Whether you’re stepping into the market for your first listing or you’re an established agent hungry to climb higher, mastering your listing presentation can be a game-changer. Ever wonder how some real estate agents seem to effortlessly snag every listing? This post is the secret sauce for your success!
We’ve cooked up insider tips that will not just polish your pitch but make it shine so bright, that clients won’t hesitate to sign on the dotted line. Get ready to transform how you land listings and outshine the competition with ease.
If you’d prefer to watch a video about this information, here’s one that provides a shortened version. For the complete information about this article, here’s a tidy index:
- Understanding the Importance of a Real Estate Listing Presentation
- 6 Steps to Prepare Thoroughly Before Your Listing Presentation Appointment
- 4 Rules for Mastering Communication and Relationship Building During Your Listing Presentation
- 8 Steps for Listing Presentation Day
- Effective Strategies for Following Up After a Listing Presentation
- Checklist for a Successful Listing Appointment
- Wrapping it Up
- Join our FREE Team at eXp Realty
- Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding the Importance of a Real Estate Listing Presentation
A listing presentation is when a real estate agent meets with a potential home seller (usually at the home they want to sell) and tries to win the listing – the right to sell their home. As an agent, this is your chance to show homeowners that you’re the best real estate agent to sell their house.
Remember, other real estate agents might be competing for the same listing, so you must bring your A-game to the task. Bringing your A-game entails thorough preparation for the listing presentation appointment.
You’ll showcase your expertise, market knowledge, and dedication to achieving the seller’s real estate goals. This is your opportunity to shine and demonstrate why you are the most qualified and trustworthy agent for the job.
6 Steps to Prepare Thoroughly Before Your Listing Presentation Appointment
Taking the time to prep for your listing appointment will determine the success or failure of your meeting. Remember, you’re likely competing for the role of listing agent. This is your chance – be prepared to outshine all other agents.
- Review the current local market statistics so you can accurately describe whether it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market. Know what the local market trends are for average and median prices, price per square foot, days on the market, inventory, and whether homes are selling above or below list price.
- Review the neighborhood statistics and also what properties are currently for sale in the neighborhood as well as other homes in the area that buyers will also likely be comparing to this property. These properties are your seller’s competition as buyers will likely see these too.
- Research the seller through an online search. You may learn facts that will clue you into how you should do your presentation. You may also discover common interests or connections with the seller, which mentioned appropriately, can help foster a sense of unity and rapport.
- Study the home’s history. Find out when the home was built, how big is it, and what were the previous sales prices. Demonstrating that you’ve done your homework will strengthen your credibility and professionalism.
- Do a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). A CMA involves comparing the property with nearby, similar houses to arrive at some range of likely value. Create a CMA with your local MLS tools or try our favorite tool, RPR, which we highly recommend for this task. We love it!
- Create a Comprehensive Pre-Listing Packet. This is a packet that you will leave with the seller. Include market statistics, neighborhood statistics including other homes for sale, the home’s CMA, information about the home selling process, your skills, what your brokerage offers, and a listing agreement. Print it all on at least 32lb paper for a professional look.
4 Rules for Mastering Communication and Relationship Building During Your Listing Presentation
Winning this listing is going to, first and foremost, start with your excellent social skills and communication skills. Practice up on skills like:
- Active Listening: Pay close attention to the seller’s needs, concerns, and preferences. Show that you are fully engaged in the conversation by maintaining eye contact, nodding, and asking follow-up questions to clarify their goals. Earn their trust.
- Empathy: Understand the emotional aspect of selling a home. Acknowledge the seller’s feelings and validate their concerns. Empathizing with their situation helps build trust and rapport.
- Clear Communication: Use plain language and avoid jargon. Ensure that your explanations are easy to comprehend, especially when discussing contracts and legal terms. Look for understanding, not confusion, in the sellers’ expressions.
- Answering Questions: Be prepared to answer all questions regarding the selling process, pricing, and potential challenges. If you don’t have an immediate answer, tell the sellers that you’ll find out and then promptly do so in your follow-up.
- Body Language: Make the sellers comfortable by mimicking their actions. For example, if they talk quietly and slowly, do something similar. If they use their hands a lot, use your hands some too. Keep it real and not too matchy-matchy.
8 Steps for Listing Presentation Day
You’ve diligently prepared for the presentation and honed your social and communication skills. Now, it’s time to rendezvous with the client at their home.
Arrive at the home at the appointed time. Don’t be late. Don’t park in their driveway (to make sure nothing from your car drips off onto their driveway and creates a problem for them). Knock on the door; introduce yourself; and exchange pleasantries. Next, go through the following steps.
