A major trap agents face during their listing appointments is promising more than they can deliver. In most cases, the agent has every intention of providing the services they promised. The problem is life gets in the way—their child becomes ill, they have a flat tire, or there’s a problem in a transaction that must be handled, etc. The excuse doesn’t matter, however. They still broke their promise to the seller.

Here’s a simple way to avoid falling into this trap: promise less, do more. For example, if you feel you can have the marketing package for a new listing lead finished by 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, instead of promising the sellers the plan today, promise you will have it to them tomorrow by 5:00 p.m.

The secret of this approach is to create a reserve of time. That way, if there is an emergency, an offer, or some other issue you must address, you have enough time to cope with the other situation while still delivering what you promised on time.

If you are able to deliver the deliver the marketing plan a full day earlier, you look extremely efficient.

As a general guideline, promise the seller about 75-80 percent of what you think you can actually deliver. When you do more than you promise, you look great. When you don’t, the seller’s trust in you is diminished. As a result, negotiations, price reductions, and referrals are much less likely to occur

If you want to create more raving fans for your business, promise less, do more, and you’ll have plenty of happy clients singing your praises.