Great news! You were able to secure a new client interested in selling their home. Now what do you do to sell the home as quickly as you can? Well, we've got a few suggestions for you. This is the first of two articles that offers proven tips to sell your listing in days--not weeks or months.

1. Price It Right

It can be difficult to get reliable comps for properties right now because many markets are recovering so quickly it's hard to keep up with them. That's why it's important to use market stats tools that leverage up-to-date MLS data. Companies like RBIntel, AgentMetrics, and Top Producer's Market Snapshot can be valuable tools you can leverage to help you price the home right when building a listing presentation.

2. MLS Listing vs. Pocket Listing

Even though inventory is very tight currently, marketing a property by listing it in the MLS is a much more valuable approach than a pocket listing. It reaches a large addressable audience of real buyers who are engaged with an agent to purchase a home. Agents routinely save searches for properties that meet buyer criteria, so whenever your seller's listing matches that criteria, they are alerted. Here is a secret: those alerts are also triggered by price changes within the price range. Knowing this, if you change the price of a property by any amount (even $1), the alert goes out. Be sure to change your price regularly to leverage this MLS marketing strategy.

3. Stage and Improve the Curb Appeal

There are tons of great sites out there that can give you great ideas to share with your client about staging a home properly. Remember the basics--clear out the clutter, remove the personal photos, re-paint with today's colors and get rid of furniture where possible to make rooms look larger. Don't forget the curb appeal, either. A few well-placed planters with abundant flowers can make a home seem welcoming and hide some sins. Here are a few staging tips to get you started.

4. Protect from Unexpected Costs

Some buyers are reticent to sell because they don't have any extra cash available if they need to make repairs in order to sell the house. By offering a home warranty you can avoid that problem. Simply tell them that you're covering the cost of the program so they don't have to worry about any unanticipated costs. You can use some of the marketing programs available from warranty companies to take credit for your offer to provide them with a home warranty.

5. Effective Marketing

Of course, it's critical to market the home effectively. First, sign up for a BuyerMLS account to see if you can find qualified buyers quickly that are interested in the type of home you are selling. Second, be sure you use an interactive yard sign with a QR code from companies like Properties Online, Delta, or the Sign Rider Store so that buyers can get information even when the flyer box is empty.

Click here to read five more great tips in Part Two!