Real estate is competitive, and the ability to get listing appointments is a big factor in any real estate agent’s success. While you may already have a steady flows of listings, any real estate agent would welcome getting more listings with open arms.
However, like in any other industry, there are always challenges that may be preventing you from performing as well as you would like. There may be stiff competition among real estate agents in your area, or your usual marketing channels are no longer working as well as they used to. The question is, how to get more real estate listings and overcome these challenges?
The first thing to do is check your current process of preparing for a listing appointment. You may not be following best practices or your listing presentations may be missing that X-factor that attracts clients and convinces them to work with you.
In this post, we’ll go through what to do before a listing appointment, what you should do during a listing appointment, and other essential aspects that will lead you to land more listings.
Real Estate Listing Appointment Checklist
The listing appointment is crucial and can mean the difference between earning a few more thousand dollars in income each month or not. You may have chatted on the phone with the seller before, but the meeting is the main opportunity to present all your information and ideas for the property and convince the seller to give you the listing.
Here’s a meeting checklist you should accomplish before going into any listing:
Ask Thoughtful Questions Before Listing Appointment
You must come to a property visual presentation fully prepared. While you may think that you’ve done this a dozen times before and can just use a standard property presentation template (with a few tweaks here and there), remember that your property presentation can make or break the whole deal. You must ask the seller thoughtful questions before the property presentation to ensure you cover all bases.
Here are a few questions you should ask:
- Why are your selling?
- Is this the first time you’re selling?
- When do you want to put your house on sale?
- Are you the sole owner of the property? Will anyone else be involved in the selling process?
- Which real estate agent services are you most interested in?
- Are you planning to meet with anyone else before deciding who to list with?
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Get To Know the Property
It goes without saying that you should know as much as you can about the property before the listing appointment. Go on the Internet and find out if the property’s details have already been posted online. Check out the MLS for the sales history. The owner may have created a website for the property, posted a YouTube video, or listed it on Zillow. Read all the reviews and feedback about the property you can find.
You can also ask the seller about the property – if any renovations or upgrades have been done, any potential construction issues that might be a problem, and any other unique details about the property that you won’t find online.
Find Out Everything About the Neighborhood
You can find tons of information about any neighborhood online. Check out local government websites including the Planning Department’s site, local blogs, and any forums that mention the property’s neighborhood. Read about the school district, any landmarks or other notable places nearby, as well as shopping areas, restaurants, and other recreational sites in the area. Visit the local government websites, including the planning department, mayor’s office, etc.
You should be an expert on the neighborhood and its surrounding areas of any property you are trying to sell. If you haven’t yet, visit the site to see if there’s anything new and notable around the property. Again, you must see and know about the property and the surrounding community personally. Doing this will give you a better idea of the state of the property and its proximity to landmarks. You might also discover things about it you didn’t find online.
Perform Competitive Market Analysis (CMA)
A competitive market analysis (CMA) is a must for any real estate transaction. The seller must know how much their property’s value is before they sell. Include complete details of the property for sale in your CMA, such as its size, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and when it was constructed.
Then make a list of other comparable homes or properties for sale in the same area. Include how many properties are currently available and the conditions of the properties. Are they new builds? Are the properties newly renovated? Are they significantly bigger, or smaller, than your seller’s property?
Don’t make the rookie mistake and do CMA before going to the house to see the condition of it and first understanding what the seller thinks the house is worth!
Of course, the most critical part of a CMA is how much these properties are selling for. This data tells your potential client the average price in the area and if the price they have in mind is too much, too little, or just right. Because of this, CMA is a vital part of the real estate listing appointment checklist.
Learn How to Prepare for a Listing Appointment
After you’ve learned as much as you can about the neighborhood and the properties for sale in the area, it’s time to prepare for the property evaluation appointment itself. But before you do that, make sure you’ve sent the digital pre-evaluation presentation to the seller. This will warm them up and make your appointment easier.
When it’s time for a property evaluation appointment, ensure you have your evaluation presentation ready with all the information you’ve collected and put together. Your evaluation presentation should also include your profile, your marketing materials for the property, and anything else that will help you stand out.
Remember, the property evaluation appointment is about selling yourself. You want the seller to know and understand who you are and your capabilities. The appointment is a great opportunity to earn the seller’s trust and build the relationship. Whether you secure this evaluation or not, you want the seller to remember you positively for possible referrals and future transactions.
Mention Relevant Results and Testimonials
Again, a significant part of the listing appointment checklist showcases your experience and capabilities as a real estate agent. You should also mention relevant results and testimonials. Have you recently sold a property nearby? Did your previous client give you a glowing review? Did you get more than the market price for the last two properties you sold? Include all these in your listing presentation. These will all help you during the listing appointment.
Go Over and Beyond at Your Listing Appointment
Put your best foot forward during the listing appointment. This is the time to present yourself in the way possible and showcase your marketing strategy for the property. It goes without saying that you must come on time, and be prepared and ready to present your listing presentation.
Show them how organized and efficient you are by letting them know your agenda for the listing appointment. For example, start by chatting with the seller and telling them your proposed schedule for the next hour or so. Next, tell them you’ll tour the property, then you’ll present an overview of yourself and your business, go through your listing presentation, which includes your marketing strategy for the property, and then lastly, have allotted time for any additional questions before you end.
Again, the listing appointment is crucial to your business, so make the most of it!
Follow Up After Listing Appointment
After the listing, you must follow up. This is not a question of whether you need to follow up when you should. A good rule of thumb is to follow up later in the day after the appointment or the following day. You want to avoid following up right when you get into your car after meeting the seller because you’ll come off as too aggressive, or the seller might feel you’re pressuring them.
Send an email a few hours or a day after the meeting with the seller. In your follow up email, follow this format:
- Thank the seller for their time and for meeting you at the appointment.
Summarize and highlight the key points of your listing presentations.
Reiterate your marketing and promotional plan for the property.
Answer any pending questions that were brought up during the listing appointment.
Remind them why they should choose you over other real estate agents.
Invite them to get in touch with you any time and ask if they have any more questions.
Follow-up after the listing presentation is just as important as the listing itself. Getting more real estate listings doesn’t happen magically. You must exert time and effort into your digital pre-listing presentations, listing presentations, the listing appointment, and the follow up.
Think of getting real estate listings as a process that begins with the digital pre-listing presentation and continues until following up after a listing appointment. This is not a one-time deal where you swoop in during the listing then sit back and relax, waiting for the seller to contact you. You must continuously work on the listing and connect with the seller throughout the process.
We can’t emphasize enough that everything in real estate depends on how well you connect and build a relationship with a potential client. People work with people they trust, and connecting with people can help you earn this trust. Keep these in mind, and you’ll start landing more real estate listings.
Highnote can help you prepare for all these critical moments. Real estate agents have landed more listings after using Highnote, thanks to the easy and effective presentation tools Highnote offers.
Once you’ve secured a listing appointment, prepare to impress potential sellers with a pre-listing presentation that demonstrates your expertise and commitment to getting their home sold quickly and for top dollar
If you want to start getting more real estate listings right away, it’s time to sign up for free trial of Highnote.