It’s important to note that while these steps are listed in a particular order, you must adapt and respond to the sellers’ cues. Being flexible helps the presentation flow naturally.
1. Make the Most of Touring the Seller’s Home
After initial pleasantries, say something like, “I’ve brought some things for us to look at but I’d love to see your home first. Would you show it to me?” This demonstrates your respect for their space and the house tour will provide valuable insights for you about the home’s unique features.
The home sellers will likely say “yes” as they want to tell you about the home and they’d love to see that you like it too. As you tour each room, ask questions about what the seller loves. This provides great information and tunes you into their emotional connection to the house.
Following the tour, ask where you can all sit down to discuss the selling process. Be sure to sit across from the sellers to provide easy eye contact and good presentation views for the sellers.
2. Time to Start Your Listing Presentation
Now, it’s time for the pivotal listing presentation. Take a seat with the homeowners and follow these tips:
- Use Technology to Dazzle. Use laptops or tablets to present visuals that substantiate your points. This presentation along with your meticulously prepared pre-listing packet ups your professionalism and organization and further bolsters seller confidence in you.
- Provide a Comprehensive Outline. Let the homeowners know what your presentation is going to cover and ask them if there is anything on the list that they don’t want to discuss.
3. Leverage your Brokerage or Team for Credibility
Begin by sharing your real estate sales experience so the homeowner will gain confidence in your abilities. If you’re new with no experience, no worries, just highlight the achievements of your team or brokerage. Use statements like “we accomplished this…” or “our firm had this many sales last year”.
4. Review your Prepped Materials
Remember that pre-listing packet you prepared? Time to dive into it. Discuss the current market statistics and the neighborhood statistics. Go over the home selling process, your skills, and what your brokerage offers. Save the CMA and competing homes for sale information for a later step.
5. Explain Your Effective Marketing Plan for Listings
Be sure to share your awesome marketing plan for their home. Include as many of the following items as possible to shine above your competition!
Utilizing the Local MLS to Enhance Listings
Let the seller know that you’ll be listing their property on the Local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and on real estate industry sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin. Also, inform the sellers that the MLS is hands down the best way to sell a home and only licensed agents can access it. Tell them that the MLS listing will result in buyer agents scheduling house showings.
Harnessing the Potential of Websites
Offer a dedicated website, or a page on your website, for the property that showcases the home. Create a QR code and print that everywhere you advertise the property so that interested buyers can easily and quickly view all the home details.
Being a Social Media Guru
Share with the homeowners that you are well-versed in social media. You will do posts, long-form videos, and short-form videos to advertise across all your social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok to spread the word.
Offer to pay for platform advertising too where you will target ads towards specific groups and places. Let the homeowners know that social media also provides an easy method for friends to share the home with their friends who might love the home!
Don’t know how to do social media on all the different platforms? Join our team and we’ll provide complete training for free from one of the top trainers in the world, Mike Sherrard. Plus, you’ll be a member of his team at eXp Realty, the Wolf Pack. Learn more here.
Doing Open Houses
Offer to host open houses for the home sale where you will advertise an open house, then show up for the open house lasting for several hours and answer questions to all who come by.
Let the homeowner know that open houses sometimes sell the home. Let them know that you are an expert. Not sure how to do a great open house? Check out our blog, “Open House Tips for Real Estate Agents in 2024 to Get Top Quality Leads”.
Leveraging Direct Marketing Techniques for Listings
Explain to the homeowners how you’ll do direct marketing advertising. You’ll use printed flyers (for visitors to take from open houses or agent showings). You also might mail postcards to targeted residents or buy magazine or newspaper advertising.
All advertising will show the home’s professional photography and it will contain the QR code to the website.
Superior Luxury Listing Advertising
If you are fortunate enough to be an eXp Luxury agent, you’ll offer a marketing plan on steroids! It will include digital advertising on platforms like Unique Homes, the Wall Street Journal, and MarketWatch and will be advertised in over 80 countries and in dozens of languages. Check out more about eXp Luxury here.
6. Explain the Essential Steps to Prepare a Home for the Market
Once you’ve completed your marketing plan, you’ll move on to information about prepping the home for sale, staging, photography, and videography. Some of these conversations will be awkward so prime your social skills to create a kind approach. Follow these tips:
Making Physical Changes to Improve the Home’s Look and Feel
- Engage Positively: Start the talk by highlighting the importance of making the home as appealing as possible to potential buyers. Emphasize that this preparation is like getting ready for a grand performance.
- Address Visible Repairs: Explain that it’s crucial to begin with visible repairs and updates that immediately catch the eye. Why? Because if a buyer sees something wrong, they often assume there’s a lot more wrong that they don’t see. Mention specific examples like fixing leaky faucets, quieting squeaky doors, and attending to chipped paint.
