How to Shake Your Listing Presentation Slump

We know there's nothing more frustrating than having a potential seller client list with a competitor! So, what do you do when your listing presentation isn't resulting in new business? Why, use our five tips to shake your listing presentation slump, of course!

5 Tips to Shake Your Listing Presentation Slump

Tip 1: Reach out for feedback on your listing presentation

Realize that it happens to the best of us, and in order to make improvements, you have to know what went wrong. Don't hesitate to reach out to the seller for their honest feedback. Here are a few common reasons listings are lost:

• Assuming the listing was yours
• Showing up to the listing presentation late
• Being unaware of the price the seller had in mind
• Not personalizing the listing presentation
• Being negative and unenthused about the home
• Not listening to and/or addressing the potential client's needs

If you still feel like more feedback would be helpful, reach out to your team (or even friends and family!) to review your listing presentation and provide constructive criticism.

Tip 2: Make Your Value Proposition Clear

It's important to go beyond "selling" yourself and focus on your client's needs to establish how you will help sell their home. It's not enough to simply say "I'm the best" (even though we know you are). You must prove you're worthy of their business by sharing your success record with them:

• What's your average days on market?
• What can you do to reduce carrying cost?
• What deals have you negotiated on behalf of past seller clients?
• How often were you able to stick within a desired time frame for past seller clients?
• What success have you had with staging homes?
• What's your success rate? How many homes have you sold?

Sellers are looking for social proof. Your success with others can tip the scales in your favor when considering whether you can get the job done.

Tip 3: Gather real reviews and social proof

If your potential clients search for your name online, what are they going to find? BIA/Kelsey reports that 97 percent of people read online reviews, and according to the annual Local Consumer Review Survey from BrightLocal, approximately 84 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from real people.

In order to effectively manage your online presence, it's important to capture the great things that people say about you and your business and make that feedback easily accessible to potential clients. Take the time to collect testimonials from your past clients and sphere of influence; they're a powerful indicator to potential clients as to what it will be like to work with you. There might already be public reviews you can pull from for listing presentations – here are a few places to look:

• realtor.com® agent profile
• Yelp
• Google
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• White Pages

Tip 4: Do Your Research!

Before the listing presentation, you should get to know all there is to know about the seller, their home, and the surrounding neighborhood. Do a Google or LinkedIn search and some light "Facebook stalking" to better understand who they are (it's not creepy—it's smart!). Spend time studying their neighborhood and use tools like Market Snapshot® to showcase your neighborhood expertise. Highlight selling points that will attract buyers, like local schools, crime ratings, and walkability. Learn about the selling prices of nearby homes. Arming yourself with hyperlocal data will be your biggest asset in building trust, strengthening your local expertise, and assisting in the listing price portion of the presentation.

Tip 5: Perfect Your Listing Package

In addition to tailoring your presentation to each listing, it's a best practice to keep your presentation fresh and flexible. Remember, the client will have likely heard several listing presentations, so make sure yours stands out from the rest. Anthony Askowitz, broker-owner of RE/MAX Advance Realty in South Miami, suggests maintaining print or digital versions of the following:

• Your resume
• A one-pager about the company
• An explanation of the company's international, national and local resources and why it is best for the client
• A page with dos and don'ts for getting the home ready for sale
• A customized marketing plan, outlining what will be done to sell this particular property
• Letters of recommendation
• An analysis showing the home's fair market value and your pricing recommendations
• An explanation of how the showings will proceed
• An explanation of the procedure when offers are made
• Seller's disclosure
• Listing agreement

Spending time researching, preparing, and practicing your presentation will increase your confidence and chances of success. You can win the listing before you meet the client – be prepared and be professional.

Interested in getting ahead of the competition and winning more listings? Position yourself for success by utilizing the real estate tech tools provided with the Business Builder Bundle. Not only can you consolidate and route online leads with FiveStreet, but you can connect with clients throughout the remainder of the real estate lifecycle by providing them with neighborhood-level data direct from your MLS while measuring your online marketing success with Market Snapshot® and ListHub Pro reports. Click here to learn more.

This article originally appeared in the ListHub newsletter.