Your lawn and the home's exterior is your first chance to reel in buyers. If they see an overgrown yard or unattractive chainlink fence, they'll move on to the next house. That's why it's critical to have "curb appeal": the external attractiveness of a home from the street. Make a great first impression with these tips:

• Give your home a fresh coat of paint.
• Replace old siding and roof shingles.
• Remove dated elements like awnings and old light fixtures.
• Sweep the entryway, porch and sidewalks daily. Add an attractive welcome mat.
• Mow and trim the lawn. Add colorful flowers. Invest in shrubbery and other plants that increase your home value.
• Clear the clutter and clean out the gutters and downspouts.
• Clean the windows from the inside and outside.
• If you can, invest in professional landscaping.
• Keep lawn gnomes and decorations to a minimum.
• Get more ideas from HGTV's show Curb Appeal.

Position your "For Sale" sign prominently in the front yard so buyers can see it easily when driving by. You may want to put a plastic tube next to the sign to hold flyers. Your sign and flyers should include a phone number and your agent's name if you have one.

Staging is the act of decluttering, depersonalizing and decorating a home before it's put on the market. By making your house look like a "model home," you allow prospective buyers to visualize themselves living there. Make changes that highlight your home's positives and downplay its flaws.

• Start by cleaning and scrubbing down every inch of the home.
• Clear out the clutter and personal mementos (family photos, CD and DVD collections, porcelain figurines).
• Rearrange furniture or bring in new pieces and artwork.
• When painting, focus on neutral tones.
• Choose window treatments that let in natural light.
• If you have pets (especially big dogs who like to jump on strangers), make arrangements for your pets to stay somewhere else during showings.
• Refer to this checklist.
• Consider these unique staging tactics.

For more staging inspiration, check out our slide shows:

• Set the Stage for a Quick House Sale
• Set the Stage for a Quick House Sale (pt. 2)
• Staging Secrets: How to Dress Your House for Sales Success
• Feng Shui Staging Tips
• 10 Ways to Prep Your Home for Sale

See expert makeovers for every room:

• Bathroom
• Kitchen
• Dining Room
• Living Room
• Bedroom
• Entryway
• Patio
• Outdoors

In today's saturated market, you're competing not only with your neighbors, but with foreclosures and builders' new construction as well. How do you make your home stand out and capture buyers with short attention spans? Try these tips:

• Prepare a data sheet or property statement that describes all the features of your home, including room measurements, amenities and all appliances that will stay. Post it online and give one to each person who tours your property.
• Find out what buyers are looking for and put them in your home.
• Play up your home's unique features, whether it's your luxurious spa bathroom or breathtaking city views from the living room.
• Promote your home as pet-friendly.
• Proclaim the benefits of a small house.
• Make green by going green.
• Wow buyers with technology, though it can be more expensive. See products that could help sell your home.

More than 80 percent of buyers start their home search on the Web. Get their attention with high-quality photos that highlight your home's best features. Hire a professional real estate photographer or learn how to take great pictures yourself.

Give online buyers a virtual tour of your home, by walking through each room and talking about its features. You don't need expensive equipment, just an inexpensive handheld video camera like the Flip Video and editing software like iMovie or Adobe Premiere. You can easily upload your videos to free hosting sites like YouTube and publish them on various Web sites. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, hire a local production company who specializes in shooting real estate videos.

In addition to traditional methods -- "For Sale" signs, classified sections of local newspapers, real estate publications, the MLS -- make the Web and technology your best friends.

• Put ads on free Web sites like craigslist.com or create your own Web site to promote your home. Post your best photos and video tours.
• E-mail a notice or flyer about your home to real estate agents, friends, family, coworkers, everyone. The key is to get the word out.
• Advertise through a buyer's car radio. Prospective buyers who drive by your home can tune into a frequency on their radio and hear details about your property.
• Some creative sellers are auctioning their homes on eBay or swapping homes with other sellers on sites like Pad4Pad.com and DomuSwap.com. Read more here.
• Read FrontDoor's Top 10 Unique Selling Tactics for more ideas.

