It’s all here. Twenty one great ideas for building your listing business from the ground up, all neatly packaged in a step-by-step action plan. Let us know how it goes.

Set a Good Foundation

1. Build an online presence

Use your website, blog, or social media channels to publish articles that demonstrate your core competencies. Do you specialize in upscale properties? Do your staged homes sell 30 percent faster and closer to list price than market averages? Your articles could also include seasonal tips for home maintenance, tips to prepare your home for sale, or market data for buyers. Share the content on your Facebook page.

Pro Tip: Learn how to use RPR data to create your social media marketing campaign. Show Me

2. Monitor your online appearance

What is showing up when someone searches your name? One of the easiest and most effective ways to monitor your reputation comes from Google Alerts, a free Google service that allows you to enter a search term (i.e. your name, company, etc.) and then receive email alerts as the system finds matches.

3. Practice your presentation

“Can you cut your commission rate?” and “I was going to try and sell it myself” are common objections heard by Realtors®. To prepare, ask a colleague to role play with you, maybe even serve your pitch at a sales meeting.

Supplement your standard listing presentation materials

A listing presentation isn’t complete without your bio, testimonials, marketing strategies and more. If these documents are in PDF format, quickly upload them to your RPR account and then easily include them in your RPR reports. Here are a few things you might want to include:

4. Bio “Your Story”

Tell your story in 75 words or less, just enough to cover the highlights of why someone would want to work with you. Are you a lifelong community member? Do you do volunteer work? How long have you been a Realtor and are you a Top Producer?

5. Social Proof

Do your clients love you? Get proof! Take the time to collect testimonials from your past clients in print or video format. Also, collect any news clips that back up your professionalism or credibility.

6. Personal Statistics

Your success record is worth sharing. Sellers want to know you’ve done this before and for similar homes. Consider creating a map that highlights your past sales activity. Do your staged homes sell 30 percent faster and closer to list price than market averages? Let your prospects know with a simple chart.

Pro Tip: Export your listing/sales activity from your MLS into an Excel spreadsheet. Then, from Google maps, import the sheet to create a map of your sold listings. You can even provide a year after year visualization.

7. Service Levels

Differentiate yourself from other agents in the market by showing how your service levels will exceed seller expectations. Do you have an assistant or are you part of a team? What kind of communication can the seller expect, both in scheduling showings, and follow-up and feedback from the showing agent? How often will they receive market updates? (See the section below on Using Creative Delivery Systems.)

8. Marketing Plan

There’s a lot of competitive marketing in the real estate industry. How will you go above and beyond to capture the attention of home buyers? Your plan should include strengths offered through your MLS, website, advertising strategy, staging resources, special virtual tour/video marketing, photographers, local Broker tours, etc. Be creative.

Pro Tip: Put your marketing plan in a timetable format that easily paints a step-by-step picture of your efforts.

9. Take a photo of the property

Make the extra effort to drive by and snap a photo of the property, then upload it to the cover of your RPR report. It will demonstrate your commitment to individual attention and give you an opportunity to check out the condition of the property. That insight will be helpful when you refine the value of the property using RPR.

Supplement your standard listing presentation materials

10. Ask questions

Every question you ask, big or small, demonstrates interest in the homeowner’s personal well being. And what’s more personal than selling the biggest investment of your lifetime? Find out what makes your client click.

• Why are they moving and when?
• Are they relying on the sale proceeds to fund a retirement?
• Does the house need too much work and they want something maintenance free?
• Are they downsizing in preparation for retirement?
• What did they love and “not love” about the house? The neighborhood?

No other CMA tool will do …

11. Do Your Research

Did you know that Realtors® have the power to analyze and manage a platform of unparalleled data to the extent that no other search mechanism offers? In fact, no other real estate data sharing website offers side-by-side, listing vs. public record comparisons like RPR. Here you’ll find current and historical property information, the home’s basic facts, photos, maps, mortgage records, tax info, the Refined Value Tool, comp analysis tool, and more.

