From coast to coast, from northern California to the Florida Keys, brokers and managers are all saying the same thing; "Listings are way down. Help us get listings." There is no doubt about it. We’re in a "hot market." That is both good and challenging at the same time.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have been around this profession for "a few" years. In that time I’ve seen every kind of market conceivable. Again and again the same challenges arise. It’s either, how do I get listings or how do I sell the oversupply of listings? That’s two things that technology hasn’t changed.

The good news is that there are proven ways to overcome the number one challenge today, no listings. However, the first thing that management has to do is to recognize what I call the "Common Misconceptions." They are nothing more than stalls that keep agents from doing what needs to be done, now.

In order for agents to become strong at listing in a hot market, they have to focus on the things that work. Let’s take a look at the common misconceptions and then the solutions that management can implement immediately to build their listing inventory.

Misconception #1: There are too many FSBO’s selling their listings.

Misconception #2: There are no listings to be gotten.

Misconception #3: I am too busy with buyers to focus on listings. I am mostly a selling agent.

Misconception #4: Listings are "hidden" and not getable in this kind of market.

Low-listing inventory is a here and now problem. An effective solution must match the problem. In other words it must be easily learned and implemented. After nearly 100,000 students and 19 years of experience I know that that’s the real power of my Sweathog program. Agents do in two-month’s time what it takes others to do in two years. We teach then to get listings in any kind of market. As an example, in the last two months we graduated 1,000 students. Those students took 5,000 listings! Management can do these things themselves. It just takes commitment and follow through.

Six-Components To Generating Listings, Now:

1.Create the Right Atmosphere:

• Set short-term, attainable goals. Anyone can do anything for a few weeks.
• Stress teamwork. Teams empower people to their peak performance. The goal is for the whole office. Not for one individual.
• Set high-standards. Make the people accountable. Set the goal and require people to attain it. Failure is not an option if it’s for the good of the team. Keep accurate stats of your progress and share them regularly with the team.
• Foster healthy competition and recognize those who excel.

2. Master the Phone:

• Agents can choose to spend their time hoping, praying and begging for listings. Or they can get on the phone and call everyone… past clients, FSBO’s, expireds, cold calls, etc. While some will be afraid of the phone at first, that fear will soon vanish. By week four they will be comfortable enough with the phone to be scheduling three listing appointments weekly. If they schedule and attend three, they will bring in at least one a week, on average. If you have ten people on your team, that’s 10 listings a week! How would that help your bottom line? And, that’s above and beyond the hundreds of leads you’ll generate.

3. Learn to Professionally Control the Listing Appointment:

• Teach the agents to focus on their presentation and interviewing skills. They have to be great at putting people at ease, asking probing questions that determine the seller’s urgency, qualifying prospective buyers and moving people forward in the process. The best way to do this is to role-play frequently with your team. Agents need to practice their techniques in order to develop the confidence and competence to handle the real thing.

4.Develop Strong "Hot-Market" Pricing Techniques:

• Don’t commit to price strictly based on the comps. Agents must be able to project possible price increases and factor these into their pricing strategies. Sellers will benefit from dialogue like this. "Your home should sell for around $150,000. However, with rates low and activity high and since you have some time, let’s speculate and price it at 5% more. In three months it may be worth that, or we may get several offers and that will drive the price up." Agents need the skill to make pricing adjustments without going too far or taking comps at their face value.

5. Get Them Strong at Handling Stalls and Objections:

• The most common stalls that agents are hearing today are, "We want to try it ourselves," "We are going to talk to other brokers," and "We’ll list for a lower commission." Without the dialogues and tools that make for convincing arguments to overcome these stalls, agents are walking away from valuable business. That’s a waste under "normal" circumstances. It’s a tragedy in this market!

6. Teach Agents how to Separate Lookers From Buyers:

• Ask an agent what a buyer looks like and they will be stumped for an answer. Agents are working buyers, or so they think. About ¾’s of the people they are dragging around are not ready, willing or able to buy today. Instead of prospecting for listing inventory and selling it to the real buyers, they are mining "fools gold." Working with lookers and missing the real opportunities. Without urgency, motivation and the ability to put money in your pocket now, they are lookers. Make no mistake about it.

Published: September 7, 1999

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