How to deliver a killer listing presentation

For any real estate agent looking to hit the next level, there’s a lot riding on the listing presentation. If you nail it, you could be looking at a profitable seller relationship that delivers steady commissions for years to come. But if you bomb?

Short of discounting your commissions, it’s hard to bounce back from a listing presentation flop. 

And while the listing presentation has been a cornerstone of real estate marketing for decades, there are now more ways than ever to create it. So how do you know which type of listing presentation makes the most sense for you? And what are the best ways to deliver your presentation in the current real estate market?

The truth is, every real estate team or agent is going to have their own recipe for what makes a killer listing presentation. If you want to deliver a presentation that makes you feel calm, confident and gets sellers ready to sign that agreement, it’s time to scrap (or adapt!) the classic formulas.

Table of contents

• What is a listing presentation? And how do you nail it?
• Before your listing appointment
• During the listing presentation
• After the listing presentation

What is a listing presentation? And how do you nail it?

A listing presentation is essentially a deep and informative sales pitch made by a real estate agent to a homeowner interested in selling their home.

Whether you’re a new or experienced agent, listings are a crucial part of maintaining a thriving real estate business. With a rich portfolio of property listings on your real estate website, you’re able to attract more buyers, elevate your authority, grow your sphere of influence (SOI), and fuel your marketing efforts with a selection of beautiful homes for sale.

But it all comes down to your success with the listing presentation. With so much at stake, it’s understandable that agents often feel skittish about their ability to perform during this key meeting.

And it doesn’t help that some of the common advice (i.e., show up ten minutes early, send the pre-listing packet exactly three days before the appointment, always take your shoes off at the entrance, and so, so much more) doesn’t always fit every agent’s unique approach or personality.

Let’s outline the crucial factors of each part of the listing presentation to help give you a powerful but flexible structure to start with. From there, feel free to color outside the lines to create a listing presentation framework that makes you feel calm and confident.

💡Be sure to look out for bonus tips, scripts, and advice in this article from leadership coach & founder of Smart Inside Sales, Dale Archdekin!

Before your listing appointment

Learn everything you can about the potential client, property and neighborhood.

The goal is to position yourself as the best possible person to help your prospect sell their home. 

For that to happen, you’ll need to know what the seller’s motivations are, while demonstrating deep knowledge of the market, property type and area in order to help secure the best possible price within their desired timeframe.

Get to know the prospect and property

Any real estate rainmaker will tell you that knowing your customer’s key needs and motivations is a crucial part of closing more listings, especially in today’s digital age when the next agent is literally just a click away.

Let’s check in on the latest data about what today’s sellers want, according to the National Association of Realtors Generational Trends Report:

• 21% of sellers want an agent's help in marketing their home to potential buyers.
• 20% want help selling the home within a specific timeframe.
• 35% want an agent with a good reputation.
• 85% of sellers said the real estate agent provided a broad range of services.

Clearly, trust, credibility, and a solid marketing plan are still crucial factors for sellers when it comes to choosing an agent. But how do you know what sellers might need on a personal level?

Social media can help fill in the blanks. Take a quick look at the seller’s online presence. Do they have a family? A pet? A love of the arts? By taking just a few minutes to “get to know” your prospect before you shake hands, you’ll be that much more confident when walking through the door.

Similarly, do your best to get to know the property and surrounding community as well as possible. Drive through the area and pinpoint the factors that will be most helpful in securing a top-dollar offer. 

Send your pre-listing packet

In your initial conversation with the potential seller, let them know you’ll be creating a detailed market analysis for their home. 

Be sure to ask if there’s anything that could impact the value of their home in either direction — updates, renovations, repairs needed, etc.

💡BONUS: Dale Archdekin’s essential questions

These questions help lay the ground work for securing the listing at the appointment. You are essentially asking the potential seller to tell you what they need to hear about you as an agent and about your marketing strategy in order to win the business at the appointment…and they don’t even realize it.

• Can you tell me what makes your home special?
• What’s important to you about the agent you use to sell your home?
• How will you know when you’ve found the right agent?
• How do you think your home would best be marketed/advertised?
• Who do you think would be the ideal buyer for your home?
• Have you worked with a listing agent in the past? What was your experience? Is there anything you would like done differently by your next listing agent?

Let them know in advance that you’ll be bringing the comparative market analysis (CMA) to your meeting so you can walk through it together, answer any questions they might have, and determine the highest possible price for their home.

Another great way to set yourself apart and get the seller warmed up before the big meeting is to send a pre-listing packet in advance.

But when should you send your pre-listing packet? Answers to this will vary depending on who you ask, but anywhere from three days to a week in advance is typically a good window to give your prospect time to digest the information, while staying present in their mind to help reduce the chance of cancellation.

💡BONUS: Advice & scripts from Dale

When you tell the potential listing client that you’ll be sending a pre-listing packet, get them to commit to reviewing it, coming up with questions and being prepared prior to the meeting. Include a URL with a pre-listing video, that’s nicer than just printed material.

Script 1: Prior to sending the listing packet

 “...we will be sending you a pre-marketing packet of information. It includes X, Y, and Z that are important information for you to make decisions about at our appointment. Can you do me a favor and review that information and make a note of your biggest questions before you meet with me/my listing partner on (date)?”

