The Unspoken Objection in a Real Estate Listing Presentation

It’s frustrating. You’ve given a knockout presentation to a listing prospect. You’ve established rapport, asked all the right questions, explained the benefits of working with you, built trust, and positioned yourself as the ideal real estate agent to handle their listing.

It seems like a slam-dunk. And yet… the prospect hesitates.

You sense there’s something going on that’s holding them back, but you don’t know what that is. Then the meeting ends with the dreaded, “Thanks for coming by. We’ll think about it and get back to you.”

What happened?

Often, the prospect’s reluctance to pull the trigger and hire you has to do with some objection that, for whatever reason, they have not brought up during the course of the conversation.

This could be something they may be uncomfortable talking about, such as a concern about the selling process or a bad experience with a real estate agent years ago.

This kind of real estate sales objection is like a gorilla in the room that only the prospect can hear growling. You need to find a way to get it out in the open and talk about it. Otherwise, your chances of getting the listing are low.

The best approach when facing an unspoken objection in a real estate listing presentation is to be direct.

In an article in the National Association of Realtors website, sales expert Danielle Kennedy, recommends asking, “Is there something I haven’t covered?” As simple as that question is, it often works in breaking through the prospect’s hesitation and getting them to tell you what’s on their mind.

Another real estate sales technique is to reassure the client. For example, you can say:

I sense there’s a concern you have that we haven’t discussed yet. Whatever it is, let’s talk about it now. I have a lot of expertise buying and selling homes, so I might be able to set your mind at ease — whatever it is that’s concerning you.

If you sense the objection has something to do with the prospect worrying about choosing the right real estate agent, perhaps due to a bad experience years ago, try this approach:

Is there anything you’d like to ask me that will make you feel more confident in working with me? Feel free to ask me anything!

In the case of a possible concern with the selling process — for example, being worried about the length of time it may take to sell the property — here’s a great question to ask:

Do you have concerns about the process of selling your home? And, if so, what worries you most?

The idea is to probe in a friendly, conversational way, so you get the objection out in the open and are able to deal with it effectively. When you do, you’ll increase your chances of getting the listing by an order of magnitude.