you can give beautiful flowers to your mother on this big day.

Flower is a magnificent and wonderful creation of nature that reflects the unique personality of a mother. Moreover, you can easily find each and every type of flower with different colors. It is also not essential that you just need to present roses on Mother’s Day. You can also present a bouquet of various flower varieties and species. It is just the smell and style of presentation that is required to show your true emotions and love.

Some people prefer to make an early purchase and preserve in fridge for further use. This is not a wise idea. In this way flowers lose their freshness. It is better to purchase a fresh bouquet and deliver it as soon as possible. Always try to make a purchase at right time. Moreover, if your mother is not near you and you want to deliver flowers then you can go with online services. Mother’s Day flower delivery services are present all around the world.

You have spent many hours, if not days, preparing to give a big presentation at a conference or event. You have researched your topic, you are confident that your material will be riveting to your audience. And you have put the hard yards in, having practiced with great diligence. Are you feeling ready? Are you good to go? Have you forgotten anything? Maybe.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to introduce…”. What happens next? Is there any chance you don’t know exactly how you will be introduced?

In my experience, far too many speakers at conferences and seminars fail to pay attention to this important part of their presentation. Does it matter? Does it affect the way an audience may perceive you and what you have to say? You bet it does, as Lucky Luc would say “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”. So why leave the first impressions people have of you to chance?

You shouldn’t! Think of your introduction as a part of your presentation, part of the messages your audience will receive from you. More importantly, think of your introduction as an opportunity:

• To set expectations (setting the stage)
• To bolster your credibility as a speaker
• To pique your audience’s interest in the theme you will address
• To keep control of your message

Don’t get me wrong, there are many experienced conference comperes or MCs who will do a good job of pulling out a few nuggets from your bio and tying these into the topic you will speak on. But many don’t. And, in any case, you shouldn’t expect anyone who introduces you to know as much about you and your presentation as you do. And you certainly don’t want your introduction to be anything less than engaging – or worse still, boring. So what should you do?

Simple, always write your own introductions. Decide what you want to have said about you and your topic before you say a single word. Use your introduction to grab your audience’s attention and establish why they will want to listen to you. Be sure to keep your introduction short and focused on what your audience will really care about – i.e. how what you will say may help or benefit your audience. In other words, WIIFM (what’s in it for me).

The bottom line is – when it comes to your introduction, don’t gamble. All introductions are not equal. By writing your own introduction you will be doing the introducer and your audience a favour. Most people who have to introduce others will be delighted that you have made his/her job easier. Most comperes will be thrilled to have a script that reads well and makes them look good. And guess what? You’re off to a great start – first time, every time. Plan on it!

Further free tips on public speaking are available on: www.thereluctantspeakersclub.com

A child’s christening is a special moment in its life and one that is often shared by loved ones, friends and family. As is part of the tradition, the child is offered presents and these are usually kept for many years, as a memento of the christening.

Sometimes it can be difficult choosing a gift for a child. Many of those being Christened are not much older than toddlers and therefore the choice is limited. This is because traditionally, christening presents aren’t simply colourful toys that the child can play with and damage. The kind of present the child is given is often more formal and ornamental. Due to tradition, the child’s present is most commonly made of silver, but doesn’t necessarily need to be so.

The other potential worry is that you don’t want to get a present that someone else has already bought, so the intention is to always buy a unique gift for the child. Luckily, there are plenty of options still to discover and some examples are described here.

Money boxes are a great gift and can come in silver and a range of designs. Saving up coins to spend on the child is fun and appealing for both parents and children!

Keepsake boxes are always popular and are the perfect gift to place valuable belongings of the child. Again, the range of keepsake boxes is very wide.

Pocket photo albums are growing in popularity and are an excellent way of displaying the child’s best pictures from a young age. It could also contain photos from the christening itself and serve as a reminder of the special day.

Decorative plate and cutlery sets are a very practical gift. A traditional present is the silver spoon which can be personalised and engraved with the child’s name on it.

Photo frames, preferably in silver are popular gifts, but always gladly appreciated, due to the need to display new photos of the baby or child. They can also be bought in many styles and designs.

Other fantastic traditional christening gifts are bunting, note cards, engraved message tokens, personalised cuddly toys, birth certificate holder, bracelets, silver bookmarks and other ornaments.

As you can see, there is quite an array of interesting christening presents and many of these can be acquired from the high street or internet. Lots of these can also be personalised and specially engraved to accommodate a message or name of the child.

Have you ever wondered how professors and other researchers are so good at making convincing presentations out of relatively insignificant data? Last semester I was in charge of a research study that yielded seemingly insignificant results. With my tail between my legs I presented the results to the professor that I work under. In about twenty minutes he re-ran the SPSS statistical reports and had signed me up to present at the ACSM regional conference. As it turns out I had been approaching the data from the wrong angle. I am currently in my final semester of graduate school and am finally beginning to pick up on a few “tricks of the trade”.

