Upon reading the article from Inman News - Death of a Listing Presentation, I have put to rest the presentation portion of the listing presentation and adopted EDUCATION. Managing a seller's expectation is done through preparation. We are better able to do that if we give them the (as Lenn Harley would say) Hard Core Real Estate Talks! I've come up with some things that should be explained during your education process:
1. You should let the seller know HOW they can contact you. Is it email? What's your response time for replying to emails? What is your response time for a phone call? How soon can they expect to hear from you after leaving a voice mail? This is important, you're setting the stage for the entire relationship. TELL THEM NOW what they can expect!
2. Explain to them a BUYER'S MARKET versus SELLER'S MARKET. Then SHOW them facts. Show them the current inventory and explain how many months of inventory there are in the area.
3. Give them numbers! But at the same time, don't OVERWHELM with too much data.
a) Average days on market - overall market and their sub-division (if applicable).
b) Number of homes for sale in their price range - overall market and their subdivision.
c) Number of homes that have sold in the last 6 months/1 year.
d) Homes comparable to theirs that are currently on the market - high price/low price
This will kill many birds with one stone. A seller can gage how long their home will be on the market, at a minimum. A seller would know how many listings their up against. A seller would know where their asking price will be in comparison with the others. They will know (if they don't already), what's been going on in their neighborhood.
4. What is being OFFERED on homes that are selling? Seller assistance on closing costs, home warranties, bonus' to selling agents. A seller should know if/what other sellers are doing to make their home more appealing to buy.
5. Here's a big one. What will the BUYERS SEE when considering their home? Provide the seller with printouts of active listings and go over details of the features of those homes. Everyone usually (almost always) thinks their house is BETTER than the others. A good way to show them that is to take them on a tour of the competition's homes.
Ask the sellerquestions. Find out their motivation.
Are you willing to sell your house at fair market value? (Typical response: "But I'm not willing to give it away.") At what price would you consider you were giving it away?"
Sellers must know that this is a TEAM effort. Everyone is working toward a common goal. That goal is to get their home SOLD!
Courtesy of Yvette Smith, SRES® REALTOR® WILLIAMSBURG REAL ESTATE 757-753-7472 Long and Foster REALTORS® 6610 - J Mooretown Road Williamsburg, VA 23188 YvetteSmith@AtHomeInWilliamsburg.com
Yvette - SPOT ON! Great post - you left nothing out other than to follow through or 'Practice what you preach' which I think many fail to see. Thanks for the excellent post.
This is one of the best blogs I have seen in a while, seriously. It was laid out very well. I bet you do just as well in those listing presentations too! I am taking some pointers from you, thanks.
Yvette, Great post. You are right on the money. I think the biggest thing is educating our clients as to how we work and managing their expectation. Clear communication is key.
Yvette, in this market, your post is very appropriate. Setting expectations and then of course making sure your partners on the same song book as you is the key to a low stress and easier transition into or out of a home.
We never do a full presentation, they are canned, boring and the sellers just sit there grinning and bearing it. We discovered long ago that you have to listen. The number one rule is to listen. The number 2 rule is to ask questions. If you don't do those two things you can talk until your are blue in the face showing facts and it will fall on deaf ears.
Great post, very succint. I wish wecould put this in a bottle and ask sellers to drink it. 3 afters the end of a sellers market these battles are still being fought every day.
That is a wonderful breakdown full of information and explanations for easy reading and education regarding statistics and numbers. So often we forget that the consumer doesn't understand all the mumbo jumbo. When we first started did we? Good one Yvette!
REBECCA - Why, thank you so much! I must admit they still give me butterflies, but I survive:o)
JENNIFER - Yup, cuz it's a lil' sick right now :o)
AUDREY - Dito and how much we work too!
ILYCE - Yes, very important. If you set that straight up front, there will be no worries about "I couldn't get a hold of you!"
HI BO!! Right now we're seeing so many stressful situations anyway. To remove as much stress as can be removed, for the seller it is a relief.
GREG - I bet your presentation ROCKS!
KAT - Thank you for the star! I admit, I've seen that look before. I knew that I needed to make an adjustment. I think it's important to contact w/seller right away...don't want to loose them w/ too much "stuff"
BILL - Thanks! I hate losing...it's my nature.
DEB - Hi girlie! I didn't think that it "Diary" material! My bad, I'll post now. Everyone's well & yes I'm busy buying Pokeman stuff!
STACEY - Your quite welcome!
BEST SPOT - And if you can't overcome them, do you still take the listing? I wouldn't!
