Emotional Triggers for Home Buyers

Your five senses can take you back in time to a wonderful memory. Sights, sounds, and scents can remind you of long walks on the beach with your sweetheart, holidays with your family, or the best weekend you ever spent camping as a kid.

Buyers have memories they love, too. When they buy a home, they are looking forward to creating new memories.

When you’re ready to show your home to a prospective buyer, try these few ideas to help stimulate your buyer’s senses:

Sights. Welcome your buyer with a freshly swept sidewalk, flowers in the garden and freshly trimmed bushes and trees. Keep your entry spotless and inviting; either by a new welcome mat, new fixtures on the door or shiny new hardware on the porch lights. Once your buyer is inside, let them see the bones of the home by keeping clutter, furniture and accessories to a minimum.

Sounds. Turn off electronics. Oil creaky doors so they don't ruin the mood. In doing so, you are saying to your buyer "Slow down, Take your time. Look."

Smells. Cooking aromas are intoxicating. Fresh-baked cookies may be trite, but they work. Fresh flowers can be lovely especially if you add in eucalyptus stems or thin pine branches. Ensure that the cat box and dog bed are clean. Nothing smells better than clean. Be mindful of using too many air freshener and scented candles. Make sure any added fragrances are pleasant and organic.

Taste. Whether it’s hot or cold outside, refreshments will make your buyer feel welcome. Put out a tray, small ice bucket, and glasses with a little pitcher of ice water, juice or whatever is appropriate for the season and the weather. A plate of cookies or covered crackers with a block of cheese and cheese slicer will help buyers keep up their energy. Best of all, it will help them linger in the kitchen – the most important room in the house to most buyers.

Touch. Make certain your house is so clean, that it invites buyers to touch. Put a sumptuous throw on the sofa. Pristine counter tops, sinks and other surfaces invite people to put their hands down. What we touch, we tend to want - if the touch is pleasant.

These suggestions will help put your buyer at ease and make them feel at home. More importantly, these steps will put your buyer in the mood to buy.

If you're looking to add one final touch, a personalized note left on the counter to the buyer explaining the things you love most about the home and neighborhood might be just it.