So a discussion about Listing Presentation Manuals has peaked my interest and forced me into actually sharing some information. This information cost me thousands of dollars to learn and is used by many top producers.

New agents come into real estate and feel this will be “easy money” and are shocked at how much work is actually involved. The first thing a new agent wants to do is go out and list a house, but they have no idea where to start.

The first step is to learn how to generate the leads, next you learn to turn those leads into listing presentations. While those two steps are not easy to learn we are skipping them for today. The next step, the listing presentation, is where most agents miss the mark.

So how often do you get the listing? I have asked this of many agents over the last few years and I have heard as low as 30% and up to 95%. Without bragging I will just say that my system keeps me in the 95-100% range year after year.

You want some details by now….

Listing Presentation

The listing presentation book is one of the most important tools that most agents don’t use. This book is a simple 3 ring binder, smallest you can find, with your presentation in it. This presentation are just visual aids to any important topics you will cover with any potential seller. So what goes into a great listing presentation book?

First Section
First a little bit about you, it might be a mission statement or a page or two showing the real you. The goal is to try and connect with the client quickly so make yourself look like a person, not a salesperson. Remember REALTOR’s(R) rank just above used cars salesmen in the mind of most people.

Second Section
Next tell them what they should ask other agents if they plan to interview them. Tell the client that a good listing agent should have answers to all of these questions. The questions you want to ask are ones that you will have a good answer to, ones that will make you look better then the next person. The best part is you get to decide what questions the seller will want to know about you.

Here are a few sample questions:

- How long have you been in the business? Are you full time?
- How many homes have you sold in the last 6 months? 12 months?
- What is your average sales price?
- What is your average days on market?
- What is your list price to sales price ratio?
- What percentage of your listings actually sell?
- What kind of advertising do you do? and can I see some samples?
- How do you attract buyers from outside the local market?
- How often and how will I be kept informed?
- Do you have a staff of assistants to help with the details?
- Do you have a satisfaction guarantee?

So do you think those questions would make most agents stumble or feel uncomfortable? Any agent that comes in after you will feel like they are getting the 3rd degree as the seller now will know how to interview an agent. Now naturally you already have great answers to every question on the list so your interview is easy.

You don’t have a team, no problem remove the question about the staff. You don’t have a satisfaction guarantee, fine add one…yes I said add one. Don’t have a long track record, use your offices and change the wording of your questions to talk about the office. Only part time, remove that question.

The point is you get to provide the list of questions. You also have a reason to be the first agent interviewed as you have this list to provide them with. Being first is the only way to go, be the first appointment and close them that night and there will never be competition.

Third Section
Past homes you have sold. List some of the homes you have sold, have pictures of the homes, have testimonials from past clients, have pictures of those clients being handed their keys, and any other items that show your past success. This is where you get to brag just a little about how great of an agent you are. Even better is when you let past clients do the bragging for you with hand written notes.

Forth Section
Pricing. You will want some graphs and good points about proper pricing. Show why overpricing a home will hurt the seller and cause them to net less then a properly priced home. This section is all about educating your client. An educated client will choose the correct listing price over 90% of the time, those that don’t need more education. You can go back to this section if the seller won’t accept that their home is really worth less then they “need to get out of it” and show them again how a price is set and why proper pricing is so important.

Fifth Section
FSBO. This is just a quick one page calculation to use if someone is thinking about selling on their own. NAR’s study shows that it takes an average of 100 hours start to finish to sell a home. So have the seller give you a value for their time and multiple it by 100. Then add advertising costs, newspaper, magazine, internet…. Then add 2.5% for the negotiated discount for the buyer not working with an agent, buyers that look at fsbo’s want a deal and 2.5% is conservative. Misc expense including extra mortgage payments do to longer sales time. Add it up and show them how much it will cost them to do it one their own. This dollar amount will normally be higher then if the seller just paid for a full service broker.

Sixth Section
Action plan. This is were you need to go over what you will do for the client. Show them; your website rankings, your enhanced listings on Realtor.com, how you use Craigslist w/ full html, that you use virtual tours, any print advertising you do, and so on. The key is you need to WOW them with everything you do for them.

Even services that are free like postlets.com that will make your html for Craigslist and other classified sites make you stand out. You need to show your ad next to a standard ad so the seller can see why yours is better.

Seventh Section:
Communication. Do you realize that one of sellers biggest fears is that their agent will not listen to them. You need to cover this topic and you need to have a comprehensive communication plan that you can lay out for your sellers.

Eighth Section:
Buyers. You need to show that you are currently working with buyers. A seller doesn’t want to here that you only list properties, they want to know that you also sell them. Show a print out of the leads from the last week and show them that you have XXX new buyers signing up every month.

Ninth Section:
Contract and Negotiation. This section is short and sweet, but talk about the contract and negotiation process. Include a copy of your sales contract so they can see it and give it to them so they can review it before an offer comes in. Tell them about the overall process and educate them, people trust those that teach them something.

So now you have a step by step guide to how to lay out your listing presentation book. Not one for quotes, but this one just happens to fit here “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Make sure you have a plan when you walk into every presentation and you will increase your conversion.