- Create a Spacious Feel: Suggest the idea of rearranging furniture to make rooms appear more spacious. Encourage the seller to consider removing personal items such as family photos to help buyers envision themselves living in the space.
- Freshen Up the Look: Describe the benefits of making improvements like installing new fixtures or applying fresh paint, both in contemporary style. Mention how these enhancements rejuvenate rooms to something that today’s buyers love!
- Introduce Fix Now, Pay Later: Is the homeowner feeling overwhelmed? If you’re with eXp Realty, introduce the concept of letting someone else handle it all with no upfront cost!From cleaning to painting, kitchen remodels, moving walls, exterior refreshes, and more, our eXp Partner does the work at a competitive price.
The best part? Homeowners don’t have to pay for the work until their home sells! And, they won’t be charged interest or any fees either during the listing period.
Maximizing the Impact of Home Staging in Listings
Next, you’ll need to educate the homeowner regarding staging. Staging a home means decorating it so buyers can imagine living there themselves. Introduce these benefits of staging:
- Homes that are staged sell on average 50% faster and for more money.
- Staging makes spaces feel larger.
- Staging helps highlight the best parts of the house.
- Staging makes photos look better online where most buyers start their search.
- Not as nice, but cost-effective, staging can also be done virtually, where the components are added to pictures of empty rooms still helping buyers visualize how to use a room.
The Power of HD Photography and Videography in Listings
Last, you’ll want to introduce the professional images you’ll provide:
- HD Photography – The home needs HD photography so every detail shines through online listings. These photos will capture each room from its best angle, showing off space and light beautifully. Professional photographers know how to do this just right – that is why you hire and pay for them!
- Videography Impact – Videography takes the home up another notch! Videos give potential buyers a real-life walk-through experience without stepping foot inside. They also share a story of what life could be like in this new place – something still images can’t always convey alone. That’s why you’ll hire and pay for videography too!
7. Discuss Winning Pricing Strategies
Now the most important conversation you’ll have – at what price will the home be listed? Here’s how to move through this critical and sometimes emotional discussion:
Setting Realistic Expectations:
Begin by stressing the importance of a realistic listing price. Explain that homeowners often value their properties higher than potential buyers. To establish realistic expectations, provide a brief overview of the current market conditions and the state of the neighborhood.
Introducing the Comparative Market Analysis (CMA):
Introduce the meticulously prepared CMA that you’ve created and introduce the other homes on the market that their home will compete with for a buyer. Emphasize that the final price will be determined by prospective buyers comparing their property to others currently available.
Want to be a super agent? Plan a tour for your sellers to see every house that competes with theirs. This goes a long way to getting the homeowner to be realistic in their price expectations.
Discussion on Price:
Ask the sellers for their opinion on the home’s value. This approach provides valuable insights into the sellers’ expectations. You need to know their expectations before sharing your own beliefs so that you’ll know whether they are realistic (easy to work with) or not (harder).
Explaining Pricing Strategy:
Once you have the sellers’ desired price, share your strategy. Layout 3 possibilities:
- Discuss whether it’s advantageous to list at a lower price to potentially incite a bidding war for multiple offers leading to a swift sale at a potentially higher-than-expected price.
- Consider if it’s better to price the house just right for a fairly fast sale.
- Mention the option of pricing higher if the property is exceptionally appealing but be sure to stress the need for a periodic reevaluation, ideally within a month, to adjust the price if necessary.
8. Listing Agreement
After you’ve decided on the right price, it’s time to make things official. The listing agreement is the contract between you and your sellers giving you the exclusive right to sell their home.
You’ll ask the sellers if they would like to go over the listing agreement now to sign today. Or, you can offer as we do, that they read the listing agreement at their leisure and then you’ll contact them to answer any questions and then email them an electronic version to sign.
Effective Strategies for Following Up After a Listing Presentation
Congratulations on completing your listing presentation. Now for the final touches:
- Thank You Email: Immediately send a personalized thank you email expressing gratitude for their time and reiterating your enthusiasm for working together. Include a brief recap of key points from the presentation.
- Feedback Request: Ask for feedback on your presentation and whether there are specific elements they’d like to revisit or explore further. Show your commitment to meeting their needs.
- Personalized Follow-up Meeting: Schedule a follow-up meeting to delve deeper into their expectations, concerns, and goals. Ensure they feel heard and understood.
- Complete the Tasks: Make sure to do everything you said you would do during the appointment. Do it quickly or at least tell the client that you are working on it.
