How to Get More Seller Clients and Win Every Listing Appointment
Right now, every real estate agent out there is spending their time and money chasing seller leads. Let's face it. If you want to make money as a real estate agent with the way the market is right now, working buyer leads exclusively can be very risky, especially if you're relying on regular commission checks to put food on the table. The problem with shifting your focus away from buyer leads over to seller leads is that the competition for seller leads is intense. You can't afford to not be winning your listing appointments because other agents are beating you out. So what can you do to make yourself more competitive as an agent and a more desirable hire for sellers? Let's first get to the root of the problem. Why Agents Are Losing Listing Opportunities It's no secret that it's a crazy sellers market right now and there are a whole lot of reasons why homeowners are delaying listing their home for sale (which is a can of worms we're not going to open in this article—you can read further on that here.) Let's instead focus on what listing opportunities ARE becoming available and what you can do to win them. To understand how to win your listing opportunities, we first need to understand the most common reasons real estate agents are losing out on what few listing opportunities are presenting themselves. You're not the only agent they're interviewing. Everyone wants seller leads right now so there's a lot of competition. What makes you the best agent for the job? You might not be the most experienced agent they're interviewing. Sellers are able to be picky about hiring a listing agent and are asking more challenging questions at listing appointments. Are you prepared? You don't have any other services to offer.Real estate agents have little or no way of differentiating themselves from competing agents. What sets you apart? Your client experience is not memorable.Real estate agents can't find creative ways to elevate their client experience. What benefits do you provide to clients? What Agents Can Do to Combat These Issues While these problems might seem daunting, there are some things you can do to eliminate most of these challenges. You're Not the Only Agent They're Interviewing Okay, so you have some competition. The first thing you can do to give yourself a better chance of winning more listings is to increase your pool of seller leads. More seller leads means more potential listing opportunities you have to convert. Try increasing the number of seller leads you have coming in by diversifying your lead sources. For example, if you're using Facebook as your primary source of leads, start exploring other lead sources that are more focused on creating seller specific leads. Sources like Google Local Service Ads or Google Pay Per Click are great places to start. Once you have more leads, be prepared to expand your nurture and follow up efforts. Your goal should be to have your brand in front of your prospects at all times. They should see you everywhere! In addition, you should strive to have a relationship with every one of your leads. That means you'll likely have to have much more communication with them to build up trust. If they like you, they'll want to work with you. It's that simple. You're Not the Most Experienced Agent They're Interviewing So you're not the only agent they're interviewing, but you're also not the most experienced. This is where it gets tricky for newer agents. There isn't much you can do about your level of listing experience, but there are some things you can do to level the playing field. First, do your research! Make sure you're knowledgeable about the seller's wants and needs and you understand their motivations for selling. No matter the circumstance, the act of selling a home will be an emotional experience for your clients, so be sensitive to their needs and know what's important to them. Understanding their motivations can give you insights into how you can best cater your services to each individual seller. Next, make sure you have a digital marketing system in place that you can leverage for marketing your listings. By having the ability to offer your clients advanced marketing tools like dynamic videos, you are able to provide them with the same or better service than they'd have when working with a bigger team or a more experienced agent. For a more elaborate list of things you can do to level the playing field, check out this other helpful article. You Don't Have Unique Services to Offer and Don't Know How to Elevate Your Client Experience The best way to get more seller clients is to have unique services and benefits to offer that no one else is providing and pair that with a premium and polished seller experience. Since most listing agents have a process or procedure they follow when going through a listing, the experience for the clients can feel a bit impersonal or robotic and doesn't differ much from agent to agent. Not a very memorable or exceptional experience for clients. Your Best Bet for Winning More Listings Your best bet for winning more listings is to attract sellers to you using a digital marketing tool like Ylopo that also provides a custom Homebot seller experience. Not only does the Homebot seller experience create more listing opportunities, but it improves your communication with your homeowners by 10x and gives you a consistent flow of new leads into your database automatically. With a custom Homebot seller experience, your sellers will have access to beautiful reports allowing them to see live market data, comprehensive seller reports about their property (allowing them to build wealth), and access to insights that will show them the effectiveness of your marketing. All Things Considered By elevating your client experience through systems like Ylopo and Homebot, you can effectively offer your clients tools and benefits that they wouldn't have had with other agents. On top of that, a personalized seller experience like the one you can get through Ylopo and Homebot will quickly help build your business of long-term referrals, repeat clients, and overall trust throughout the industry.

