Listing Presentations – Always Set Two Appointments
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to work with a financial advisor, you know that most of the time an advisor will schedule two appointments before a client agrees to hire them. The preliminary appointment is designed to gain a client’s trust and to gather information about their portfolio or financial situation.
Once the information is obtained and trust and confidence is established, the advisor will schedule a follow-up appointment with their prospective client. The client usually commits to doing business with the advisor at the second meeting.
This approach also makes sense for a Trusted Real Estate Advisor. After the first appointment when all the necessary information is obtained, an agent should take a step back to analyze the market conditions specific to their prospective seller’s situation and needs. By taking the time to process and analyze, the recommendations become much more specific, and the follow-up meeting is far more productive. Think about the alternative. Most agents have a “canned speech” and “boiler-plate” information they share in an attempt to lock the seller into doing business with them immediately. This approach can be quite offensive, because it mirrors the “slam-dunk approach” used in selling time share units. This makes no sense when you consider that the real estate owned by the prospective seller is one of the single largest assets in their financial portfolio.
Show your professionalism by being respectful of how important this decision is for your prospective seller. Schedule a second meeting to discuss their situation in further detail, including how you can help and the value you will bring to the decision-making process for your seller. Best of all, this approach allows you to be the last agent they see. This means you are most likely to be the agent of choice. If handled correctly, a prospective seller is unlikely to commit to anyone else before they speak with you. Consider using the following script when explaining why you would like to give their situation serious consideration before making any recommendations:
“If I was the type of agent that would spend only an hour with you and then immediately throw out suggestions without carefully evaluating your needs and the specific market conditions relating to your property, would I really be the type of person you would want protecting your best interest?”
It’s also almost always beneficial to wait until the second meeting before discussing price to get a feel for what other agents have suggested and the seller’s sentiments after hearing those suggestions. One caveat to using a two appointment approach; never go past the close. If the seller already likes and trusts you and is ready to make a decision during the first appointment, be prepared to get the listing signed right away. This approach still requires a second appointment where you can spend time with the seller developing a great strategy for selling the property.