Category: 9. Setting the Stage

If you’re a regular reader, you know I’m a big fan of simple systems and procedures. The simpler, the better.

Simple systems are easier to start and easier to keep using. It’s all about consistency. After all, if you don’t use your fancy complicated system, it’s useless. 

Regardless of the system you plan to implement later, starting with a bare-bones basic system is always best. You’ll often discover it’s all you need, and the complicated system is just more work for no good reason.

For example, when I was doing over 100 deals per year, I used an absurdly simple system to keep track of my prospects. It was all I ever needed, and I still use it today.

Before that, at various times, I used one of these methods:

1. The Memory Method – “Oh, I won’t forget about these people!”
2. The Napkin Method – Scribble the prospect’s name and phone number on a napkin (or whatever scrap of paper is handy) and promptly lose it. Have you ever found one of these under the seat of your car after a month? I have.
3. The ‘Throw Them on an Auto-Search and Forget All About Them” method. 

Yes, I was tossing good-quality leads out the window for literally years before I started using the following absurdly simple system:

1. Open a new spreadsheet called Prospects List with five columns: A – Rating, B – First name, C – Last name, D – In, E – Out
2. Under ‘Column A,’ rate your prospects A, B, or C for sorting purposes. Now you can sort by rating, first name, or last name.
3. For the “In” column, insert the date and brief description of their last communication with you. For Example, “Feb 9 – Did not like the busy street”
4. Under the “Out” column, list the date and details of your last communication with them. For example, “Feb 8 – Email – What did they think about 123 Busy Street?”

Columns “In” and “Out” are generally not very detailed since they are only for triggering your memory. When adding the next entry, you can overwrite the previous one. Or, if the last notation is essential, keep it and simply start the new entry at the beginning of the cell.

5. Keep this spreadsheet easily accessible on all your devices.

That’s it!

Now, just maintain your Prospects List every weekday. Every time you get a new prospect, add them. Every time you interact with a prospect, update your notes. But, most importantly, review your list daily to remind yourself what to do next.

It takes five minutes to set this system up, but the hard part is to train your brain to use it consistently. So use the skill of Habit-Stacking from the last RAM. 

How to Use Habit Stacking to Get More of What You Want

If you already review your messages each morning, make a habit-stack like this: 1. Review messages 2. Review prospects list 3. Next task (you decide).

If you scan your Prospects List daily, your prospects will always be top-of-mind, and you’ll start to learn the right time and method to contact each one (they’re all different). This takes all of 2-5 minutes of your time when you do it daily.

Within a few weeks, you’ll look at your list and be shocked at the number of solid prospects you have!

What the heck happened? Where did all these prospects come from?

Answer: They were there all along! You’ve just been tossing good-quality leads out the window, and not even realizing it. All because you didn’t have an absurdly simple system.

Now you do (if you follow through, of course). It’s not good enough to merely read this stuff!

Next RAM: Now you know how to keep track of your prospects. But how do you best nurture them to become clients?

I’ve seen some elaborate pre-listing packages; fancy-bound booklets full of colorful charts and graphs, lists of awards, etc.

Impressive! 

I guess that’s the idea. To impress.

But isn’t that what the listing presentation is for?

What if you’ve got the greatest pre-listing package in the world, and you suck at the listing presentation?

Do you think anyone’s going to say, “Well, he’s kind of an idiot, but that pre-listing package! Wow-za!”

Not likely.

The listing presentation itself is about 1000 X more important than your pre-listing package. Knowing this is true, it’s a total waste of your limited time creating an elaborate pre-listing package, compared to improving and practicing your actual listing presentation.

“But it saves time at the appointment!”

I think not. ⏱️

1. How many of your potential clients actually take the time to read your elaborate pre-listing package? I mean, they know you’re coming over anyway, right?

2. Do you still think that people care about all your rewards and previous accomplishments? They don’t. They care about what you’re going to do for them. Now. And you’re going to need to show them that in person.

3. How many listing appointments do you get every year? You’ve spent a lot of time, energy, and probably cold hard cash to finally arrive at the kitchen table, ready to present. Is it really your highest priority to now burn through the appointment as quickly as possible? 

The Essentials

I send two things ahead of my listing appointment, both by email.

1. A Pre-Presentation letter — It’s about half a page long and contains the most important information I will need from them for the appointment, as well as a  brief outline of what we will discuss. It’s designed to create excitement and anticipation, and people actually read it because it’s short.

2. The Sold Listing data — This is a big subject in the Master’s Program, so it’s impossible to get into detail in a short blog post, but sending the right sold listing data is the biggest time saver there is. It also eliminates the most significant cause of stress in your entire listing presentation.