Don't Make These Listing Presentation Mistakes
With the market in its current inventory-deficient state, listing presentations are an increasing rarity. So, when the opportunity to win new business does arise, you want to make the best impression possible. Below, we've compiled the five most frequent (and avoidable!) flubs agents make when pitching to a prospect, so you can avoid these mistakes and win that seller's business. Talking Too Much About Yourself … And Not Your Expertise It's an old sales axiom: Sell yourself. But what are you really selling? Prospective homesellers aren't so much interested in you, your career, or your passion for real estate. Instead, they want assurance you're capable of selling their home—and that you can do it faster and for more money than other agents they're considering. That's it. That's the bottom line. So don't spend all your time waxing poetic about yourself or your love of the industry. Show your prospects cold, hard evidence of your ability to get the job done for them. That means: Digital marketing reports: If you've advertised listings on Facebook, Google, or Instagram, show prospective homesellers your reach (leads generated, impressions, etc.). Let them understand how far and wide you can promote their property. Previous success: Have you brought a home to contract in record time? Closed a deal well above asking price? Detail both your results and your process for selling homes effectively. Digital adeptness: The pandemic has brought an increased focus on digital adeptness. Many potential sellers are still wary of opening up their homes to potential buyers and are curious about virtual tours, open houses, and walkthroughs. Can you demonstrate you know how to effectively market their property both online and off? Not Understanding a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words You know good-quality property photographs can be the difference between an effective listing and one that flounders. The same holds true for your listing presentation. The only difference? You need to show prospects the before and after of your work. What do we mean? If you've staged a home in a way that would make HGTV producers impressed, employed a professional photographer or used state-of-the-art equipment, and downloaded an app or two to polish your photos in post-production, detail the process to your prospects. Clearly show how effective and intentional you are in sprucing up a space, and let their imagination run wild with what you can do for them. After all, showing is much more effective than telling. Not Shoring Up Your Online Reviews and Presence Your perception of how well your listing presentation went doesn't close the deal: Prospective homesellers are still going to Google you. They need independent, unbiased assurance that you're actually the agent for them, and not just some smooth-talking salesman or woman. So why let your reviews undermine your potential to land new business? If a prospect Googles you and they find negative reviews, it will deter them from hiring you. Eighty-four percent of consumers view Google reviews—not Facebook, Yelp, or any other site—as equivalent to a personal recommendation. On the flip side, what if they can't find any reviews or information about your business? Well, given the choice between an agent with reviews vs. an agent with no reviews, an overwhelming majority of sellers would prefer to avoid taking a risk on an unknown. Additionally, according to recent research: 80% of consumers say they're leery of working with you if you have no easily findable contact details 50% would rather take their dollars elsewhere if you have poor-quality or out-of-date photos And 51% would opt for a competitor if you lack consistent hours of availability Lacking Insight Into the Market at Large Can you speak about how quickly similar homes in your market went under contract and for what price? Can you wow prospective sellers with accurate pricing models? Can you give data-backed advisement to clients on pricing strategy, so they can strike an ideal balance between asking price and days on market? Can you push back against client's sometimes unrealistic demands or expectations and convince them you have their best interests at heart? If you can't confidently answer yes to the above questions, you're not going to have much success in wowing more savvy sellers. With such competition in the market, it simply isn't enough to promise you'll deliver the best deal—you need to show clients the requisite market expertise necessary to demonstrate you can. In other words, be an expert in your sphere. Not Having a Command of Your Tech This mistake was somewhat implied in the bullet points of the first entry in this blog, but it's worth reiterating. At this point, a year into the pandemic, an agent worth their salt understands the digital adeptness needed to win new business. Prospective sellers are overwhelmingly looking for those agents who can bridge the analog-digital divide. If you're conducting a virtual listing presentation, make sure you have full command and understanding of whatever program you're using. Fumbling around with Zoom or Skype isn't going to instill confidence. Nor is having a professional website that looks like it was last updated a decade ago. The same also goes for a lack of social media profiles. Digital technology can sometimes be cumbersome, and it can be easy to think it's superfluous to the actual selling of a home. But this stuff truly matters to the majority of today's homesellers, particularly Millennial ones, so make sure you're taking the time to put your best (digital) foot forward. To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.

Creating a Listing Presentation: 5 Tips to Help You Prepare
A listing appointment is your last hurdle to jump before you achieve your goal of procuring a new client. You have put in hours of work discovering and warming up your lead. Now it's finally time to sign them on as a client--if they like what they hear from your listing presentation. So creating a listing presentation that is well thought-out and drives home the point that you are the best agent for the job is crucial to the growth of your business. To help you out with that, we have gathered some of the best tips on how to create a listing presentation that is sure to impress.

Don't Be a "Me Too" Agent
For 20 years, I have taught REALTORS to not be a "Me Too" agent when speaking with a homeowner about selling their home. Today, most people have become much more educated about the real estate process--which works great for REALTORs. A true professional is not worried about an educated consumer and should welcome the opportunity. So what is a "Me Too" agent? Let's say the homeowner is educated about how selling their home works using a REALTOR and they decide to interview four or five agents to list the home. The homeowner makes a list of which services the first agent outlines they can do. The second agent shows up and the homeowner brings up what they have learned plus benefits the first agent shared. Here we go:

Cloud CMA Releases Impressive Upgrade for Live Presentations
The category of CMA companies is highly competitive, making it difficult for agents and teams to land on the right product. To begin with, the MLS system has a free CMA. When agents look to differentiate themselves from other agents, the CMA plays an important role. All CMA programs are powered by the same data, so the presentation of that information is the difference-maker. For the longest time, listing presentations and buyer presentations of comps have been delivered on paper, or a PDF slide show sort of experience. Last week, we had the opportunity to meet virtually with Cloud CMA co-founder Greg Robertson, who shared a preview of the new features being launched – called Cloud CMA Live. The best part is that these additional new features are included for no additional charge. If you are a current Cloud CMA user, there is nothing that you need to do. The upgrade is automatically added to all existing and future accounts.

Top 10 Listing Presentation Tips to Set You Up for Success
Tip #1: Know the Sellers' Concerns Before Walking in the Door Do your homework on whom you are meeting before you meet with them. Whether you are new to real estate or a seasoned pro, you will continuously hear the same questions: How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood? What company do you work for? What is your marketing strategy? What makes you different? How long will it take you to sell my home? What's your commission? Knowing the answers to the above questions puts you in the driver's seat before you enter the home.

