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B - Subliminal Selling: Home sales techniques?

The senses of smell, taste, sight and sound can alter the mood and enhance a showing. Consider any number of subliminal techniques:   

• Light a vanilla scented candle. Add fresh flowers. These radiate a pleasing aroma. Keep a pie in the freezer and pop it in a low temperature oven to add an appealing aroma just before a showing.

• A bowl of M and M’s or some hard candy, placed next to the sign-in sheet, provide prospective buyers with something to snack on. Stay away from munchies that leave a mess of crumbs.

• Leave snacks (buttered popcorn) out in the kitchen, encouraging prospects to partake. The goal is to get prospects to spend more time there, increasing their comfort level in your home. 

• The buyers should not have to turn a light on to see any areas. However, all lights shouldn't be turned on; otherwise, it will look overly staged. Indirect lighting is best for setting a natural and casual mood.

• Do not have appliances like the washer, dryer, dehumidifier or a noisy TV or dishwasher running. The idea is to create a pleasing, relaxed atmosphere.

• Put on some soft music, low volume. It adds warmth and helps neutralize some outside noise. It also eliminates that stilted, dead silence - the kind you get when you and the owner are the only people in a small retail shop.