What about a Buyer Package?

Remember, we’re in a relationship-based business. Spend your time building relationships, asking the right questions, explaining to your clients what they should expect when it comes to writing an offer, and all the other important things you should be discussing with them during a buyer-client meeting.

Instead of a written Buyer Package, build a checklist of items that need to be discussed with your buyer, whether that’s at a formal buyer-client meeting, in between showings, or over the phone.

If you try to put this information into a fancy booklet, you’re removing the opportunity to build trust and rapport with your client. Besides, they’re not going to read it, anyway!

Never forget. You’re building relationships. You build relationships by having discussions — not writing “How-To” guides. 

New! Rate your current REALTOR® skills with the 70-Skills Challenge

This article was inspired by module #9 – Setting the Stage – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

In ‘Setting the Stage,’ I explain step-by-step how to ask the right questions and ensure you are confident and thoroughly prepared before your listing appointment. Create strong anticipation and eliminate the most significant cause of anxiety – the price – before you arrive.

Here’s another article inspired by the same module: The Simple Business Tracker Spreadsheet.

This Memo is a continuation from last week when we discussed the C-L-M (Come-List-Me) call ☎️ and the Seller Information Form.

Here’s how to explain why you need their email addresses:

“I’m going to send you a link from our system showing ALL of the recent comparable sales so that you can view each one of them in detail before our appointment.” – This piques their interest.  They WANT this information!

“This will save time during the appointment.” – Everyone wants to save time!

“The reason I need both your email addresses is that some email servers have different levels of security for messages containing links, so I want to make sure that at least one of you receives the information.” – True and understandable!

Having both email addresses (for a typical situation with two decision-makers) also increases the odds that both decision-makers will look at the information before your appointment.

You want to get this information to them as soon as possible, but you also want to give yourself enough time to carefully consider how to extract the best possible comparables— the ones that will guide your clients to the correct price.

Even if your Listing Appointment isn’t for several days, the sooner you get started on the CMA, the more time you will have to “stew” on the best strategy, even on a subconscious level.

I can’t tell you how many times I would think I had it all figured out, but then I had an epiphany moment —sometimes in the middle of the night—that helped me to look at the pricing of a property from a completely different and unique perspective.

Your brain is far more powerful than you realize, but you’ve got to get it started and let it run.

If you give yourself enough time, it’s always good to come back to your CMA the day after, and re-examine your criteria.  This process is both an art and a science, so don’t rush it.

The opposite of the above is the agent who waits until the last minute, runs off a few comparables on his way out the door, checks them at the stoplights, and shows up feeling flustered and ill-prepared.

Please don’t be that guy. He’s poor, you know.

Back to the email:

As mentioned, there’s a balance on the timing. You want as much time as possible beforehand to think about and re-think your criteria, but you also want to send the information at least 24 hours before your appointment. This is why you should always try to book your listing appointments a minimum of two days ahead, preferably three.

If your appointment is on Thursday evening, for example, try to send the email on Wednesday afternoon, and ask for a confirmation that they received it! If they don’t respond to the email, text them! Emphasize the importance of them reviewing this information before you get there.

I typically would send a link for TEN sold comparables, using the best available format from their perspective, and explaining the exact criteria I used:

“Attached are ALL of the sold comparables matching the following criteria:

• Geographical Area;
• Size range;
• Type of property;
• Price range;
• Date Range;
• Etc (anything else that is relevant).”

The exact process I use to establish the criteria, including how I exclude outliers (the ones that risk drawing your client to the wrong conclusion), is beyond the limited scope of this Memo, but it is logical, learnable, and powerfully convincing.  

Here’s WHY you’re sending this information BEFORE the Listing Appointment:

It’s to allow your clients to look at all the data in as much detail as they wish, in the comfort of their own home, on their personal computer monitor, for as long as they want.

Remember, this is the most important and relevant information they can get. Why would you want to rush this part of the process?

Here’s a simple, powerful fact that most REALTORS® don’t seem to get:

The BETTER the information you provide, the more likely people will make informed, intelligent decisions.

If you do this right, what conclusions might they gather, based on the valuable information you’ve given them?

It’s the cold hard truth that their home isn’t worth what they thought it was.

It’s not their fault they thought their home was worth more! Before you sent them proper data, all they had to compare to were the over-priced active listings, or as I like to call them; the FAILURES.

You’ve now completed the most difficult, time-consuming, and contentious part of the listing presentation, without saying a word, and before you’ve even met them.

Does this really work?

Well, I can only speak from my own experience.

I was known for consistently pricing my listings at the sweet spot—not too low and not too high. This meant that my clients typically sold their homes quickly and very close to the asking price.

