12 Questions to Winning Your Next Listing

Excerpt from Plan to Win: Transform Your Real Estate Sales Game Plan
 Featured in Realtor Mag  

2022 updates featured in RealTrends.com 

Winning a listing presentation may not be rocket science but it does require deliberate planning and execution.  Whip out your tablet or a pen and paper, and thoughtfully record your answers to the following questions to enhance your real estate listing presentations and win new clients:

#1 - What do you typically include in your listing presentations to home sellers? Write out a detailed outline. 

#2 - Does your listing presentation highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the seller’s home (such as being located in an award-winning school district but unusually high HOA fees)?

#3 - Does your listing presentation highlight the opportunities and threats in today’s market (such as a Fortune 500 company relocating within miles of the home making the neighborhood popular but rates are also rising)?

#4 - How can you incorporate the answers to #2 and #3 in your future presentations?

#5 - Why do sellers typically need to sell and how can you speak to and meet those needs in your presentation? Coach’s Call: Although you should find out why each individual seller is selling (as this determines price flexibility, dates, etc.), you should also have an understanding of the general reasons and develop pricing and marketing strategies that provide a solution to the needs. By knowing this in advance, you increase your preparedness and likelihood of winning your next listing.

#6 - What surprises sellers the most once they have listed their homes for sale (include even what you hear from other agents as well)? 

#7 - How can you prepare sellers for these surprises at your listing presentation to them?

#8 - What objections do sellers typically have when listing their home for sale (i.e. commission rates, pricing, etc.)? Coach’s Call: Create a boilerplate template that you can re-use that will answer and overcome such objections.

#9 - What references can you include in your listing presentation?  Coach’s Call: Try to include video testimonials from other satisfied sellers but at the minimum include their statements, names and contact numbers.

#10 - How do you promote (advertise) your listings (including the resources offered by your realty firm)?  Coach’s Call: Create a visual map or collage of these marketing channels and syndication points for sellers and add it to your presentation.

#11 - In what format is your listing presentation typically (i.e. handouts, on-screen presentations like Prezi, PDF, etc.)?

#12 - Does this presentation format suit your ideal client (think beyond who you normally work with to whom you desire to work)? Coach’s Call: Get inside the head of your ideal client and determine what type of presentation would make them say, Wow!

Be intentional about your next listing presentation by incorporating your answers the next time you meet with a prospective home seller.  By the way, check out the rest of Plan to Win for more thought-provoking exercises to get your brain wheels turning and your real estate sales thriving.  Here's to your success!