Every day, real estate agents are out in their marketplace looking to convert prospects to clients and expand their businesses. The competition is fierce, so when you have someone interested in your services, what you say next needs to be perfect.

The term elevator pitch was created to describe how to impress and engage someone in a short amount of time—in a metaphorical elevator ride from the bottom to the top floor of a tall building. But thinking of the process as a pitch diminishes how important the interaction is because you are really, 1) creating and building a relationship first; and 2) articulating your value, differentiating  yourself from your competition and attempting to prove you are a trustworthy partner that prospects and real estate leads can rely on. This is why I prefer to call it an elevator statement (not a pitch). You quickly state the value that you bring to the table that can help the prospect. You are only trying to get the prospect to agree to meet with you, not get them to sign the buyer or seller agreement on the spot. This is your chance to shine, and what you say in a few minutes can make all the difference. No pressure at all, right?

Real Estate is a service business. You likely already possess the confidence and skills to deliver excellent service to clients. The key is making prospects quickly see, feel and hear how you will serve them with your enthusiasm, dedication, knowledge and expertise. So a sales pitch in real estate needs to be a service-oriented, relational, emotional and intellectual conversation that effectively communicates value. Here are some strategies for mastering your real estate value proposition (i.e. your sales pitch) and instilling confidence that will get you hired:

Think Small to Go Big

An elevator statement is typically used or needed in an initial interaction with a prospect. You can expand this strategy by understanding and using the concept of micro pitches—small interactions that sell your expertise and build your prospect’s and client’s confidence and trust in you. You may not give a full sales pitch in these micro moments, but you steadily build a case that you are the agent to help people reach their real estate goals.

Almost any interaction can be turned into a micro pitch—listing appointments, pricing presentations, open houses, first introductions, and so on. These situations may not seem so do-or-die by themselves, but added up, they take on great importance, which is why you should be prepared without sounding too rehearsed. Identifying interactions that lend themselves to micro pitches and then creating the pitches keeps you on your toes with clients and future clients and helps you improve, refine, and master your messaging over time.

Practice Makes Perfect

You may spend time practicing your long sales pitch for a presentation or appointment, but real estate agents rarely work on their shorter, more informal interactions—yes, the micro pitches. Er, um, and uh are the bane of any pitch, and in short-but-informative conversations with leads, hesitation and doubt can cause your audience to second-guess your abilities.

Therefore, continually practice micro pitches on every topic that might come up. Record yourself on audio or video and review the results. Do you seem unpolished or less than smooth? Do you stumble through some pitches more than others? Devote more time to those trickier conversations, and get a second opinion from others to see how you’re coming across to them after practicing.

The Nick of Time

At what point does your real estate sales pitch become long-winded? Two minutes? Five? Today’s consumer becomes easily bored with any messaging beyond a couple minutes. In your excitement to sell yourself and give advice for next steps, you could unintentionally ramble and lose your audience. Brevity is another reason to practice your sales pitch. Although some topics need more than two minutes, if you present with enough breaks, offer to answer questions, and properly flow from point to point, the audience won’t feel … trapped.

Another strategy for staying on time when you are on a call: Follow the script you’ve crafted for your pitch! The person on the other end of the line can’t see you reading from a script, and as long as you don’t sound like a telemarketer, you can be effective and efficient. Even just a few notes or bullet points jotted down can remind you to stay focused and recall your practiced pitch better than winging it.

Be Prepared

Your real estate sales pitch may perfect in practice, but inevitably, leads will throw you curveballs. Being thoroughly prepared beforehand with answers, data, and advice lets you continue the pitch without skipping a beat. For example, if a lead asks, “How’s the market?” be ready to provide real and understandable market intelligence rather than just saying, “It’s great!”—especially if it’s not great. A tool such as HomeSmart’s Comparative Market Analysis helps you uncover data to incorporate into your pitch before interacting with the prospect. Imagine every question you might get for every sales pitch, and craft and hone responses so you’re never caught off guard.

Ask Questions and Create Opportunity

Since real estate is about serving and fulfilling your customers needs, asking questions is key to creating value. How can someone be the right choice, if they do not even know what the customer’s goals are. Why are they selling or buying? Asking the right questions can create opportunities to show knowledge, inform the prospect, and guide them in the right direction - even in short, quick conversations. I’ve often heard top agents say that they were hired because they asked the right questions, listened and then communicated strategic direction — not because they “sold” a prospect. 

Finally, detail what the next steps will be. Ask them to hire you. In these ways, your pitch also functions as a call to action, inviting your audience to come along with you on a journey to fulfilling their real estate needs.