Did you ever have one those moments where you were listening to someone speak and then realized "I will never get back those 15 minutes I've lost"? I was attending my weekly Real Estate Board meeting yesterday, catching up on what was going on in the market in Palm Springs. During the last 20 minutes of the meeting, the Realtors who have properties to pitch for the caravan go up to the microphone and talk about their new listings. There were about 10 people who went up to the microphone to speak, and that's when the "mental haze" started setting in for me.
These Realtors were a gregarious group of people, talking about every little detail of their listings, how many bedrooms, and how their listing is the best thing since apple pie. At the same time as they were describing their property, these Realtors were trying to be funny. Come on already, get to the point!! I'm thinking to myself that this is a business meeting, not amateur night at the Comedy Club. The "word vomit" continued for another few minutes and the old rap song by Run DMC "You Talk Too Much, You Never Shut Up" popped into my head. The meeting finished up nearly 20 minutes late, and I thought it would never end.
This little episode got me thinking. If I got this irritated during a Board meeting, how does a homeowner feel when a Realtor is doing a listing presentation? There's the agent doing the "dog & pony show": I'm the best agent in town, I'm a multi-gazillion dollar producer, I have 200 listings, I'm #1, and did I tell you I'm the best, me me me, and me. The diatribe goes on and the seller is tuning out. By making the presentation about yourself, you may have just unintentionally sabotaged your presentation.
The listing presentation is your one shot to show potential home sellers your expertise as a Realtor. Here are 
some tips to getting the listing contract signed:
•· Have a Prepared Listing Presentation- Have a system in place for every presentation you do & practice it. Don't plan to go in there & "wing it".
•· Ask Questions- Have a notepad with you while you are asking questions, and take notes of your sellers' answers. Sellers will definitely take notice that you are interested in what they have to say.
•· Features & Benefits- When describing your services, you need to follow every feature with the benefit of that feature. For example, "I advertise all my listings on Realtor.com (Feature) The reason I advertise on Realtor.com is that 5.5 million potential buyers visit the site monthly". (Benefit)
•· Shut Up & Listen- When sellers are talking, listen to what they have to say. This not the time to prove your point or be argumentative. Take the opportunity to be the sellers' advocate & address any concerns they may have.
These are some of the fundamentals I follow when I go on a listing appointment. Do I get every listing? No, but I know that I made my presentation geared towards the homeowner's interests and not my own. Thanks for reading my little rant described as blog post. So when you go to your next listing presentation, go prepared & just "shut up".
photos courtesy of flickr.com
Comments(29)