When I first started selling real estate back in the eighties things were so much different then they are today.

RELAX … this is not going to be some nostalgia piece rhyming off all the miseries of the bygone days, how we boiled leaves for ink, wrote offers on birchbark and lugged MLS catalogues the size of encyclopedias on our backs.

Well that part Is true – those friggin’ catalogues were heavy and always out of date – but that’s another story!

My First Listing Presentation

I remember my first listing presentation and how my broker/manager went with me to show me how it was done.

It was quite fascinating and so manipulative in many respects, but a learning experience to say the least.

He went through the usual pleasantries, paid them a compliment, asked for a glass of water and then directed everyone to the kitchen table.

After about an hour of turning pages in the MLS catalogue to show comparables, talking market conditions and telling them how great our company was he got to the part they were all waiting for … the listing price.

Now remember this entire presentation was done with No visuals, no coloured pages, no PowerPoint slides – nothing but the MLS catalogue and a blank sheet of paper – BECAUSE – this was before the days of laptops, PowerPoint and all the tech we take for granted today!

The climax was when he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a beautiful Mont Blanc pen, so ornate and classy with its gold accents – man this pen just commanded respect.

Then with the showmanship of a magician he made one of his business cards appear.

Ever so gracefully, he uncapped the pen and wrote a number on the back of the card, tuned it over and then slid it across the table to the sellers – all in complete silence, not a peep.

In the words of Don Mclean … “as soft as farewells whispered over the coffin.”

OMG the pressure was intense. Boys and girls, this is how it was done back in the day.

It wasn’t until the advent of Mike Ferry, Walter Sanford, David Knox and a host of other legendary coach/trainer/speakers that the “Professional” listing presentation came to be.

Don’t get me wrong, a professionally-structured presentation that you can customize/personalize is a wonderful thing (read about the most important elements of one by clicking here), but here is when you get into trouble.

Some of these template presentations had you offer your seller a “guarantee” … Here Are the 21 Things We Do When We List Your Home.

Wow the sellers loved this because for the first time they had something in writing that spelled out what to expect for the commission they were going to pay.

But … if your competition is offering “21-Things” what do you do?

Offer 50 things of course … and when they find out you are offering 50 things, what do they do … offer 100 things … and on and on it went.

I’m serious, at one point there was actually a 121 Point Check List that was being offered as a template and rambled off anything and everything you could possible conceive of that was involved with the sale of a home.

And this brings us to the topic at hand … WHAT Is The Costly Promise Your Clients Will Never Forget?

Well let me ask you, of the 121 possible things that you promise to do, which one do You think they will remember the most?

Was it to call them weekly, create colourful feature sheets, do a video tour, fix the sign if it falls over etc, etc … which one?

I’ll give you a hint … it’s Nothing you did.

Of all the promises you make … it’s the One thing that you Didn’t do that they will remember and never let you forget!

That simple act of negating the one thing now labels all the things you did do void – it speaks to your credibility and trustworthiness.

If you want to avoid that from happening repeat after me …. UNDER-PROMISE and OVER-DELIVER … I’ll repeat that one more time … UNDER-PROMISE and OVER-DELIVER.

“Hey Mr. and Mrs. Seller – remember when I said I was going to do those 4 things? Well, I just wanted to let you know that they are all completed, oh and by the way I also managed to do ‘X’ “

When you Under-Promise and Over-Deliver you are showing your clients that you are a person of your word, you get things done and you are also making deposits in your credibility account.

Yes, your actions speak of credibility and make you more referable – it makes it easier for your clients to refer you to friends, family, co-workers because they trust you to deliver on your promises.

If you want to avoid the costly promise your clients will never forget … simply Under Promise and Over Deliver.