At the door
Shake hands. Use their names. Then ask the question that qualifies the whole appointment.
Hello Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Are you folks ready to get your home sold?
It sounds obvious, and that is the point. It establishes in the first ten seconds that you are talking to a qualified prospect. Most people you go to see have been prequalified, so the answer should be a clear yes.
If it is not, you have just learned something important before investing an hour. A wishy-washy answer is your cue to probe: what do they feel this meeting is about, and what are they hoping to accomplish? Then decide how much time this presentation deserves.
The first three questions
Lead them to the kitchen table, put your briefcase down, and ask these three before anything else.
How long have you lived here?
Tells you, against market trends, whether they stand to make or lose money on this sale. That prepares you for how easy or hard it will be for them to accept your price.
Where are you thinking of moving to?
Establishes motivation. Where they are going tells you why they are going, which tells you need and urgency. A transfer across the country is a very different conversation from a vague idea about downsizing.
When do you have to be there by?
Fine-tunes timing, which drives pricing. A short window means they will have to be more aggressive on price, and you want that established by them, early.
Tour before you present
Not after. The walkthrough is reconnaissance disguised as politeness.
Why don't we take a quick look around your home first.
- Price. You cannot assess a listing price without seeing features and condition.
- People. How they answer, and what they ask you, defines their personality type and the tone your presentation should take.
- Rapport. Twenty minutes of walking and talking buys more trust than twenty minutes across a table.
- Credibility. It lets you mention other sales in the area informally, which lands harder than a slide claiming the same thing.
To your clients it looks like casual conversation. In fact every question has a purpose, and they will hand you information about themselves without realising it. When you are good at this, every question you ask has a purpose and every answer feeds your presentation.
What do you do for a living?
Ask both of them. It hints at personality type, an accountant will want figures, and it gives you analogies you can use later. The team system is easy to explain to someone who already works inside one.
- Do you know how old your home is?
- Have there been any structural problems, the roof, leaking, anything like that?
- Have you spent a lot of money on upgrades?
Reading the room
By the time you are back at the kitchen table you should already know how you are going to present.
They talked a lot about upgrades. They want top dollar. Expect to spend real time on pricing and have your evidence ready.
They are not very talkative. Keep the presentation business-like and to the point. Do not fill silence with padding.
They are likely taking a loss. Lean on the trend and pricing charts, and do it with empathy. "I understand your situation" is not a throwaway line here.
Setting the stage
Set the room the way an actor would before a scene. Three things, every time.
- If a radio or TV is on, politely ask them to turn it down so it does not become a distraction.
- Move to the kitchen or dining table. Not the living room couch, you will be scattered and have no surface to work on.
- Seat both of them beside each other, so you can hold eye contact with both without turning your head.
The fork in the road
One question splits the appointment into two completely different meetings.
Now, are you folks ready to list your home tonight?
If yes
Skip straight to pricing and the contract. It is the ideal outcome and it does happen, usually with people already pre-sold by advertising or a referral.
If anything other than yes
Ask the follow-up below before you go any further.
Are you interviewing other agents?
Your Listing Coordinator or ISA should already have this, but ask anyway. Staff should use it to book you last, explaining that you do so much more than other agents that presenting last is the fairest way to compare.
Last is the strongest position. You stay top of mind while they decide, you can answer other agents' criticisms after the fact, and you get the last word. Most importantly it gives them permission to decide that evening, because the information gathering is already done.
If you are not last, anticipate the objections other agents will raise and deal with them head on, so they never become issues. You can also run a two-step presentation: hold back price, then return after they have seen everyone else.
Opening the presentation
Stage set, laptop out. Give a verbal agenda while you set up, so they know how to follow you.
Telling them how you will proceed helps them follow your words and pay closer attention to them. It also signals that this is a structured process rather than a sales pitch.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones, our mission is to sell our clients' homes fast and for top dollar with the support of our unique Team System, our exclusive consumer programs and our leading edge technology. To explain how we do this, let me tell you how I'd like to proceed.
Before you walk in
Run this list in the car. The appointment is won or lost in the first fifteen minutes, long before the pricing slide.
- I know their names and I will use them at the door
- I know whether they are interviewing other agents, and whether I am last
- I will tour the home before I present, not after
- I have three discovery questions ready and I will ask them at the table
- I will seat them side by side, at a table, with the TV off
- I know the mission statement well enough to say it without reading
Knowledge check
Five questions on the module. Pick an answer to see whether it landed.