Using pre-suasion in real estate visualization

Remember working day and night on a presentation for a potential customer only to see them leave at the end of it completely unimpressed? In moments like these, it’s easy to get frustrated.

In this article, we will talk about pre-suasion — a technique that can increase your sales closing rate by 80–90%.

What is “pre-suasion”?

The concept of “pre-suasion” was first introduced by Robert Cialdini in his 2016 book, “Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade”. In it, Cialdini claims that “the highest achievers spent more time crafting what they did and said before making a request.”

Explaining the main principle of pre-suasion, he underlines the importance of psychological framing, which can make the audience more receptive to the key points of the proposal.

When presenting a house for sale, you use different kinds of additional materials from the design process, such as photos, sketches and 3D graphics. But it’s hard to impress a client with a plan or even a very accurate 3D model of a house.

What you need to do is paint a picture that sells not just a design but a dream the client wants to live — and that’s when pre-suasion comes in. 3D visualizations should not only portray a photorealistic image of the designs you’re selling — they must also help your client connect with them on an emotional level. At Faraday, we call this “emotionally-engaging 3D visualization.”

Using pre-suasion in exterior visualization

Here’s an example of Avrame, a forward-thinking company whose houses would stand out in any environment. But you would never get it from floor plans and wireframe sketches:

Avrame realized that it took more than a bright idea to persuade potential buyers, so they asked us to create a 3D visualization that would make this idea clear as day.

This was a very special project for us, as we needed to tailor it to two different regions — Estonia and the Mediterranean countries. It wasn’t enough to just create 3D models of each house. Our goal was to add the ambience that the viewers from respective audiences would crave.

So what would an Estonian customer expect? How could we pre-suade them?

We came up with an image of a serene weekend getaway, where you can breathe the cool air of nearby pine woods and enjoy the morning sun while meditating to the sounds of birds’ singing.

With that image in mind, we created this:

And what about people buying property in the Mediterranean? Well, they would definitely enjoy a swimming pool overlooking the majestic White Sea and the early sunset rays hinting at the soon-to-come evening party.

So we made this:

See how different the both visualizations are, despite depicting the same building? That’s how pre-suasion works: You think of the things that could convince your customer before they see your presentation.

Still doubting? Then look at these three different pictures. Which of them makes you widen your nostrils to breathe the air and squint your eyes against the morning sun?

See.

Using pre-suasion in interior visualization

Pre-suasion works just as well for interior visualizations.

Here’s what we typically get from our clients asking to create a 3D render:

Not too “pre-suasive”, right?

So we usually ask back:

• Who is going to live in this house?
• What kind of vibe do we want?
• What elements do we want to add to the interior design?
• What color will the walls be?

and so on.

Why do we do this? Because a 3D visualization should be a ticket to a parallel universe where the client’s dream of a perfect home has come true.

For that last example, we knew that the house would be offered to a young family with a baby, so we did our best to throw in some chaotic coziness:

Looks cozier than floor plans and frameworks, doesn’t it?

Takeaways

Whenever you send floor plans, frameworks and drawings to a 3D visualization studio, think of these simple questions:

• Who is the target audience?
• What kind of ambience and vibe do you want to communicate?
• What do you want the people looking at it to feel?

Remember: 3D visualization is not only about features and shades and materials. It is also about the sensations that your customers get when looking at it.

It’s not something any 3D designer can provide. But it’s something that will make you stand out among the crowd of faceless real estate sellers pitching faceless properties.

Do you already use emotionally-engaging 3D visualizations to sell your products and ideas? Share your experience in the comments!