You can put a positive spin on anything, and more often than not, you have to. Your latest listing may have more warts than beauty spots, but it is still your job to promote the home in the best light that you can. What can you say when you are at a loss for words?

Even the best salesperson can fumble for the right words sometimes. Whether you are writing a classified ad or gabbing with your buyer on the way to a showing, you want to create as clear a picture of the home you are showing as possible. Why? The right words will help your buyer trust you more. The wrong words can create confusion or disappointment.

Here are some suggestions to help you stretch your word choices into a vocabulary that will help you sell better:

1. Stop selling your opinion.

If you find that you constantly use words like "beautiful," "charming" or "cute," you are really selling an opinion, not the features of your seller's home. These words are subjective, which means they are open to interpretation. If I were to tell you that a home is beautiful, would you be able to picture it in your mind? What is beautiful to you may be an ornate Victorian two-story mansion, but what is beautiful to me may be a minimalist contemporary split-level home.

Subjective language really doesn't work to anyone's advantage. In fact, it can backfire. If the buyer doesn't agree that the home you described is indeed beautiful or charming, your credibility could suffer.

2. Think of words as investments.

Subjective language is deliberately vague, and some agents like it that way. They believe that by generalizing the description of a home, or by giving less information, that they will entice more buyers to look at it. They want traffic, but by going for quantity over quality, these agents will find that they end up wasting a lot of time showing the wrong homes to the wrong buyers. Is that the best use of your time?

Look at how much more efficient your business would be if you just offered a little more detail. Imaging that you are a young homebuyer who loves '50s kitsch. Which home would get your blood racing faster - "immaculate Austin-stone ranch home, original tile," or "well-maintained older home?"

Detail-rich descriptions don't cost any more time or money than a general description. And as far as driving away potential buyers - what are the odds of someone who wants a two-story Georgian or Tudor buying a ranch home anyway? If you get the right details from your buyers, you'll have no trouble matching them with the right home, and you'll increase your chances of making a sale.

3. Use superlatives sparingly.

A home may truly be "fabulous!" But if you are using Fabulous and Gorgeous to describe most of your listings, you may be guilty of hyping. As with subjective language, superlatives also pose a risk. If the buyer doesn't agree that the home is, indeed, "To Die For!" you will look desperate, silly or worse. You'll never be trusted by the buyer again.

Superlatives are shorthand, so use them sparingly so they don't make you appear lazy. Don't be in such a hurry to get your home "out there" that you shortchange the intelligence of your buyers or other Realtors. If a home is truly fabulous, you will be earning enough in commission when it sells to be well worth your time to enter a better description into the MLS, or to detail the home to your buyer.

Think in terms of what features make the home so great - is it the square footage? The lakefront lot? The architecture? Then say so! "Beachfront Cape Cod-style Cottage" has you practically hearing the waves lapping against the shore. A description like that will generate a lot more genuine excitement than the overhyped "Wonderful Beach House! Won't Last!"

4. Stick to words that edify.

Do the words you choose say what you really mean? Sometimes words are substitutes for more precise language. If the home is professionally remodeled and decorated in fashionable colors, say so succinctly. "Stylish updates" says it all. Is the home clean and in good repair? Then there is nothing wrong with using the word "immaculate."

Many words invite more questions than they answer, which is one of the problems with subjective language. Try to think of words that pinpoint the qualities of the home, rather than generalize them. Your description should answer the who, what, when, where and whys your buyer may ask you. Think in details, not broad brush strokes.

Look at features you know most homebuyers would enjoy such as high ceilings and fireplaces, and see how you can embellish them to whet your buyer's appetite. Doesn't "soaring ceilings" make you want to tilt your head back to see the height? Use "action words" where you can. Add detail whereever you can. Pick a best feature out of each room and memorize a favorite way you would describe it. A living room with a fireplace is a lot more exciting when you say, "The formal living room has a wood-burning fireplace with a carved marble surround and tile hearth."

5. Avoid "stock" descriptions.

Realtors are used to marketing to other Realtors through the device of the MLS, but most marketing today should be geared instead for the buyer. Very few Realtors take the time to input one description for the MLS and then change it up for consumers on Realtor.com and HomeSeekers. That is the impact and legacy of the Internet, so adjust your language accordingly.

In other words, you may know what at 3/2/2 is, but would most buyers? Some language you may use may cue other Realtors but be lost on buyers. When buyers have to read between the lines, they may come to the wrong conclusion. The "charming starter" you describe may cue a Realtor that the home is small, inexpensive, and may need work, but when your buyers see it, they may think demolition!

6. Break out of the box.

What selling words work for other kinds of products? When you think of a car, what do you want? Isn't it more clever to say a small home has "compact styling and is fuel efficient" than to say it is "cozy" or a "doll's house?" Use your imagination. What gets you to buy?

In other words, there are times when it is better to sell the steak, not the sizzle.

When you have an unusual or hard-to-market property, don't waste the market's time trying to sell it to everyone. Take the time to look at the property's special appeal and market it accordingly. There is no home which has universal appeal, so market each home individually to the buyer or groups of buyers you think will be the most likely to buy the home. Forget about "limiting your market." It's already limited. You're just not admitting it.

A warehouse loft in a recovering urban sector is not going to appeal to everyone, so describing it like June Cleaver's dream house is only going to waste time. Go for the market that will actually find it appealing - young urban singles, couples without children, and non-traditional couples - people who like life a little more on the edge than the average suburbanite. "Extreme lifestyle - warehouse lofts the way you want 'em." You'll have your buyer wondering which wall to mount her kayak before she ever sees the space!

Published: August 17, 1999

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.