The Presale Trust Deficit

You know that moment when you open an IKEA box and there is no picture on it? 147 pieces. 40 screws. A little key. And no idea what you are building.

Now imagine that box costs one million dollars.

That is pretty much what we hand to presale buyers. A floorplan here, a rendering there, a brochure, a price list. Every piece is fine. The picture is missing.

Nobody is lying to them. But when people have to put the pieces together alone, they fill the gaps with their imagination. And when you are about to spend that kind of money, your imagination never fills them with good news.

The funny part is that the fix is almost too simple. Stop putting on a show. Let buyers walk through their own unit, stand at their own window, and decide on their own.

In this episode, Mario talks about what he calls the trust deficit, and why the developer who shows everything is the one buyers end up trusting.

For anyone who builds, markets or sells off-plan.