Pro Tip: Check out this short video to learn how to create your RPR account. Watch Now

12. Automated Values

No matter what, consumers are going online to look at the value of their homes. Yet, we know that not all of these sources are reliable. Use this as an opportunity to include the exclusive RPR Realtors Valuation Model® (RVM®) in your pricing discussions. Your clients will be impressed by its level of accuracy.

13. Comp Analysis

Not all comp analyses tools are cut from the same cloth. RPR’s wizard walks you through five simple steps to generate a Comparative Analysis unlike any other offered in today’s real estate industry. You’ll confirm the home’s facts, search for and adjust the comps, land on your own list price by refining the property’s value, and then generate an RPR Seller’s Report. All in one place and with the highest level of accuracy afforded to today’s Realtor.

14. Refine Value

Every homeowner wants to know the return on investment for their home improvements. Here, savvy agents will tap into RPR’s Refine Value Tool. With up to 30 predefined home improvements to choose from, the tool accurately calculates the depreciated value of home improvements. The tool also enables users to refine a home’s value by confirming/adjusting basic facts about the property, as well as other factors such as an assessment of local market conditions, the interior and exterior of the home’s condition, lot size, view, privacy, and more.

15. Market Stats

Our mindsets move far beyond our own particular home. Both buyers and sellers want to know everything about the neighborhood, local economy, quality of life, and economy. All of that and more are a few quick clicks away at RPR.

Don’t underestimate the enticements – Your prelisting package

16. RPR Reports

Don’t let your lead get away without sending the seller something before your actual listing presentation. Use what you’ve garnered from RPR to create and send RPR’s Market Activity and/or Property Report. Be sure to let the sellers know that you have the power to refine the value of their home (using RPR) once you’ve had a chance to tour the property and see their upgrades first hand.

17. Use Creative Delivery Systems

Oftentimes, the opportunity to meet prospects or clients face to face is hampered by distance, personal schedules, or even preference. Yet, you know that nothing conveys professionalism and expertise more than personal interaction. There must be a way to virtually, if not literally, meet your clients “where they are.”

BombBomb, a video marketing platform, helps REALTORS® prove their “client first” commitment by offering intuitive, low-cost digital communications solutions. With BombBomb, you can create a personalized video message and email it to clients within minutes. And because the app is integrated with RPR, REALTORS® can seamlessly include an RPR report. Then by way of real-time alerts, see when your client has interacted with the email. These live notifications are key in determining the best time to follow up.

18. Create Your RPR Seller’s Report

Pull your analysis all together into a customized RPR Seller’s Report, complete with an updated photo of the property, as well as your photo and contact information. Inside, the Seller’s Report highlights details of the subject property, your comp analysis with side-by-side property comparisons, local market trends, a pricing strategy, and a worksheet for estimated seller proceeds. RPR’s Seller’s Report can also be displayed and/or emailed from your laptop, phone, or tablet.

Pro Tip: Use the Remove page numbers option so your inserted PDFs line up with the rest of your Seller’s Report.

19. Identify the Seller’s Motivation

While with the homeowners, be sure to listen closely to what the sellers are saying. Selling a home is a deeply emotional experience for most and they want a Realtor who understands how personal it is. Revisit some of the questions you asked earlier. Why are they moving and what is their timeline? Are they using the proceeds to fund a retirement plan? Are children involved? What improvements are needed to sell the home?

20. The RPR App

Showing is always better than telling, so here’s where your impressive tech skills come into play. Respond instantly to your seller’s questions with RPR Mobile™ on your handheld device. Show the prospect how their home compares to those on the market. Click on the magnifying glass to display a map of the nearby area. Then, select any home’s icon to go to the property’s full details, including price, history, photos, and more.

Don’t underestimate the enticements – Your prelisting package

21. Follow up With a Thank you Note

The five minutes it takes to write a personal thank you card to prospects is worth it’s weight in gold (or actual listings). Very few of our contemporaries take this route in our digital world. So set yourself apart. In fact, send flowers.