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Agent TrainingSellers training for real estate agents
Listing appointments, pricing, launch plans, pre-listing inspections, price reductions, expireds and FSBOs. 16 guides from Brian Lee Burke, team leader of The Kenna Group at Keller Williams DTC, licensed since 2003, each with the short answer, the steps and a script for your client.
CMA Explained: How to Explain a CMA Pricing Report to a SellerCMA explained simply: a comparative market analysis compares the seller's home to similar nearby homes, the way buyers and appraisers will. Walk the seller through solds (what buyers paid), actives (the competition) and expireds (what didn't sell). Then show three pricing strategies with trade-offs, and let them choose.Expired Listing Script and FSBO Script: What to Say to Expired and FSBO SellersAn expired listing script works when it opens with empathy and one honest reason the home didn't sell, not a pitch. A FSBO script works when it respects their choice and offers help without strings. Both aim for one thing: a short appointment where you bring data and a plan. Then follow up on a schedule.How do Coming Soon and office exclusive listings work under MLS rules?A Coming Soon status lets you put a listing in the MLS before showings start, so agents and buyers know it's on the way. MLS rules usually limit how long it can sit there and whether showings are allowed. NAR's Clear Cooperation Policy generally requires a listing to be submitted to the MLS within one business day of public marketing. NAR has since added options that let sellers choose limited or delayed marketing with written disclosure. Your MLS decides exactly how these work locally.How do I build and explain a seller net sheet?Net proceeds equal the sale price minus the mortgage payoff and other liens, minus seller closing costs, minus concessions or credits, plus or minus prorations. Build it as a range, not a single number, and update it with every offer. Use the lender's payoff, not the balance on the statement, and get the title company's fee estimates when you can.How do I get a seller's home staged without a big budget?Staging is making the home photograph and show at its best. The cheapest, highest-return steps are decluttering, deep cleaning, small repairs, bright and matching light bulbs, and arranging furniture so rooms look open and their purpose is clear. Hire a stager for vacant homes, odd layouts, or higher price points. Virtual staging can help vacant listings online if it's clearly labeled.How do I handle multiple offers for my seller?Set a review time, tell every agent the same thing, and line the offers up side by side on four things: net to the seller, certainty of closing, timing, and risk. The highest price isn't always the best offer. An offer with a strong lender, real earnest money and a plan for the appraisal often beats one that's $10,000 higher with a shaky loan. Let the seller decide, and write down that they did.How do I list and sell a house as-is?List at a price that reflects the condition, disclose what the seller knows, and tell buyers up front that the seller won't do repairs. Buyers still get their inspection period and can still walk under the contract. A pre-listing inspection helps a lot: buyers see the issues before they offer, so there are fewer surprises and fewer renegotiations.How do I market a luxury listing?Price from recent comparable sales and the homes a buyer will tour the same weekend. Shoot professional photos, twilight exteriors, drone and a walk-through video, plus a measured floor plan. Give the home its own property website. Push it to buyers in that price range and to the agents who sell there. Show it by appointment to qualified buyers. Protect the seller's privacy and the buyer's. And tell the seller up front that higher price points can take longer.How do I price a listing, and when should I cut the price?There's rarely one perfect price. Build a range from recent sales that truly compete with the home, then look at what buyers can buy right now (actives and pendings). Pick a launch price that wins against that competition and fits the search bands buyers use. The first 10 to 14 days get the most attention. If showings are low, it's usually price or presentation. If showings are good but no offers come, look at condition, payment and objections. When you cut, cut once and cut enough to change the homes it competes with. Sometimes a concession solves the problem better than a cut.How do I write a listing description that sells?Put the strongest searchable feature in the first sentence: "Ranch home with a main-floor primary suite and a three-car garage." Then name specific features buyers care about, in plain words. Keep it honest, so the showing matches the listing. Describe the property, never the people. Follow your MLS rules on what can go in public remarks, and keep it within the character limit.How should I handle photography and staging for a luxury listing?Plan the shoot like an event. Stage the main rooms, fix and clean everything the camera will see, then hire a photographer who shoots luxury homes and knows lighting (blended flash and HDR, not overcooked HDR). Add twilight exteriors, drone for setting and acreage, detail shots of finishes, and a floor plan. Time the shoot for the best light and the best season view. Then launch with all of it on day one.How to Ask a Seller for a Price Reduction: Timing, Data and the ScriptHow to ask a seller for a price reduction: start at the listing appointment by agreeing on a review date. When it comes, bring the numbers: showings, online views, feedback, new comps and what waiting costs. Offer options, including a buyer credit instead of a cut. Let the seller decide. It should feel like a team meeting.Listing Presentation: How to Run a Real Estate Listing Presentation Step by StepA listing presentation wins when you listen more than you present. Prep with a pre-call, tour the house before you talk price, then show the plan, three defensible prices and the net sheet. Ask for the signature and do what you promised that same day. Sellers hire the agent who makes them feel understood and certain.Should my seller take a cash offer or list the home?A listing on the MLS puts the home in front of every buyer, financed and cash, and competition sets the price. A cash buyer or iBuyer trades a lower price for speed and certainty, and usually buys as-is. Turnkey homes almost always net more listed. Homes with major damage, title or probate snags, or sellers with a hard deadline may do better with cash. Show both nets side by side.Should sellers get a pre-listing inspection?Before the home goes live, have a licensed inspector check the major components and an independent roofer check the roof. Fix what makes sense, disclose what you don't fix, and use the clean report as part of the marketing.What should a listing launch plan look like?Days 0 to 2, price and prep. Days 3 to 5, photos and video. Day 6, coming soon. Day 7, live everywhere. Then every week, a written report and a price review. Feedback from every showing within 24 hours.