I hardly ever had to argue over the price. If anything, sometimes they wanted to start too low, and I had to talk them up.

Guess who was a hero to his clients, thrived on a constant stream of referrals, and never made a cold call once in his entire life? 

Me. That’s who.

“Hello, this is Sammy Seller.  I’d like to speak with you about listing our home.”

“Hello, this is Sammy Seller.  I’d like to speak with you about listing our home.”

Yay!  This is the best phone call!  Right?

I remember getting this call at times, and being so excited, I lost my mind and forgot to ask all kinds of important questions.

To resolve this, I made a simple Seller Information Form with space for the following information:

• Name(s) – The caller and every other decision-maker
• Address (!)
• Phone number(s) ☎️ – Just in case I need to clarify something before the appointment
• Email address(es) – Stay tuned for a very important ‘Real Agent Memo’ next week about why you should send the Sold Comparables by email before the Listing Presentation
• Referral source – If it wasn’t a referral, use this space to specify why they called you – It’s essential to track the source of your business, for future reference.
• Appointment Date and Time ⏰ – Make sure every decision-maker is there
• Description of Property – See below
• Expected Price – See below
• Competing Agents ‍ – See below

This form will keep you focused, ensuring that you don’t forget to ask any crucial questions. I suggest you keep your blank Seller Information Forms in 3-ring binders, readily accessible wherever you might be:

• In your office within reach of your phone
• In your home in 2-3 easily accessible locations
• In your vehicle. When you get a C-L-M (Come-List-Me) call, tell them you’re in your car, and can you call them back in ten minutes?  Then, pull over at the first opportunity, grab your binder, get yourself in the right frame of mind, and call them back. As soon as possible!

In the description area, describe what they think are the best features, as well as any negative factors which could affect marketability. What are their plans? Why and where are they moving? What is the time frame? Try to get a sense of their motivation level, and write it down in this section. If they’re selling AND buying, ask additional basic questions about their next home.

If you can find out their price expectation ahead of time, this can be extremely helpful, if for no other reason but to determine if you are dealing with reasonable people, or not. Having this knowledge ahead of time will reduce your anxiety, and it may help to determine your strategy in guiding them to the correct list price.

Your casual delivery of the question is the key, “I’m just wondering how closely you follow the market, and if you have a number in mind that you are hoping to get for the house (?), even if it’s a range of plus or minus $50,000 (?).”

Some people won’t tell you no matter what, but in my experience, once you get good at this question, you’ll get a clear answer at least nine times out of ten. If you’re not successful at first, continue practicing your delivery (using your own words and style).

When you ask, you need to be confident, friendly, professional, and authentic, all at the same time! The better you get at this, the more successful you will be at all different facets of your Real Estate business.

(I have an entire module—Relationship Selling—dedicated to this skill-set in my upcoming online course – The Real Estate Master’s Program)

Here’s another critical question, “May I ask if you are interviewing other agents? ‍If so, what are their names? I have no issue with you telling them my name, by the way, so it’s perfectly fair for everyone.”

If they ask why you want to know, you can respond, “It’s just because knowing who I’m competing with might help me to explain better the most important points about my marketing plan that I know are different, and this will save some time at the appointment.”

Everyone likes to save time!

With practice, you’ll become more and more successful at getting your listing prospects to tell you about potential competitors, which can be very helpful. For example, if it’s a mega-agent, you’ll be able to subtly and easily differentiate the advantages of your vastly superior personal service, at the listing presentation.

Next, you need to decide on an appointment time ⏰. Many trainers espouse that you should try to be the last agent in, which is usually a good thing, but this can backfire on you sometimes. Personally, I never worried about this too much.

However, it would help if you tried to allow at least two days to prepare your CMA properly, and also for them to review the sold comparables that you will send ahead of time (more on this next week).

Simply tell them that it usually takes a few hours for you to do a proper Comparative Market Analysis, and you won’t have time to get started on that until tomorrow, so the earliest would be the next day after that. They will appreciate your thoroughness.

That covers all of the information you need on your Seller Information Form.

I suggest you go ahead and make up your own SIF right now – while you’re thinking about it – and put them in binders in various easily accessible locations, as I suggested.

If you’ve got a better high-tech solution for ensuring you remember all the important questions on “The Phone Call,” I’d love to hear about it!  But sometimes a low-tech solution is the best one.  Simply following along on this form will help to keep you focused on the task at hand.

Next week, I’m going to talk about why you should send the Sold Comparables by email before the Listing Appointment.  This is a huge time saver and a major reality check for your clients!

Here’s hoping for many great phone calls over the next few days!