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Creating a real estate listing presentation that blows the socks off leads requires creativity, patience, and persuasion. Simply handing leads a pamphlet that gives a handful of tidbits about your business isn’t enough to convince sellers to list their home with you. They need to trust in you as a real estate agent and in your ability to sell their property quickly at a great price.
Two-thirds of home sellers only contact one agent before choosing their listing agent. Here are nine things to avoid during your real estate listing presentation to ensure you’re the only agent your leads consider and, ultimately, hire.
1) Failing to Personalize Your Listing Presentation
Scripts are for movies and TV shows, not a real estate listing presentation. Creativity and sincerity are the keys to relating to sellers. Instead of wasting time with a canned speech that you could give to any seller, personalize yours. Make it unique by implementing the seller’s unique preferences and desires.
All-in-one listing presentations will get you nowhere with sellers. They need to know you understand their specific preferences for selling their home. The best way to do that? Personalize your presentation as much as possible. Find out what other nearby homes have sold for in recent months. Generic market reports may show your familiarity with the broader market, but conveying hyper-local knowledge makes you a clear go-to choice. Also, consider including specific examples of how you marketed similar properties and were able to meet the seller’s goals. Just don’t give them the same listing presentation you’ve given a thousand times before.
2) Writing Too Much or Too Little Presentation Copy
Writing unique copy for your presentation is one thing, but producing too little or too much could hurt you. A good measure to determine how much to develop is to think about each individual seller. Do they have little time to hear your listing presentation? Then go with a short-and-sweet demonstration. Do they typically have lots of questions? Then allot plenty of time to answer their queries during and after your presentation.
Personalities play a big role in sales — both yours and sellers — so use them to help craft your presentation. Test different listing presentation lengths. Practice your presentation speech aloud to see how long it takes you to complete. It’s this kind of preparation before meeting with prospective clients that will help you convince them to sign on with you.
3) Coming Off as Too Promotional or Sales-y
Knowing how to do a listing presentation the “right” way is different for every real estate agent, but one commonality all great presentations share is they don’t sell too hard. There can be a door-to-door salesperson feel to conducting real estate listing presentations, however, that doesn’t mean you should speak like one. Promote your business too overtly and sellers may request you end your talk early and move on.
That’s not to say you can’t add your branding in your presentation or give sellers your business card. It simply means you can’t be obvious with your sales pitch. For instance, when sellers ask about your experience selling homes in the market, don’t spend 10 minutes detailing every deal you’ve closed. Rather, highlight one or two properties you’ve sold that are similar to that of the seller and tell sellers you can provide more info on the transactions after the listing presentation is complete.
According to Salesforce.com, more than 80 percent of sales professionals aren’t in tune with their audience’s preferences. So, instead of doing all of the talking (a.k.a. selling) during your real estate listing presentation, spend time during it learning more about the sellers. Gradually building relationships with them is the best possible sales pitch you can implement.
4) Developing an Unprofessional-Looking Presentation
Make your real estate listing presentation stand out from others by adding some style and flare. A simple PowerPoint may have worked well in the early 2000s, but there’s plenty of more modern technology you should use in your presentation.
Find reputable, easy-to-use software that can help you develop a sleek, informative listing presentation. Software firm CustomShow offers 24 top presentation options that are perfect for novice designers. If you lack design skills to use tools like Photoshop, then research other online tools that can make your presentation stand out. For example, there are lots of video recording apps for smartphones and tablets that allow you to put together clips of anything you want. Show off your previous listings, explain your real estate background, talk about local market conditions — anything your seller wants to hear about.
Whichever medium you use for your real estate listing presentation, explain everything sellers need to know to make an informed decision regarding their home representation in a stylish, memorable format.
5) Excluding Sales and Business History Information
As part of your listing presentation, real estate information (like your sales history and company information) should be highlighted early and often. Sure, sellers can research you online, as most do to begin the home sale process. But in-person listing presentations allow you to provide more intricate details about yourself: how you got into real estate, what helps you succeed, what separates you from the pack, how many homes you’ve sold, what your speciality is — anything that can both humanize you and show off your credentials.
Think of it this way: Social proof on your real estate website, like your sales and company history, gives visitors (including sellers) a clear understanding of your capabilities as an agent — and that same social proof is needed for your listing presentation. Even information you deem unimportant, like where you were raised and any certifications you’ve earned, can help instill a sense of assurance in sellers.
6) Not Explaining Your Value Proposition
In the same vein of explaining your company and sales history, detail what makes your real estate business successful and different from that of other agents. In other words, harness your inner Don Draper and pitch the benefits your clients receive when working with you.
For instance, if you have a great track record of closing deals very quickly for clients, let sellers know. Most sellers want to move their properties as soon as possible (given they receive the right offer, of course), so share these sales records with leads during listing presentations to state your case. Other great business highlights to include:
- How you sell to open house visitors and buyers during private showings
- How you’ve used real estate marketing, like your website, to attract the right buyers
- Your connections to other agents that can help you identify buyers
- Your know-how for qualifying leads to find the right potential buyers
What you don’t want to do while explaining your value proposition during the listing presentation is belittle other agents. You may have popular competitors in your market, but denigrating them to prop yourself up won’t do you any favors. Keep the focus on what you can offer sellers, not what other agents can’t do for them.
7) Forgetting to Provide Sellers with Print Collateral
Though the best listing presentations are often nearly entirely digital, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t offer sellers pamphlets and packets with your business information and other real estate marketing collateral. Creating print materials means you cover all of your bases online and offline. When sellers aren’t returning to your real estate website to learn more about you, they can refer to printouts and folders featuring your value proposition, market information, comparative analysis reports, and anything else that can get them closer to selecting you as their agent.
Again, though: This is supplementary marketing. First and foremost, create a real estate listing presentation that engages sellers and advises them to check out your website for additional information. Then, create print collateral to support your real estate marketing.
8) Neglecting Sellers’ Preferences and Questions
When your listing presentation is all said and done, fielding questions from and engaging with your real estate leads is an absolute must. As Realtor Magazine notes, there are numerous questions sellers are likely to ask agents before deciding whether to hire them. Be prepared to spend plenty of time with sellers after your presentation to make sure they’re completely knowledgeable about what you can offer them. The more intel they have about you and your business, the more they’re likely to work with you.
9) Not Following Up with Sellers After Your Listing Presentation
Okay, this is actually an after-the-fact tip, but still a vital one. Not every question will come to sellers’ minds once you’ve completed your listing presentation. That’s why it’s imperative to provide all of your contact information — even your social media accounts — so they can get in touch with questions. While they’re unlikely to call you looking for further explanation about your commission or your credentials at 3 a.m., let them know you’re available 24/7. Successful real estate agents recognize they’re on the clock at all times, so let leads know you’re willing to talk any time.
Here are several other mistakes agents need to avoid with their real estate marketing efforts.
What other errors do real estate agents need to avoid in their listing presentations? Share your thoughts below.
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