25 Tips To Create The Ultimate Real Estate Listing Presentation

If you’re a new real estate agent, you might be intimidated by the thought of doing your first real estate listing presentation.

This post details 25 steps you can take to prepare for your presentation and give you the confidence you need to make the best impression. 

Tips For Preparation

1. Build and Maintain Your Online Presence

In today’s internet-driven world, people do their research on you before they even speak with you. Focus on building and maintaining your online presence across social media, Zillow and Realtor.com, and your website.

Interact with your audience across these platforms so that people get a sense of your personality. You want to attract people who are actually interested in working with you.

The more people know of you before you show up, the easier the appointment will go. They’ll already have an idea about your experience and your process, which gives you a great foot in the door.

2. Practice Your Presentation

Remember, it’s ok to feel nervous. Try practicing your real estate listing presentation out loud before going to the client’s home. Repeat it enough times until you feel confident in your delivery. Having a firm grasp on the main points of your presentation will help tame your nerves.

3. Visit Active Listings in the Client’s Neighborhood/Area

A unique tip that most agents don’t take the time to do is to visit other active listings in the client’s neighborhood before your listing appointment. 

This will give you more knowledge about the area, and you’ll see the prices of other homes in the area. Sellers will appreciate this extra work because it shows your dedication.

5. Drop Off A Pre-Listing Package

One tip that will start you off on the right foot before the listing appointment even starts is to drop off a real estate pre-listing package. The package should include any marketing materials you have created, including a description of your unique value proposition and marketing plan.

When you drop off your real estate pre-listing package, make sure that it is presented professionally. Use binders, folders, and be sure it’s personally branded.

Tips For During the Presentation

5. Share Your Story in Under 2 Minutes

Clients want to get to know you and your business, but make sure you keep it short. The main goal in your real estate listing presentation is to get the client talking more about themselves and their goals in selling their home.

Tell a brief story about what you do and what makes you different from other realtors. If this isn’t your first listing, talk about successful listings you’ve handled in the past.

6. Have Good Posture and Body Language

Most experts agree that 70% to 93% of all communication is nonverbal. So whether you’re touring the home or sitting down with your clients to get to know them, be sure your back is straight, you aren’t slouched, and you don’t cross your arms. And of course, give all your attention to your client as they are speaking and practice basic listening skills.

7. Use Social Proof to Your Advantage

If you have some previous listings under your belt, be sure to leverage them as social proof and use them to your advantage. For example, add in quotes from satisfied past clients, or share a success story regarding a previous transaction.

Having social proof in addition to what is online goes a long way in impressing your potential client. It will also help to establish you as a real estate professional with authority and knowledge in the real estate industry.

8. Personal Statistics

Along with social proof, be sure to include some personal statistics about your previous listings, such as:

• Average days on market
• Average list price to sales price ratio
• How you compare to the market average

9. Create a Slide Deck to Stay on Task

A classic slide deck or PowerPoint presentation is the best way to keep your pre listing presentation organized and flowing smoothly. It’ll help you stay focused from one point to the next, so you don’t end up rambling throughout your presentation.

10. Have a Marketing Plan

Come up with a comprehensive real estate listing marketing plan for listing your client’s home. Be sure to include the following marketing material:

• How you will leverage social media
• Which websites their listing will be shown on
• Advertising strategy
• Any broker groups or email lists you plan to use
• If you plan on holding open houses, and if so, how often
• Professional photos and video

Don’t skimp on photos in your marketing strategy. Even if it seems expensive, professional photos will showcase the home much better than personal photos. In addition, you’ll build a beautiful portfolio to show future clients. They will take notice of how much better your photos look compared to your competition and want to work with you as a result.

11. Introduce the Power of Your Brokerage

If you have a brokerage, be sure to talk about what makes your brokerage unique. Highlight past experience and successes, and focus on how your brokerage will add value to your client’s listing as well.

12. Ask Questions, Build Trust, and Identify Motivation

Before you tour the home or jump into your own background, sit down and ask the client some questions to get to know them, build rapport, and understand their goals for selling their home. Some good questions to ask include:

• The reason they want to sell their home and what date they need to move by
• What area they are looking to move to, and if they’ve already found a home there
• What’s more important to them: selling their home quickly, or for the best price
• What their alternative plans are in case their home doesn’t sell
• What their ideal listing agent would look like
• How much they still owe on their mortgage and whether or not the property has any liens
• If there are any hidden issues with the home
• Their experience level with selling homes, and what those other experiences were like

The more you can connect with the client in these first 15 to 20 minutes, the better the listing presentation will go.

