Have you adjusted your listing presentation for the new millennium or are you still using the same old 20th century approach? You know the one I mean--"hunt 'em, tell 'em, and sell 'em. " That's where you prospect to find the lead, tell the lead how great you and your company are, and then close them on using your services.

What worked for the last 50 years is not what works today. Competition for listings is no longer from the broker down the street—it's from lenders, airlines, and dot-coms who want a piece of the referral pie. You need to be able to clearly articulate exactly how your services are truly different from the competition. This new, hyper-competitive marketplace is no longer about the property (i.e. location, location, location). The new mantra for 2001 is "connection, connection, connection" (i.e. how do you make the connection, how do turn the connection into a client, and how to have that client to refer you future business).

If you want to see how your listing presentation measures up in terms of connection, mastery of market statistics, and technology, take the quiz below. Answer each item True or False.

Connecting with the Seller

1. When I first meet with a Seller, I spend most of my time discovering what is important to them about their present home, what their past experience has been in buying or selling a home, and how I can best be of service to them.

2. When I list a property, I have a written list of the services my company and I provide. If we fail to provide these services, we guarantee in writing the Seller can be released from the listing.

3. I customize a 90-day marketing plan for each property I list to fit each Sellers' individual needs.

4. I give potential sellers the names and phone numbers of at least five past clients so they can contact them with any questions they have about my services.

5. I can name at least five services I provide sellers that are different from those provided by the competition.

6. Whether it's open house, an agent showing, a floor call, or a sign call, I follow up with a phone call on every potential buyer lead for my listings.

7. Since my company has a strong relocation division, during my listing presentation I routinely ask the Seller to either represent them as a buyer on their next property or to assist them with a relocation referral.

Market Statistics

8. Working with market statistics, I can substantiate in writing exactly how much the seller's property is appreciating or depreciating on an annual basis.

9. I can demonstrate in writing, how much the true holding costs are on a given property—not just PITI (Principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) but also the amount of increase or decrease deriving from changes in the property's value.

10. On my closed listings for the last year, 80%+ sold for at least 95% of their initial asking price.

11. Using market statistics, I can easily demonstrate how the seller will benefit from listing with a full, rather than a discounted commission.

Technology

12. Each of my active listings is listed on my personal web site, company web site, Realtor.com, is completely up to date, and includes a virtual tour.

13. In addition to traditional prospecting techniques, I also use an e-mail newsletter to keep in touch with the past clients and other spheres of influence.

14. I use an on-line tracking system where my clients can check the status of their transaction 24 hours per day and I demonstrate the system during my listing presentation.

15. If a seller or buyer were to type in the name of the specific market area(s) where I work into one of the major search engines, my personal web site would be in the first top 10 that come up. (For example, if you work in Anaheim, California your web site would come up if someone typed in the words "Anaheim Real Estate")

16. I use either an 800 phone number or some other automated system that allows me to obtain valid phone numbers of people who call for information on my listings.

Scoring

Give yourself one point for each "True."

14-16: Excellent! You're probably already converting over 90% of your listing appointments into signed listings.

12-15: Your current listing presentation is strong, but could benefit with some fine tuning. Depending which items you marked "false," you can increase your success ratio by including some of the suggestions in today's column.

11 or below: You're probably not getting as many listings as you could. Begin by making whatever changes are easiest for you.

Published: February 27, 2001

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