I’ve been a property sales consultant since 2008. Today, I’m coaching our sales team more than I’m listing homes, so I have an inside look into the systems and psyches in sales.
I wrote about how I coach my team to win listing presentations. It’s one of my most popular pieces, so it was time to expand out my three-part process for winning deals.
- The appointment setting
Get really clear on asking key questions when you’re booking the appointment. Understand the client’s needs, their reasons for selling, why they’ve chosen now to sell, and their past experiences. Have they sold a property before, or is this the first time?
For example, if you find out it’s a separation and there’s a relationship breakdown, ask if it’s amicable or if there are lawyers involved. Are they both still living in the property?
Ask if they’ve already chosen an agent they’d like to work with. Learn what’s important to them in the decision of which agent they’re going to go with. If you can, get a sense of how they feel about price, but that’s not as important.
Tailor a pre-listing kit that’s bespoke to the conversation you’ve just had and their situation – a high-level summary that shows you’ve listened. This is as much a resource for you as it is for them.
At the end of the phone call, confirm the appointment with an email summary and a booking confirmation SMS. Include a bit about you and your team and how you like to operate, but also shows you really understand where they’re at, plus a draft agenda for the listing appointment.
Send a confirmation message the day before.
- The appointment
This step is about engaging with the client, doing the property tour well, setting the agenda, and turning the appointment into presentation mode.
I always talk to my guys about a listing presentation being like tracks on an album. CDs don’t really exist anymore, but you get the idea. There could be 12 tracks on your listing presentation album, but not every client wants to hear all 12 and you don’t have to play them in sequence.
You can win business sometimes with just one track that really relates to what they need to know. Other clients are more detail oriented. You need to adapt to the client’s needs.
If the opportunity is there to ask for the business, do it. Have the 10 seconds of courage, as John McGrath calls it, just to see if it’s possible to win the business on the spot. Although I find this is less and less possible these days.
The traditional approach was to get all decision makers there for the meeting, but now everyone’s working so much, everyone’s so busy, that quite often you’re presenting to one and not all. That’s why the initial step is really important – send the booking confirmation through and ideally get the contact details of all parties so they’ve all got a copy.
- Follow-up and proposal sequence
At the end of a listing, leave the client empowered. Something like: “Hey, look, we’ve covered off a lot tonight. What really resonated with you?”
If the client can articulate some good points of difference for you, that’s what you then write to in your post-proposal document.
You’ve also got to offer the client a plan. Try something like: “Look, we’ve covered off on a lot. I’d love to summarise everything with a plan for you, breaking down everything we talked about, the key points of difference, and obviously the costs involved. Would that be okay?”
If the client agrees to that, it’s a good sign they’re considering you. If they say don’t worry about it, we’ve covered off enough tonight, you’re probably in a bit of trouble.
Think about the entire sales journey, not just the presentation
If you can make your prospects feel safe and seen, that’ll get you far. This means preparing well, by bringing comparable sales data, a copy of your marketing and selling plan, and ideally some case studies that relate to them.
Focus on building great relationships. Real estate is a people business, not a property business.
If you have clients you’ve been communicating with in the community, you’re known with a great track record, and you’re connected to a brand that has that too, there’s a good chance you may be the only agent they reach out to, or one of two with the other being a price check.
Always ask for feedback, whether you win or lose the business. Get your principal to reach out to the client and ask why they chose you or if you lost, what could you have done better.
I did that recently for one of our agents and got some incredible feedback. It shows just how close the difference between winning and losing is. As agents, we think we make such an incredible difference in the lounge room that we must have won by a landslide, but so many listings are won on a coin toss.
Just getting your processes right can get you over the line. It’s not often a quantum leap that’s required. It’s micro moments and adjustments.
Need help? Book a free 15-minute call with me.