I was thrilled to have the opportunity to represent Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate during the NAR Annual conference this year. My topic was “Mastering the Listing Presentation,” and my audience was the Women’s Council of REALTORS®.
Let’s face it, when it comes to real estate, it’s all about the listings. While you may prefer to work directly with buyers, in order to grow your business you need an inventory of listings.
Although the presentation itself is important and needs to be well designed with strong visuals, there are five fundamental elements you need to master your listing presentation and get the business.
1. Think of yourself as a marketing company
It’s very important to think of yourself as a marketing company. Without marketing, it will be very difficult to generate listing opportunities. There will always be a handful of people in your sphere of influence who may want to buy. And through your network, you might also fall into some unpredictable opportunities. But in order to consistently generate sales leads, one must develop and execute a strategic marketing plan.
2. Practice
As real estate professionals, we can go weeks between listing appointments. That means we don’t get to practice our craft enough. One creative and fun way to get better at handling sales challenges and creating dialogue is to role play. Create a weekly meeting featuring two different brokers or agents each time role-playing various scenarios and then openly discuss the key issues with the larger group. Everyone can learn and pick up tips from their peers’ experiences.
3. Build trust and rapport
A two-step listings presentation allows you to set the tone for how you work and provides enough time to build a relationship.
It’s not a good idea to show up for the first time and sell cold. During the first visit you can inspect the property and get to know the seller. Why are they moving? What do they love about their home? This lets you know their hot buttons.
When you knock on the sellers door for a second appointment, you will not be coming in as a stranger trying to sell yourself and your company, but rather as a friend. You can come armed with a customized presentation based on their wants and needs. By doing this, you have instantly created trust and rapport.
Read the remaining fundamentals on our latest Clean Slate post, “5 Fundamentals of Mastering the Listing Presentation.”
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Karlton Utter is the Director of Learning Technologies and Solutions at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.