What do I ask a seller before the listing appointment?
Confirm the real reason they are moving and by when, ask who else is part of the decision, and find out what the seller sees in recent sales before you give your view. Ask what they want in an agent and what would make the meeting worth their time. Send the pre-listing package so the visit starts from shared facts.
Read the transcript
- We're still on for Thursday.
- Before you come out, can't you just give me a ballpark price over the phone?
- Sure, I can give you a rough idea.
- Homes on your street have been selling well,
- so you're probably right around where your neighbor sold.
- We'll firm it up Thursday.
- After every practice call, your card arrives: what worked, and the one thing to fix.
- The call trains four moves. Ask what's prompting the move, and by when.
- Confirm every decision maker will be there.
- Hear their view on price first.
- Send recent sales with dates, and keep your number until you've seen the home.
- You haven't seen the home,
- and a number said now becomes the number the seller holds you to.
- An owner who reads real sales with their own eyes trusts
- that number more than one you hand them cold.
- Practice this seller until it sounds like you.
- Each call runs as long as the conversation needs,
- and you can make as many as you want.
- Practice free at 10before10.com/try.
Drafted with AI by the 10before10 team, reviewed and approved by Grant Freer and Gia Freer, licensed Florida real estate brokers. Updated October 24, 2026. También en español.
What is really being said
The appointment is booked. The seller said yes to a time. That does not mean the call is done.
Between booking and walking in, the seller is still deciding things out loud, even if they do not know it. They are deciding whether this is really happening, whether everyone who needs to agree actually will, and whether the number in their head is close to reality. If you walk in without knowing those things, you find out the hard way, standing in the kitchen, in front of people.
This call is not a second sales pitch. It is the call that makes the appointment work. You confirm the reason for the move is real and specific, confirm every decision maker will be there, hear the seller's own thinking on price before you offer yours, and learn what they actually want from an agent.
Then you send a package so the in-person meeting starts from facts both sides already know, not a cold open.
What to say
These are examples in plain words, not lines to memorize. Say them the way you actually talk.
"Last time we spoke you mentioned you're moving because of reason. Can I ask, what's prompting that now?"
The first answer to "why" is often the polite one. This follow-up, asked gently, gets past it. A seller who says "we need more space" might really mean a parent is moving in, or a job starts in six weeks.
That second layer changes what you prepare for the meeting, and it is the heart of the seller motivation questions.
"Where are you headed, and by when would you like to be there?"
Where and when, alongside why, are the three things you need before you walk in.
"Who else will be part of the decision?"
Every decision maker needs to be at the table, in person or by video. If a partner travels for work, offer a video call so they can be there live instead of hearing about it secondhand. If owners are divorcing, two separate meetings often work better than one room with tension in it.
If the home is part of an estate, find out how many people need to agree before you set a single time.
"I'll send over some recent sales nearby, with dates. Once you've had a look, based on what's sold and what's still sitting, where do you feel the home should be priced?"
The seller discovers the market before you offer your view. An owner who arrives at a number using their own eyes on real data trusts that number more than one you hand them cold. It also tells you, before you walk in, how close their expectation is to the facts.
"What are you looking for in the agent you choose?"
This question hands the seller the floor. Some will talk about communication, some about marketing, some about someone who tells them the truth. Whatever they say becomes the measure you can meet at the appointment, instead of guessing.
"What would make this meeting a good use of your time?"
A seller who answers this gives you the agenda. Maybe they want a straight answer on timeline. Maybe they want to see exactly what happens between signing and closing.
Build the meeting around the answer and they feel heard before you have said much else.
If the seller is clearly ready and wants to move today, go. Run the where, when, who, and price-view questions in person instead of holding up a visit that is already happening.
Two ways to answer "Can't you just give me a ballpark price over the phone?"
"I want to give you a number you can actually rely on, and I can't do that without seeing the home. Can I send you what's sold nearby so you have something solid before we meet?"
This answers honestly and gives the seller something useful immediately, which keeps the conversation moving instead of stalling on a number you cannot responsibly give.
"That's exactly the kind of thing worth fifteen minutes in person, where I can see the home and answer it properly. Does day still work for you?"
This route declines the phone number and reconfirms the appointment in the same breath, turning the question into a reason to keep the meeting rather than skip it.
Two ways to answer "My partner trusts me, they don't need to be there."
"I believe that completely. And when we talk about price and timing, questions tend to come up on the spot that are easier to answer with both of you there. Could we set up a video call for them if they can't be in the room?"
This respects the trust between partners while keeping the decision-making whole, offering a format that costs the absent partner nothing.
"I've found meetings go faster when every decision maker hears the same thing at the same time, so nothing has to be explained twice. Would a short video call work for them, even from the other room?"
This answers with a practical reason instead of a rule, and offers a low-effort way to say yes.
When to reschedule
If a decision maker cannot attend in person or by video, move the appointment. Presenting once to everyone beats presenting twice to pieces of the decision. Say it plainly: "I'd rather wait a few days so name can be part of this, since the decision affects all of you.
Does new day work?" A short delay costs less than a meeting that has to happen again. The day before, reconfirm the appointment with everyone who will be there.
What not to do
Do not turn this call into a second pitch. The seller already said yes to a time, and selling again invites doubt about why you need to.
Do not give a number on the phone, even a range. You have not seen the home, and a number said now becomes the number the seller holds you to.
Do not present to half the decision. A partner who hears it secondhand hears the parts that worried the other one, without your answers.
How to practice it
Have a colleague play a seller who answers every question and buries the real reason for moving under a polite one, and who mentions a co-owner only when asked directly. Run the call five times: once where the seller is ready to meet today and wants to skip straight to scheduling, once with a traveling partner, once with divorcing owners, once with an estate that has three heirs, and once where the seller pushes hard for a number on the phone. Listen for whether you ask the essence follow-up on motivation before moving on.
That is the habit 10before10™'s scorecard listens for on this drill.
Honest answers
Related answers
Make one practice call. See your card.
A prospect who sounds real raises this exact moment. Ten minutes, in the browser, no account. The scorecard tells you the one thing to fix.