Marketing Tool Kit Feature

MARKETING TOOL KIT

7STEPS TO MORE LISTINGS

Proper pricing, personal rapport, and creativity are all key to getting sellers.

By Elyse Umlauf-Garneau

Listings are the bedrock of your business. And if you’re getting more misses than hits with sellers, maybe it’s time to revamp your presentation by getting back to basics.

You can incorporate all the bells and whistles--a computer slide show, a scrapbook full of awards, even an Internet presence. But if you lose sight of what sellers really want in a salesperson, you won’t wow ’em, no matter how your presentation is dressed up, say the experts.

“It’s not rocket science,” says Phyllis Wolborsky,CRS®, Howard Perry & Walston, Phyllis Wolborsky--Better Homes and Gardens, Raleigh, N.C. “Keep it very simple. Sellers want to know two things: How much will my house sell for, and how long will it take?”

Here are the strategies experts say work.

1. PREPARE
Before you set foot in a house, drive by the property, take exterior shots, prepare a preliminary promotional flyer, and have a CMA completed.

“I see too many people--both experienced practitioners and rookies--who don’t understand the value of preparation,” says Jack O’Connor,CRB, broker of Coldwell Banker--Moore & Co. and president of O’Connor & Associates, Englewood, Colo. “If my listing appointment is an hour, I’d guess my preparation time to be about five times that.”

2. SAVE TIME BY SENDING A PRELISTING PACKET.
If you want to introduce and presell yourself, send a packet that includes press clippings, brochures, your Web site address, and testimonials from past clients.

Some packets are more elaborate. Ralph Roberts, CRS®, GRI, of Ralph R. Roberts Real Estate Inc., Warren, Mich., includes a video about himself and some microwave popcorn.

Sellers have to do some advance work for Matt Russo, a salesperson with Century 21--Alliance, Folsom, Pa. Russo found himself spending an average of two hours at each listing appointment, and the process was chewing up 20 hours per week of valuable time.

Before an appointment, Russo sends a prelisting package. It includes a property disclosure form that he asks prospects to fill out as completely as possible before his arrival; a list of comparables; and a blank sheet of paper on which he asks prospects to write down questions and concerns. He believes the approach saves him 45 minutes per appointment.

Sam Miller, a salesperson with RE/MAX--Stars Real Estate, Mount Vernon, Ohio, also shaves off some face time by first talking to prospects on the phone to get a handle on the characteristics of the property, its condition, and what asking price sellers are expecting.

3. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
That old journalism cliché rings true for real estate, too. If your prospects are still using a rotary telephone, it’s unlikely they’ll be wooed by a multimedia presentation. Stick with the paper and pencil.

Similarly, with a computer programmer, you’ll want to pull out all the big guns and show off all the technical wizardry you’ve got.

Don’t stereotype prospects, though. Instead, come prepared for anything. Then start your meeting by touring the house and making small talk to get a sense of whom you’re dealing with.

Through chitchat, you can sense prospects’ real estate knowledge, whether they’re technophobes or technophiles, and whether
they’re detail minded or want to get to the bottom line quickly--all valuable information to help you target your presentation.

“If you see a guy with a pince-nez and a row of accounting books for pleasure reading, you know you’re in for a long siege,” jokes Joe Klock, a 50-year real estate veteran and Key Largo, Fla.-based editor of the E-mail newsletter Management Tips. Similarly, with “clipboard guys,” as Russo describes engineering types, you’re going to want to throw every drop of information you have at them.

Klock conjures the image of a telephone repairman: He arrives with a loaded tool belt ready for anything. But he probably ends up using only one or two instruments for the job. Decide your approach on the basis of each prospect’s level of real estate knowledge, sophistication, willingness to listen, and time constraints.

4. SELL YOURSELF FIRST.
Before talking about price, sell yourself, says Lauren Harper-Haden, president of Lauren Harper-Haden Seminars, Schaumburg, Ill.

“I want to let consumers know why they should choose me, Lauren, the human being,” says Harper-Haden, who sells real estate in Hoffman Estates, Ill., a Chicago suburb.

After establishing rapport, Harper-Haden sells her company and spends time educating prospects about what a Realtor® is, the benefits of working with one, and why it’s important to use a real estate professional instead of being a FSBO.

“When people buy cars, they often end up spending more than they expected to because the salesperson has educated them about what a more expensive car offers,” says Harper-Haden. “What I want to do is educate the consumer that what I offer is better than my competition, be it a FSBO or the person’s aunt who dabbles in real estate.”

5. FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO SET YOURSELF APART.
You want to seem like the sharpest, most innovative salesperson for the seller, right? Then dare to be different.

“Our MLS system allows you to produce a flyer about a property. More than half my competition uses it. So how creative is that?” asks O’Connor.

The experts say one simple way to set yourself apart is by producing a custom brochure for each property. You can bring along brochures you’ve developed for other properties to show as examples at listing appointments. (For more about effective personal marketing, see “Standout Marketing,” page 42.)

6. ADDRESS MARKET CONDITIONS
Review comparables and offer an overview of what’s happening in your market--whether values are rising or falling, how quickly properties are selling, and how the property stacks up against the competition.

Klock says knowing how to use market data is critical. “It’s available to everyone, but successful marketing is knowing what to do with the data--how to interpret it and make it worthwhile.”

“If sellers read that the average selling price in Denver is $192,000, it doesn’t mean anything to them,” says O’Connor. He breaks down market data for each subdivision into six-month increments to show market trends in the prospects’ area--on their particular block, if possible--and uses the information to explain to prospects why a particular asking price is justified.

7. BE HONEST ABOUT SALES PRICE.
Pricing a property can get contentious. That’s where your market knowledge and selling wisdom really come into play. Wolborsky puts it simply: “No matter how good the market is, the property won’t sell if it’s not priced right.” If sellers refuse to budge on the asking price, get a commitment for a price reduction after a set period--three weeks or 30 days, for instance.

“If they’re disappointed with my number, I always make them understand that we’re part of the same team and have the same goal,” comments Nathalie Ames, a salesperson with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokers, Chicago. “It’s to my advantage and theirs to get the highest price in the shortest amount of time.”

And, says Ames, it’s important to know when to walk away from a listing. “If it’s too overpriced, it’s a waste of my time and money and theirs.”

Quick Tips

Don’t be intimidated by an educated seller. “I’m thrilled when I don’t have to explain mortgage points and appraisals, because it makes my job so much easier,” says Matt Russo, a salesperson with Century 21--Alliance, Folsom, Pa. “It saves time, and I can get right to the nuts and bolts.”
Go to a listing presentation with the goal of educating, rather than selling, prospects.
Stay away from touting yourself as No. 1. Instead, suggests real estate salesperson Lauren Harper-Haden, show prospects the value you bring to the transaction. Harper-Haden is president of Lauren Harper-Haden Seminars, Schaumburg, Ill., and also sells real estate in Hoffman Estates, Ill., a Chicago suburb.
Never quiz prospects about what other salespeople have told them. It makes you look less confident about your own abilities, and prospects may question your credibility.
Don’t land a listing on the basis of suggesting the highest asking price or the lowest commission. “It’s not going to make you a survivor,” says Harper- Haden. “You might get lucky, but that’s not how to stay in business. Giving sellers too high a price isn’t serving the customer.”

And slashing your commission? Harper-Haden shakes her head. “We need to make a profit, and we should charge what we’re worth.”