Winning the Exclusive – Preparing for the Big Meeting
Congratulations, you secured an invitation to present your proposal to a client. You ca
n’t hit a home run without getting to bat, so now it’s time to take your swings. Forgive the baseball analogy; corny as it is, it is true. Now what do you need to do to make your presentation a success and win the listing or representation assignment?
If you haven’t already, and the opportunity is for a listing, get out to the property and become an expert on it. Take pictures, drive the neighborhood and drive all of the comps you will be using in your proposal. You should also do research on the area to ensure you are aware of any upcoming projects which could affect the marketability of the asset. If this opportunity is for a tenant or landlord representation, find out everything, and I mean everything, about the company/owner.
We see listing and representation presentations, almost daily, from across North America. Many miss the point of the proposal. Prepare a presentation you can be not only be proud of, but also addresses the specific needs/issues of the opportunity. Believe it or not, many brokers frequently just slap a few pages together and hope for the best. If you’ve been invited to present, you can be pretty sure your competition was invited also. Put your best foot forward and prepare a well-structured proposal. Remember, “You Can’t Wing It to Win It”.
Practice. Then practice some more. Make sure you know what you are going to say and that you can say it concisely and convincingly. Brush up on your ability to overcome the client’s objections. The best way to do this is to role play with a mentor, colleague, your coach or your spouse. Don’t laugh, my wife has improved a vast majority of my speeches.. then again maybe she enjoys correcting me.. but I digress. Whoever you use, encourage them to throw you some curve balls, to make sure you can think on your feet when the time comes.
I know I just told you to prepare a great presentation, but when you get in front of the client, remember the most important thing is your ability to tell the story, which is completely different than telling your story. It’s not about you. It starts with telling the story of the opportunity and how the client sees it. Once you’ve told that story, you can tell the story of why you are the only plausible broker to service the account. The presentation keeps you in the game, but articulating the right story is what wins you the business.







