Being an agent means that you’ve dedicated your career to doing business on behalf of others — and the convenience and functionality you bring to the transaction is what many sellers find attractive about working with agents; you, your presentation and the power of your network come together to coordinate and facilitate exposure to achieve results your clients couldn’t have achieved without you.
To continue reaching a high level of sales, you must always present your listings in a manner that enhances the home’s appeal and decreases its time on the market.
Below are some actions you can take to deliver excellence and increase exposure for your listing.
1. Stellar digital presentation
Creating an attractive and professional digital presentation of the property is a crucial step that will help you attract more buyers by providing a beautiful first impression.
These types of presentations, combined with a captivating description of the property, show buyers your thoughtfulness and have proven to contribute a positive impact on the decision to buy.
Creative listing agents should use innovative media to create an appealing narrative and address buyers’ wants and needs. Be sure that your presentation looks great on mobile phones as well as desktop computers.
Your presentation may contain much of what is listed below.
2. Interactive floor plans with accurate measurements
Floor plans that include precise measurements are excellent resources — not only do buyers appreciate them, but they’ve come to expect them when previewing properties.
The floor plan helps a purchaser save time by allowing them to decide if the layout fits their needs, and saves the seller time by not showing properties to buyers who wouldn’t purchase the home.
You would be doing yourself a disservice to not include a floor plan in your home’s presentation.
3. Photo gallery
You might get away with using photos snapped with your iPhone once in a while, but you must consider the importance of the quality of photos in your gallery. You want the home to make a remarkable first impression.
Consider hiring a professional who can take beautiful, eye-catching photos, including twilight photography. Ensure the home is tidy and the lighting is spectacular.
When telling the property’s story, find out what time of day the sellers love their home the most. Capture as much natural light as possible; the play of light in an image can create an emotional reaction in the buyer that entices them to view more. For example, night shots are known to be great for obtaining the first click on an ad.
4. Video walkthroughs
Alongside floor plans, a video walkthrough can provide an accurate sense of space, lighting and atmosphere for the viewer.
5. Aerial photography
Eye-catching aerial photography helps you engage your audience, tell a story and sell the lifestyle.
Photos and videos of the neighborhood are great at highlighting the area, and you can show the distance from important locations like freeways, shopping centers, parks and more.
6. Property description
Interested buyers will read the property description, so it is important that your copy is catchy and flawless if you want to keep buyers’ interest. Determine the best features of the home, and set the scene as if you are taking buyers on a tour. Mention the amenities, and use specific wording.
End with a call to action that encourages the buyer to contact the agent.
7. ‘Just listed’ social media push
A strong social media push is the modern equivalent of placing a “For sale” sign in the yard.
Create a post featuring the home, and let everyone know it is a “Just listed” property. This can encourage discussion and shares.
8. Social media sphere
You might already be sharing your listings on social media, but have you asked your sellers to promote their listings too? Your sellers should share their property (via presentation, link, snippet, etc.) on their social media and link back to you.
Chances are great that much of their network is local, and on occasion, neighbors within the community may know of someone who is looking to move in the area.
9. Teaser video
Create a 15-30 second teaser video that you use to bring the viewer to the full presentation. This can also be shared on social media and may be more eye-catching than a static image.
10. Exposure
You should be exposing your presentation to your professional, proactive network of agents, the multiple listing service (MLS), and cooperating brokers.
A digital presentation can be a virtual tour, single-page website or a premium property website. This is a tool designed to be used proactively rather than sitting within a database waiting for a command. Don’t take this for granted.
The power behind maximizing the listings exposure is you proactively pushing the digital presentation to where you know there are motivated buyer’s agents. The secret to selling the property is to combine this exposure and tell a story visually with amazing media.
Having a proactive network of agents is also important. You can share your listing with agents who may already have a potential buyer that fits your listing. In addition, the MLS and internet data exchange (IDX) guarantee you’ll find cooperating professional, and keep the best interest of the client in mind.
11. Mega advertising sites
Once you’ve created a presentation and shared it through your network, it is time to add your listing to where all the other buyers are! Many people shop on the internet first, so the new “curb appeal” has become the “web appeal” of your presentation.
Place your home on mega advertising sites like Zillow and realtor.com. In order to get maximum exposure on these platforms, you want to ensure that your presentation includes everything the buyer may be interested in, including everything we covered above (floor plans, photography, property description, walkthroughs, etc.)
The key here is to drive maximization exposure. It is you, the proactive and engaged agent, who makes the business successful. You cannot become complacent or rely on automation with your listing strategy, because it is your creativity that has the greatest impact on the sale.
Anne Sperling is based in Los Angeles and is the chief visionary officer of Collabra Technology. Her new book, “Rise of the Elite Listing Agent,” is now available on Amazon. Connect with Anne on LinkedIn.
