Secrets to Great Listing Presentations
Expert tips for listing presentation success in all situations.
Nothing makes real estate agents shake in our boots like presentations. But the hard truth is that until you get good at them, your business will suffer. Presentations are an absolute must when it comes to being successful in real estate.
Most agents believe that being a great communicator naturally leads to being a great presenter.
Not true.
Agents who are excellent one-to-one communicators have often surprised me with a total lack of presentation skills. Vice versa, I've seen agents who are terrible one-on-one, but can present like a pro.
There are a few basics of presentation. The nice thing about them is that they can be learned. They're not complicated. Yet, I see so many people violate these simple rules.
Let's face it - we present all the time. It's part of our job. We present at the listing presentation, when we sit down with buyers, and when we're negotiating offers.
Learning presentation skills presents a degree of difficulty for some people. Many agents are convinced they are already masters of presentation. When a teacher corrects them, they fly off the handle and out of the room.
To be so closed to feedback is a huge mistake. This agent is missing out on large amounts of business simply by allowing a stubborn streak to prevent them from seeing reality.
Being something that is so much a part of our profession, you'd think this would be one of the top classes in real estate training. Oddly, it is the one art we are not taught in any real estate school.
It's not that presenting itself is incredibly difficult - but teaching it is. A teacher must be able to critique students, sometimes telling them things they don't want to hear.
A good teacher must know how to balance criticism with praise. Sometimes a student may have a particular challenge, but they don't know what it is. It's the teacher's job to identify and correct it - replacing the bad habits with proper skills.
By far, the most powerful interactions in my own classes are my presentation workshops. I make sure my students learn it, feel it, and live it in the moment. Then, I critique them.
This is absolutely necessary. If nobody has ever critiqued your presentation, then you need to pick up the phone right now and call somebody to do so. Trust me, there are things you do of which you are completely unaware - no matter how perfect you think you are. And you may be losing sales because of them!
In my workshops, students stand up in front of a group of other agents and make a presentation. Then, I have the group of people rate them anonymously. This includes feedback on what they do wrong and what can be improved.
There is no quicker way to learn presentation skills than to immerse yourself in feedback.
Here are the most common challenges agents experience with presentations:
Nervousness
I hear this all the time. Agents focus so much on trying not to look nervous, but what you may not realize is that nobody can tell how nervous you are just by looking at you. The more you focus on trying not to look nervous, the more nervous you get.
Talking Too Fast
You're in front of an audience and you want it to be over fast. You can't wait to get to the end of it.
So you rush. You may not even be aware you're going so fast, but everybody in the room is saying to themselves, "What did she just say? I missed that."
Slow down!
Not Focusing on Both People in a Presentation
This is very dangerous. I've seen so many parties offended because they were ignored at the presentation. Make sure that regardless of who the primary decision maker is, you're spending just as much eye contact and body language including the secondary person.
Not Prepared
The best presentations are the ones that are meticulously planned. You have a set list of every point you want to cover. You have your props in front of you. You're rehearsed and ready to go.
Not involving the client.
If you just stand in front of people and talk, it's not as effective as drawing people in with questions and observations. Discussion and engagement are powerful tools that should be a part of your presentation arsenal.
Ask questions like:
- "Have you heard of this before?"
- "What do you think of this?"
- "Has this ever happened to you?"
These are sure to add spark and life to your presentation.
Get feedback! You may be unconsciously making one or more of these mistakes, but you'll never know if you're not told by an outside observer.
There are only two reasons you're not hired as an agent: content or presentation.
If your content is solid, then it must be your presentation. Which is why it's so important for you to boost your presentation skills for your business.