From New Listings to Referrals: The Marketing Secret that Helps this Realtor Win Every Time
If you're like most Realtors, you probably already have a plan in place for marketing your listings. But how well are you able to communicate that marketing plan to potential seller clients--especially if that plan includes digital strategies that may be confusing to homeowners? Randy Durham has it all figured out. A practicing Realtor since 1994, Chattanooga-based Durham uses realtor.com Local Expert to market both specific listings and his brand. The tool employs ad retargeting technology to display his listing and branding ads to real estate consumers as they browse around the web. But how does he explain that to sellers during his listing presentations to help them understand how it will benefit the sale of their home? We sat down with Durham to find out. Read on to learn how he talks about Local Expert in his listing presentations, and how the program also helps connect him to buyers and past clients. How persistent is your brand on national websites? When consumers search a particular city or zip code on realtor.com®, I'm always there and present with either a listing or information about me. Even if they go from page to page, I'm still there with them so I stay top of mind. I've been pre-introduced. Someone buying a home will be familiar with you before they make contact. Does this help you with home sellers? When I'm on a listing presentation, I'm able to show that they're going to be in at least 50% of the searches for a buyer in their area looking for a home. That home will follow that person around as they're looking within the specific area where that seller is. So I'm showing the seller that they're going to get exposure continuously. How do you let prospective sellers know you have this advantage? You can use this in neighborhood campaigns or in specific targeting listing promotions as far as trying to solicit for listings. This is particularly effective with expired listings. You're showing them you have a way that other agents typically would not have to get additional exposure for their home. It's very powerful for expireds because they've already been-there-done-that—but now many are looking for new things that can happen to actually get their property sold. What are the longer-term benefits of being persistent with your brand? You've got to have consistent impressions of yourself out there for the public to see. Research shows it takes eight to 10 impressions of some sort of marketing to actually get a buyer's attention and recognize who you are and have recall ability. You want to continuously have your name out there, particularly in targeted areas. You want to be the agent that owns that area. It works to get yourself top of mind with your past clients as well as new clients. I just really took on the Chattanooga market with this branding. I just think that it's going to have a powerful impact. This is one of those things you've got to be in it for the long haul. You can't go out there in one month and say, "Okay how many transactions did I get?" But this has some power to it, and I'm quite impressed with it. Does this work into your repeat and referral business plan? A home seller generally starts their search on the internet. Even if there are past clients, they don't always usually pick up the phone and call me first. They're out there looking to see what's available or what's sold in their neighborhood if they are a seller. If you're there with a branding product like realtor.com® Local Expert in those searches in their neighborhoods, when they see you they say, "Yeah, that's the guy that sold me my house—that's who we need to call."

Secrets of a Top Listing Agent
Back in 2014, Chris and I took a trip to Mississauga, Canada for a real estate conference. It was there where we first met Chip Barkel. Today, Chip has a pipeline of over $36,000,000 of upcoming sales. But on that day we first met, he had just started his real estate career. Over the last five years, I've been able to follow Chip's career--and I've seen him go from $0 to over $15M in sales production.

Create and Deliver a Winning Listing Presentation
Some would say that your listing presentation is your one chance to create a good first impression. However, Google tells us that your customers are searching online for up to 90 days before even contacting an agent. (Google Stats 2014) If that is the case, once you get to the kitchen table, it's almost too late. So what is the goal of a listing presentation, and how do you create one that makes a real impact?

10 Steps to Create a Custom Presentation in Google Slides
Meeting with new leads is exciting. Creating the materials you need to convert those leads... not so much. Even real estate agents are not exempt from the sometimes tedious task of creating presentations. But there's good news. Whether you need to create a listing presentation, first-time homebuyer seminar, or just a simple introduction to get things moving, there's technology to help you create professional presentations. Google Slides is one of these tools. Google Slides is one of the free tools included with every free Gmail account. It makes creating, editing, and sharing your presentations with collaborators easy from any device. To learn more about the free tools offered by Google, check out our articles on Google Keep, Google My Maps, Google Allo, Google Drive, and Gmail. For more information about using Google Slides, read on for step-by-step instructions to help you create and save a personalized theme that reflects your business and branding.

[Best of 2017] 21 Steps to a Stellar Listing Presentation
We're continuing an annual tradition of counting down our top 10 articles of the year. The following article was originally published in March and is #8 in our countdown. See #9 here. It's all here. Twenty-one great ideas for building your listing business from the ground up, all neatly packaged in a step-by-step action plan. Let us know how it goes. Set a Good Foundation 1. Build an online presence Use your website, blog, or social media channels to publish articles that demonstrate your core competencies. Do you specialize in upscale properties? Do your staged homes sell 30 percent faster and closer to list price than market averages? Your articles could also include seasonal tips for home maintenance, tips to prepare your home for sale, or market data for buyers. Share the content on your Facebook page. Pro Tip: Learn how to use RPR data to create your social media marketing campaign 2. Monitor your online appearance What is showing up when someone searches your name? One of the easiest and most effective ways to monitor your reputation comes from Google Alerts, a free Google service that allows you to enter a search term (i.e. your name, company, etc.) and then receive email alerts as the system finds matches. 3. Practice your presentation "Can you cut your commission rate?" and "I was going to try and sell it myself" are common objections heard by Realtors®. To prepare, ask a colleague to role play with you, maybe even serve your pitch at a sales meeting.

3 Videos You Can Use to Win Listings BEFORE the Listing Presentation
Need more listings? Then you need to stand out from the crowd — and the potent combination of video and email can help. How? That's what broker and trainer Garry Wise and real estate marketing expert Steve Pacinelli will be sharing at the upcoming realtor.com® Results Summit in September. Today, we're offering a preview of the tips and techniques they'll be highlighting later this month. Win Over Sellers Before Your First Appointment

5 Surefire Scripts to Win Real Estate Listings – Without Discounting Commissions
How many real estate listing appointments have you been on in the past month? How many did you close? For most of us, it's crucial that we nail each and every listing appointment we get. Here at GoodLife Realty, our associated brokerage, co-owner and superstar agent Garry Wise used to go on a listing appointment every day, six days per week. He and his business partner maintained between 50 to 75 active listings at any given time. During that time, Garry perfected the scripts he used through continuous testing and improvement. And now, he's revealing exactly what he said to win those new listings, over and over again. But first, we have to understand the consumer mindset to appreciate why Garry's listing presentation works. Differentiation

Tools and Resources You Need for Your Next Listing Appointment
If you have been following along our three-part series about rocking your next listing appointment, you will have read about a number of tools and resources that Garry Wise, co-founder of GoodLife Luxury and The Paperless Club, and his team use to create a 5-point listing appointment system and digital marketing strategy that, more often than not, gets them hired during the actual consultation. Here's a closer look at each of these tools: Evernote

Create a Marketing Proposal that Sells Your Services
A carefully crafted digital listing presentation, or marketing proposal, should catch the attention of a seller, build rapport, address objections before they are verbalized, and leave sellers with no doubt that you're the right agent for the job. And if done right, of course, your listing presentation should have them signing the listing agreement before you leave the appointment. Sound good? In this article, we will walk you through the slides you need to create your own digital listing presentation — the same one used by Garry Wise, co-owner of GoodLife Luxury and The Paperless Agent — along with the dialogue you need to pull off the entire process!