1. Don’t Be Afraid to Turn a Large Study Into Several Smaller “Cohort Studies”

For example, one could set up a product validation study with 100 random participants. If the results are classified as insignificant you could break up the data into cohorts like: post menopausal women, college aged men, college aged obese females etc. You may find that there is a strong correlation in one of these group.

2. Save the Pies for Dessert

Another presentation technique I have learned is the art of using graphs. Great researchers ALLWAYS use the proper graph. Just because Microsoft Excel allows you to turn one group of data into any type of graph doesn’t mean proper graph selection is unimportant. Steven Phew is considered by many to be the world’s leading expert on graph selection and he has written numerous publications on graph types and color scheme optimization. In his most famous publication, “Save the Pies for Dessert” Steven cautions readers to not use pie graphs. Additionally, he suggests that 3D bar graphs are confusing and misleading.

3. Thoughtfully Label your Graphs

First, you must carefully determine how you will label your axes to convey your point to the audience. Generally the independent variable is assigned to the x-axis and the dependent variable is assigned to the y-axis. After you have labeled your axes you must determine which units you will use on each axis. If an SI unit is assigned to what you are measuring it’s best to stick with that. Then you must decide how you will scale your axes. Improper scaling can mislead the casual onlooker so this step is extremely important.

4. No Significance can be Extremely Significant

The purpose of most intervention studies is to “prove” that a given stimuli either positively or negatively effects a person. Generally when data that has no statistical significant is frowned upon. Don’t down play the fact that you have just “proven” that a stimulus has no measurable effect on a person. These results are still valid and could be useful. Great presenters are able to turn nominally important data into home run presentations.

It would seem that no matter where you live, the Australian real estate market is very tough going. Of course, this same tough market is being felt by home owners around the world, thanks to the GFC.

Still, property is still selling. The key to real estate selling success lies in pricing competitively for your local area and making sure that the property’s presentation is worthy of its asking price. In other words, it’s all about helping prospective buyers, see your home’s obvious value for money.

Actively and effectively preparing your home for sale can be a critical reason for a home either selling quickly and selling well (even in a slow market), or not selling at all. All too often property presentation plays a much, much bigger role in the sale of a home than most home owners ever realise.

Here you’ll find the top 7 warning signs that the current decorating style and presentation of your property is preventing you from seeing selling success without you even knowing.

1. Your agent is showing buyers through, but you still have not got an offer.

If your selling agent is bringing prospective buyers through the front door to view your property in person, then it seems obvious that your home’s asking price – by itself, is not what’s putting prospective buyers off.

2. The offers you have had are well below your asking price.

If you’ve done all you reasonably can to present your place in a positive light to prospective buyers, and still the offers are low, then I’d say you’re overpriced. Plain and simple. But, if you’ve failed to plan ahead – to readjust your home’s presentation for marketing purposes on the property market, then it’s quite likely that buyers just don’t see your place as being good value for money. Buyers will ultimately charge you by way of a usually significant price reduction for anything they feel will need to be done. So this means ultimately you as the seller, will lose out.

3. Your agent has suggested you make a few changes to the decor.

Most agents are happy to provide you with some guidance in this direction. So, if they haven’t already, just ask them for a frank opinion. Sharp agents can even refer you to a home stager or property stylist who specialises in helping home owners, deliver a well presented property that’s far easier to sell to house hunters in your local property market. Don’t take the feedback personally, just take it on board. Selling a home and living in one as we all do on a day to day basis is a very different way of life. Ultimately for you as the seller, it will mean living with at least some level of inconvenience.

4. Buyer feedback.

Agents collect feedback from house hunters. That’s a big part of the job they do for you and another reason you’re not doing the inspections/viewings yourself. You see, buyers are far more likely to be up-front with your agent than they would be with you. If you haven’t checked in with your agent about this, do it now. Again, don’t take it personally. Just be sure to do something about it.

5. You have had at least one price reduction.

This is never good. Before you consider dropping the price, talk to your agent and then decide if you can attack it from another angle. It just might be possible that with a little effort and perhaps a small upfront investment, there’s a good chance you can get your property’s presentation to be more in synch with your asking price.

6. Your property has been on the market for 3 months or more.

A mere 2 weeks was once considered the deadline for a stale listing but today’s sluggish property market is tough going. Depending on the area you’re selling in, a 3 month old listed property is likely to be on the downhill slide to sales oblivion. If you’ve had the people through, but haven’t got anything to show for it, poor presentation can be a telling factor.

7. You have lived in your home for 10 years or more, and have never updated.

Decorating styles change. Once a home’s interior nudges double figures, the tell tale signs of a dated decor are more obvious. And home buyers (even first home buyers) tend to find that pretty unappealing. Don’t worry, it’s unlikely to mean you have to renovate; fast and simple cosmetic changes can still give you the edge you need, without eating into your equity. In this situation, it might serve you best to get a professional home stager or property stylist who can help you direct your presentation budget, towards the jobs that will see you get the biggest return on your investment.