Before you dive in, put this on your calendar.
Thursday, Nov. 12th, from 12 to 2 p.m. ET, we're hosting a free live webinar: The Ultimate Listing Presentation.
We'll walk through how to build a listing presentation that wins the appointment, from research and design to the pitch and follow-up.
You'll also get the first look at our new AI listing presentation builder, live.
Everyone who registers gets the replay and a free trial.
Here's what's on this week's B.I.T.S. agenda:
🏆 [B]est in Class: A poignant listing video narrated by the sellers
💡 [I]deas That Work: Seven small asks in a listing appointment
📈 [T]raffic & Attention: A schoolhouse going viral on ZIllow
🔔 [S]eller Signals: The price talk you agree on before they sign
Let's dive in 👇
🏆 [B]EST IN CLASS - Real campaigns by top listing agents
56 years in one house and a listing video in their own voices
Your seller has lived in the house for decades. The kitchen is original, and the finishes won't win anyone over.
Lori Edwards had exactly that listing: a three-bedroom home in Brentwood Estates, owned by the same couple for 56 years.
The owners were 88 and 92. They had auctioned and donated their belongings ahead of the move.
What she built
Edwards worked with videographer Allocco Media and wrote the script from the owners' own memories: birds in the garden, friends around the dinner table, winters by the fireplace.
Then she let the owners say it.
She told People the story "could only be told in their own voices."
The video closes with the owners handing the house over: "May it be a house of memories for you, just as it was for us."
What happened
The TikTok has 2.7 million views.
The home went under contract just days after the video posted in April, drew three strong offers, and sold above asking in June.
Why it works
"Most buyers connect emotionally with a home before they begin evaluating its features," Edwards says.
On a home without the latest upgrades, she says telling the story "becomes essential." The story sells what the finishes can't.
The steal:
Sit with your long-time seller before the video shoot. Ask them about each room and write down the stories they tell.
Pick three. Build the script from their words, then have them read it.
Tell your seller at the kitchen table: "Nobody can describe this house the way you can. I'll write it down. You tell it."
The takeaway:
You edit, they speak. Your work stays invisible, and on a dated house, their voice is the feature buyers remember.
💡 [I]DEAS THAT WORK - Strategies listing agents should use
Seven small asks that come before the price talk
Your listing appointment goes well. Your seller smiles and nods.
Then you leave without the agreement signed.
Christopher Watters, CEO of Watters International Realty, used AI transcripts of listing appointments to see what his agents actually said in the room.
Watters says his team's face-to-face conversion went from 40% to 53%.
Steal the seven-asks setup Watters walked through
What the transcripts showed
Watters says the difference was the number of small, next-step asks the agent made during the appointment.
Asks in the appointment | What Watters says happened |
|---|---|
0 to 1 | "where the typical agent stops" |
3 | "a significant bump in conversion" |
7 | "the biggest jump" |
The play, built from his case
Before the appointment, write down small next-step questions that assume you have the listing. His examples: text the stager, an extra key for the lockbox, the sign in the yard.
In the first five minutes, listen for a need. If your seller isn't sure about colors or furniture, offer your stager and ask to text her now.
At the kitchen table, before any paperwork, ask if they have an extra key for the lockbox.
In the marketing section, show the for-sale sign photo on your slide and ask if it's okay to put the sign in the front yard. Keep counting.
Price last.
"Try to be so present in the moment," Watters says. When you hear a need or a frustration, "that's your opening to do an assumptive type close."
The steal:
Your first ask, word for word from Watters's stager example: "Is it okay if I go ahead and send her a text right now to come out tomorrow?"
The short version for your notes: one need, one ask, then count it.
After each appointment, count your asks. Watters says seven is where the biggest jump is.
Pair it with a Beacon seller report
Each yes is a promise you'll keep after listing day.
A Beacon seller report shows your seller the marketing and the showings as they happen, so they see the work you're doing.
The takeaway:
Count your asks the way you count your showings. If you left with one, you stopped where Watters says the typical agent stops.
📈 [T]RAFFIC & ATTENTION - Listings going viral (and why)
A schoolhouse for sale is going viral on Zillow
Your listing doesn't fit one buyer. You're not sure whom to write the remarks for.
Jason Neuhaus of Coldwell Banker Realty wrote them for three.
He listed a brick schoolhouse in Emerald, Wisconsin at $125,000 on 1.91 acres. The sign out front still reads "Emerald Valley School Joint Dist No 2."
What the remarks do
The listing names three uses, one line each.
Buyer use | The remarks, verbatim |
|---|---|
A home | "Perhaps you have plans to convert the schoolhouse into a home." |
Income | "Or maybe you want to take the entire parcel and put some twin homes out there for some income-producing real estate. Possibly both!" |
Weddings | "Located one block from a local reception site, the chance to even hold weddings on this property is out there!" |
The photo caption sums it up: "Renovate to a home, develop the land around, or a possible wedding site? The choice is yours!"
What the attention says
Old House Dreams featured it on Oct 12. In 21 days, it pulled 6,928 views on Zillow.
That's the pattern to explain to your seller. Views come first, and offers come later on an unusual property. Three named uses earned the attention. A buyer with a well and sewer to check needs time to act on it.
The honest part
Right after the dream, the remarks give the catch.
No utilities are connected. "Connecting to sewer is possible for $1,000 per connection. Current well is on property on corner of schoolhouse but has not been tested."
The steal:
When your listing could be three things, write one line for each buyer: the dream-home buyer, the investor, and the wedding planner.
Then put the caveats right after the dream, in plain words.
Tell your seller before it posts: "Each line gives a different buyer a reason to send it to someone."
The takeaway:
Three named uses give three audiences a reason to share it. Put the caveats right after the dream, so nobody who calls is surprised by the well or the sewer.
Tell your seller that views are the first signal, and showings and offers follow.
🔔 [S]ELLER SIGNALS - Conversations agents are having with sellers right now
Your seller says "Let's see how it goes" (here's the handshake to ask for)
Your seller says "Let's see how it goes."
Here's what that usually means. They're hoping the market agrees with their number, and they don't want to be the one who blinks first.
So you can't wait for week four to discuss the price. You bring it up at the table, before they sign.
Steal the pre-signing price trigger script
Here's what to say:
"I'm fully committed to doing X, Y, and Z in the first 30 days. If we haven't seen strong showing activity or offers by then, I'd like us to agree right now that we'll revisit the price. Can we shake on that?"
Building Better Agents: "Getting agreement in advance makes the follow-up conversation much less painful."
Put it on one page
Their advice: put expectations in writing, so you have something to reference "when the inevitable 'so why isn't it selling?' call comes."
Fill this in with your seller and give them a copy.
What you commit to in the first 30 days | What you and your seller review on day 30 | If showings or offers are weak |
|---|---|---|
X: ______ | Showings: ______ | Revisit the price, as agreed |
Y: ______ | Offers: ______ | |
Z: ______ | Feedback: ______ |
The takeaway:
Name your X, Y, and Z out loud, shake on the day 30 convo on day zero, and hand your seller the page with that date on it.
When day 30 comes, your seller already knows the conversation is coming, because you agreed on it together at the table.
Live webinar: The Ultimate Listing Presentation
Your listing presentation is the first thing your seller judges you on.
We'll show you how to build one that wins the appointment, and how to follow up so the listing doesn't walk after you leave.
It's free, and you can bring your questions. We'll answer them live.
Can't make it? Register anyway and we'll send the replay.
Thanks for reading the entire newsletter.
See you next week,
- Chris Smith and Jimmy Mackin
