A How-To Guide for a Real Estate Listing Presentation
The real estate listing presentation… The secret weapon of any successful listing agent.
It might just be the MOST IMPORTANT factor in your business. That’s because a real estate listing isn’t just a single home or a transaction – it’s a chunk of the market that you control and can leverage for more – and a realtor listing presentation is THE way to get them.
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In this blog, I’ll walk you through exactly what a listing presentation is, what goes into it, and how you can make yours stand out from the competition to convince sellers to work with you and even attract new business.
Let’s start with what a realtor listing presentation consists of…
What is a realtor listing presentation?
A realtor listing presentation is a formal meeting or presentation that a real estate agent conducts with a potential seller who is interested in listing their property for sale. The purpose of the listing presentation is to showcase the agent’s qualifications, expertise, marketing strategies, and the services they provide to help sell the property.
That’s the very direct definition of it. Put another way, it’s your shot to answer two questions: “Why should I sell my house right now and why are you, above anyone else, the person to do it?”
Or, to put it another way… “How will you make me more money, achieve my goals, and make me feel safe and cared for in the process?”
The Elements of an Effective Listing Presentation
During the real estate listing presentation, you’ll typically discuss:
- Background and Qualifications: Introduce yourself and provide information about your experience, credentials, and track record in the real estate industry.
- Market Analysis: Present a comparative market analysis (CMA) to help the seller understand the current market conditions, recent sales of similar properties in the area, and the appropriate pricing strategy for their home.
- Marketing Plan: Outline your marketing plan for the property, which may include strategies such as professional photography, virtual tours, open houses, online listings, social media promotion, and print advertising.
- Services Offered: What makes you worth the full commission? Set yourself apart by covering not only the basic services but some unique ones at well. You’ll of course mention staging advice, scheduling showings, negotiating offers, and managing paperwork.
- Agency Agreement: If you convince’em, sign’em! The listing presentation is the place to get that contract signed or at least let them know it needs to be signed before moving forward.
Preparing for the Listing Presentation
Every listing presentation is going to be slightly different, but the core elements will be the same. Your goal is to give this as often and effectively as possible, and that means coming into it prepared.
At a certain point, you might want to have a team that takes care of every other element of your business so that you can do nothing other than go on listing appointments – because that’s where the money is. So take this preparation seriously.
Research the client
Notice how I’m not calling them a “lead” or a “prospective client” here? Go in with the idea that they are already your client – because you’re going to learn a lot about them before you even get the contract signed.
First, send out a questionnaire or seller needs analysis asking them all the relevant questions you need to know (more on this below).
Next, dive into research. Start with Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to learn about their preferences, the industry they work in, and previous business history.
Your objective is to identify their specific needs. See what you can learn to customize your approach to the client.
Now… If you can… try to identify this seller’s DiSC profile. It’ll set you up for success moving forward.
Conduct a needs analysis with potential sellers
Wanna know how to know what a client wants and needs? Start by asking them. All it takes is a simple needs analysis.
As we’ve already covered, your job in the preparation phase is to discern the motivation so you can tailor the presentation to the seller’s specific needs.
Are they looking to:
- Sell the house as fast as possible
- Move out by a certain time
- Get more money for some urgent need
- Get more than the home might be worth
- Upgrade or downsize
On this note, our coaching clients have access to 70+ case studies from top agents, complete with toolkits that include extremely effective needs analysis questionnaires for you to rip off and duplicate.
Gather market statistics and data
Let’s jump back to the topic of DiSC profiles… Some sellers are more motivated by social connections and the trust they build with an agent. Others are motivated by hard data and understanding the numbers.
It doesn’t matter which one it is – thorough market research is the way to both. It will establish you as the expert who is willing to put in the time to gather this information and then explain it in a way they can understand.
Where do you get your market data from? Are you combing the MLS? Do you subscribe to Keeping Current Matters or some other real estate trends source? Figure it out and be sure you can show that your information is objective and verifiable.
You’ll want to go armed with:
- A thorough knowledge of the property details
- National and local market statistics
- Comparable sales
- Local rules and regulations (working this in will really establish credibility)
Most importantly, be able to synthesize this information, letting them know that you can both elaborate on any point or break down what is most important for their needs. All of this info will be used in your pricing strategy and help them achieve their goals.
Create a compelling presentation template
If you know me, I’m all about using technology to maximize efficiency and impact, but there is A LOT to be said for the old-school route of physical presentation materials. Either way, you decide to go, be sure you have a real estate listing presentation template to work off of and customize.
One of my clients, Carolyn Young, is one of those team leaders who has cleared herself up to focus almost solely on going listing appointments (going on almost 200 appointments a year) – and that’s because she’s created a listing presentation that is 95% effective in closing the deal. And the centerpiece of her appointment is a set of 200 beautiful, laminated slides that she spreads out across the table to show just how thorough she is. It blows people away.
On the other hand, a digital approach will give you a much more customizable template. Some of my clients are absolutely killing it with HighNote, which will offer you pre-built templates to upload your material into. You can include professionally edited explainer videos to send to the client before the actual appointment and then open into the full presentation once you’re together.
Just be sure that your presentation is comprehensive and includes all the necessary elements mentioned above, including past sales performance, market data, your marketing plan, and why they should sign an agreement.
The Listing Appointment
Now that you’re all prepared, let’s move on to conducting the appointment itself.
Setting up an effective listing appointment
Where is the best place to conduct a listing appointment? Ideally, it’s in the home you’ll actually be working to sell. Be sure to mention that when setting the appointment, but if it doesn’t work for any reason, don’t wait to set that appointment. Do it in a coffee shop or your office or wherever, because an appointment done anywhere is better than no appointment at all.
No matter where it is, you MUST do a technology and tools check before showing up. If you need anything, be sure you have it:
- Charged laptop
- Presentation slides
- CMA
- Camera
- Agency agreement
- Scripts (memorized)
This is where a listing appointment checklist can come in handy. If you need more help with this, you can download this free offer full of listing presentation scripts and strategies.
Build rapport and establish trust
There’s a very specific reason to practice your listing presentation over and over until you can do it effortlessly, and it’s not so that you get it perfect… Actually, it’s so that you can relax and be calm and receptive to what the seller has to say.
You’re more than just someone who is going to do this one job for them and be gone; this is an audition to be a part of their lives, and that means you have to be confident, friendly, and likable. Let them know that you’ll be there for them in anything they need in a genuine way before diving into your past client success stories.
When you’re showing your real estate photos, before and after videos, or CMA findings, it’s about establishing trust and providing value, and your expertise and credentials are a part of that but not the only factor.
Your Listing Presentation Will Make or Break Your Business
I cannot stress how important your real estate listing presentation is. It’s the crux of your business and the key to your financial success.
Hopefully, these tips have been helpful ways to help you master your listing presentation but if you’re really serious about creating a listing presentation that blows people away and establishes your dominance in your market, the place to get it is Roadmap.
I’ll be breaking down the best and most advanced listing presentation strategies working today – and best of all, I’ll be doing it in an area near you. So find a location and sign up soon.
But until then, start putting the pieces in place.
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