When was the last time you had a listing presentation? How did you do? Did you feel a bit rusty or out of practice?
If you are like most agents, listing presentations are not a daily activity or even a weekly one, so it is not uncommon to feel a bit out of practice when it comes to doing one.
I was no exception to this back when I started listing homes for sale. I was told that I should do some role playing to perfect my presentation, but to be perfectly straight up with you, every time I hear “role playing” I want to be anywhere else but right there.
The problem is that role playing works. When I would break down and do it, I’d get better. But I still hated it and wouldn’t do it often enough to make a lasting difference.
One day I had a revelation that changed everything and made all the difference in the world. I’m going to quickly share the bare bones of the technique with you in hopes that it will work for you. (This technique also solves a sign placement problem too!)
If you are holding a Sunday open house (could be your listing or a colleague’s) spend Saturday morning plotting, on a map, the locations for your directional signs. Then load a sign in your car along with your best looking CMA (It doesn’t matter what house, this is just going to be a sample) and head out to the areas where you plotted some good directional sign locations.
Hopefully the location will be in neighborhoods of homes! Pick the corner where you want to place your sign, grab the sign and CMA and go up and knock on the door!
Here is what to say: “Hi. I’m Jerry Kidd with Berkshire Hathaway and I’d like to ask you for a favor. I’m holding an open house in your neighborhood tomorrow afternoon from 1 until 4 and I was wondering if I could place this sign in your front yard from 12:30 until 4:30. In exchange, I’d like to offer you an analysis of how your home would place in the current market. (While you are doing this, first hold up the directional sign and then hand them the CMA.) Would that be ok with you?”
There are only three possible answers
- “No you can’t.” In which case thank them for their time and go to another corner and repeat.
- “Yes, but I don’t want that report” In that case say: “Thank you” and leave. You at least now have a secure spot for your sign that won’t get picked up by city authorities. You also have the opportunity to add them to your database when you send them a thank you note on Monday.
- “Yes, I’d like that report” In that case do the following, step by step, because this is where the magic happens.
The next words out of your mouth need to be “Great! Let me tell you how I work” (Thanks to Barb Schwarz for that little line that has made a fortune for me!)
“I’d like to make an appointment with you to have you show me your home so that I can gather all of the information about your home to properly compare it with the current market. When would be a convenient time for you for me to do that? It shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes of your time”
Depending on what they say, make the appointment!
As in number 2 above, you also have have a secure spot for your sign, and you definitely want to send them a thank you note and put them in your database on Monday.
When the appointed time arrives, show up EXACTLY on time, not early and not late. (Tardiness could be problem for some of you. Tardiness is a sign of contempt for the other person’s time. Don’t be that person).
Take the tour of the home, all of the while looking for something in their home that you both have in common. If you find it, talk about about it. You are trying to establish rapport with them and finding something in common is great way to do it!
After you are finished and are getting ready to leave, explain that you are going to go do the research and will come back at a time that is convenient for them. Explain that this next visit could take 30 to 60 minutes depending on questions that could come up. Make the appointment and leave.
In the meantime, go back to your office and do the research to put together the best CMA that you are capable of producing. I recommend RPR as a fabulous FREE source for researching and producing a CMA, but there are many other great products to choose from.
This CMA will be the structure of your listing presentation for those people so put it together as would if you were going on an actual listing presentation. Since you already know that they aren’t planning on listing their home, there will be no pressure on you and you can use the experience as a role play to help you refine your process.
Be sure to show up on time for this appointment too and after everyone is seated in the part of the house that you prefer, and the small talk is over, say this:
“In order to get the full value of this report, I want take you through the entire process that we would do as if you were actually going to sell your home. I know that you are not intending to do that so there won’t be any sales pressure from me. I hope that this will be OK with you.
Then launch into your presentation. Try different things, watch to see if they are “checking out”. Look for signs that they are really into it. Both of these indicate areas of your presentation that either need to be pumped up or eliminated.
When you are done, thank them for their time and tell them that you’d be happy to add them your Automated Valuation service and collect their email address.
Then leave your CMA (So they can show their neighbors) and invite them to tell their friends, family and neighbors that you be happy to do the same thing for them.
I realize that this is a lot of work for no actual listing. So, what’s in it for you? A number of things actually:
- Your signs are going to be on private property and will not get picked up by the city.
- You get practice in quickly completing a CMA
- You get practice in delivering a listing presentation
- You add potential clients to your database
- You are out meeting people
So, before you decide that you aren’t going to do this, why not commit to doing it one time? Imagine if you were in the habit of holding an open house every weekend and that you place 3 directional signs each weekend and 1 person each weekend said yes. Do you think that your listing presentations would get better? Do you think that some of the people would show the CMA to someone who wanted you to do the same for them? Do you think that your database would grow? Do you think that you’d get more listings?
Go for it! You’ll be glad that you did!