21 Steps to a Stellar Listing Presentation
It's all here. Twenty-one great ideas for building your listing business from the ground up, all neatly packaged in a step-by-step action plan. Let us know how it goes. Set a Good Foundation 1. Build an online presence Use your website, blog, or social media channels to publish articles that demonstrate your core competencies. Do you specialize in upscale properties? Do your staged homes sell 30 percent faster and closer to list price than market averages? Your articles could also include seasonal tips for home maintenance, tips to prepare your home for sale, or market data for buyers. Share the content on your Facebook page. Pro Tip: Learn how to use RPR data to create your social media marketing campaign 2. Monitor your online appearance What is showing up when someone searches your name? One of the easiest and most effective ways to monitor your reputation comes from Google Alerts, a free Google service that allows you to enter a search term (i.e. your name, company, etc.) and then receive email alerts as the system finds matches. 3. Practice your presentation "Can you cut your commission rate?" and "I was going to try and sell it myself" are common objections heard by Realtors®. To prepare, ask a colleague to role play with you, maybe even serve your pitch at a sales meeting.

Win More Listings with the Ultimate Go-To-Market Plan
Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 9:00 AM PST It's the listing appointment advantage you've been looking for—a step-by-step plan that shows sellers exactly what you'll do that no other agent will. We call it a "Go-to-Market Plan." It's our process for marketing and selling a listing, and it leaves sellers with no doubts: "You're the right agent for the job." Register NOW so you can learn how to give sellers an irresistible reason to chooes you over the competition ... every time! Here's just some of what you will learn on Thursday's free training: Our totally effective "Go-to-Market Plan," and how to use it to impress sellers, stand out from the competition, and win more listings The unique scripts and dialogues from Garry's "Listing Appointment Toolbox" to separate himself from the competition and effectively explain the Plan to sellers Cost-effective online marketing strategies that create MASSIVE online exposure for your listings... you'll sell listings faster and for more! Step-by-step walkthroughs of low-cost, but powerful Facebook Ad campaigns that are bound to increase your market influence AND generate future home buyer and seller leads Got questions? We're having an extensive Q&A session to answer your toughest listing appointment and real estate marketing questions! Register now!

How to Make a Killer Listing Presentation that Converts
Is your listing presentation good enough to convert seller leads into your clients? Watch as our friend, Tom Ferry, outlines the five things you can do to show off your skills in your listing presentation. You need to sell yourself if you want to sell their home. Number three is critical.

Tools and Tips for a Winning Listing Presentation With RPR® (9/19)
Monday, September 9, 2016 at 12:00 PM PDT Sellers want to know your listing presentation is based on a keen sense of the market, an expertise in determining value, and your ability to bring a deal to closing in the shortest time and at the highest price possible. Learn how to create a winning listing presentation using modern marketing approaches such as RPR's Preparation, Price and Promotion model. This free workshop will highlight the RPR assets found within each of these successful strategies, including: Researching the property, neighborhood and local market Earning seller buy-in from the onset Validating the property's basic facts, selecting comps, and adjusting those comps to create a customized and flexible comp analysis Using the one-and-only Realtor Valuation Model®—an exclusive RPR pricing tool Generating a customized, client-friendly, and definitive Seller's Report Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®), one of the most innovative benefits included in your NAR membership, is offered at no additional cost. Register now!

This Summer's Best Listing Presentation Template, Skills, and Scripts (7/28)
Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 9:00 AM PDT This Summer's Best Listing Presentation is so good, it will convince any seller to want to do business with you immediately. On Thursday we're taking an in-depth look at our strongest, most effective listing presentation ever, PLUS the 5 easy steps you can use to engage sellers and ACE every listing appointment! With our latest listing presentation template, skills and scripts, you'll discover it's never been so easy to convince a seller that you're the right agent for the job! Here's what you will learn when you join us for this Thursday's training: The stress-free, easy 5-Step Listing Appointment that will impress any seller and convince them YOU are the right agent for the job Field-proven, effective updates you can make to your listing presentation so you stand out from the competition and win more listings Powerful persuasion tactics, and how to talk about your services and skills so you can inspire deal-making confidence in your clients Professional-looking templates you can use immediately to improve your success rates and ace any meeting with a prospect client We'll have an extensive Q&A session to answer your toughest listing appointment and real estate marketing questions! Register now!

