The Essential Listing Appointment Checklist

As a real estate agent, the essential element for success is to have a steady and virtually never-ending supply of listings. Now, you may be a real estate veteran with years of experience. Or you are a brand new real estate agent licensee. However, there is only one common concern for both groups — listings. 

Many real estate agents have the misconception that generating leads is the be-all and end-all of their hard work. But in reality, The only thing that matters is to convert those leads into profitable listings.

Listings are fast disappearing by nature. Time is of the essence when it comes to converting your leads into listings. Even if you have a good rapport with the seller, it certainly does not mean that there is a guarantee that you will get the listing. Think about it, for the seller, a good profit is vital. So, they are bound to meet other real estate agents. Therefore, it is necessary to go into the listing appointment fully prepared. 

If you give it your best shot, you may walk away with the contract signed. Anything less than that means all the hours of preparation you have carried out on a particular listing will be an utter waste of your time.

In this article, we shall be providing you the essential listing appointment checklist. We have divided these into three parts. Each of these parts, when carried out correctly, will help you achieve your success target in no time.

Part 1: The Pre-Meeting Preparation

Your work as a real estate agent begins the moment you set your target on acquiring a listing. Remember, the seller has taken the decision to sell. The rest is up to you. The following crucial points will assist you in walking into the listing appointment adequately prepared.

1. Collate Information — You cannot sell a property until and unless you have all the requisite information on your hand. A quick online search should be sufficient to gather all the basic details of the house and neighborhood. However, we would strongly advise having a telephonic conversation with the homeowner to further clarify some additional information. You do not want to be caught unawares after the contract has been signed. Some of the queries you can choose to ask are:

Q1. Reason for selling the house. Q2. Any increment or decrement to the square footage of the property since it was purchased.  Q3. Any home improvements, repairs, or remodeling activities planned or already carried out. Q4. Is the homeowner planning to meet with any other agents before deciding to list?

You can add any other queries which you feel are pertinent to the particular property or owner.

2. Carry Out A Comparative Market Analysis (CRM) — As the name suggests, a CRM is an essential tool when it comes to pricing the house accurately. The listing price of the home could be the difference between selling the property quickly or the property remaining listed for ages. 

It basically requires taking into account the sale value of properties of similar size and amenities in the neighborhood. The CRM will give you a ballpark figure for the appropriate asking price. As a real estate agent, knowing this value will help you guide your client better. Although the listing appointment may be the initial meeting, be prepared to field this question from home sellers. 

3. Discuss With Fellow Real Estate Agents — The real estate world is a close-knit community. Agents, in general, are really helpful, and all rely on timely advice and guidance from each other. Have a quick chat, either with agents who have recently sold properties or are currently in the middle of selling properties in the same neighborhood. 

This informal chat will give you a fair idea of any possible or issues you need to be prepared to tackle. It will also enable you to satisfactorily answer questions posed by the clients.

Part 2: The Meeting

Now that you have carried out the initial groundwork necessary for obtaining the new listing, next is the actual meeting with the clients. Remember, this is your time to shine. This is your chance to convince the clients that they can trust you. And that you will be able to get them the desired home sale value. The following points will help you achieve that goal.

4. A Listing Appointment Package — A listing appointment package is a small bundle. It mainly contains your marketing booklet, your visiting cards, a copy of the CMA, and a leaflet explaining the home selling process. Now you may wonder why this is necessary when you are going to give all this information in the meeting? 

The benefit is the recall value. By providing the homeowners with a package and giving them some time to peruse the same, you are gaining multiple favorable points.

A. You are leaving a positive impression. It shows that as a real estate agent, you are well prepared and meticulous when it comes to your duties. 

B. It enhances the retention and recall value for all the information you are going to provide. Having the homeowners read the pamphlet/booklet first and then listen to you explaining all the key details, will help them understand everything better.

C. It also acts as an unexpected marketing guide for anyone who comes to meet the homeowners. There is a high chance that the homeowner will end up showing and telling the visitor all about you. This might fetch you a lead in the future.

5. A Quick Home Exterior Photo/Video —Before you walk up the driveway and ring the bell, we would advise you to take a few clear and flattering pictures or a short duration video of the house. Then in the meeting, you can show these to the clients and better explain how you will project the listing. All homeowners love to hear about the positive attributes of their home. You will assure them that for the actual listing, you will engage the services of a professional for shooting the pictures. Still, the fact that you took time out to click pictures, and explain those to them will certainly make them feel positive about hiring our services.

