The Listing Presentation

ACTION PLAN

As a real estate agent you may have stumbled a time or two when it came to delivering a listing presentation. As a result, the very thought of doing another listing may create feelings of dread and apprehension. To find a solution seven top-producing real estate agents who are all Mentors for iSucceed were interviewed. Their experience of those interviewed range extensive and include:

Dianna Koksozka of Keller Williams:
239 transactions and sales of $32 million during the past year.
Char MacCallum of Char MacCallum Real Estate Team:
200 transactions for sales over $24 million during the past year.
Linda Mawhinney of Keller Williams:
66 transactions and sales of $10 million during the past year.
Doug Drummond of Coldwell Banker Real Estate:
Sold over 2500 homes since 1979. Last year, a sales volume of $9.5 million.
David Eiglarsh Team of RE/MAX:
Sold over $40 million in real estate last year, top 1% of real estate agents internationally.
Rob Levy of Prudential Real Estate:
110 transactions and sales of $22 million during the past year.
Terry Paranych of RE/MAX:
400 transactions closed each of the past four years; annual commissions regularly exceeding $1 million.

From these seven top producers we have condensed their knowledge and experiences into a simplified 5-step (one-appointment) listing presentation plan.

1. Prelist Packet

To prepare your home seller for this appointment, mail the prelisting packet early. Make certain that it arrives at the seller’s home 48 hours prior to your arrival. Then confirm by telephone your appointment date, time, the packet’s arrival, and your need for a copy of their title insurance policy.

PreList Package Should Include

Your mission statement and service pledge to the seller
An introduction of yourself and your team (if you have one)
Information that explains the home selling process and what to expect
Methods you will use to sell their home
Home seller’s questions & answers booklet
Tips on little things the home seller can do to help sell their house
Letters of recommendation
Documents that need to be signed by the seller

The purpose of the prelisting packet is twofold: first, to get the home seller familiar

with you and second, to prepare the seller for a positive, professional experience. Some suggest that an agent include the words "Don't list your home with anyone until you read this!" on the cover of the prelist packet.

2. The Appointment

Be certain to arrive on time and plan on staying 1-2 hours. Start by introducing yourself and your company. Use sincere compliments about the house to relax the home seller. Begin to establish rapport by looking for common-ground topics to talk about. Once the seller is relaxed, ask to tour their home. During the tour make notes and complement amenities that you observe and mention value-enhancing home features. Measure the room sizes using an electronic tape measure, which indicates that you are high-tech and up-to-date on technology. When you are finished with the tour, ask if it would be acceptable to review the prelisting packet you sent while sitting at the dining room table or kitchen table. Never use the living room because this environment is too relaxed and casual for a business discussions.

Most prospects brace themselves for the sales process negatively simply because they don’t want to be SOLD, but they do want to be HELPED. Ease into the process by saying: “Before I show you what I can do for you, I need to better understand your needs.” Then transition to a needs analysis form, which you can create yourself beforehand. Ask them pertinent questions and write down their answers. Find out why they are selling, where they want to move, and if there are any time deadlines that you would need to be aware of. Upon completing the needs analysis, review it with them out loud to insure that you have not missed anything. This review gives the seller the assurance that you were listening to what they said and that you are aware of their needs and wants.

3. The Presentation

Briefly review the prelist packet with your home seller one document at a time. To create a smooth presentation flow, the actual listing presentation should be rehearsed much like a script for a movie. Remember, the more familiar and relaxed we are with the contents of the package the more relaxed the home seller will be upon hearing it. When you talk with your seller, talk key points, but not every detail. One exception is when you are talking about every marketing tool you will use to sell their home. For example talk about the following tools: 24 hours per day internet exposure; newspaper ads; yard signs; postcards; telemarketing; letter writing campaigns; open houses; national MLS coverage; home magazines: network marketing among other agents and colleagues; 360 degree in-house internet tours.

