Getting all the way to a listing appointment but not signing a new client is like dropping a birthday cake after the candles have been lit. You’ve put in all the hours to find your prospective client and prepare a real estate listing presentation. You’re ready to celebrate … if you can make it to the table.
If you’ve dropped lots of cake, chances are your listing presentation needs some work. Read on to learn what you need for a killer listing presentation: How to prepare one, what it must include, how to overcome objections, and send effective follow-ups.
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What Is a Listing Presentation?
Listing presentations are the first dates of real estate. You dress well, show up on time—don’t bring flowers, it isn’t necessary—but do bring your A-game. This is your chance to show why you are the perfect agent to list and sell a property. You pitch your expertise, they ask questions, you respond professionally, and hopefully, at the end, they sign a listing agreement.
What Must Be in a Listing Presentation?
We recommend that you include the following:
- An introduction
- What sets you (and your team or brokerage) apart
- Your market analysis (with comps and recommended pricing)
- A specific marketing strategy for the property
- Tips for prepping a home to sell
- An explanation of your role, responsibilities, and what to expect
- A call to action
Data to Collect for Your Listing Presentation
The first step is to show that you actually care about this listing—that you care about the property and you care about the client. Spend some time becoming an expert on the home, neighborhood, and even the sellers. You want them to feel like you’re a trusted friend with the knowledge and expertise to sell their home.
Learn About the Property
Demonstrate to the owners that you know everything there is to know about that property and put together a stellar comparative market analysis (CMA). If you’ve never done one, don’t sweat it. We’ve laid out all of the steps for creating a CMA in this handy how-to guide.
Learn About the Seller
Figure out everything you can about the sellers: What’s important to them, what makes them tick, what their real estate goals might be. The more information you have, the greater your advantage when it’s time to convince them that you’re the perfect person to sell their house. For example, if you discover that your sellers are active social media users, make sure your marketing strategy includes a social media component. The better you know your soon-to-be-clients, the better you can serve their needs.
Learn About the Community
I’ve heard it said that boards of tourism should be made up of real estate agents—we know the best of everything on every block in town. As a listing agent, it’s your job to sell buyers on the benefits of the community. Here’s a list of features every agent should know:
- Top five restaurants in the home’s immediate surrounding area
- The best coffee shops and corner markets
- The best parks and green spaces nearby
- Museums, universities, or recreation facilities
- Anything else that gives a community its unique identity
7 Ways Top Agents Prepare for Listing Appointments (+ Checklist & Scripts)
Now let’s look at what it takes to put together a killer listing presentation that is going to get that cake on the table with the candles lit.
1. Your Introduction
This is your opportunity to show your experience, your professionalism, and why homeowners should trust you with what is probably one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.
Make sure you’re calling attention to any awards or accolades you’ve received, how many years of experience you have, your local expertise, and other information that will make you the easy choice. Show the sellers that you’re dedicated, bright, diligent, authentic, and the perfect agent to get that home sold.
Don’t have much experience but still want to nail your introduction? Here is where you can focus on your hunger for success. Don’t have many listings? That just means you can focus on this one. Other, more established agents are busy, whereas you are ready to make this property your one and only priority.
2. Your Comparative Advantage
Take a minute to show that it’s not only you, but the full power and excellence of your brokerage (and team, if applicable) that can get this house sold. Pull any relevant stats that show how you outperform your market. We also love throwing in some testimonials—they help sellers visualize the kind of success they might experience by engaging you as an agent.
Remember, when doing comparisons, focus on stats from the local market. Resist the urge to single out a fellow agent or competing brokerage for comparison.
3. Your Comparative Market Analysis
Your CMA is where you demonstrate to the owners that you know everything there is to know about this property. You’re assuring them you can price it well, market it effectively, and ultimately negotiate on their behalf to get a price and terms that are fair.
By the time you’re done with this slide, your clients will know the results of your CMA and your expectations for how the property should perform, assuming it is listed and priced appropriately. Now is a great time to open it up for questions. The homeowners might want to know more about your calculations and may even give some pushback on your pricing—make sure the data backs your numbers. Feel free to use multiple slides here if you want to really dive into each comp and show the adjustments.
4. Your Marketing Strategy
Throughout your presentation, potential clients are going to be wondering two things:
- How are you going to get my home sold?
- How are you going to earn that commission?
Outlining your marketing strategy for this specific property answers both questions. Make it as customized as possible and be sure to include information about taking professional photos, shooting a video, and getting a floorplan if it’s part of your strategy. While you don’t want to bore your audience with too much detail, you do want to show them that you have the expertise to successfully market their home, and that you’ll use every tool available to get the job done.
If you need some ideas, check out Sean’s Ultimate Real Estate Listing Marketing Plan.
5. Your Professional Advice
This is a chance to educate the sellers, so don’t be shy about assigning homework. Offer your professional advice on how to prepare their home to get top dollar. This probably means decluttering, depersonalizing, cleaning, and basic repairs. It can also include potential renovations. If appropriate for that particular property, point out that a renovated bathroom or kitchen could see a serious return on investment. This National Association of Realtors (NAR) remodeling impact study is a great resource.
