Leading with Questions

After the small talk to open your listing appointment, what’s the best way to make your presentation the most effective?  Whether you use paper, laptop, iPad or any other presentation form, your first few minutes are key to gaining your potential clients’ attention.  So, do you dive right in with your script?  Years ago, an IBM marketing exec made a presentation to a group of top producing brokers, and he opened by asking questions of his audience.  First, he asked one of the simplest questions, and one we rarely remember to ask:  How much time do we have?  Have you ever gotten half way through your presentation only to have the sellers look at their watch and tell you they have five minutes left and you need to wrap it up! Awkward! 

Next, the IBM guru asked what the group’s goal was for the meeting, in other words, what did they want to accomplish.  When you sit down with the seller, it can change your approach if you can learn through good questioning that they are just hoping to get an idea of their home’s value and considering maybe listing sometime in the next year or so, since if you try to close them in that situation it will likely have the opposite result.   On the other hand, if they’ve just been transferred to Topeka and have to move in sixty days, your approach can be more oriented to securing the listing then and there.

Finally, the IBM exec asked the group for specific questions they wanted to make sure he answered and he noted them on a white board.  So find out the details the seller wants to learn, and as you go through your presentation, if you refer to those questions frequently, you'll give the seller a feeling you're responding precisely to them.  Thus, if the seller is more interested in your commission rate than your qualifications or marketing plan or net proceeds or comparable sales, you know you’ll need to focus on differentiating yourself and the benefits you bring to the table to secure your goal rate and win the listing.

Of course, before the listing appointment, it’s great to ask the seller if they’re interviewing other agents—we’ve all been caught unwittingly in that situation!  And if that’s the case, since the last presenter typically has the advantage, be sure to always ask for that spot in the lineup.

Bottom line, by asking questions first, you’ll be better able to tailor your presentation to the sellers’ goals, interests, and timing, and you’ll enhance your success rate in winning those listings.

David M. Hassler

Director of Business Development