I was never a cheerleader. I was a pom-pom girl and while I didn’t cheer, I still remember this chant from my high school glory days.

For home owners who are serious about selling and need to do it fast – being aggressive is a necessity. How can you be aggressive you may ask? After all, I’m obviously not talking about yelling, doing high kicks or shaking your pom-poms. I am talking about shaking your money-maker though, and in this case, your money-maker is the preparation and packaging of your home..

There are 3 aggressive steps that are absolutely critical:

1. Pick the best real estate agent that you can find to help you.

Choose someone who is a fantastic negotiator, experienced in your neighborhood and price point and works real estate full-time. They should have a comprehensive marketing campaign that they implement for your home with lots of professional pictures – especially at on-line sites. Interview several agents if you like to find the one that you feel the most comfortable with. This is not the time to choose your sister’s college roommate’s brother who lives two towns over. .

2. Price your house like you actually want to sell it.

I can’t emphasize this enough, if your home is overpriced it will not sell and sadly you will get less than if you priced it right from the beginning. It doesn’t matter what you owe, how much money you would like to make or what your home was worth a few years ago. Have your agent pull the comparable sales prices (not listed prices) in the last few months for pricing and then listen to their advice – remember they see hundreds of homes every month and know what you are up against.

3. Prepare your home for the buyers.

It doesn’t matter if you like electric blue or flowery wall paper or funky modern art – the only thing that matters is what the buyers want. The second you decide to sell, it’s not your house anymore. Many times your buyers are a different generation meaning that their tastes and perceptions are substantially different. Your house is now a product – if you were the VP of Marketing for a new product wouldn’t you make sure that it appeals to buyers? That your product would stand out on the shelves at the store? That buyers would be compelled to choose your product over the competition? Treat the sale of your home the same way. Proper preparation is nine-tenths of success when it comes to selling. If you need help consider hiring a certified home stager for a comprehensive selling consult.

Playing to win will help you meet your selling goals.

Follow these three steps and you’ll want to do cartwheels when the offers start rolling in. Selling your home can be something to cheer about. Just remember when it comes to selling in today’s real estate market it is important to play to win if you want to score a fast sale.