According to some agents, a good CMA takes several hours to put together, and if you are in a transitioning market, then it is reasonable to assume that a CMA has a short shelf life at best. Yet, somehow in the collective wisdom of the real estate industry, these hours of work are given away to sellers, like a resume, to entice them to list their homes.

But CMAs aren't resumes - they are an analysis of the market. Treating the CMA as a more closely-held professional consultation tool just might make the difference in getting the listing or not.

How do you typically handle the presentation of a CMA?

Most Realtors go to a listing presentation armed with an assortment of documents they believe will help them secure the listing. From ad cards, to personal production charts, to community service awards, the Realtors showcase their marketing skills in listing packages, left behind for the seller to consider if s/he doesn't sign a listing agreement immediately.

Always included is a free CMA, usually a print-out from MLS data.

But if Realtors would really stop and think about it, the CMA really has little to do with whether or not they get the listing. A CMA has more to do with the seller's idea of his/her home's value in the marketplace.

That's reason enough right there to consider how the CMA is positioned in your listing presentation.

Most Realtors believe they have to prepare and give a CMA to a seller or they won't get the listing. But sellers don't typically base their selection of the agent on the CMA. They are more likely to choose an agent for a variety of other reasons: Who has the most experience? Who is willing to work for a low commission? Who will advertise the home in the most places? Who will list the home at the highest price?

Because homeowners show the most interest during a listing presentation when it comes to seeing the CMA for the first time, it's easy to assume that the CMA is how the homeowner makes agent selections. But all the homeowner wants to know is what their home is worth, and how to make as much profit as possible on the sale of their home. This is a variable that often has nothing to do with the information contained in a CMA. In fact, if your CMA results don't square with the seller's vision of his/her home's worth, presenting a CMA at the wrong time can actually cost you the listing.

So your job is to take the emphasis off the CMA and put it where it belongs - on you as the expert, so the seller will choose you. Here's how:

Position the CMA as your tool. Explain to your seller that CMAs are tools to help you better understand micro-market conditions. However, CMAs do not set prices, but they can offer some insights into what is influencing buyers, and it is finding a buyer for the home that is important.

Shorten the lifespan of CMAs. Make sure that your seller knows that all markets change daily, weekly, annually, and that even one sale or a new listing can be enough to impact the marketing and sales price of the seller's home. Explain that as the seller's agent, you plan to update the CMA to closely watch buying conditions until the home sells. This will help you later should you have to reduce the price of the listing.

Explain that all CMAs aren't created equally. Some agents do CMAs for several streets or an entire neighborhood or subdivision, which means comparing CMAs is often like comparing apples to oranges. This can skew a seller's impression of true market value. Explain how you prepared your CMA for the seller and why you chose the perimeters you did and why you feel those give the most accurate picture of the current market. This will help you demonstrate superior neighborhood knowledge, and it will put your competitors at a disadvantage.

Make sure yours is the best CMA the seller sees. Sellers often interview more than one agent, which means they will see more than one CMA. Make sure that your seller knows that not only have you analyzed the market, you have visited competing homes and can help the seller position his/her home better in the marketplace with that knowledge. It is important for the seller to know that the house down the street is priced high because it has a fully updated kitchen, while the seller's may be unimproved.

Explain that the CMA is worthless without an educated opinion to interpret the results. Every home is unique, and the seller may be comforted to know it isn't all about the numbers. A CMA can't tell the seller which aspects of his/her home will appeal to buyers, but you can.

Pack your CMA with something your competitors will forget. Because most Realtors will download a CMA from the Internet, they won't have as much detail as yours. For the numbers to really mean something, track another variable like interest rates. This helps you emphasize the importance of the buyer to the seller in a subtle way. You can show the seller that one reason a home may have sold so quickly down the street may have been because of a sudden drop in interest rates.

Save the CMA for last - For the CMA to have value to the seller, you have to know what it is the seller wants to learn from it. So ask questions before presenting the CMA that will help you learn about the seller's motivation and ability to sell. Asking innocent questions like 'how long have you lived here?' can tell you a lot about whether or not the seller has a realistic chance of selling the home at market value - and paying your commission.

Show your CMA with reverence. A CMA isn't the product of numbers, it is your intellectual property, so explain it to the seller that way. If the seller believes all the information in the CMA comes from the MLS, s/he won't think of it as your work product. And it is. You put it together.

Keep the CMA separate from the listing package, so that when you pull it out of your briefcase, the seller can see this is something special and different from the listing package. When you show the seller the CMA, keep it in your hands as an unspoken indicator of how precious the data is. Point out what you want the seller to see and why, but if you hand the CMA to the seller, you'll have a more difficult time getting it back. If the seller asks to hold it, say 'this is my copy, but you are welcome to look at it.' This indicates in the nicest way that you expect to get it back and that it isn't part of the listing package.

Don't leave the CMA behind - If you believe free CMAs really help you get business, then they can also help you lose business. Where else do FSBOs get their information but well-meaning agents like you? Also, you don't want your CMA used to give the listing to a competitor. Better to take the CMA with you. If the seller wants a copy, tell the seller that timely market information is one of the real estate industry's most important assets, and that you make it a policy to only leave your market opinions with your own clients, for their protection and yours. If the seller wants to give you the listing, you'll be happy to supply him/her with market updates as often as s/he would like.

• Why You Should Charge For CMAs