By Stephanie Sims

How we present ourselves is important – it only takes someone about ten seconds to get their first impression of a person they’re meeting for the first time. That’s not very much time, so when trying to make a great first impression, we all have to have our A-game running full force. There’s no room for error, no time for stutters, and we had better look our best, too.

I’ve learned by now that if I don’t dress professionally, look my best or walk and talk with confidence, it’s easy for others to take me less than seriously. First impressions and following through with those impressions are very important, especially in the real estate business.

When it comes to listing presentations, seasoned agents know the basics for creating a good listing presentation – do the homework, know everything about the neighborhood and its surroundings, analyze data and the CMA and accurately present everything, including what the selling price range should be and why. But as years go by, listing presentations can seem a bit formulaic. How can they be tweaked or refreshed to stay ahead of competitors’ presentations?

In addition, there’s the never-ending debate over whether presentations should be on paper or an electronic device like a laptop or iPad. How do prospective clients view the “old school” paper presentation? Do they prefer something up-to-speed and flashy on an iPad? Do they want to gather around a laptop? Everybody has an opinion on how they’d prefer listing presentations to be given, including the prospective client. And, as the agents interviewed in our cover story said, a lot of what determines a successful listing presentation isn’t what the agent thinks is best, it’s what the client thinks is best.

Think about it – if they aren’t impressed by a laptop and are confused by an iPad presentation and think newfangled electronic devices are too ostentatious, no matter what that agent tells the seller about the CMA, data and pricing, they might be more inclined to hire the agent who had a paper listing presentation. Feeling out the prospective client is a big part of the listing presentation that agents often overlook. Read more in our cover story.