This quick script will help you or your assistant follow up after the pre-listing packet is sent and help set the scene for a successful appointment.

Script 2: Follow up prior to the appointment

 “Hi (contact name(s), this is (name) from (company), did you receive the pre-marketing packet we sent you? Have you reviewed it? Are you prepared with your top questions for me/my listing partner?

Script 3: Response prior to the appointment that sets the expectation

"Great! We look forward to seeing you on (date). We will be reviewing all of the paperwork needed to begin marketing your home at that time in addition to a pre-market advertising plan. We look forward to meeting you on (date)!"

Create your listing presentation

Now remember, your listing presentation doesn’t need to look like everyone else’s.

However, there are a few fundamental pieces that most successful agents tend to rely on to get their agreements signed.

Once you’ve chosen the structure and order of your content, you’ll need to decide what tools and format you’ll use to create your listing presentation. Classic hard-cover? A PowerPoint deck? Pdf? Live web page? Video? There are a ton of tools, options, and templates. Take this Canva template for example:

Here are just some of the tools agents are using to deliver their listing presentations:

• Canva
• Google Slides
• SlideGo templates
• Breakthrough Broker
• Spacio
• Etsy templates

While the digital options are endless, many top-producing agents still recommend keeping a high-quality hard cover presentation in the mix.

If you’re using both a hard copy presentation and a digital version, try sending the digital version a day before the event via email. For extra points, you can also have your hard copy presentation hand-delivered to the seller’s home by a courier or supporting staff member. This is just another great way to show up professionally while reducing the likelihood of cancellation.

💡BONUS: Advice from Dale

Begin your listing presentation with the exciting marketing part, save the boring market analysis for later. In fact, wow them with the marketing/advertising plan, discuss the process of getting the home listed, ask how much they’d like to list for and then go to the market analysis if they ask for it or you disagree with their listing price. Don’t forget to bring at least one backup copy of your hardcover presentation to the appointment.

During your listing presentation

Now that you’re an expert on the property and prospect, you’re ready to make your presentation and win that listing!

Obviously, the prevailing advice to dress professionally, show up on time, and make sure you don’t block the prospect’s driveway still stands. In addition to nailing the etiquette, there are a few physical items you’ll want to bring along.

Alright, we’re clearly being a bit cheeky here. And sure, brownies are optional. But in all honesty, the one thing you need more than anything else if you want to win more listings is the ability to build a connection.

And that comes down to your ability to listen.

No matter how much effort you put into creating a killer listing presentation, it’s still not unheard of for experienced agents to lose listings to newer agents because the seller just felt a better connection with them. So slow down and tune in!

Touring the home and making the close

A common mistake many agents make is going straight into the tour of the property. But by starting in the living room or another relaxed setting to hear more about the seller’s goals, you start the appointment by flexing your listening skills and have the chance to really get clear on your seller’s motivations.

From there, you can go ahead and tour the property together. Many agents recommend doing the upstairs first, then downstairs, and then a full 360 tour of the outside before sitting down to look at the CMA together, pricing strategy, and marketing plan.

💡BONUS: Dale’s listing appointment flow

When the listing appointment gets set, the critical info of why the seller is selling, the unique situation they are in, what’s most important to them in their home sale, what’s important to them about the marketing of their home…etc. That information must be collected so you can use that at the beginning of your live meeting with the seller.

Listing appointment flow:

• Introductions
• Review the goals/needs/wants of the seller “When we spoke you mentioned x was important to you…” (this proactive retelling of what the seller said shows that you are professional, prepared, actively listened, and more importantly, sets the tone and direction of the conversation)
• Ask for a guided tour of the property
• Reconvene at the meeting spot and solicit the seller's questions from the pre-list packet. “I’m really excited to expose your amazing home to the market and generate a solid pool of buyers who want to compete with each other for it. Let me show you how we do that with a mixture of marketing, paid advertising, and leveraging our market share here in (local market).” Now it’s time to head into the next step of presenting.
• Present your exciting marketing/advertising strategy
• Ask the seller if they’ve decided how much they want to list for
• If agreeable, cover paperwork and skip market analysis, ask for signature
• If not agreeable, review market analysis, then cover paperwork and ask for signature

After the listing presentation

You’ve made it through the presentation and (hopefully) won the listing. Congrats! 🎉

If you’ve listened like a friend, handled objections with ease and empathy, and kept the presentation focused firmly on their needs — you’re probably holding a signed listing agreement in hand.

But regardless of the outcome, remember to always thank the seller for their time. From there, you can add the seller to a dedicated email drip campaign that keeps them updated on the market and provides them with tips on how to stage their home and make the most of each viewing. 

If you’ve already got a killer real estate newsletter, much of this content can be repurposed to be targeted directly toward sellers. If you’re a Follow Up Boss user, you can easily get these emails going out automatically by using our super straightforward action plans.

Ultimately, you aren’t in control of your prospect’s decision to work with you. But you are responsible for the amount of energy and empathy that goes into your listing presentations. Focus on showing up as a trusted ally for sellers, and the listings are sure to follow!