The top of the funnel is the easiest part to focus on, because it's the one where our efforts show the most instant and obvious results. More advertising leads to more calls. More calls lead to more listing appointments. There's only one problem with this strategy: if you can't convert listing appointments to actual listings, no number of new ads, referrals or calls will actually move the needle on the number of sales you close – and dollars you make – by year's end.

If your listing conversion rate is broken, eventually, attention will be paid to the problem. You'll either pay attention now, because you choose to, or later, when you see your competitor's sign in the yard at the house you visited last week. If you feel like you are losing out on listings and this is hurting your business, here are a few potential sources of the problem.

1. Your Listing Presentation Is Hopelessly Outdated

It's so easy to get in the groove of pulling out the old leather binder, rolling out a new CMA and mocking up some ads, almost as if by rote. And certainly, some sellers appreciate the old-school, high-touch feel of such a listing presentation. But even old-school sellers understand that their home's eventual buyer might not share their tastes, and they want – need – to know that the listing agent they choose can and will market their home in a way that reaches and appeals to today's buyers.

The listing presentation is an opportunity to show and prove that you have these skills, not only in terms of your marketing plan, but also in terms of the entire format and style of your presentation. What would happen if you rethought your entire presentation from the perspective of an app-era seller with an Apple-style aesthetic? Well, it might turn out like this beautiful, minimalistic slide deck, which made big press last year for winning Denver agent John James a $1.4 million listing.