4. The Trial Close

A trial close as the phrase indicates, is an attempt to determine whether your home seller is in agreement with you and your presentation, and is ready to sign, i.e. “close the deal.” To help move or transition the conversation to the final decision of listing with you, use questions. Questions are non-confrontational and they gently confirm points of agreement in the home seller’s mind. They also uncover any objections that the two of you may not have talked about. Following are some sample questions that you may want to ask the seller:

Sample Questions

Have I satisfactorily explained my client pledge to you?
Can you clearly see the benefits of my team effort?
Do you now know what to expect in your home selling process?
Are you satisfied with the number of marketing tools I will use?
What price range are similar homes selling for in your neighborhood?
What price range are you considering?
How fast do you need to sell your home?
Are you ready to move forward and get your house on the market today?

At this point in the conversation, if the home seller has objections, deal honestly with each objection by first restating it to clarify before answering it. When you have answered each of the home seller’s objections, ask them if they understand and are satisfied with your explanation. If they say no, then ask the seller specifically what you did not present clearly. If they are satisfied, ask them if they are ready to sign the final documents that will place their home on the market today. Many iSucceed mentors suggest that you have your commission rates preprinted on your listing contract. Use the “alternate of choice” close approach giving them choices as to what they would like to pay in commission. Show a full range of commission rates going up in percentage amount starting from your standard rate. Circle your normal percentage as the lowest and as your suggestion for their choice. If the seller objects and asks you to discount your rates, explain that discount commissions mean discounted services, which equate to houses not selling as quickly as they should.

Length of Listing Contract:

If the home owner is not in agreement with your length of listing time on the contract, use a pyramid example to help them see the financial benefits of listing for a longer period of time. Draw a pyramid and write $300,000 at the top and the words “least amount of work and time.” At the bottom write $450,000 and then write “most amount of work and time.” Tell the homeowner that if they want to lose a large portion of their potential profit, and sell their home at discount, then you can list the home for a minimum time and sell it at discount. If however they want top dollar and your broker’s full commitment to the use of every marketing vehicle, then a normal listing contract term based on the seller’s geographic area and whether it is a seller’s or buyer’s market is appropriate.

5. The Final Close

At this point in the prelisting presentation you should be ready for a final close and the signing of the listing agreement. Ask the home seller if there are any other questions that they have before they sign the listing agreement. If they have questions, don’t ignore them. Kindly and thoroughly answer all questions. Then give them the documents they need to sign with a pen and with signature places highlighted. If the home owner says they want to think about it, acknowledge that you have felt the same way and that you understand. Then ask them what you may not have properly explained, that might be causing this delay? If they say that you have done a good job of explaining but that they are just not sure, then try to uncover the reasons for their delay.

Ask the home seller questions like:

Have you made a commitment to another real estate agent?
Is the real estate commission a concern?
Are you uncomfortable with the length of contract?
Do you have doubts about my ability to sell your home?
Do you have doubts about our company?
Do you have worries about finding a replacement home?

Many agents are fearful about bringing up objections. However if you do not seek to find the hidden reason for rejections, then the objection will not be identified and will resurface or derail the sale of the house. Once identified rejections can be disarmed. Steam-Rolling or intimidating a seller with a hard sell, in order to get the homeowner to ignore or forget their objection, only creates resentment. Festered resentments grow into hostility, and results in a cancelled contract… with bad public relations. If there are challenges with this prospect then find out early before you spend too much time and money on them.

Things Real Estate Agents Should Avoid

Being late
Being unprepared and disorganized
Sloppiness
Not listening
Not speaking effectively
Rushed, high pressure, intimidating sales tactics
Over promising and under performing
Not returning phone calls or e-mails
Unethical behavior

In Closing

Not every home seller may be right for you. Don’t submit to feelings of condemnation when making a decision early in the game to pull the plug and to move on to other home sellers.

You don’t need every client, but rather the right client and enough right clients to consistently win. For more information visit www.iSucceed.com