Your Real Estate Listing Presentation Checklist

Winning a listing presentation is by no means a guarantee of new business. Even if you think you're the only agent the seller is talking to, it's still an opportunity for you to prove your expertise, dedication and reliability--and, ultimately, WOW the seller. For that reason, you should never treat the listing presentation as just a formality. Walk into each one with the mindset that you need to outperform steep competition.

So, what's the best way to do that? We'll review the key areas that you need to cover. Through it all, remember that brand consistency is key. This includes your voice, logo, color scheme and even font. You never want inconsistencies to leave the seller confused. That may leave them wondering if the marketing materials you create for their home will be disjointed as well.

Without further ado, your real estate listing presentation checklist.

Customized and Visual

Anyone can spot a cookie-cutter presentation. It gives the impression that you neither recognize the seller's unique needs nor will put in extra effort for their listing. You should, of course, have a basic template, but the key is to customize it enough to make it seem unique to a specific person or couple.

The best message you can communicate through your presentation is that you are focused on the seller and their specific sales goals. That means making every slide as personalized as possible. This could be based on things like past conversations, the seller's submarket and your own qualifications that you know will reassure the seller or lift doubts.

The other element every great presentation has is attractive visuals. This will not only keep the seller engaged, but it will also give them a preview of what they can expect in terms of listing photos and marketing materials.

Visuals include the presentation's template design; interesting charts and graphics; examples of stunning, professional listing photos from past deals; and samples of digital ads, flyers and other marketing materials you've used in the past.

Unique Value Proposition, Knowledge and Enthusiasm

What separates you from your competition? You could answer this question an endless number of ways. It all depends on how creative you want to get. In case you aren't sure how to make your best qualities shine, consider these areas where you undoubtedly have strengths:

• Years of experience
• Your personality
• Your reputation
• Your specialty
• Your standout skills
• Market specialties
• Your background outside of real estate (consider how your "previous life" or hobbies makes you a well-rounded agent)

Write down your strengths in each of the above areas. From that list, craft a unique value proposition (UVP), which is a statement that clearly defines how clients will benefit from working with you. Include your UVP at the start of your presentation and reinforce it throughout.

If you're a novice agent or new to an area, you may not have enough confidence to include market expertise in your UVP. That's okay. But you should still convey that you understand the market well by providing an overview that includes local trends and insights.

You should also demonstrate your knowledge about the specific property and the community. Use Homesnap Pro's in-depth property details and historical listing photos to learn its history. You can also review deed, tax and mortgage information to understand the position the seller is in. Familiarize yourself with the neighborhood so you are able to prove that you can answer any questions a potential buyer may ask, like which schools are in the zone (also available in Homesnap Pro) and where the nearest grocery stores are.

Lastly, make sure you also express your enthusiasm for your job and why you are passionate about real estate. Sellers are looking for a partner who will go above and beyond for them—that's a characteristic of someone who loves what they do.

Marketing Plan

Sellers want an agent who can sell their home quickly and for the highest possible price.

Your marketing strategy will show them how you'll do that. This is the most objective part of your listing presentation. As such, you need to craft a thorough plan that demonstrates you know how to gain the attention of home buyers. As we mentioned earlier, visuals are crucial here. Show off your past ads and include performance stats for any marketing you have concrete data on.

Today's sellers expect a digital-first—but also holistic—approach to marketing their home. Here is an example of a multi-channel approach:

• Dedicated listing lead page
• Social media ads (Facebook and Instagram)
• Organic social media posts
• Search ads (Google)
• Maps ads (Google and Waze)
• Neighborhood postcards
• Email blasts
• Open houses
• Booth at a local farmer's market

With each listing, there are multiple milestones where you can introduce fresh marketing content to reach a wider audience and help accelerate the timeline. These include coming soon, open house, just listed and price cut (if necessary). Communicate to the seller which tactics you will use at each phase.

Keeping your seller abreast of your efforts is also important. Share a performance report for every digital ad you run so they have no doubts that you're working hard on their behalf. If you're using Homesnap Pro Ads, you can automate reports to be sent directly to your client.

Social Proof

Lastly, you should include testimonials from past clients. You'll need to be careful how you present these, as you can't expect sellers to read a long paragraph on a screen during a presentation. There are a couple engaging approaches you can take.

One is through video. Make it a habit to record testimonials from all your clients. You can create a short compilation from these clips to show during your listing presentation or just play a couple of the best videos.

The "case study" is another approach. First, set the stage by describing your past client and any clear challenges you had to overcome to sell their property. As you summarize this experience and the results you achieved, your PowerPoint can display short quotes from your client on the screen.

Even if you don't have thorough testimonials from past clients, you can pull in the reviews they left for you online, like from Google. These reviews are actually stronger social proof than testimonials that might be buried on your website. That's because Google connects each review to a real person, and anyone who reads these reviews on your Google business profile can see that.

These are the broad strokes of what should be covered in your real estate listing presentation. Even if you already have a set template that you've been using for months or years, it's a good idea to revisit it every so often. Doing so will give you the opportunity to ensure it's still on brand, consider whether your marketing strategy needs adjustment and think about new information or visuals to include. Remember: your listing presentation is what will convert a prospect into a client. Adjust it regularly and practice often, and you'll WOW sellers.

To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.