Clients can’t resist a confident agent who listens and acts

Key Takeaways

• Clients aren’t impressed by high-tech listing presentations — they’re impressed by agents who listen and respond.
• Ask questions. Take notes. Get started.
• Be prepared with specific, meaningful market insights that show you have a rich understanding of market conditions and your clients’ needs.

Agents experience more anxiety over an upcoming listing appointment than anything else. Some agents get nervous because they’re new and inexperienced. At the same time, very experienced agents get nervous when they see they’re competing against other experienced agents for a listing.  

A lot of agents will learn a fancy listing presentation from their brokerage or some guru who sells “millions of homes.” Some agents will go in with their tablets and their fancy tech to show prospective clients what they can do.

All of those things might impress sellers. But I say, more than anything, sellers don’t pick you as their agent because of the listing presentation you give. They pick you because of you.

As an agent, you want to develop a method to build up your confidence — and the client’s confidence in you. There are a number of ways to do this:

First, when you go into somebody’s house, make sure you pay attention. Listen to them. Find out if they’ve ever sold a home before and how it went. Have they previously listed this home, and how did that experience go?

Take Notes. Ask plenty of questions about the house. If it was listed before, figure out why it didn’t sell. It might become obvious once you walk through the house. Make a list of things the seller needs to improve or change before listing the home. Make notes of what kind of photos you’ll need and what kind of help you think the sellers will need to get the house sold this time.

If you’re going into a listing appointment and you know you’re not competing against other agents, take those notes and get started. Schedule the next thing that needs to happen right there in front of the clients. Don’t focus too much on the paperwork, even though that needs to happen. Focus first on getting the process started rather than trying to close them on choosing you as their agent. They’ll get excited because they can see the process starting.  

If you are competing against other agents, then it’s all the more important that you bring something to the table that the sellers are not hearing from anybody else. It’s critical that you offer something different — for example, your ability to listen, understand, and address their biggest concerns.

Share specific market insights that are meaningful to them — not just generic charts, but information that shows them that you have a richer understanding of the market than other agents do. Maybe you have a unique way of conducting your business that resonates with the sellers. Or you have a method or a unique approach to selling real estate that gives the sellers confidence in their decision to pick you.

Confidence comes from having a rich understanding of not only the job that needs to get done, but understanding the needs of your clients and possessing the ability to address those needs.

With listing appointments, don’t overthink your approach. Be as prepared as possible, but understand that you don’t need a fancy presentation or high-tech gadgets to get the listing. I’ve seen agents win hundreds of listings with just a notepad and a pen.

If you have “fancy” in your box of tricks, great. If that’s what gives you confidence, fine. Just remember, it’s not a one-sided presentation — it’s a consultation. It’s a chance for you to learn more about your clients and their home and to let them learn more about you.