13. Tour The Home

Next, after you’ve gotten to know the seller, ask them if they can give you a tour of the inside and outside of their home before you begin your presentation.

As they’re showing you around, have them point out details about their home. For example, any work they’ve done and any work they know needs to be done before they sell the home.

Your goal is to get them to point out that their house isn’t perfect. This will give you a couple of details to lean on later when you’re discussing the price.

As you’re walking through the house, be very observant and take your time looking at every aspect, including the ceilings.

14. Tailor Your Presentation to Relate to Sellers Motivation

Use the client’s answers to the questions above to create a story in your real estate listing presentation. Go through a comparative market analysis (CMA) and show them the listings that have and haven’t sold in the area.

For example, you might find a listing that was priced way too high, sat on the market for 125 days, and sold for 10k below its listing price. Explain to your client all these details, and then show them a listing of another home that was perfectly staged and photographed.

Show them how it got a contract in seven days for above the asking price, which may also be their goal for their own home. This way, you’re creating a more relatable story for your client, and they will want to follow the same strategy as the second home.

Tips For Research

15. Do Your Research

Everyone knows that knowledge is power, and power breeds confidence. Doing your research ahead of time will give you the knowledge you need to keep the ball in your court.

One strategy is to call recently sold listings in your client’s neighborhood and ask those agents how they thought the sale went and if they can give you any tips on selling in the area.

16. Automated Values

Be sure to cover Zestimates and tax values in your presentation. The prospective seller probably came across these numbers already and will want to know if they are accurate or not.

A couple of questions you can ask your clients to get an estimate of what they think their home is worth include:

• What do you think your home is worth, based on the research you’ve done?
• What number do you think is a good starting point for your home?

17. Local Market Statistics

During your real estate listing presentation, have some statistics on hand for the local market so that the client can compare their home to others in the area. These should include:

• Average days on the market for homes in the area
• Average sales price
• Price per square foot
• Inventory level

18. Neighborhood Comp Analysis

Be ready with a comp analysis. Choose four to five other homes in the neighborhood that are similar to the client’s home and become familiar with the ins and outs of those properties.

After you’ve toured their home, you’ll have a better idea of which comp to show them.

You can let them know how long they can expect the selling process to take based on the average list price to sales price, sold comps, available comps, and days on the market.

Tips For Moving Forward

19. Refine Value

Once you have a good feel for the home, let the home seller know if you think the home’s value should be higher or lower than your initial assumption based on the market data.

At that point, you can tell them that you recommend listing their home for X amount to have the most realistic chance of selling it.

In order to figure out a good price, you can use the MLS to find out the average list price to sales price ratio for a certain neighborhood.

20. Outline Your Pricing Strategy

Go through your pricing strategy and let your clients know how you determine if a home is above, fair to, or below the market value.

21. Explain Your Sales Process

Your real estate listing presentation is a great chance for you to go through each step of your sales process, from pre-listing to closing. Explain every detail, so your clients can know what to expect when working with you.

22. Additional Included Services

Offer the client any other services that you and your team provide. This could be transaction management, a preferred vendor list, or buyer services.

23. Don’t Be a “Yes” Agent Just to Win New Business

Stay firm on your process and pricing. Some sellers will see if they can get you to negotiate on your own terms. However, this isn’t advisable. Stick to your process and price, and be confident in your knowledge and research.

24. Prepare For Some Objections and Lots of Questions

To that end, be prepared to face some real estate objections and questions about your experience, process, and pricing. Some of the questions might include:

• What makes you different from other realtors in the area? How are you better?
• Why do your credentials make you the right person to sell my home?
• How familiar are you with this market? Have you sold homes in this area before?
• What is your opinion on my home, and what do you think we can do for it to sell better?
• Do you have an ideal list price in mind for my home? If so, is it lower or higher than what I think it is?
• What are your sales and marketing strategies for listing a home?
• How many other clients are you working with, if any? Will your workload affect your ability to work on my home?
• I’ve spoken to another real estate agent who said they would list my home for a certain percent. Can you match that?

25. Follow up with a Thank You Note

Even if you don’t walk away with a signed listing agreement in hand, be sure to send a thank you note. Mail this out the day before your appointment, so it arrives soon after the appointment is over. This will ensure you make a good impression on everyone you meet.

Final Thoughts on 25 Steps to Win a Real Estate Listing Presentation

Whether it’s your first real estate listing presentation or you are a seasoned Realtor, these 25 steps can help you build a successful real estate business and bring the most amount of value to your clients.

Keep in mind that in the end, how you treat people will be more impactful than anything you say or do.