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6 Steps to Win the Listing

A little sleuthing can help you target your presentation to the seller so you can get the listing. 

Like many successful Realtors®, Lynn Paskow Savits tailors her listing presentations to the personality and desires of the seller. “Before I go into what I can do for them, I try to get a sense of their expectations,” says Savits, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker in Aventura. “Are they testing the market? Do they have to sell quickly? That kind of information makes a big difference. I also want to get a sense of their personalities, because you have to work together.” 

Real estate trainers say there is a big difference between approaching listings as Savits does and using a canned, agent-centric presentation that highlights the sales associate’s skills and broker’s marketing capabilities. When you do your upfront research and focus your presentation on the seller’s goals, you have a much better chance of establishing a relationship with that seller and winning the listing. 

“Gathering information before the actual appointment can go a long way toward getting that signature,” says Gene Rivers, operating partner/owner of Keller Williams Realty offices across North Florida. 

Here is a step-by-step guide to customizing your presentation to the seller.

1. Analyze the first contact. 

Prospective sellers may reach out to you first via a phone call, email, text or face-to-face conversation. Pay attention to that initial contact because it can give you a few clues about the seller’s preferred form of communication as well as eagerness to list.  “Be careful to avoid stereotyping,” says Leigh Brown, owner of NoFluffTraining.com and a sales associate with RE/MAX Executive Realty in Charlotte, N.C. “Not all Millennials want to text, and not all Boomers leave voice messages.”

Find out how the seller learned about you and your company. It might be a referral from a past customer, a link from an online site, or a response to your blog or newsletter, for example. 

What you can learn: An owner who texts or calls with a request to meet tomorrow may be ready to sell more quickly than one who clicks on a link from Zillow or Realtor.com and asks, “What is my home worth?” Also, if the contact came from a social media or online source, you may not need to spend a lot of time in the presentation introducing yourself to the owner.

2. Ask open-ended questions.

Brown recommends that sales professionals have a consistent intake process for turning their initial contacts into listing agreements. Your goal is to learn as much as possible about the owner before sitting down for an in-person listing presentation. 

Start by asking a series of open-ended questions that require more than a yes or no response, and invite the sellers to talk about their personal situation. “Always be polite and ask the owners’ permission before diving into your questions,” Brown adds. “That shows respect to the owners and helps establish the tone of the relationship.” 

Start with easy questions like, “How long have you lived in the home?” says Carla Cross, trainer and coach at Carla Cross & Co. in Issaquah, Wash. “You can ask where they want to move and when they want to move. Then, move on to questions about the property, the financing and the documents you’ll need to start marketing the home.”  

During this initial conversation, Cross suggests asking the owners what criteria they have for choosing an agent. “[This question] lets you introduce yourself and your own value proposition,” Cross says. “You also can ask whether they plan to talk to multiple agents.”

To keep the process moving forward, you should tell the owners to expect a prelisting package from you. This is where you can educate them about yourself, your company and current market conditions. 

“We have developed a prelisting package and use it consistently,” Rivers says. “It explains the steps in the sales process and how our team markets our clients’ homes. It’s a good way to show the sellers that you offer a true value and will provide a high level of service.” 

What you can learn: It’s vital to evaluate the owner’s willingness to accept advice and be part of the marketing team, says Cross. An owner who says, “I don’t need to sell, but want to get a great price” might not be willing to negotiate or accept a market offer, resulting in a waste of your time. 

“Someone who needs to sell right away might settle for a lower price than someone who can wait,” says Brown. “Also, a seller with an immaculate home might be able to put it on the market next week, while another might need several months to get it ready for showing.”

3. Go online.

After you finish your initial conversation, spend a few minutes online to gain a better understanding of the owner’s personality and background. For instance, one owner might have only a professional presence on LinkedIn, while another takes pride in having dozens of Twitter followers and posts lots of photos of children or grandchildren on Facebook. 

What you can learn: An online search may be able to tell you the owner’s current position (title and company) and length of time worked for that organization. This can also help you “guesstimate” how long the owner has lived in the home—something you may be able to confirm with an online search of county property tax records. 

An owner who has lived in a home for 40 years, for instance, may be selling it in connection with retirement plans.  One who bought a bargain-priced “short sale” residence during the recession may be ready to “cash out” or use the current home equity as a down payment for a more expensive residence.

4. Call the owner. 

Calling a prospective seller is a time-tested way to gain more insights into the owner’s personality. Even if you get voice mail or an answering machine, you can get clues by listening carefully to the greeting (upbeat or ho-hum? quick or slow?). 

Of course, it’s best to speak with the owner directly, especially if you have follow-up questions or want to schedule a listing appointment.  Again, be polite, especially with owners you have never met, and ask how they prefer to be addressed, such as “John and Mary” or “Mr. and Mrs. Wright.” Make a note and use that preferred salutation in your personalized listing presentation. 

What you can learn:
It probably won’t take long to find out whether the owner wants to dominate the phone conversation or prefers you to take the lead.  You may be able to determine other personality traits by using the DISC model (see “Use Personality to Personalize,” on pg. 22) or having a short conversation, according to Rivers.

“Pay attention to whether the owner talks more about people or goals,” adds Rivers. “Follow the owner’s lead. You may want to bring the family into the conversation or talk about how you will help the sellers achieve their financial objectives.”

5. Educate the seller. 

Personality is not the only factor to consider when customizing a listing presentation. It’s important to take the seller’s knowledge of real estate into account. For instance, some owners have recently bought or sold a home, while others may not have been in the market for several decades. 

“I adjust my presentation, depending on how long it’s been since they sold a home,” says Dinorah de Cardenas-Guerra, sales associate, RESF Real Estate in Coral Gables. She also prepares both an online and a printed version of her presentation, and asks sellers which one they prefer. 

What you can learn: Talking to the owners about their prior real estate experiences can help you decide whether to take an in-depth approach to your presentation or simply hit on the high points. 

6. Study your competition. 

Another issue that can affect the nature and length of the listing presentation is whether or not the owners have already met with other agents. 

What you can learn: “If I’m the first one, I’ll take longer with my presentation, showing them what I’ve done, including video tours of recent homes,” de Cardenas-Guerra says. “If I’m the third agent, I move through the presentation more quickly, emphasizing my value proposition. In either case, I give the owners plenty of time to ask questions.”

Taking the time to understand the owner’s personality, motivation, market knowledge and personal goals, as well as your competition, puts you in an ideal position to win the listing. “Keep your value proposition in mind at all times,” says Brown. “But don’t give every presentation in exactly the same way, because every seller is different.” #

Richard Westlund is a Miami-based freelance writer.