Why Listing Presentations Really Matter
In my experience, an agent’s listing presentation is the key factor that sellers take into account when deciding on the agent to sell their home.
A good presentation should help sellers get a feel for an agent’s negotiation expertise, marketing knowledge, experience and professionalism. However, while most agent’s know what to include, getting a deeper understanding about why it matters to a seller and the softer skills that an agent should demonstrate, is often overlooked.
Honesty
It’s easy to imagine a situation where an agent promises the world to get a listing, and doesn’t deliver. Conversely, an honest agent will give sellers a price based on thorough research, and will be able to demonstrate why their price is right for the property. An untrained agent that lacks skill can only impress and obtain a listing by exaggerating the price, or other aspects of their personal brand. Put simply, they lie to get business.
Not only will a dishonest agent reflect badly on the agency if the inflated sale pice isn’t reached, but it can also affect whether you land the listing in the first place. Sellers now have access to the same types of information as agents, and in most cases have a good understanding of what their property is worth. So, if an agent is demonstrably dishonest in their initial valuation and promises a price which seems unattainable, then they can kiss the listing goodbye.
Honesty is always the best policy.
Show an Evidence Based Approach
A professional agent should always present evidence to backup their claims, in the same way a lawyer proves their case in a court of law. A portfolio of recent sales, including examples of what prices were achieved along with evidence of how their negotiation skills influenced the final price is a must when speaking with prospective sellers. A good agent will also have excellent general local knowledge, as well as an understanding of the local property market.
Providing evidence not only lends weight to the agent’s credibility, but demonstrates the style and approach that will be used for future sales. If an agent can show that their approach is evidence based, methodical and has worked in the past, they are a much better chance of securing listings.
The question I always ask my agents is ‘Can you prove it?’, and you can be sure that sellers will be asking the same thing.
Prove your Work Ethic
Demonstrating a good work ethic is crucial to securing listings. While this may seem like a given to most agent’s, understanding how to ‘prove it’ to sellers is entirely another matter – and simply telling a seller you’re a hard worker isn’t enough.
The listing presentation begins the moment you’ve locked in a time and place, and ends when the seller chooses an agent. Sellers will ask themselves:
- Did the agent arrive on time?
- Were they dressed well?
- Did they follow up after the appointment?
- Did they do what they said they would do? And;
- Were they on time with any correspondence or information requests?
While these questions have nothing to do with the actual listing presentation, they will influence the seller’s thoughts on an agent’s work ethic. Which is so important to securing listings.
I always tell my agents: Don’t just tell clients about your work ethic, prove it and live it.
Be Personable
I believe this is the most important factor to consider when discussing the importance of listing presentations. Selling a home is an emotional journey, so it’s important for an agent to understand that. It’s vital that agent’s focuses on the seller’s needs, which will change regularly, and genuinely care about the outcome for the seller.
Our agents are always asking questions about the seller and their home, listening to what is said, and then changing their approach to suit. But agent’s must be personable and approachable, and understand the emotional journey that their clients are going through.
