The phone rings, you get an email, a referral comes in someone wants you to list their house....now what?
After I have spoken to the potential seller on the phone to find out basic things, like email, timing of the move and the appointment is set, I tell them, I am going to email them some information to review. During the initial conversation I am also trying to "bond" with them and establish trust. Then I email them The Caulk TEAM Pre-Listing Questionnaire, and ask them to send it back to me BEFORE we meet so we can make the most of their time.
I use to drop off a book, with marketing materials in it, the day before; but as the years went by less and less people had read it when I went to the appointment.
Over the years, my preparation for the pre-listing appointment has grown. What I want to emphasize in this post is the Pre-List Questionnaire, that I email to potential sellers and what I want to learn from them by sending it out advance. In a later post I will go over the other items I include.
Included in the initial email is the following:
•1) Marketing Plan
•2) Syndication Sites
•3) How I place on Google (learned that from Broker Bryant)
•4) Market Reports for their area
•5) My Listing Guarantee
The Pre-listing Questionnaire is basically to gage how motivated they are to sell and if they can afford to sell. In the document I ask, how much they owe, if they are willing to spend money on the house getting it ready, how much they will spend, do they have a 2nd mortgage, are they current on all their payments, do they have a friend, relative or church member they are obligated to list with, how many Realtors will they be interviewing, and do they have any idea how much their home is worth? 
Some of the most important questions on the Pre-Listing Questionnaire are:
What are their expectations from me so that I can provide them with exceptional service?
What criteria are they using to determine the Realtor to market their home?
How do they like to communicate? (Phone, email or text message)
I tell them that if they decide to hire me I would like to be chosen for three reasons:
•1) My skill and knowledge of the market
•2) My integrity
•3) The strength of my marketing plan
You might be thinking do potential sellers send this back?
Yes, 90% of the time they do.
Then before I go to the appointment, I have a good understanding of their needs, financial situation, how they like to communicate, what they are willing to invest to get the home ready and if they are truly motivated to sell their home. This is all critical stuff, we need to know and I like to find out at the beginning.
***Part 2 will be the Marketing Plan and Syndication Sites.
;)
Missy~ great list of questions that you ask, there really should be no surprises as you go along.
I think the key is that you email the questionaire instead of having the client fill it out on paper.