3 Elements of a Winning Listing Presentation
We've all heard about how agents can use video to market their listings. Today, we're going to look at a unique way that agents can leverage video to engage sellers and win more listings. This is a concept pioneered by Garry Wise, co-founder of GoodLife Realty and The Paperless Agent. Wise uses the videos to support another concept he's developed--the "3 Ps of Selling"--as a way to both prepare sellers for the home selling process and engage them in that process. "We share the 3 Ps with clients both before and during the listing presentation," says Wise. "We share the information via short YouTube videos before to prepare the client for the listing presentation, which allows us to cover our services in more depth during the presentation and reinforce the information we've already shared." The idea is to educate clients and make them feel like a partner in the selling process. This helps sellers better understand the role of the agent in the process, as well as the agent's value. Here are the 3 Ps that the GoodLife Team uses, and the accompanying videos that they share. 1. Preparation Before a home is put on the market, it first needs to be prepared. This means cleaning, staging, and making needed repairs. Wise informs his clients that he'll be doing a walkthrough of the home and noting necessary repairs. Next, he discusses the importance of staging and cleanliness. To emphasize his points, he offers before and after photos of staged properties, and shares statistics linking staging and selling prices. He also refers sellers to a professional cleaning company to keep the home spotless while it's listed. "By informing potential clients before the listing presentation, it becomes easier to convince sellers they need to prepare and stage their home," says Wise. Here's the video he shares with sellers to convince them of the importance of preparation:

The 5-Step Digital Listing Appointment (5/12)
Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 9:00 AM PDT The countdown has started for the release of our 2016 List of MUST-HAVE Apps for agents to go paperless, save hours of time, and get more signed listing agreements. We've also created an easy, repeatable 5-Step process to use these Apps, which is proven to help agents get more signed listing agreements. Join us for a few minutes this Thursday so you can learn the MUST-HAVE Apps and see how to use them in our 5-Step Digital Listing Appointment. During this online training, you'll also learn: All about the 6 MUST-HAVE Apps every agent needs to work with clients in today's fast-paced digital age How to use a proven digital work flow for seller prospects that recognized by Apple Sales Scripts and Narratives to maintain control and turn any situation around so you can pick and choose who you want to work with Slides from a bullet-proof listing presentation that turns heads and creates customers Stop wasting hours of time pulling comps, getting ready, and getting the run around while clients "think about it" Live Q&A session so you can get all of your most pressing questions answered! Register now!

How to Create a Property Marketing Plan that Wins Listings
Is your marketing plan enough to seal the deal with sellers? If you're only doing what the majority of other agents are doing to market a home, you're not standing out. And if you're not standing out, you're not growing your listing business. Today's real estate consumer is far more sophisticated than they were just 10 years ago. They can not only find detailed property information online without the help of an agent, but they can also research what it is agents should be doing for them. For sellers, the number one thing that they want is for their agent to market their home to buyers, according to a recent study from NAR. But where are the buyers? They're online, according to a 2014 study from Google that says that a whopping 97 percent of buyers search for properties online. What's more, almost half of buyers found the home they eventually purchased online first. "Sellers know that people go online to search for properties, and they expect you to market their property to those buyers online," says Chris Scott of The Paperless Agent, a company that offers agents training on digital marketing and is owned and operated by the leaders of GoodLife Realty. If your marketing plan doesn't address the expectations of today's digital consumer, it's time to consider an overhaul. Crafting Your Marketing Plan Fortunately, this doesn't have to be a difficult process. Scott suggests starting by simply making a list of all the promotional and marketing activities that you do for your listings. "You may be surprised by how much you do when you write it all down," says Scott. "But consumers will have no idea what you do to market their home unless you explicitly tell them or show them."

How to Engage and Win Over Sellers with the 3 Ps of Selling
Ask yourself: Why should a home seller work with me? Your answer to this question is essentially your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP—the narrative or story that defines why a client should choose you over the agent down the street. While most of us have a ready answer to this question that we've developed over the years, we need to ask if it's good enough. Is it compelling? Informative? Will a potential seller know exactly what we'll do to sell their home faster and for more money than anyone else? Before you answer, let's take a quick look at some data from the National Association of Realtors: Out of all the first-time home sellers, only 17% worked with the agent they used previously. For repeat sellers, only 24% worked with an agent they worked with previously. This means that the majority of repeat sellers worked with one agent, then a different agent, then a different agent again! As the data shows, very few sellers work with an agent they worked with previously when it comes time to sell their home. What this tells me is that either: Our USPs aren't compelling enough to convince our clients that we're the right person to sell their home. We aren't doing a good enough job of sharing our USPs with our clients. Either way, it's time to change the way we talk to our sellers! So what can we do to better show our value to sellers?

Best of 2015: Discussing the Zestimate in Your Listing Presentation
We're continuing an annual tradition of counting down our top 10 articles of the year. The following article was originally published back in April and is #7 in our countdown. See #8 here. As a real estate agent, you understand plenty about the real estate market. One of the more awkward experiences that you can have is discussing the Zestimate in a listing presentation. The best way to discuss the Zestimate is to go in prepared. It is likely that your prospect has already looked at the Zestimate or discussed it with another REALTOR® or a friend anyway. Step 1: Getting Prepared Although it seems pretty logical, many real estate agents do not take the time to look up the Zestimate of the subject property before going on the listing appointment. You should. The Zestimate on an unlisted home is a published price opinion. It factors into the opinion of value on a property. You may even begin by asking the sellers what they think of the Zestimate price as a way to open the pricing discussion. Step 2: Explaining the Zestimate The Zestimate is the efforts of savvy mathematicians to crunch together a bunch of information about property to predict home values and home value trends. The subject property is a data point. There are two considerations of value. The sales happening around the home and the attributes of the property like the size of the lot, the square footage of the house, the year it was constructed, number of beds, baths, garages, etc.

3 Ways to Wow Sellers at a Listing Appointment
Winning more listings is a key way to grow your real estate business. If you're getting plenty of seller leads but can't seem to seal the deal, try one of these strategies at your next listing appointment. Talk less If you're focused on delivering your listing presentation exactly the way you rehearsed it, you'll miss out on important opportunities to learn more about the seller's motivations and tailor your pitch to their needs. Try to make the meeting less of a lecture about the local real estate market and more of a conversation about the seller and their home. What have they enjoyed most about living there? Have they made any upgrades? Do they have concerns about how the home will be received by buyers? Give them what they want Many agents present a fancy listing appointment book or iPad slideshow full of real estate market statistics, information about their brokerage, and a list of their credentials. That's nice – and for some sellers important – but what every seller really wants to know is how you plan to get their home sold quickly, for the most money, and with the least hassle for them. Worry a little less about creating things that market you and instead focus on sharing how you advertise the homes you list.

