Real estate is a competitive industry. You must learn how to set yourself apart from other agents in your community to win real estate listings. Of course, taking continuing education courses and utilizing resources from a great real estate school will also help grow your client list and income.
Are you looking for new ideas on how to win real estate listings in 2024? You’ve come to the right place! We’ll give tips on interacting with potential clients and ideas on finding sellers in your community. Here are ten tactics for winning at real estate.
1. Conduct a Pre-Interview Before Meeting in Person
Before working with a new real estate client, you need to know if you can effectively work together. Your personalities must mesh, and you must ensure you meet the person’s expectations and requirements. Schedule a quick phone call with clients to learn:
- Their reasons for selling
- When they hope to complete the sale
- Their previous real estate buying or selling experience
- What they want from you
- Their ideal price for the property
If they raise some red flags—such as unrealistic pricing expectations—dig a little deeper to see if you can negotiate on some issues. However, if the differences are too significant, you may need to walk away rather than commit to a bad relationship. Once you decide to work with the person, schedule an in-person listing presentation. Don’t delay; you could lose the potential client to a competitor.
2. Be Mindful of How You Communicate
What you say is important, but so is how you say it. Your body language (including facial expressions and gestures), tone of voice, and listening skills are critical to effectively conveying the right message to potential real estate clients.
Follow these tips when trying to land new real estate listings:
- Offer a firm handshake and make direct eye contact to reveal that you are confident and trustworthy.
- Establish rapport. The first 10 minutes of your presentation are the most important, so convey a friendly, service-oriented attitude.
- Speak in an everyday language that everyone can understand.
- Listen more than you talk. Ask questions and allow the client to tell you what they want and need. Focus on what they are saying and never interrupt.
- Be direct, honest, and concise.
- Avoid gestures that make you seem closed off or hurried, such as crossing your arms or clicking your pen.
- Watch the client’s body language for cues that you should keep talking, stop talking, or ask a clarifying question.
- Summarize the seller’s statements to show that you were listening and understand their needs.
Remember, this person needs to be able to trust you with one of the most significant financial decisions they will make. It’s important to present yourself as knowledgeable and trustworthy.
3. Prepare an Agenda For Your In-Person Meeting
Meeting in person is your chance to sell both your services and abilities, so don’t take your preparation lightly. Create an agenda to stay on track and ensure that you cover everything. Then, share it with the potential client ahead of the meeting. A sample plan might include:
- Review updates or news since the first call.
- Tour the home.
- Discuss the owner’s objectives.
- Go over your qualifications.
- Establish the listing price.
- Fill out the necessary paperwork.
Limit the entire presentation to 45 minutes or an hour. Any longer, and they may lose interest or become frustrated, neither of which bodes well for you winning the listing.
4. Establish Your Professional Credibility
To win new real estate listings, potential seller clients have to believe in your abilities. So, take a few minutes to discuss your accomplishments and prove that you are better than the competition. For example, you can present your selling statistics or tout your firm’s track record and explain how those statistics beat the market average.
However, remember to present your professional stats from a client’s perspective. For example, instead of saying, “I sold 40 homes last quarter,” say, “The 40 homes I sold last quarter were on the market for less time than the local average. That means that I may be able to decrease the number of mortgage payments you have to make on this property.”
5. Discuss the Listing Price
If you conducted the pre-listing interview, you know the seller’s expectations for pricing the property. Revisit that discussion and offer them the amount or range you believe the house is worth. If you use a range, keep it small to avoid overpricing.
Next, explain why you chose that specific price or range, and share any factual data, including comparables and market data, that support your decision. Spend some time talking with the client until you can agree on an exact price—before you obtain and close the contract.
6. Overcome Sellers’ Objections
Don’t get discouraged if things don’t go as planned and the seller shares doubts and objections with you. It’s a regular part of the process. Here are a few steps you can take to handle objections effectively:
- Rehearse in advance. Sellers’ two most common objections are property pricing and commission rates, so practice your responses in advance. Your broker may have scripts you can use, or you can ask your mentor, a confidant, or your broker to do some role-playing with you.
- Answer politely and confidently. You know that you have done your homework and can back your statements. Plus, you know your worth as an agent. Be confident and rely on your training, market statistics, performance record, competitive market analysis, and other tools to prove your point respectfully—and never defensively.
- Address issues at the end of the conversation. Politely ask the seller to defer their point until later in the discussion. Most sellers will not raise the issue again because either you address their concerns later in the presentation or they forget about it.
- Think before you speak. Listen to the objection carefully, pause, and collect your thoughts before answering. Doing so prevents you from reacting too quickly or in a manner that upsets the seller.
- Ask clarifying questions. Ensure that you understand the objection clearly by asking some questions. Then, summarize their concerns and ask if your take on the subject is correct.
Sometimes, agents with bottom-barrel commission rates and unscrupulous antics may beat you to the punch when landing new real estate listings. But, by taking these steps, you can increase your chances of winning the listing and closing the contract.
7. Sweeten the Deal
When putting together a pre-listing package, pay close attention to detail. The little extras can be the final push you need to seal the deal and get real estate listings. Here are some suggestions for final touches to bring your pitch to fruition:
- Offer to pay for a full deep clean of their property before showings commence.
- Offer a free staging service.
- Let clients know you’ll cover the cost of a hotel stay on the weekend of a major open house you plan to hold.
- Coordinate free services such as Salvation Army furniture pick-up.
- Include a minor home repair, like repainting a room, for free.
- Use your owned media channels to heavily advertise the property until it sells.
- Offer to organize and host a party to advertise the property’s listing.
8. Use Your Social Media Following
If you have strong social media channels, make sure you’re using them to their full potential. Try posting images of your previous work on Instagram and add relevant hashtags.
Also, follow local business and community leaders and comment on their posts. This way, when people in your area list a property, you will come to mind as the most prominent and trustworthy real estate agent. An example of a positive comment you could leave on a local social media page could be: “Loved visiting your store! Let me know if you’d ever like to move to a bigger space. I would be happy to work together.”
9. Reconnect with Previous Clients to Get New Listings
According to a 2007 Census Survey, the average American moves about 11.7 times. Because of this, past clients could be a great asset when finding new listings.
Go through your past work, and send letters to former clients thanking them for their business. Let them know you’d be interested in listing their current property. Remember that handwritten notes on stationary are harder to ignore than a generic, computer-typed note.
10. Host an Event and Invite Local Guests to Attend
Hosting an event is a great way to meet people in your local real estate region as you strive to get real estate listings. If prospective customers see how flawlessly you execute your event, that could translate into a positive perception of your work ethic and ability to host successful open houses. Here are some different kinds of events you could host:
- Cocktail party
- Community picnic
- Industry mixer
- Coffeehouse meet and greet
When formulating an invite list, consider inviting prospective clients and other industry professionals to form lasting relationships.
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