Just to show that you’re the consummate professional and that you’re there to make the seller’s life easier, have a list of remodelers, designers, and contractors that you trust ready.
6. Your Role
No matter how many real estate transactions your sellers might have gone through, every single one is different. You might even have first-time sellers who need extra guidance. This section of the presentation allows you to explain what will happen once a home is listed, outline your role and duties, and set expectations.
For example, to head off any future frustrations if you bring them a low offer, you can explain that you are required to present any offer being made on the property.
This is another opportunity to share your expertise and show your value. Getting through those inspections alone should earn you a commission, amiright?
We like to include a slide that shows a potential schedule for open houses and showings, but it’s not necessary. If it feels like too much, drop it, but it could go a long way in helping the sellers picture you as the open house host.
7. Your Ask
As you end your presentation, give your audience another chance to ask questions. Listen carefully and answer thoughtfully.
Now, ask for the listing.
Left to their own devices, sellers might waffle back and forth for days (or longer) about a decision to list their property with a particular agent—or whether they should even list at all. This is frustrating for all parties involved, so ask your seller specifically for a yes or a no.
If this doesn’t come easily to you, here are some of our favorite ways to close a presentation:
I’d be honored to represent you in the sale of your home. Are you ready to get this process started by signing the listing paperwork today?
After everything we’ve gone over today, are you confident that I am the best fit to sell your home quickly and for the best price?
Thanks again for taking the time to allow me to talk to you tonight. I am ready to go to work if you’ll have me.
I think the best strategy would be to get the paperwork out of the way tonight so we can get your house up on the MLS by Friday. I would love to go over the listing agreement with you so we can make that happen.
Since you seemed to like the idea of virtual staging so much, I would love to have my photographer come by this weekend to take some pictures that we can virtually stage for you.
I am 100% sure that the marketing strategy I laid out for you will sell your home quickly and for the most money. If you agree, can we take the next step and go over the listing agreement?
Have we gone over enough information today so that signing the listing agreement would be the next step?
If they say yes, Congratulations!!!
If they say no, take heart , we have your next steps.
Overcoming Seller Objections
In the event that your seller didn’t immediately stand up and applaud your perfect plan to sell their home, begging to sign on the dotted line, you might have to overcome a few objections.
Here are some of the most common ones—and how to respond to them:
‘We’re still not sure if this is the right time to sell.’
Sellers who are constantly waiting for the market to improve are going to wait forever, because the market is always going to change. A great way to handle this objection is to go back to your presentation and remind your prospects that trying to time the market is a fool’s errand. The best thing a seller can do is take advantage of the conditions that are in their favor right now.
‘We’re going to interview some more agents before we make a decision.’
If your seller is considering other agents, the best thing to do is be supportive and proactive.
Try saying something like this:
There are lots of qualified professionals in our area and I’m sure you’ll have some good conversations. I’m confident that I’ve got the best plan to sell your home for the most money and in the shortest amount of time, but if there is something you like from another Realtor, I’d love a chance to speak about it and see how we could incorporate it into our strategy.
‘We were expecting to get more money for our home.’
In our age of instant home valuations and Zestimates, there are lots of conjectures floating around online about what a property is worth, often to the detriment of real estate agents who are conducting listing appointments.
If your seller thinks their house is worth more than the CMA you prepared for them, offer to incorporate their price into your strategy, just to see how the market reacts. But do so with a caveat: If the home doesn’t receive the attention it deserves (which we know it probably won’t) because it’s priced incorrectly, agree on a plan to drop the price to where it belongs.
How to Overcome the 3 Most Common Seller Real Estate Objections Like a Boss
Master the Follow-up
Regardless of whether the sellers need some time to think about it or gave you a thanks-but-no-thanks, here are some basic follow-up steps you should take to increase your odds of converting them down the road.
Always Say Thank You
Not only is this good manners, it’s good business. A thank you ensures that the sellers know how much you value their time and it provides an easy point of follow-up contact. A “thank you” can also be easily extended to include a “Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do for you?” A text message is a great way to keep the conversation going—a phone call is even better.
Get Them on an Email Drip
After a thank you, the next thing you should do is get the homeowners on an email drip. Email marketing has continued to show itself as one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to reach your sphere.
If you don’t end up winning the listing, keep an eye out to see if the home gets listed with another agent. If so, keep your communication friendly and remember that the National Association of Realtors’ Code of Ethics prohibits actively soliciting business from individuals known to be contracted with other real estate agents.
But if the property remains off-market, chances are you’ve got a seller with cold feet. These are the perfect soon-to-be-clients to put on an aggressive email drip about the state of the market. Give them stats that are relevant to their neighborhood and create opportunities for more conversations with every email. If you’re not sure where to start, we have a library of email templates you can use in your campaign.
Bringing It All Together
The listing presentation is a critical component to building your business. Bring everything from your A-game to your CMA and you’ll be on your way to crushing the presentation and landing clients. Don’t forget that you are the heart of your presentation. Have confidence in your abilities!
Do you have experience with a listing presentation gone right—or wrong? We want to hear from you in the comments!
Tell us about you so we know what to send.