Checklist for a Successful Listing Appointment
Alright, now you know what to do. Here’s a handy checklist for you to cover all the steps you learned about in this blog so your expertise will shine.
Steps to Prepare
- Review current Market and neighborhood stats
- Research the seller
- Study home history
- Do CMA
- Create Pre-Listing Packet
Listing Presentation Day
- Tour the Home
- Sit to Present
- Leverage your Brokerage or Team for Credibility
- Review the pre-listing packet (not the CMA or competing properties)
- Explain Your Marketing plan – local MLS, Websites, Social Media, Open houses, Direct Marketing, Luxury Listings
- Discuss Price – set expectations, Introduce CMA, Discuss Strategies
- Listing Agreement Signing
- Discuss Winning Pricing Strategies
- Follow Up
Wrapping it Up
You’ve got the blueprint to ace your listing presentation. Now it’s time to shine! Your next listing presentation could be the game-changer that sets you apart from the crowd. So go ahead, knock their socks off—we’re rooting for you!
Join our FREE Team at eXp Realty
Join the leading force in real estate with eXp Realty – the only profitable publicly traded brokerage over the past five years and holds the prestigious title of the best brokerage to work for. The benefits of eXp Realty are unmatched and will truly exceed your expectations!
When you join us at Smart Agent Alliance, you’ll also be part of the Wolf Pack at eXp Realty. Together we are one big team and we provide more FREE value than you’ll get anywhere else in the real estate business.
What’s included? Access our exclusive SAA Vault Assets to enhance your business efficiency, attend weekly team video calls filled with invaluable insights and top agent strategies, and receive the Social Agent Academy Program and Investor Army Courses – a combined value of over $1,500 – absolutely free. And that’s just the beginning! Explore more about our robust team benefits.
Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Transform your real estate career, maximize your income, and secure your future. Contact us now to schedule a video consultation or email us at team@SmartAgentAlliance.com. We’re here to ensure your success.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a listing presentation?
- How should I deliver my listing presentation?
- Why is explaining my marketing strategy important?
- What goes into preparing a home to list?
- Can you discuss winning pricing strategies during a listing presentation?
- What are the next steps after a listing presentation?
- What is a buyer’s market?
- What is a seller’s market?
- What is a CMA?
What is a listing presentation?
A listing presentation is your pitch to homeowners, showcasing how you’ll market and sell their property. It’s like your audition for the lead role in their home-selling journey.
How should I deliver my listing presentation?
Deliver it with confidence and clarity. Think of it as storytelling—with you guiding them through a tale where they happily sell their home.
Why is explaining my marketing strategy important?
It’s crucial because sellers want to know how you’ll make their property shine in the marketplace—like revealing the secret sauce that makes a dish irresistible.
What goes into preparing a home to list?
A lot if you want buyers to visualize themselves in the home. Examples of changes include decluttering, repairs, and staging—the makeover that turns an everyday house into every buyer’s dream home.
Can you discuss winning pricing strategies during a listing presentation?
Absolutely! It’s about hitting the sweet spot—pricing that attracts buyers without leaving money on the table. Like finding Goldilocks’ “just right” porridge temperature.
What are the next steps after a listing presentation?
Post-presentation, it’s action time: signing agreements, setting timelines—it’s like mapping out our treasure hunt for the perfect buyer.
What is a buyer’s market?
A buyer’s market in real estate refers to a market condition where there is an abundance of homes available for sale, and the number of potential buyers is relatively low. In this scenario, buyers have the upper hand as they have more choices, negotiate favorable terms, and often enjoy lower prices due to the surplus of homes.
What is a seller’s market?
A seller’s market in real estate is a market condition where there is a high demand for homes, but the supply of available properties is relatively limited. In this scenario, sellers have the upper hand as they have fewer homes to choose from, which often leads to increased property prices and favorable terms for sellers.
What is a CMA?
A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is a method used in real estate to estimate the value of a specific property by comparing it to similar properties that have recently been sold in the same area. Real estate agents and professionals typically conduct CMAs to help sellers determine an appropriate listing price for their property or to assist buyers in making informed decisions about how much to offer for a home.
How long should a listing presentation be?
The length of a real estate listing presentation can vary, but it’s generally recommended to keep it concise and focused, typically lasting between 30 minutes to 1 hour. Don’t bore the sellers but be sure to answer all their questions.
What does listing presentation mean?
A real estate listing presentation is a formal meeting or presentation that a real estate agent conducts with a potential seller who is interested in selling their property. The agent should aim to present why they are the best agent for the job.
What to bring to a listing presentation?
Not much – car keys, cell phone, pre-listing packet, and a laptop or tablet to display information.