Today's buyers browse listings on the Internet and schedule appointments to tour the homes they like. So make sure every ad for your home has a phone number -- your agent's or yours. The more you show your home, the more likely you are to find a buyer. Try these tips to increase foot traffic:

• Use a lockbox: a box on your door that holds a house key and requires a code to open. If you're not home, agents can enter the code and show your home.
• Offer a competitive buyer's agent commission. If your listing contract outlines a 50/50 split of the commission, give the buyer's agent more.
• Offer free gas cards or giveaways or hold a grand prize drawing for buyers who tour the home.

When you're showing the home, appeal to buyers' senses. Keep the thermostat at a comfortable level. Get rid of any strong odors. Turn on the lights. Turn off the TVs. Open windows to show off the view.

Refer to this Home Showing Checklist and get more tips for showing your home.

It's rare for a public open house to translate into a "Sold" sign, but it does generate buzz about your home in the neighborhood and among agents. So while holding an open house every weekend is not an effective use of your time and energy, try these tactics:

• Open your home to buyers when it first hits the market and then periodically during your marketing period. Offer finger foods and refreshments. People will stay longer.
• Encourage buyers to leave their contact information, preferably in a guest book near the food.
• Hold an exclusive brokers' open house to introduce your home to the local real estate agents. If each agent is working with at least four buyers and you invite 50, you've essentially shown your home to 200 potential buyers. Include food and refreshments.
• Ask for buyer feedback. Give buyers a preprinted questionnaire and pen when they arrive and ask them to leave it face down on the coffee table before they leave. They can include their contact information or be anonymous.
• Put a twist on the traditional open house by hosting a party with catered food, giveaways and entertainment. Learn how to host an extreme open house.

In addition to price and features, buyers are always looking for a good deal. If you won't budge on the price, sweeten the deal by offering financial incentives that lessen the amount of money buyers have to fork up.

• Pay for part or all of the buyer's closing costs
• Pay for some or all of the repairs found during the property inspections
• Pay points to lower the buyer's interest rate
• Prepay taxes or insurance for a year

Best of all, these don't require cash out of your pocket, because they are taken as credits in escrow.

You can work with your lender to offer unique incentives if the buyer gets a mortgage through them (i.e. no mortgage payments during first three months, free cash in a checking account). You can also offer cash incentives, such as a decorating allowance, free vacation or gift card.

With the current mortgage mess, the lending industry has tightened requirements for approving home loans, making it more difficult for buyers to borrow money. If you find a serious buyer who is having trouble qualifying for a mortgage, consider these financing alternatives:

• Finance some or all of a buyer's mortgage. You could sell your home faster and at a higher price if you offer "seller financing." You could also earn a higher rate of interest on your money and benefit from tax savings. Make sure you do a thorough credit and background check and verify employment and income. Require a down payment of at least 20 percent of the loan. You don't want to have to foreclose on the home if the buyer defaults on payments.
• Ask your lender if you can offer buyers a mortgage assumption, meaning the buyer will take over your mortgage payments.
• Work out a lease-to-own deal, in which the buyer is your tenant for a set period (usually one to three years), with some of the rent being applied toward a down payment.

Read more about creative financing options.

Emotions are inherently part of the selling process, so don't fight them -- understand and manage them.

• Rely on the facts. Use the comps to determine the fair market value of your home. Yes, home prices were through the roof just a few years ago, but those days are gone. If your market has fallen, don't try to get the same price you would have gotten in 2003. If the market says your home is not worth what it was three years ago, then accept it.
• Maintain your cool. If you get a ridiculously low offer, or lowball, don't rip it to shreds right away. Figure out what the buyer really wants and make a counteroffer.
• Don't be greedy. Rejecting all offers and holding out for that one dream buyer who will pay full price for your home is foolish. If your home has been sitting on the market for more than three months, reevaluate your strategy and price your home to sell.
• Keep your sale in perspective. No matter how bad things get, remember that this is not a life or death situation. If a deal falls through, let it go. There are plenty of buyers in the sea.
• Choose a patient and understanding real estate agent who is willing to work with you, especially if you're going through a tough transition like a death in the family or a divorce. Get more advice in our Real Estate Survival Guide.