Discussing the Zestimate in Your Listing Presentation
As a real estate agent, you understand plenty about the real estate market. One of the more awkward experiences that you can have is discussing the Zestimate in a listing presentation. The best way to discuss the Zestimate is to go in prepared. It is likely that your prospect has already looked at the Zestimate or discussed it with another REALTOR® or a friend anyway. Step 1: Getting Prepared Although it seems pretty logical, many real estate agents do not take the time to look up the Zestimate of the subject property before going on the listing appointment. You should. The Zestimate on an unlisted home is a published price opinion. It factors into the opinion of value on a property. You may even begin by asking the sellers what they think of the Zestimate price as a way to open the pricing discussion. Step 2: Explaining the Zestimate The Zestimate is the efforts of savvy mathematicians to crunch together a bunch of information about property to predict home values and home value trends. The subject property is a data point. There are two considerations of value. The sales happening around the home and the attributes of the property like the size of the lot, the square footage of the house, the year it was constructed, number of beds, baths, garages, etc.

The Dos and Don'ts of Listing Presentations
I don't know about you, but listing presentations make me nervous. My palms sweat, my heart races, and if I were a nail-biter, I probably wouldn't have any left. You'd think that after a few successes agents would lose the listing presentation jitters, but for some of us, they never abate. Some older coaches will tell you this is the reason you need scripts and dialogs. But, unless you've had theatrical training, scripts and dialogs typically come off sounding canned and unprofessional. What you need is preparation. Being fully, 100-percent prepared for a presentation is the only way to feel confident that you can not only swing it, but that you'll crush the competition. While I know that you don't need a complete walk-through on how to prepare for a listing presentation, I'd like you to consider a few dos and don'ts. 1. Do the Basics Dress the part. This doesn't mean you need to wear a suit to every listing presentation. In fact, you'll feel pretty silly if you do and your potential clients are selling a ranch. Wear something similar to what you assume these folks will be wearing. Just as you'd most likely wear clean jeans and boots to a ranch listing, wear a pair of nice slacks or a skirt, and a casual yet stylish shirt when you visit a tract home. Make one last call to the homeowners to ensure that all parties will be present. If the wife also needs to sign the listing agreement, it's a waste of time to show up if she won't be there. Arrive on time. Yeah, I know this one's pretty basic, but you'd be surprised how many agents are chronically late – even for this important job interview. Turn off your cell phone. Please. Turn. It. Off.

5 Reasons You Are Losing Listings
The top of the funnel is the easiest part to focus on, because it's the one where our efforts show the most instant and obvious results. More advertising leads to more calls. More calls lead to more listing appointments. There's only one problem with this strategy: if you can't convert listing appointments to actual listings, no number of new ads, referrals or calls will actually move the needle on the number of sales you close – and dollars you make – by year's end. If your listing conversion rate is broken, eventually, attention will be paid to the problem. You'll either pay attention now, because you choose to, or later, when you see your competitor's sign in the yard at the house you visited last week. If you feel like you are losing out on listings and this is hurting your business, here are a few potential sources of the problem. 1. Your Listing Presentation Is Hopelessly Outdated It's so easy to get in the groove of pulling out the old leather binder, rolling out a new CMA and mocking up some ads, almost as if by rote. And certainly, some sellers appreciate the old-school, high-touch feel of such a listing presentation. But even old-school sellers understand that their home's eventual buyer might not share their tastes, and they want – need – to know that the listing agent they choose can and will market their home in a way that reaches and appeals to today's buyers. The listing presentation is an opportunity to show and prove that you have these skills, not only in terms of your marketing plan, but also in terms of the entire format and style of your presentation. What would happen if you rethought your entire presentation from the perspective of an app-era seller with an Apple-style aesthetic? Well, it might turn out like this beautiful, minimalistic slide deck, which made big press last year for winning Denver agent John James a $1.4 million listing.

4 iPad Apps to Use at Your Next Listing Presentation
If there's one thing we've learned from talking to agents every day, it's that they REALLY love their iPads. It's no wonder. These portable beauties are fantastic for conducting business on the go (and stylishly, we might add). Apple has long been known for its attention to aesthetics. Long before today's current demand for iOS devices, Mac was the system of choice for designers and other creative professionals. With a legacy like that, not to mention the available apps and gorgeous Retina display, it's no surprise that Apple's iPad is a great tool for presentations. Today, we're going to focus on a presentation that real estate agents are familiar with--the listing presentation. Here are a few apps to transform your iPad into a tool that will help you wow your sellers and secure the listing. (For more iPad listing presentation ideas, see our recorded webinar.) 1. Presentation Apps - Let's start with the obvious. To show off your listing presentation, first you need an app that lets you do so. For iPad, the most common choice is Keynote. It's a free app made by Apple, so you can rest assured that it will work great on your iPad. We're also partial to Haiku Deck, another free app. We like how it boasts that unattractive presentations are impossible on its platform. Users can easily share their presentations via social media and even embed them on a blog or website.

