Whether you’re new to the industry or a longtime veteran, your listing presentation is almost certainly something you have spent significant time and energy refining. Standing in front of a seller and detailing your expertise, dedication, attention to detail and understanding of their needs, all in a short time span, requires a lot of practice to get right. And while there might be other skills or practices that are more important for your long-term success in the business, being able to nail a listing presentation leads directly to more clients, and more paydays.
In this high-pressure moment, the exact words and phrases you use have an outsized impact on how clients see you as they look for someone they can trust with their most valuable asset. Consciously or unconsciously, there are certain terms or phrases that can make it less likely they see you as that person.
Here are four terms you should avoid using in your listing presentation:
“Listing presentation”
One thing you don’t want potential clients thinking is that your pitch is a rehearsed, impersonal sales pitch. While the term “listing presentation” isn’t well known outside the industry, this term (and other types of sales jargon) can give sellers the impression that you are at their house for just another sales call. While you should obviously be personalizing your listing presentation in other ways, if you are referring to it with this kind of language, your prospective clients are less likely to trust that you are personally invested in their story and success.
“Easy,” “simple” or “straightforward”
This is a tricky one, because you certainly want to convey that you will make someone’s home sale easier, simpler and more straightforward compared to the competition. But when you are talking about individual aspects of the transaction, these terms can be fraught. Your idea of “simple” when it comes to scheduling open houses or negotiating concessions is likely very different from the seller—especially if they haven’t been through that many transactions before. Some of these things will be out of your control, and when complications arise, you don’t want a seller client throwing these words back in your face. Make sure you are qualifying and contextualizing when talking specifics, or use terms that are less likely to be viewed as promises.
Aspirational language: “Best case scenario” or “ideally”
While making promises you can’t keep is bad, giving a client the impression that you are just hoping for certain outcomes is almost worse. There are a lot of terms that can do this, but you should especially avoid using them around aspects of the deal that are quantifiable—price, time to close, etc. Most people would much prefer you give them a range or at least some upper or lower limit, as that gives them something concrete to latch onto, even as you are emphasizing that there will always be some uncertainty. While hope might be a virtue, it is not something someone wants to stake their home sale on.
Inflexible language: “Must,” “need” and “necessary”
While a lot of sellers probably want you to be leading the way on big decisions, even the most timid or inexperienced homeowner wants the final say when it comes to their home sale. Especially in your first significant interaction with a prospective client, you want to make it clear that you are a guide, not their boss. You can certainly use these kinds of terms when talking about what you will do, you should avoid them when offering advice to a client on pricing, home improvements or marketing strategy. Later on in the process, you might have to be firm when informing the seller that it is in fact, “necessary” for them to remove their aggressive rottweiler before a prospective buyer tours with small children, you should wait until you have a relationship and establish a rapport before creating these specific, firm boundaries.
A listing presentation is more about you and your personality than it is about following rules and scripts, so there is always a chance you need to break these rules when speaking to seller clients. But it is also possible you are inadvertently undermining yourself in one of the most important moments in your relationship with a (potential) client. Avoiding these terms can make a big difference in your success as you seek to build better relationships and sign more clients.
