On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, we hosted our monthly YPN breakfast “Strong Listing Strategies” at our home base, Manny’s Deli. We were so excited to get together in person, connect with our peers and devour advice from a licensed therapist. You can stay up-to-date on upcoming YPN events by following the YPN Facebook page!
READ KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Our panelists Melanie Everett, Melanie Everett & Company, Donna Manella, CENTURY 21 Circle, Chih-Hao Yang, Fulton Grace Realty, and Moderator Ainhoa Garcia Jimenez, Realty of Chicago LLC, broke down key components of the listing process to help your listings stand out and connect with your target buyers!
PART 1: GENERATING NEW Seller CLIENTS
Don’t let lead generation intimidate you!
Each panelist agreed that once you know your target audience, the key step is knowing where and how to reach them. This can look like a variety of different things; for example, Melanie Everett volunteered in the neighborhoods she wanted to sell homes in. Go to farmer’s markets, block club celebrations, street festivals, restaurant openings, retail sales and so on. Through this, Melanie successfully built trust and recognition within a specific community. Talking about her ability to help people buy and sell was a natural segue.
“Each buyer that you have is going to produce about 12 pieces of business throughout your professional endeavors,” Donna said. Because of this mindset and breaking down relationship growth as a formula, she followed up her exceptional customer experience by asking for a referral after the closing. When people are happy, they want to tell people about it! Donna’s seller pool has progressed into a robust referral base from her buyer pool.
Being multilingual, Chih-Hao Yang realized social media provided rapid content distribution and instant visibility, especially when trying to reach international audiences. For example, he created YouTube videos about the process of selling a home from A-Z in both English and Mandarin that received over a million views! Creating content that accommodated both languages provided a cultural connection and inclusivity to a broader audience. he still gets seller and buyer leads from the video, many months later.
Listing Presentation Tips
When you make your listing presentation, this is your time to let your knowledge and organization shine. Here are a few best practices to consider:
- Schedule a first call with your potential seller. During this, review the timeline, ask about and listen to their goals, explain your role as their agent and set up the first property visit.
- Visit the property! Ask your potential client to walk you through each room and the exterior. Ask questions and listen! Here is you chance to learn and power your presentation.
- Share a “seller guide” document. This is a great template opportunity you can customize by property type or neighborhood or time of year.
- Research! Melanie describes this part as “an intense pricing recommendation.” She investigates and breaks down comps and historical pricing in the area.
When the listing presentation is complete, let the seller decide if they want to work with you. If your communication style and approach connect with them, you’re ready to get the listing agreement signed and start the pre-listing prep work.
PART 2: PRE-LISTING Preparation
A lot goes into the listing process well before it is posted online. Here are a few key areas our panelists dedicate time and attention to before they post their listing:
- Give clients a to-do list: Highlight your skills and attention to detail by creating a pros and cons list about the property and suggest where clients can make improvements. This can be areas for fresh paint in the home, curb appeal, etc.
- Cross-check the listing: Complete a property title search to ensure the property is clear of fines, city code violations or any other legal issues that could affect the sale. Does the property allow VA purchases or accept FHA loans? Become a “nerd” about this specific property!
- Know how to list a property in the MLS: Familiarize yourself with how to input properties into the MLS. This is especially important, because many buyers filter by features or appliances they want and don’t want. Maximize those fields.
- Put power in the property description: This is typically the first thing the buyers see and where you share the home’s story! Set the scene, highlight the property’s unique features, and invoke emotions that create a warm, inviting feeling for the buyer.
- Craft a visual experience: This includes capturing high-quality photos, recording video walkthroughs, creating a 3D Matterport walk-through and printing foam boards that offer virtual staging what-ifs for your open houses.
PART 3: ACTIVE LISTING STRATEGY
Okay, your listing is live in the MLS. Now what?
Create a transparent market correction strategy that keeps clients in the know. Set a routine schedule for Comparative Market Analyses (CMAs) that you send to your clients. Donna uses reverse prospecting data to identify the number of potential buyers who have shown interest or disinterest in the property and assess competitor property value. She sits down with the seller and leverages those insights to modify the pricing strategy, if needed, together.
If you’re already working with buyers, you know what’s important to buyers in a listing! Don’t underestimate that knowledge, and write down the ways you can apply it to the listing process.
Use the buyer’s agent from the start. Before house tours or open houses, both Donna and Melanie supply buyer agents with informative packets that include information about property upgrades, floor plans, etc. These packets aid in helping the buyers feel informed and even make an offer quicker!
After an open house or walk-through, Chih-Hao asks for feedback from the buyer’s agent. He emails 30 minutes after the showing and follows up the next day with a text. He always forwards submitted feedback to his seller; sometimes, if there’s a pattern to feedback, his sellers are already recommending listing strategy adjustments.
Lastly, sell the lifestyle! During an open house, Melanie adds small touches like turning on music or offering a beverage or freshly baked cookies. Her goal is to help buyers visualize themselves living in the property.
STRENGTHEN YOUR SKILLS!
UPCOMING CLASSES YOU WILL LIKE
Mastering Real Estate Lead Generation | Self-Paced
In this comprehensive self-paced online course, you will dive deep into the strategies, techniques, and tools essential for consistently generating high-quality leads in the dynamic real estate market.
SELLER’S REPRESENTATIVE SPECIALIST (SRS) DESIGNATION | Next Date TBD
The SRS Designation provides a comprehensive foundation of skill development, training and resources to help real estate professionals represent the interests of sellers in today’s marketplace.
Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR®) Designation | May 29-30
The ABR® Designation will prepare you to better understand and demonstrate your value to today’s buyer, acquire skills and resources to succeed as a buyer’s agent and to help your buyer find the right place at the right price with the right terms.