Top 10 Tips to Win the Listing at Your Next Listing Presentation Appointment
"Before anything else, preparation is the key to success." - Alexander Graham Bell We recently polled ListHub Pro customers to learn how they prepare for listing presentations and what tips they would offer other agents to help them win the listing. An overwhelming theme among the responses was the importance of preparation. 55% of those surveyed said they spend 1-2 hours preparing for listing presentations, and 32% spent as many as six hours researching and preparing. One of the first steps is preparing the comprehensive listing presentation packet. The following is what Pro Agents who responded to our survey include in their packet: A report of new and recent activity in the MLS Examples of print marketing materials (postcards, flyers, etc.) eMarketing flyers with a list of all the websites where a listing will be advertised online Examples of marketing reports that demonstrate the key performance indicators tracked during the home selling process Information about the company or brokerage Information about the agent's credentials and experience Examples of technology the company uses to sell homes faster or more efficiently Examples of contractual documents

How to be a Winner in Your Next Listing Presentation
Real estate is a fiercely competitive business. As a REALTOR®, it's important to identify your strengths and be able to clearly explain the benefits you bring to the table. The seller expects you to sell their home for the highest possible amount and as quickly as possible. But any agent can do that, right? You need to deliver more than the next agent that walks through their door. How? By demonstrating your marketing and technology edge with specialized products and services. Today's seller expects you to do much more than list their home in the MLS. You are expected to be the real estate marketing and technology expert. Keep in mind, many of your clients will believe they know more about marketing technology than you do. In some cases, they actually will. The good news is that becoming an expert is easier than most agents think. To address the technology barrier, highly successful agents and brokers rely on affordable, cutting edge e-marketing solutions from providers that specialize in cross-promotional listing campaign services. Although most electronic solution providers focus on promoting the listing, some deliver materials that also make you the expert in a listing presentation. Imagine going into a listing presentation and telling the seller you will create a comprehensive electronic marketing and lead generation campaign for their listing. You will incorporate: An interactive virtual tour; A texting lead generation campaign; A QR code leading to a listing website that showcases the property; and A property video to place on YouTube and other video channels.

20 DO NOTs to avoid for an Awesome Real Estate Listing Presentation
This is the third post in a series of articles from TouchCMA that offers a total of 56 tips for better listing presentations. This post lists 20 DO NOTs. For 36 DOs, read articles one and two. The Don'ts 37. Don't show up late. Make a great impression and show up a few minutes early. You should treat it like a job interview–after all, it is! 38. Don't carry strong smells on your person. Pets, cigar or cigarette smoke, alcohol, strong cologne or perfume, garlic–these can be immediate turn-offs and make up someone's mind before you even have a chance to speak. 39. Don't neglect your homework. Know the seller's motivations for their life change, the general condition of their home and how much work they are willing to do to get their house ready for the market. 40. Don't overlook the seller's financial situation. Finances are a touchy subject, so you may not want to ask directly, but infer what you can from what they say. 41. Don't treat the real estate listing appointment too casually. Take your clients (or prospective clients) seriously!

18 More Tips for an Awesome Real Estate Listing Presentation
This is the second post in a series of articles from TouchCMA that offers a total of 56 tips for better listing presentations. Read the first article here. Stand Out from the Competition 19. Never speak ill of your competition. Talk respectfully about your fellow agents, and you're more likely to receive the same courtesy in return. 20. Provide the same high level of service, no matter the value of your client's property. 21. Encourage sellers to interview multiple agents to ensure they are working with the right person. 22. Never put pressure on potential clients. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want, but pestering will not win you business. 23. Be informative without being aggressive or pushy. 24. Be honest. Share the good and the bad and be constructive with your advice, but don't sugarcoat the situation. 25. Dress well and appropriately for the client and situation. For example, if you are meeting at a coffee shop, you may dress more casually than if you are meeting over dinner on the waterfront. 26. Smile and make eye contact. It will increase your likeability and make you seem more accessible. 27. Speak clearly and with confidence.

How to Impress on a Listing Presentation
You only have one chance to create a good first impression. That chance lasts 100 milliseconds, according to Princeton University researchers. In a study of 200 volunteers, psychologist Alex Todorov and Janine Willis, a student researcher, found that people judge a face to be trustworthy or not in one-tenth of a second. Knowing this, and knowing that homeowners typically only spend one day interviewing listing agents, puts the pressure on to make your listing presentation massively impressive. Presentation Groundwork Whether you prefer the one-step or the two-step listing presentation, the original phone call from a homeowner is the place to gather as much information as possible about the homeowner and the house. The National Association of REALTORS® suggests you have a list of questions at the ready when a prospect calls you about the possibility of listing her house. Some of the suggested questions include: How did you hear about me/who referred you? Why are you selling? When do you need to sell? Do you have a price in mind? What can you tell me about your home? Any renovations, additions, major repairs? What makes your home stand out from your neighbors' homes? Would it be possible for all decision-makers to be present to meet with me?

Friday Freebie: Listing Presentation from realtor.com®
Ready to give yourself a competitive edge this summer? Realtor.com® wants to help you win more business with a listing presentation that shows why, where and how you market your listings online. Free Listing Presentation from realtor.com® Preparation is the key to success, and when it comes to sellers, a well-crafted listing presentation can be just the thing you need to walk away with the listing. To be truly effective, your presentation has to support what you do with tangible proof--information about how you market, where you do it and why it's important. In addition, referencing research, facts and figures helps you state your case by positioning you as a true expert that can point to success based on evidence instead of theory. Finding the time to pull all of this information and data can be tough with all the tasks you have to perform as a self-employed professional, so realtor.com® is providing a turnkey listing presentation for iPad®, notebooks and print that lays out an online marketing plan bolstered by real facts and figures for this year. The listing presentation: Shows statistics on consumers buying habits Allows you show your specific realtor.com® online marketing solutions Can integrate into your own or a corporate listing presentation Is completely customizable and viewable for PC, iPad®, Android or Mac Get your copy of realtor.com®'s Listing Presentation today!

5 Reasons why your next listing presentation should feature RPR
You know that old saying, "You only have one chance to make a first impression"? Well, it couldn't be truer than when describing a listing presentation appointment. You must show up prepared. You need to stand out from all the other agents the sellers are interviewing. You must prove your local market expertise. Without a doubt, you know you're the best REALTOR® for the job, but you must convince the sellers. You need a comprehensive, yet easy-to-understand report. You want something impressive, something to make you stand out. Enter Realtors Property Resource, NAR's national parcel-centric database containing over 150 million properties. As a member benefit exclusively for REALTORS®, not only does RPR has all the data you need, but in a format sure to impress even the most picky client. Consider this: 1. An RPR Seller's Report can be quickly run on over 150 million properties in the country and includes data such as mortgage information, distressed information, tax assessment history, historical photos, and more. 2. An RPR Seller's Report shows detailed market activity over time, showing your clients exactly what is going on in their neighborhood. Do your sellers live in an area with many distressed properties? Are homes selling quickly with multiple offers? Charts, graphs and detailed market information are automatically included in the RPR Seller's Report.

