The Pre-Listing Package: Send the CMA Before You Walk In

A pre-listing package is everything the seller sees between the call that books the appointment and the moment you knock. Done well, it makes you a real person before you arrive and moves the hardest part of the meeting, the price, to before the meeting starts.

Plenty of agents either skip it or send a 40-page PDF nobody reads. This guide covers what to include, what to leave out, how to send it, and how to handle the seller who reads the CMA and calls to cancel.

What is a pre-listing package?

A pre-listing package (also called a pre-listing packet or pre-listing presentation) is the material you send a seller after they book a listing appointment and before you meet. At minimum it introduces you and confirms the appointment. A fuller version includes your marketing plan, your results and a preliminary market analysis of their home.

You still walk the home, ask about their goals and set the price together. The package makes that conversation shorter and easier because the seller arrives prepared.

Why send it at all

Some booked listing appointments never happen. Sellers get cold feet, another agent gets there first, or they forget. A seller who has watched your video and looked at your materials is less likely to cancel on you.

It also builds trust. A seller who has talked to several agents can't tell them apart from a phone call. A short video and a clean brochure set you apart before you're in the room.

The strongest argument for sending the CMA in advance is price. Some listing agents send the numbers first on purpose: if the price makes the seller angry, let them be angry before you arrive. By the time you sit down, they've had a few days with the data. If they cancel over the number, you've saved an evening on a seller who wasn't going to price the home where it would sell.

What to include

Keep it short. A seller should be able to get through it in ten minutes.

1. A confirmation text, sent right away

Send it the moment you hang up:

"Great talking with you both. Looking forward to meeting you Thursday at 6. Here's a quick look at who I am: [link]. Worth 30 seconds before we meet."

2. A short selfie video

Record it on your phone the same day. Under a minute. Thank them, put a face to your name, and tell them what will happen at the appointment:

"Hi John, it's Jordan. Thanks again for setting up a time. I just wanted to put a face to the name before Thursday. When I come by, I'll walk through the home and point out a few low-cost or no-cost things that could help it sell. I'll show you exactly how I'll market it and what I've done for other sellers nearby. And I'll bring the paperwork, so if everything makes sense, we can get started right away. Any questions before then, just text me. See you at 6."

Telling the seller you'll bring paperwork sets the expectation that a decision can happen at the meeting.

3. An agent page or brochure

One page about you: photo, brokerage, how long you've been selling, recent sales in their area (only real ones, and only with your sellers' permission), and two or three short reviews from past clients if you have them. Use real reviews, word for word, with the client's permission. Use a quality brochure or a clean web page. A thin, typo-filled flyer tells a seller you'll be careless with their sale too.

4. Your marketing plan

What happens from signing to sold, with dates: photos within a day or two, the listing live within a few days, what goes out to buyers, open house plans, how often they'll hear from you. Dates tell the seller more than adjectives. The listing presentation template has an outline you can reuse.

5. A preliminary CMA

Three to five comparable sales, the active competition, and a suggested price range. Mark it clearly as preliminary, since you haven't seen the inside of the home yet. The CMA guide explains how to pick comps a seller will believe.

6. A net sheet (optional)

Many sellers care more about what they'll walk away with than about the list price. An estimated seller net sheet at the CMA's price range answers the question they'll ask at the table anyway. Label every number as an estimate.

What to leave out

Long company histories, generic market reports, and anything that reads like a template. Leave out the listing agreement too. Bring it to the appointment instead, so you can walk through it together.

When to send each piece

If the appointment is the same day or the next day, send everything at once after the call.

The pre-listing email

Subject: Before we meet Thursday

Hi John and Sarah,

Looking forward to Thursday at 6. To make our time useful, I've put together a few things:

1. A preliminary look at recent sales near you and what's on the market now. It's a starting point. I'll refine it after I see the inside of the home.
2. An estimate of what you'd net at that range.
3. How I'd market the home, with a day-by-day timeline for the first week.

Take a look when you have ten minutes. If anything raises a question, write it down and we'll start there.

Jordan

When the seller pushes back on the price

Sometimes the seller reads the CMA and calls, unhappy. You'd rather hear that on the phone than at the kitchen table.

Don't argue the number on the phone. Acknowledge it and move the conversation to the meeting:

"I understand. It's a big number to see in writing, and it's only a starting point. I haven't seen the upgrades inside yet, and that's exactly why I want to walk through it. Can we keep Thursday and go through it together?"

If they cancel over the price, let them go politely and keep them in your follow-up. Sellers who overprice sometimes come back after their listing sits. Stay in touch with a market update every month or so, but if they list with another agent, stop pitching while that listing is active. If it expires, you'll be the agent who was honest about the number. Our guide on listing presentations against discount brokers covers how to keep your price conversation grounded in data.

At the appointment

With the package in hand, sellers arrive with questions. Start by asking what stood out to them, then re-ask their motivation (it may have shifted since the call), walk the home, and update the CMA with what you see. The listing appointment checklist covers the rest, from paperwork to the close.

Sending it from AVEX

In AVEX, build the CMA and the seller net sheet for the property, then send each one as a share link in your pre-listing email or text. The seller opens it in a browser, so there's no attachment to lose. After the appointment, apply the After Listing Appointment action plan to keep the follow-up on schedule if they don't sign that night.