You've put a capture form on your website and gotten a listing lead. Or, you've been taking floor time at the office and someone called to inquire about listing their home. Or - you've run into someone in the grocery store who starts talking about selling their home.
What should you do first? Do your best to get an appointment to see the house. Then get as much information as you can so you can do your homework before you get there. Sometimes the street address and seller name will be enough.
Begin by finding out if the house has been listed before. If so, print out what you can find in MLS and study it. See if the price has changed over time. Do a current and accurate market analysis based on the MLS information and any information you were able to gain from the capture form or your conversation.
If you can clearly see that the price is what kept the house from selling, you'll again have a tough choice to make. The sellers may be firm and unreasonable. But, they may also be ready to listen if they've been waiting a long time for a sale.
Now study the ad that the previous agent put in MLS. Can you improve on it? If you stop and think about the reasons why a buyer would choose that house, you can probably improve it 100%. Most real estate ads are dry and factual. You can include the benefits that entice buyers.
If the house isn't too far away, go take a picture. If it is too far away, then "steal" the MLS picture. Then use it to create a flyer that you'll take to the listing appointment. Take the time to create an eye-popping, benefit filled flyer! This will be an example of your work, so make it good.
Since you're new, you can't include an impressive track record in your listing presentation. But you can include your agency's track record. Be sure your broker has supplied you with any statistics that show your agency leads the pack.
You can also offer some seller benefits to hiring a new agent. For instance, you've just finished school so you're up to date on all the ever-changing regulations. And, you don't have 3 dozen other listings, so you will devote plenty of time to marketing this one.
Outline your marketing plan and give the homeowners a copy showing just what you'll do to get their home in front of buyers and buyers' agents.
The sellers may be interviewing several agents so you might not know if you've got the listing immediately. Don't let that get you down!
If you have a personal brochure, take it along and leave it with the sellers. If you don't have one, use your well-written agent bio instead. Print it on letterhead with a good photo of yourself and all your contact information.
After you leave, send a thank you note. Be brief, but thank them for allowing you to see the house and make a listing presentation. Then say you look forward to seeing them again soon.
Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter who specializes in writing for real estate and related industries.
She'll help you with one letter, or an entire marketing plan. For Real Estate agents and brokers who are ready to get full value from their websites, she'll be happy to put together an entire package - from the web copy to the lead generation packages that make an agent's phone ring.
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