6 Keys to a Winning a Real Estate Listing Presentation
Using a real estate CRM to build a referrals-based business is the best way to get high-quality referrals and real estate leads. However, once you have the lead, you need to win the listing presentation, or that potential new business goes down the drain. Fortunately, you're going into the presentation in a strong position. You've been recommended! But don't be overconfident. Use the following presentation tips to help ensure that it's your "FOR SALE" sign that appears on the front lawn – and not some other agent's. Here are the six keys to a winning real estate listing presentation: 1. Focus on the client's needs, not on how great you are. The more you try to "sell" yourself during a listing presentation, the more resistance you are likely to encounter. 2. Don't give a generic presentation. Make it relevant. Ask questions. Then, tailor your presentation to the client's needs and aspirations. 3. Take notes. Don't rely on your memory. Writing things down lets the client know that you are listening. Better yet, bring your iPad and record your notes right in your CRM.

Secure a New Listing in 4 Simple Ways
Inventory is tight today. There are tons more interested buyers than there are homes for sale right now. When you are lucky enough to get in the game to list a property, you want to sure you win the deal. Top producers that are securing new listings these days have shared a few of their tips with us. First, they say that your listing presentation has to be packed with local insights. Using a product like Cloud CMA or RPR, agents can prepare highly attractive and comprehensive comparative market analysis to demonstrate their knowledge of the industry. Since there are so few homes for sale these days, it's critical to prepare a professional Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) as quickly as possible. Tools like Toolkit CMA now allow you to build your CMA right from your smartphone or iPad and allow your potential clients to view it from those devices, as well.

Look into my Eyes, Not my Screen!
Tablets, smartphones and cloud computing, oh my! Five tips for better use of mobile tools when meeting with clients. When it comes to mobile technology, the numbers tell half the story. Apple sold over 25 million iPhones last year. IDC estimates 166,000,000 tablets will sell worldwide in 2013. Even modest e-readers are selling faster than ever. Take a walk through an airport or drive down a highway (!) to witness how consumed we've become with our little, mobile screens. Oh, and the apps, right? Hundreds of thousands of tiny little programs that make our products sing, dance, store, share and spend our way to a better life. We love apps – at least fifty of them, or so – that make our day easier. Who can beat the price, either? Free, mostly, or a few dollars. Long live the app! Now comes the hard part: If everyone's looking at their screens, how can we do the most important part of our job: Earning the trust of our clients? Which, as you might suspect, involves looking someone in the eye. Sales is pretty simple: build rapport, identify a need, demonstrate how you fill that need. The rest is pricing and process, which are meaningless if the first parts don't go well. Price and process look great on screen – slides, PDFs, videos to explain and entice – but we must be careful not to disconnect ourselves from the person too early by injecting our tablets. Even an iPad doesn't work without a human touch.

3 Unique Things You Should Always Bring to the Listing Presentation
If you haven't already won the listing before showing up to the listing presentation, there are a few other ways you can prepare before meeting the sellers that will ensure a slam dunk. Prove you're the best agent for the job at your next listing presentation by bringing these special materials along with you. 1. Domain name Show sellers how prepared you are by pre-ordering the domain name for their home! Since we recommend building the property site before going to the listing presentation, adding a custom domain name is a quick and inexpensive way to really show your dedication to the sellers. Imagine handing them your laptop at the listing presentation and asking them to go to 123MainStreet.com (customized with their address). The sellers will not only be thrilled with the gorgeous property site you've created, but their customized domain name will instantly impress them.

Listing Presentation with an iPad
Presenting your marketing plan on an iPad sounds really cool and high tech, but it’s a bit more difficult than it seems. Oftentimes, listing presentations are with two people and the sleek iPad has a limited viewing area, making it difficult for everyone to see. Presenting with iPad requires practice Using an iPad requires practice, practice, practice - not just remembering your verbiage but also swiping while you speak. It's kinda like chewing gum and rubbing your head at the same time. The other factor to consider: technology does not always cooperate, so keep links to a minimum, just in case there is no Internet connection. Am I saying not to use an iPad for your listing presentations? Not at all. I am saying that you don’t have three thumbs to present. Not only do the folks need to see what you’re presenting, you need to be able to follow along yourself as well. If you can present on an iPad as well as Howard Chung (in the video below), by all means go for it!

6 Steps to Improve Your Listing Presentation
We are so excited about our phenomenal new contributor Matthew Ferrara. Here's a wonderful video about how you can improve your listing presentation.

The Killer Presentation: Part Two
When presenting an idea to a group or individual, or services to a prospect, failure to deliver the message effectively impacts your goals, credibility and potentially, reputation. Several things should be done ahead of any presentation to maximize success. Unfortunately, many business professionals still tend to miss out on a few simple but critical items. Eventually everyone learns, but one short cut is to apply proven techniques – consistently. Two things you can think about are rehearsing your presentations, and communicating clearly. Sounds basic right? And yes, I am referring to how we speak. You would be surprised at how many times professionals shoot themselves in the foot for not applying the simplest of techniques.  

Four Tips for Winning a Listing
Every real estate agent develops their own mojo when they are doing a listing presentation. Success comes from confidence and preparedness. But for some, the process creates a lot of anxiety because they do not have a plan. Personal fear and doubt are always either motivators or the roots of discouragement. Here are four tips to creating a listing plan that will give you winning confidence and help you close your next listing presentation.