Seabass and Trash Cans - Two Exercises in Developing Compelling Content (Listing Agents Listen Up)

So often we spend our energy focusing on deals, the economy and a depreciating market.  Today I wanted to bring you something different.  Seabass and trash cans is about real estate listings, good writing and marketing ideas with practical applications.

I’ll start with the seabass.  Selling the seabass is part sales strategy and part sage advice (pun intended).   It’s all about establishing a foundation for developing compelling descriptives, written or oral.  You can switch out the seabass for nearly any other thing; lobster, chicken cordon bleu, waldorf salad.  It doesn’t matter what your entree, it’s the exercise that counts and I’m getting to that.  To apply this concept, you have to think of yourself as a waitor at a five star restaurant.  Imagine a lovely young couple arriving for a quiet candlelit dinner.  To them, you say:  “Tonight’s special is the seabass.  It is delicately simmered in white wine and garlic then lightly braised with an almond saffron glaze and seared with lemon pepper sauce.  It is served with wild jasmine rice, organic baby bell peppers and a field of greens.  The chef recommends pairing this entree with a 1995 pinot grigio from the Sonoma Valley or our crisp house chardonnay from the South of France.”  I’m making all this up but you get the point.

Now, shifting thoughts momentarily to trash cans.  This is from a professor I had in college who adamantly subscribed to this model of story telling.  Her idea was to open every narrative with a paragraph describing what a trash can is, then proceed to explain its individual components and conclude by summarizing the parts.  Similar to the seabass idea, although I think the former is much more compelling.  In essence, it would go something like this:  ”This is a trash can.  It is comprised of a lid, bucket, two handles and bottom.  It is used for discarding ordinary waste.  When filled, its contents should be bagged and moved to an outside receptacle for pick-up by your local municipal waste management company.  They will notify you of the weekly pick-up date for your neighborhood and you should have all of your garbage ready at the curb at that time.  In conclusion, this trash can is a simple receptacle comprised of multiple parts….”

We’ve all read some pretty awful real estate listings.  Agents love to talk about curb appeal so let me suggest that in today’s technological society, a home’s listing is the first impression buyers get of a property.  It’s a virtual drive-by.  That’s why good content is so important; it can make the difference between interest and complacency.  If you want to generate excitement about a listing, you must create curiosity and intrigue on the part of potential buyers, other agents and real estate publications.  So, give these tools a try.  Once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to do it again and again.  Happy writing! 

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