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As a real estate agent, the frequency of presenting your business and yourself as the agent of choice is high. As you do more prospecting in your local property market, you will be presenting in front of clients and prospects at least once a day. Your success in the process is therefore critical to your listing conversions.

In most listing situations there will be at least one or two other real estate agents presenting to the prospect on or about the same day. You will only have a short time with the prospect to convince them that you are the best choice of agent in the current market.

Preparation is the key to a listing presentation and sales pitch. Your ability to connect with and involve the other person is also critical. Here are some rules that should be adopted:

1. Before you start the listing presentation, converse with the other person(s) to understand their focus and concerns. Draw out their comments and ideas that can impact or challenge what you may have to say in the presentation.
2. Remember that the prospect will enjoy being the centre of attention in any presentation and will generally talk openly to you if asked. Open questions are the key here for you to use.
3. Pick the character of the client or prospect at the earliest stages of the presentation. You will have to adjust your conversational style to suit their character.
4. A listing presentation has to be about the needs of the prospect and their property; it is not about you, your business, or your knowledge. Always bring your presentation focus to the client and their property.
5. Inspect the property before you meet with the client, so you can bring the property into the conversation in a relevant and interesting way. Your personal awareness of the property and the location will give you leverage in the presentation.
6. Have a group of facts and details to use that are relevant to the sales and enquiry rate of the current market. As part of that process use newspaper clippings and other third party supporting evidence to influence the clients thinking.
7. If you have a camera and laptop computer that you can use in the presentation, take a number of photos around the property, the location, and the competing properties before the actual presentation. These photos can be used as a slide show running automatically as you present your listing strategy to the client or prospect. Well-chosen photos of their property and location are most important and of the greatest interest to the client.
8. Understand where the competing properties are located in the area that can impact the subject property, and then have a pricing and marketing strategy set to solve that competition.
9. Define the target market clearly for the prospect so they can see how their property will be promoted, to whom, and why. Give current facts and figures relative to the activities and enquiry in and from the target market.
10. Develop at least 5 selling advantages or property focus points that you can build your marketing campaign around. Those points will have relevance to the target market.
11. Have 3 alternative marketing campaigns designed for use and the selective choice of the prospect. Run through all campaigns explaining the differences but give the prospect an opportunity to decide what campaign they require based on market impact and price.
12. The presentation is best undertaken with at least three of the senses active for the prospect. That is sight, sound, and touch. Give them something to feel and review as you talk (a proposal will be ideal), speak about the property from the prospects base of need, and show the prospect things about the property that you see as relevant to the marketing strategy.
13. Create some draft marketing material to show the prospect how their property will look in some of your most important marketing methods.

The sales pitch and presentation strategy that you use should be as natural as possible to your character. For this reason use words and the conversational style that you are comfortable with. The most successful sales people in the industry practice their words and their presentations so they are visibly confident and relevant to the prospects to whom they present.

If you think successful salespeople “wing it” when it comes to negotiation, think again. In truth, they prepare for every negotiation with the same rigor as a student preparing for an upcoming exam. Smart salespeople realize effective negotiation depends on preparation. They take time to think through their own position and that of their counterpart so they can ultimately handle anything that may arise during the bargaining process.

To become an effective negotiator and a more successful salesperson, you must understand the power of preparation. The first step is to solidify your position. Start by answering the following question: “Where do I stand?” In other words, what is your position in the negotiation process?

Knowing your position means more than saying to yourself, “I want this,” or, “I want that.” In most cases, your position will encompass more components than just the issue driving you to the bargaining table. Before entering the crossfire, use the following three inventory items to establish your position:

1. Know What You Want

Rather than enter a negotiating situation with a vague idea of your position, take time beforehand to formulate a detailed picture in your mind of what you want. Start by making a list of your demands. Say, for example, you’re applying for a new job. In this case, your list may include a desired salary, benefits, and vacation time.

