Today’s seller is busier than ever before and their private time is one of their most valuable commodities. If you think that you are going to win a listing presentation by overwhelming the seller with stacks of information you could be very surprised to find out that the seller has chosen another real estate agent.

Your listing presentation needs to be a lot more like “show and tell” and a lot less like an old-fashioned salesman’s presentation that goes on forever and bores the client. Today’s client has one question that they want answered: How are you going to get my home sold for the highest price?

Some of the things to consider when presenting to the seller is that the seller is on a timeline, and you should be also. The seller wants to see a market analysis on their home that is professional, concise and tells the seller what s/he needs to know without overwhelming them with too many facts. Your market analysis should be personalized for the seller, placed in a separate binder (yes, binder) with the client’s photo of their home on the cover. The appropriate pricing materials should be inside along with your marketing materials.

Today’s seller also wants you to tell them how you are going to market their home in the following three categories:

1. To real estate agents
2. To the public
3. To the world (e-marketing)

Show them how this marketing will be done. They want to see samples of how you are going to attract buyers to their property. They want to see sample flyers, brochures, just listed cards, marketing calendars, pending to closing checklists, to name just a few. Do you have these tools in your toolbox? If you do, are they sitting in the toolbox or do you actually take them in to the listing presentation to show them to the seller. Do you have an e-marketing program that you can talk about and then show to the seller during your listing presentation? Do you do e-flyers, e-just listed cards, e-postcards, e-home postcards and create custom websites for your clients? All of these e-marketing tools are extremely affordable, highly effective and very impressive to the seller. If you don’t have these tools, you need to get them because today’s seller is becoming more and more tech-savvy and is beginning to expect these things from their real estate agent.

Most sellers I speak with tell me that the agents they have interviewed have either come in to the presentation shooting from the hip or have overwhelmed them with way too much information and not enough visual examples of what the marketing looks like.

You should sit down and prepare a list of all the things that you can do for the seller. Even if you think the seller should know what these things are, you will be surprised to see how pleased the seller will be to see these props. The listing presentation is your time to shine. Impress the seller with your visual props and your attention to the detail that they like.

Don’t forget your “show and tell” props the next time you go on a listing presentation.

Published: June 24, 2002

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The founding partner of The Lones Group, Denise Lones, brings over two decades of experience in the real estate industry. With expertise in strategic marketing, business analysis, branding, new home project planning, product development, and agent/broker training, Denise is nationally recognized as the go-to for all things "real estate.” Denise can be reached at 369.527.8904 or at www.thelonesgroup.com.