In 1960, the marketer E. Jerome McCarthy proposed the 'four Ps' classification, which has since been used by marketers throughout the world. These are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. While further work has been done to develop marketing theory further, these 'granddaddies' of the marketing world are particularly relevant to us as property developers, in the development and delivery of a successful 'buy to sell' strategy.

But firstly I am going to consider what is relevant to me as a developer, within this recognized framework in order to deliver a successful buy to sell strategy.

For me, the 4 'Ps' can become 3
1.    Price
2.    Place
3.    Pretty

I do this by amalgamating Product and Promotion into 'Pretty'. In my experience, there is no point in having a product that looks pretty but doesn't perform. So make sure your property looks as good when a potential buyer visits in person as it does on the property websites.

I don't find that I need a property to be all three Ps. Indeed it is very rare that they have the best of all three qualities. But what I do need is to focus on making the very best of one or two of these attributes. This way I can make sure I am ahead of the rest of the houses offered for sale. I am conscious as to which attribute I am going to maximize and accept that my buy to sell project may not necessarily have that 'kerb appeal', but it will have an unbeatable price and be pretty inside.