6. A Short & Informative Listing Presentation —  This is the crux of your listing appointment. For this part, you need to come prepared with a brief yet informative presentation about your sales tactics. Your approach towards new listings. Your methodology to make sure that the homeowner is able to get the required asking price. Your ways of troubleshooting. And much more. Consider this to be a showcase reel of you as a real estate agent. Put together a professional-looking presentation. Do not inundate the homeowner with too much information. You will leave them unnecessarily confused. Cover in brief bullet points all the salient aspects of your process. You could even share with them your roster of prospective buyers. This gives them an assurance that you would definitely be able to find buyers for their home without any hassle.

7. Share Successful Sales Stories —Once you have sufficiently caught the interest of the homeowner and you have answered all their queries regarding their property and the sale procedures, then it is time to sell yourself as the best real estate agent. 

You can tell them about a few of your recent successful real estate sales. Or even better, you can show them your online real estate profile. For instance, if you have a profile on a real estate platform, such as Dorrmat — a leading real estate lead generation platform meant for agents, then you also get a section for showcasing your achievements. Dorrmat provides you with the option of displaying all your qualifications as well as all the testimonials you have received from you many satisfied customers.

Instead of merely telling all this verbally, if you show all this information on a trusted real estate platform like Dorrmat, then your prospective clients will find it easier to trust you.

Part 3: The Resolution

So, you have done all that you could do, right? And now it is time to wind up the meeting and leave? Not yet. A good real estate agent is never going to leave a listing appointment without trying to convince the clients to sign on the dotted line of the agreement. All your efforts and work will be nullified if you do not make the meeting come to a proper resolution, which is you obtaining the listing. So the following are the crucial steps that may tilt the balance in your favor.

8. Carry Required Documentations — There is absolutely no harm in being prepared with the requisite documents. There is a good chance that the homeowner is suitably impressed with your efforts as a real estate agent and may want to give you the listing the same day. Not having the documents at hand means risking the odds that the homeowner might change their mind or some other real estate agent could acquire the listing.

Always go to the listing appointments with copies of  A. Listing Agreement B. Seller Disclosure

In many cases, seeing the physical copies of these documents could be the final push most homeowners need to sign and start the process.

9. Bring For Sale Sign & Lockbox — Apart from the documents, do not forget to carry a lockbox and for sale sign with you when you meet prospective clients for the listing appointments. These are the additional physical reminders to the homeowners that they need to decide now and start the process of the sale. Plus, if you get the listing the same day, you can initiate the process immediately. This shows a sign of preparedness from your side and makes most clients happy.

A. Lockbox Installation —  This will facilitate the photographer, stagers, or repair person to come and carry out their work without the real estate agent's presence. Please note that prior approval of the homeowners has to be sought for its installation.

B. For Sale Sign —  Depending on when you expect the listing to go live, you would want to put up the sign in the front yard. Do remember to cross-check the Homeowners Association rules regarding the placement of such signs. You would ideally want the for-sale sign to be put up at least a week before the listing goes live. So that you have enough inquiries before the first day itself.

10. Additional Videos And Photos — Now, on the off-chance, the homeowners are undecided. Or are wanting to meet with other real estate agents before making a final call, then this step will help you have an edge. Ask for their permission, for shooting some more short videos, and for clicking a few more pictures of their house and yard. 

Explain to them that these pictures are for you to start your preliminary work. It will help you regarding your plan for the sale of their house. Assure them that these pictures would not be used in any listing. Tell them that for the actual listing, a set of professionally shot photographs will be used.

Doing this will give you dual advantages.

A. It gives you a legitimate reason to check in with them regarding their decision to list.

B. It leaves a final positive impression in their mind about you as a real estate agent. If you are willing to be so helpful and pro-active even before they have agreed to work with you, then once you take them on as clients, you are certainly going to do a splendid job.

Summary

A listing appointment is certainly a challenging aspect of being a real estate agent. Each homeowner is different, and the challenges associated with each home are unique.

Therefore it is essential to have a listing appointment checklist in place. This will give you control over each meeting and equip you to handle any unforeseen issues in a capable manner. Remember, the most vital aspect is to show that the homeowners can trust you with the sale of their home.

By following the above-outlined points, you are maximizing the chances of converting most of your leads into successful listings.