Last year, I signed 35 listings. And if I’m being honest, the biggest shift wasn’t that we suddenly started doing better marketing.
It was that sellers finally started understanding the marketing we were already doing.
For a long time, I knew our approach was strong. The photography was dialed. The video strategy was intentional. The distribution was wide. The case studies were there.
But in the listing appointment? I still sounded too similar to everyone else.
Professional photos. Social media posts. Open houses.
You know the script.
At some point, I realized the problem wasn’t the work. It was the translation.
Sellers Don’t Buy Marketing. They Buy Confidence
Today’s sellers are more informed and more skeptical than ever.
They’ve interviewed multiple agents. They’ve heard the same marketing promises. They’ve seen plenty of comparables.
So when we say we market differently, most sellers are politely nodding while thinking:
What does that actually mean for my house?
That was the gap I needed to fix. I didn’t need better marketing. I needed a better way to help sellers see the difference.
The Shift: From Talking About Marketing to Walking Through It
I built what we now call our Marketing Matters book because I wanted the marketing conversation to feel structured, visual, and grounded in proof.
Not hype. Not adjectives. Not generic promises.
When we get to the marketing portion of the listing appointment, I physically walk sellers through:
- Real distribution data
- Actual listing examples
- Case studies from our own sales
- The full campaign approach behind our listing
Something interesting happens in the room when you do this. Questions get sharper. Sellers lean forward. And most importantly, the conversation shifts from claims to strategy.
On Friday, I dropped my full customizable Marketing Matters book in BAMx. You can get it here with a 7-day free trial, customize, and download for your next presentation.
Most Agents Treat Marketing Like a Checklist
Most agents think marketing means:
Take photos.
Put it on the MLS.
Post it on social.
But sellers today need a real marketing campaign backed by trackable results, not just more activity.
We approach every listing with sweat equity marketing: active, intentional effort designed to create momentum around the property.
Not passive exposure. Active positioning.
That includes how we plan the launch, how we sequence the exposure, and how we involve the seller in supporting the campaign when appropriate.
Because in this market, visibility alone isn’t the advantage. Strategic visibility is.
The Detail Most Agents Miss in the Marketing Conversation
One of the biggest shifts for me was changing how I talk about our marketing with sellers.
This is something I originally picked up from Byron Lazine, who does an excellent job positioning photography not just as a vendor task, but as an actively managed part of the listing strategy.
He explains to sellers that either he or someone from his team is present at the shoot to help ensure the right story is being captured.
That framing stuck with me. Because sellers aren’t just evaluating whether you have professional photography.
They’re evaluating how intentional your process feels.
When we discuss photography, I don’t position our photos as better simply because of the photographer.
I explain the level of thought and oversight that goes into how we capture the home’s story, the angles buyers respond to, the order of photos in the MLS from room to room, and the small but meaningful details that elevate the final presentation.
That language signals to the seller that this is a process, not a checkbox.
And when sellers feel that level of intentionality, the marketing conversation starts to land very differently.
Sellers don’t just hire the best marketer. They hire the agent who makes them feel the most confident in the plan.
What This Changed in the Listing Conversation
One of the biggest business impacts of implementing this was clearer positioning around value.
When your marketing explanation feels structured and intentional, sellers focus on the strategy in front of them.
That shift makes fee conversations noticeably cleaner. The value is easier for the seller to see.
When we walk through our Marketing Matters framework and present our service options, the conversation feels grounded in a real campaign.
And when sellers can clearly see the plan, defending the fee structure becomes significantly more natural.
Where Premium Placement Fits
As these conversations become more strategic, sellers often ask about premium exposure opportunities like Zillow Showcase.
Not every property needs it. And not every seller chooses it.
But part of positioning a listing as a true campaign is helping sellers understand where targeted paid amplification can create real leverage.
The important part is this:
When sellers clearly understand the strategy and the optional levers available to them, the conversation around investment becomes far more straightforward.
In our case, we present structured marketing packages, each tied to a specific level of campaign support. Premium exposure tools like Zillow Showcase live inside our higher-tier options, where the broader strategy and budget support that level of amplification.
So instead of the conversation centering on my personal value or trying to justify a number in isolation, sellers are evaluating clearly defined campaign paths and deciding how aggressively they want to position their property.
The Pattern I’ve Noticed Among Top Producers
One thing that’s become very clear to me over the years is this: Serious listing agents don’t wing the marketing conversation.
They systematize it.
When Jordan Cohen spoke inside our Skool community, one thing that stood out was how structured his listing conversations are. His approach looks different from mine, especially since his business leans heavily into direct mail rather than video.
But the common thread was obvious.
Process. Intentionality. Repeatability.
Same thing when you study other high-level operators like Andrew Undem or Shane Burgman. The tactics may vary, but the discipline around how marketing is positioned in the listing appointment is always there.
Marketing Matters is simply my expression of that same philosophy.
Not the only way. But a structured way that works.
If You’re Building Your Own Version
If you take nothing else from this article, take this:
You do not need to copy my exact book.
But you do need a repeatable, visual way to walk sellers through your marketing strategy.
If you’re building your own, focus on:
- Proof over promises
- Structure over talking points
- Real examples over stock language
- Campaign thinking over checklist marketing
That alone will separate you from a large percentage of listing presentations.
If You Want a Starting Point
I’m a big believer that every serious agent should eventually customize their own version of this.
But I also know most agents don’t have hours to build it from scratch. So I made my Marketing Matters guide available inside our BAMx Skool Community for agents who want a working starting point where they can adapt to their own brand and process.
If you want to study it, borrow from it, or use it as your base framework, it’s there.
Either way, the goal is the same: Help sellers actually see the difference. Because when they can see it, the listing conversation changes.
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