The Four Ps: What Your Listing Agent Should Be Doing to Sell Your Home

When I teach continuing education classes for agents, I like to joke about the old three Ps of selling a home. Put it in the MLS, place a sign in the yard, and pray the phone rings.

That doesn't work anymore, and it isn't what you should accept from a listing agent. Today's sellers deserve four different Ps: preparation, promotion, pricing, and prospecting. Here's what each one should look like, so you know what to ask for.

Start with what you actually want

In class, I ask agents to list what sellers want from their listing agent. The answers are what you'd expect: communication, honesty, great marketing, professional photos, the highest price. Some are easy to forget, like help with the paperwork, a fair commission, local expertise, and a list of trusted contractors.

I push back on one common answer: "the shortest time." Most sellers want to sell in the right amount of time. Plenty of sellers get an offer on day one and wonder why they'd take it when a better one might come tomorrow.

The point is that every seller is different. A good agent asks what matters to you instead of assuming.

P1: Preparation

Preparation is the most undersold part of selling a home. I once showed two nearly identical ranches in Mayfield Heights on the same day. Both were dated and needed about the same amount of work inside.

The first had an overgrown lawn, shaggy shrubs, and a dirty interior. The buyers' reaction: "This is terrible. Way too much work." The second had a mowed lawn, trimmed hedges, and a clean interior. Same updates needed. Their reaction: "It needs some updating, but I could totally see buying this house." That difference came down to a little prep.

A good agent should help you figure out which projects are worth doing to make the photos, video, and showings better, and should have a list of people who can help if you want it.

Preparation is your choice

That said, you decide how much to do. My teammate David and I once met sellers whose home had a lot of dated wallpaper. They asked, "Do we have to strip this wallpaper and paint?"

I said, "Do you want to, or would you rather take a little less for the house?" They said they'd gladly take less. That's fine, as long as we price it for its actual condition and not as if the work were done.

Why did they ask? The last agent they met had told them they had to strip the wallpaper or she couldn't sell the house. She assumed they wanted top dollar at any cost. They didn't. They did some decluttering and cleaned up the yard, and that was the right plan for them.

P2: Promotion

Ask every agent you interview for a written marketing plan, something they can hand you. If they don't have one, that tells you something.

Real promotion today goes beyond posting on the agent's Facebook page. It should include:

• Professional photos. Good photographers are affordable, and cell phone pictures show.
• A floor plan. Buyers use floor plans to decide whether to see a home at all. I've watched buyers pull up the floor plan on their phones while standing inside the house.
• Video. A good video tour lets buyers experience the home before they visit.
• Targeted advertising. For open houses, our listing coordinator runs ads to people within about 15 miles. A small ad budget behind a video tour can put it in front of thousands of local viewers.

Even when ads don't produce direct leads, they add impressions. A buyer who sees your home on social media, then on Zillow, then in their agent's search, and then on the sign down the street is paying attention.

P3: Pricing

Pricing isn't only about estimating value. Every buyer values a home a little differently, which is why multiple offers rarely come in at the same number. The goal is to put your home in front of as many buyers as possible to find the one who values it most.

That includes choosing the right digits. Most buyers search online in round-number price ranges, so a home at $199,900 can disappear from every search that starts at $200,000. Pricing high for "wiggle room" usually just adds time on the market. Your agent should be able to explain their pricing strategy, not just give you a number.

P4: Prospecting for buyers

This is the one some agents push back on. Answering calls from the sign or responding to a Zillow inquiry isn't prospecting. That's responding.

Prospecting means reaching out to find buyers for your home: contacting agents with active buyers, reaching out to people who might be a fit, and working their network. The strongest listing agents do this as part of their job.

Communication ties it all together

I send weekly updates to every seller on the same day and at about the same time each week, because that's the expectation I set at the start. They include showing feedback and data like online views and saves from Zillow's listing report. If something big happens, like an offer, that's a bonus update.

Regular updates show you the work being done, and they give you and your agent real information to make decisions with.

What to ask before you hire an agent

When you interview listing agents, ask them to walk you through all four Ps. How will they help you prepare? What's in their written marketing plan? How did they arrive at their price and pricing strategy? What will they do to find buyers? And how often will you hear from them?

If you're thinking about selling in Northeast or central Ohio, I'd be glad to walk you through how our team handles all four. Schedule a time with me or someone on our team at 21mike.com.

Want to see the full class? Watch my CE class on top listing secrets.

Mike Ferrante
The Mike Team at LPT Realty
www.21mike.com
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