Being unprepared for a listing presentation pretty much guarantees that you are likely not to get that listing.

With the real estate market only producing a small increase in listing inventory year over year and having the largest number of agents selling homes in 7 years, competition for listings is as fierce as it’s ever been.

Knowing this, you can’t afford to be anything but uber-prepared from the moment you get the prospect on the phone to the moment you agree on price to lead seller prospects to the conclusion that you’re the right agent for the job.

The good news is that there is a proven strategy you can use to crush your listing appointments and I’m going to share it with you in a three-part blog series of the next few days.

In this series, I’m going to show you what you need to do to:

1. Position yourself for success prior to the appointment
2. Nail the listing presentation from the moment you knock on the door
3. Price the home properly and get the paperwork signed

Once you’ve gone through all three blog posts, you’ll have the ammunition you need to go into every listing presentation and walk out the door with the listing agreement signed at a price and commission that work well for you and the seller.

And when you can do that with consistency, you’ll become unstoppable.

Here’s part one of a complete strategy to nail your listing appointments.

The phone call

If you don’t know what to say, how to say it and when to say it when you’re on the phone with seller prospects, then you are already at a huge disadvantage in the entire listing appointment process.

To nail your listing appointment...you need to first be able to set them for yourself, even if it is a referral from a family member, friend or colleague.

Roughly 36% of sellers you speak with will be unknown to you.

And yet, for even the 64% that you get referred to, you’ll need to be able to effectively set a good listing appointment.

Knowing this, there are five listing scripts - to set an appointment and handle the objections that come with them - that you absolutely, positively must be able to navigate in order to set yourself up for a solid appointment:

• Expireds
• Withdrawns
• FSBOs
• Circle Prospecting
• Home Value Leads

Handle these calls with enthusiasm, sharp conversations and authority and your sellers will be ready (and looking to talk with you) when you get to their house.

Fail to set a solid appointment and you’ll already be at a disadvantage before you step foot in their home.

Remember, you only get a small window of opportunity to make a good impression over the phone and it’s a measly 7 seconds once you meet face to face.

Time is precious in sales and you need to do your best from the word go.

Qualifying the appointment

Murphy’s Law is in full force and effect when it comes to going on listing appointments. 

For instance, when setting the appointment, if you don’t ask if both sellers of the home will be present when you meet, it never fails that only one of them will be there.

Or, if you don’t ask what they own on the home, you’ll get to the house and the numbers will be too tight for them to list the home.

I can’t explain it...it just happens that way.

But because it does happen, you must qualify thoroughly every appointment you set...even if you haven’t had a listing appointment in days, weeks or months.

There’s nothing to gain by going on an appointment without making sure it’s a home that you have a legitimate chance to list.

It’s like batting practice before a game, you could be connecting on everything that comes your way, but every hit you make means nothing because it’s nothing more than practice.

Do your due diligence after you set your listing appointments and ask a set of thoughtful, meaningful questions that identify the seller’s timing, motivation and capability to sell their home. 

If you do this, you’ll never again go on a listing presentation where you don’t have a real chance at taking the listing before you leave the house.

Pre-listing preparation

The listing process started the moment your seller prospect picked up the phone. You’ve been selling yourself from the word hello and it’s important that you continue to create authority and build credibility with your prospects well before you put your fanny on one of the seats at their kitchen table.

To do this, you’ll want to send out some pre-listing materials that help the seller get to know you better and to start building your brand in their mind.

An intro letter with your capabilities, testimonials, your business card and a document that you’ve created and published go a long way towards getting that done.

In addition to that, if you have a video you can send via email introducing you, your brand, your listing approach that includes a couple of short testimonials, too, that will be super helpful as well.

Done properly, sending out pre-listing material can shorten the relationship-building curve and the time you have to spend doing your listing presentation.

Be sure to click on the link I shared above, it has a list of exactly what you need to send to your seller prospects to nail the pre-listing process.

Pre-listing preparation, part 2

Over 40 years ago, American Express had a very simple tagline: “American Express: Don’t leave home without it.”

This thought should be on your mind every time you assemble your listing folder for a listing presentation. If you think you’re going to need it, take it because once you’re at the house, you may never get back in the door again.

Here’s a list of information/items you should always have on you when you go out on a listing presentation:

• Listing folder
• Listing agreement
• Explanation of agency relationships for your state
• Seller’s disclosure
• MLS feature sheet
• Net dheet
• Lead paint disclosure
• Any other documents your state or office require
• Your listing presentation (of course)
• Your business card
• Your lender’s business card
• Your stager’s business card
• Your inspector’s business card
• Home Warranty (Listings with home warranties, that are staged and pre-inspected sell faster and for more money)
• Updated data/statistics on the national and local markets
• MLS data on your competition
• Comparable listings and pricing materials
• Photos of the comparables emailed to you
• Lock box
• Sign

I’ll go over how you’ll use these materials in my next blog post, but for now, make sure that you have, at a minimum, all of that stuff with you before you leave your office to put yourself in the best position to succeed while you’re at your prospect’s house.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” - Benjamin Franklin

Getting off to a strong start in the listing process is key if you want to end up with a signed listing agreement.

To that end, you need to do the things I’ve shared with you here and do them well.

Don’t take shortcuts and for sure, don’t skip steps.

Make sure you go into your listing presentations ready to make a new friend and win a client.

Part two is coming soon...be on the lookout.