PAT - We must prepare them for the road ahead (sometimes long road).
LENN - Nothing like a good jolt of reality. That's a great idea!
KEITH - Good for you! I'm on the right path now!
J & C - Yes, like I wish there was a magical drink to lose weight :o)
TOULA - I think you just have to ask them. Why do they want to sell right now? I think that's an important question to ask.
SALLY - I still don't understand some of the mumbo jumbo! I think it's important to find the balance of giving the information, but at the same time, not overwhelming or confusing them. Thank you!
Some in the business would say there are two types of realtors.
One tells the seller's what they want to hear.
The other tells the seller's the way it is.
I'm the latter and have lost listings because so many of the seller's are not emotionally ready to accept the facts even when the facts are supported by MLS data.
I try to educate them as to how much stress there is for them when their property is listed.
They look like deer in the headlights at this point in time because they haven't accepted the fact it may take a year or more to get the first offer!
I would rather do my best to educate them to the current market conditions to lower their expectations. I figure this is a better way than tell them everything they want to hear and when there are no showings and no offers launch into a song and dance to keep the listing.
I missed the article about the death of the listing presentation. I do have an opinion on that, however, and I would say it has evolved into something different than 20, 15, 10, 5 or even 2 years ago - But it does live in a format that works in 2008. Your suggestion about "education" is an example.
I loved it, and will print and refer back to it. It could be the best blog I have seen since I have been on AR Education is the key, not just spouting numbers and facts, but asking questions and follow-up,and a clear understanding of everyones expectations as well.
I do exactly what Lenn Harley does. If I feel the sellers are bit off the mark in regard to market conditions...in the car they go. Unrealistic sellers soon change their tune when faced with the facts. When they can touch, see and feel what buyers see. When we arrive back to their house, I make them start at the front door and take a tour just as a buyer would who has seen the previous three home. (it works!)
At that point, I let them know they control three things when trying to Sell : Price, Terms and Condition. The Listing Agent controls Marketing, Interprits and Coaches the seller about Market Conditions and Handles Negotiations.
Great timing I'm working on revamping my pre-list and actual presentation and I like the EDUCATION versus presentation. I'm here to help not entertain! LOL. Great tips as always.
This is great stuff. I have learned that a great listing presentation like this is pertinent. Some sellers don't like to hear the truth though. This weeds out the serious sellers and the ones who are just looking to try to sell their house on terms are not the reality of todays market.
Nice work Yvette! I loved reading this and am glad many Realtors are keeping up with today's market and are trying to educate our clients instead of just getting them to list, no matter what. We all need to adjust our thinking, presentations, views in order to survive and help the homesellers and buyers out there survive as well.
Congratulations as well on getting the recognition you deserve for this post.
Yvette, thanks for the pointers. You are exactly right, it is an education process and many times the students think they know the subject and understand the material when they don't know how much they don't know. That's the challenge.
Jerry Hill, Network Real Estate, Inc., Little Rock, AR
Yvette - What a great idea taking your client to their competition. I'm sure that will do the trick in getting the listing or walking away if they are still reluctant. Congratulation on your gold star - well deserved.
Woooo we. Something call the Fire Department. This blog is caliente-HOT!
Yvette congratulations on your featured post woman. Well written. I really enjoyed this one. Also like the graphics to this post. Is that Istockphoto.com? I am curious. And I am going to be following you too on Twitter. Great post.
Wonderful post -- probably the best I've read in weeks! I think it is so important to understand the seller's true motivation for selling the home -- many agents overlook this one.
This is one of the best I've read in a whle. We are moving to put up numbers on a big screen in the office. Getting the sellers out of their comfort zone (the kitchen table) and into the office and let the numbers do the educating. It's powerful
Great post! I never quite understood why everyone makes such a big deal out of the listing presentation...If we give the sellers the facts and numbers then we've done our job and hopefully they can see through the sugar coated fluff that some of our competition is dishing out.
Yvette~Hi! You've been awarded a gold star...and for good reason! This is a very informative post that is well written and easy to understand! Congrats!
Liked your post so much I shared it along with a few other articles about the same subject on my recent post! Hope you don't mind. =) Sooo worth sharing. Though I'm not there yet, I completely agree with what LennHarley and Peggy James shared regarding getting those sellers in the car. Will do, will do. Thanks for your wise words...
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Yvette - SPOT ON! Great post - you left nothing out other than to follow through or 'Practice what you preach' which I think many fail to see. Thanks for the excellent post.