These six questions will help you win your next listing appointment.
Have you ever been to a listing appointment where everything seemed perfect, but when you walked out, you lost the appointment? There are several ways you can lose a listing—don’t let that happen! I have six questions you need to ask the seller to ensure you win:
1. What is your home like? Pricing a home properly can be the difference between selling and not selling. You need to know what’s in the home. Does it have carpet or wide-plank hardwood flooring? What kind of appliances are in the kitchen? When was the last time the seller painted the home? Knowing the answers to these questions will help you correctly price the home and compare it to surrounding properties in the neighborhood.
2. What is your motivation? Where is the seller moving, and why are they moving there? You need to know whether they have to sell their home, want to sell, or are simply putting it on the market in the hopes of getting a high price. Depending on the answer, you may not even go on the listing appointment. Taking an overpriced listing can be a waste of your time and money. On the other hand, if a fantastic offer does come in and it looks like the seller may change their mind, you can use their motivation to spur them into accepting.
3. What is your timeframe? It’s extremely important to know exactly when that seller needs to be in their next home. If they need to move in 45 days, that means you have two weeks to get their home under contract. You then have the leverage to explain why they need to properly price their home if they ask for something way over market value.
“You are a seller’s trusted advisor, so be professional.”
4. What do you think your home is worth? This is by far the hardest question to get an answer to. Most sellers will say that’s your job, so they’ll just wait for you to tell them at the listing appointment. You need to know what price that client thinks they want to list their home; missing the mark on the correct pricing will cost you the appointment.
5. Who else was interviewed? You need to know how many agents are coming and when, and who those agents are. Are you the first agent in the door, or are you the last? Maybe you’re the only one. Ask whether those other agents are on a team and how you’ll combat that as an individual agent. If you’re on a team, what are you going to say to that seller to prove that your team is the best out of everyone else?
6. Are your payments up to date? With all that’s going on with forbearance, it is crucial to ask if the seller is current on their house payments. It’s an absolute tragedy when you have a listed home, spend all the money on marketing, and then look in the newspaper and see that the house is in foreclosure. Spare yourself the grief and ask the seller about their payments. It’s not awkward—you are their trusted advisor, so act like a professional.
Use these six tips to win your next listing appointment. If you have any questions, please call or email my team or me. I look forward to hearing from you.
