At a recent visit to one of Montreal's famous "market" restaurants, the quaint bistro had an abbreviated menu for the evening, posted on a small chalk board. The waitress knew each menu item in detail and suggested great wine pairings to go with each delicious food option. By limiting the menu, the chef ensured that every dish had beautiful presentation and was prepared to the highest standards. It's no surprise that there was not an empty seat in the house.

This got us thinking about the "menu" at our office. As it turns out, there are several similarities between the restaurant's concept and our business philosophy as a boutique real estate agency.

1. There's Only So Much Space On The Board - We rarely have more than 20-25 properties for sale at one time. If our board starts getting full, our office is a busy place. Rather than taking dozens of listings, we prefer to focus our efforts on a smaller amount of properties - well priced and well presented. Much like the restaurant, this allows us to put our best efforts into selling each property efficiently and quickly.

2. Our Staff Knows The Menu - One of the most important distinctions between our office and the big banner franchises is that each of our staff members has an intimate knowledge of every property we have on the board. When a prospective buyer calls for information, they speak directly to a salesperson who knows the house and knows how to sell it - they don't have to go through a secretary or an answering service to get quality info right away.

3. Presentation Sells - We put extensive effort into the presentation and marketing of our listings. Anyone who browses our website will see we take pride in how our listings are presented to the public. Preparing the home for sale, top notch photography, professional translation, video and custom floor plans all result in properties selling faster and closer to asking price.

4. Sell Them While They're "Fresh" - Much like food, properties for sale can go "stale". It is important to capitalize on the early days when a property is listed, because very often this is when the right buyer will materialize. Active buyers have normally seen everything for sale and are waiting for that one special house to come up. All the more reason why pricing the house correctly and having it show its best from day one are critical. Our marketing platform allows us to sell homes faster than the market average, and this typically means better terms for the seller.

5. Being Small Doesn't Mean Doing Less Business - Our agency handles about 75 -100 sales a year. Having a faster sales cycle allows for space to open up on the chalkboard more often and means a more pleasant experience for our clients.