Be very specific in your list of items, because specific demands carry more negotiating power. When you know exactly what you want, you will feel more confident and your counterpart will respond more favorably to your requests. Sometimes just acting like you expect a positive response will sway the other party in your favor. And while you can’t always rely on your confidence alone, the force with which you present your demands will at least give you an edge.

2. Know Where You Can Afford to Compromise

So what happens if you don’t get exactly what you want out of the deal? Well, that’s just reality. No one ever gets everything they ask for in life, and negotiation is no different. The process requires give and take from both parties, so you should always be prepared for compromise.

To avoid giving up too much, or giving in on the wrong issues, know in advance what concessions and compromises you are willing to make. Consider your list of demands and decide which items you absolutely must have, what items you would like to have, and what items would be great to have. Plan ahead how far you can reduce your demands so you aren’t forced into making snap decisions, or a decision you may regret.

3. Plan Alternatives to Your Ultimate Goal

Think of alternatives as your safety net. If you can’t negotiate a deal that both parties agree with, you should always be prepared to walk away. For every plan A you should have a plan B, and remember never to want anything too badly. Desperation will cause you to make poor decisions, and in reality situations aren’t usually as desperate as they seem.

Many times, when negotiators aren’t prepared with an alternative perspective, they feel like they have no choice but to take what’s offered. When you take time to consider your alternatives prior to the negotiation process, you won’t be afraid to walk away when things don’t go as planned.

What is Your Counterpart’s Position?

Once you’ve determined your stance, the second part of negotiation preparation requires you to look at the situation from the other side. You must survey your counterpart’s position and uncover their strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself the following five questions to discover what’s on the other side’s agenda:

1. What Do They Want?

Discovering what the other side wants is crucial for developing mutually beneficial agreements. Obviously they want something from you, or you wouldn’t be negotiating in the first place. Do they want the product you’re selling? Or do they want a cheaper alternative to a service they already get from somewhere else? In many cases, their wants will be apparent. But if you don’t know what they want, then don’t be afraid to come out and ask them.

2. What is Important to the Other Side?

Say, for example, you’re a real estate agent negotiating the price of a listing with an interested couple. Naturally, they want the house you’re selling, but what’s really important to them? Is it the location? Are they comfortable with the mortgage? Once you discover your counterpart’s needs, you can use those points to negotiate for things that are important to you.

3. Why Are They Willing to Negotiate?

Willingness to participate in negotiation automatically signals some degree of flexibility or need. Roger Dawson described a historical example of this concept in his book, You Can Get Anything You Want. During the Vietnam War, Lyndon Johnson’s administration was under tremendous pressure from the constituency to reach an agreement before the general elections, and the Vietnamese used this to their advantage. They pushed the United States into a corner and forced them to give up almost everything to end the fighting. In this case, the impending election added a time constraint on the United States to the point of desperation. When you know why your opponent is willing to negotiate, you can use it to your advantage.

4. What Does the Other Side Bring to the Situation?

Before entering into negotiations, you must find out what they have to offer you. Do they have what you want? Can they afford your demands? If they don’t have what you want, the negotiation process is pointless.

5. What Resources Do They Have?

Just like you have other options, your counterparts are likely to have alternatives as well. Find out how badly they need this deal. Are they desperate? Or do they possess a catalog of other options? A customer, for example, usually has plenty of choices when negotiating the sale of a product or service. They can just shop somewhere else if you don’t provide what they want on their terms. But sometimes, you’ll find that you are the only source for the item your counterparts want.

Preparation for the Future

You wouldn’t take a test without studying, so why should the negotiation process be any different? Taking a personal inventory of your position before beginning the negotiation process will give you confidence and prevent you from making poor decisions. Additionally, some investigation of your counterpart’s needs and wants will give you an added edge when the process starts.

Knowledge and preparation are the keys to effective negotiation, and as a salesperson, you can only benefit from the extra effort. When you take time to understand your position and your counterpart’s position at the bargaining table, you’ll be ready for anything and secure more sales as a result.

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