Home Staging Secret:- Marketing to Gen X and Y is NOT about speaking ebonics! It's just like staging itself; it's about recognizing the "preferred settings" in their lifestyle and making home buying fit into that particular paradigm. Here are 7 tips to help you hip up... or zizz it, as my 16 year old cousin in London says! (and for the rest of this article Gen x and y will be lumped together into one generation... because I'm old enough now that I can do that!)

1. WEBmaxed

This is a generation that does EVERYTHING online. They grew up on it, understand it, and begin every chapter, every challenge that way. make sure the listing is findable. Findable in lots of places and findable without the realtor. Each hit should link to the listing realtor and the listing should be clearly identified with the lister. So, realtors: make each listing findable without you, but easy to get in touch with you once the buyers are looking at the page.

2. On Demand

Anyone see the article on Yahoo! about people cramming 30 hours worth into a 24 hour day? This generation is all about immediate accessibility. To capture them, you need to have your house ready for showing whenever...before work, after, before school, on lunch, weekends, Mondays, all of it! I recently had a young investment banker client who didn't get home until 10:00 p.m. every night and worked weekends. We compromised with 9:00p.m. appointments. They were brutal, but the only thing that fit his schedule. If I wanted his business....

3. Buy It Now

Young people want instant gratification. Duh!

"Quick and efficient sales are important to young people who have enormous demands on their time and little patience"

says Karen Gravelle of DigitalCustom.

"to make a decision, they need to have an efficient presentation of options, understand the pricing factors and be able to complete the sale as as quickly as they would like."

Many realtors will have monthly payments factored out, with 3 different %s down and have that sheet available at the showing. I recommend going one step further. Include all the costs, and then annualized the payments. e.g. This home will cost you $24,000 a year - $500 a month in utilities and $1,500 in mortgage payment. Also included should be:-

• Name and # you call for this mortgage
• Calendar/Timeline with attorney review, inspections, deposit due and closing date all marked out in # of days (sign today and you can close and move in on "May 31, 2008")
• Name and # at Moving Concierge who will transfer all of the utilities into your name, including the landscaper, cleaner, etc.
• Name and # of local lawyer, dentist, ob-gyn, tax person, pizza delivery guy, hair person, drycleaner, etc. (a "welcome wagon" one-sheeter) all presented at the time they walk into the house, so that the whole thing is turn-key.

4. Color It Mine

A simple design, a clean clear message of what is being offered, amplified with color and whimsy. Look at catalogs like West Elm and you'll see neutral colors on all the big stuff and some serious "punch" coming from vibrant accessories. (in groups of 1,3 or 5). Have the brochure lady photoshop the pictures of the rooms in 2 other color ways. If the room is beige with chocolate brown and red, show it white with cobalt blue and pale maple or cream with apple green and mahogany. Think Web 2.0 and allow the buyers to instantly see how they could customize this very look for themselves.

5. Destination

If Starbucks, Borders, Barnes and Noble and Neiman Marcus can teach us anything it is that in the retail world, the more successful stores are the destination ones. So make the home a destination. Have a coffee pot ready to go, snacks in the fridge, speakers and presentations held at the Sunday Open House...performances even. Retailers and event marketers can teach us a lot about experiential marketing. After all, we want a buyer to really experience the house, not just wander through it like an art gallery.

6. Analytics/Metrics

I notice the younger realtors I work with have formulas for things. Makes sense - there's so much information easily available these days, it makes sense to speak in metrics. "This house is 87% bigger than the others on the block, it has a 95 Hot Buy ranking from the top 20 realtors in our area, its Value is in the number of bedrooms to baths and the depth of the back yard." Yes, buying a house is an emotional decision, but these kids know that and want to have some metrics to back it up, so that they're not being ripped off.

7. Meet the Parents

When I was a realtor, the #1 enemy was the best friend. She/he was the Professional Objector, more than a total PITA, she was the Deal Buster! (I used to take a buddy of mine out with one client so that my buddy could distract and deal with my client's "helpful friend.") It would be logical therefore to think the parents would be the same killjoys. They tend not to be. And... they will often chip in.

And now I'd like to invite you to pick up your free copy of my Spring Showing Tips for Home Sellers at http://www.julietjohnsonstaging.com/tips From Juliet Johnson, author, speaker and leading authority on home staging luxury real estate in suburban New Jersey.

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