Debbie De Grote's Expired Listing Secrets

I hope everyone is taking advantage of the great webinars from Debbie De Grote (some with Gino Blefari) and adding new tools and skills to help grow your business. I wanted to share the follow up from one of Debbie’s recent webinars with some great insights into adding expireds as a lead source for your business:

I wonder if you have noticed more expired listings popping up.  It’s interesting that in some markets, even though inventory is a bit on the low side, listings are still expiring. I was talking with one of our great coaching clients yesterday and we were discussing the fact that even if you contacted only 5 expireds a day in any given market that would be at least 100 per month.

If you connected with even 10% of these, I would imagine you could add at least one listing a month, don’t you think?  One additional listing and listing sold per month is never a bad thing.

As you read this, maybe you are all over the expired listings. If so, good for you!

I thought I could share with you in this email a few of my expired scripts that may help you get an even better result from your calls and visits. If you are not working expired listings, I would like to encourage you to do so. Why?

Because we know that they wanted to sell, we know they were motivated enough to put it on the market, and we know what they were asking and how the market responded to it. This makes them a pretty hot target, don’t you think?

I know that they are not easy to get a hold of. I also know that sometimes they are mad and difficult to deal with. I know this because of all the conversations I have daily. I know this because my husband and daughters are in real estate and face the same challenges working expireds as you do.

I also know how valuable they are because when I was actively selling I worked them diligently!  One month I listed 30!  Okay, here is the disclaimer: fixed rates at the time were 18% and it was tough to sell them, so I think no one else wanted them. I did eventually get most of them sold.

What was my secret to success with expireds?  It actually is quite simple; I got in front of them.  It would be perfect if we could get them all on the phone and close them on the spot for a qualified listing appointment.  However, we know that often this just won’t happen.

Let me share what one great husband and wife team shared that they are doing to win the expireds they win in their higher-end east coast market; it’s classic! First of all, they have narrowed down their territory to the areas they really are excited about working and the areas where they can get to easily, that are right in their usual path of travel.

They pull the expireds from home early in the morning, and then call those that they can to attempt to book an appointment. They start calling at 7:30. Those that they could not reach, they split up the packets depending on who is going to be where that day.  And then they simply stop and knock on the door, and they go back until they catch the owner at home.

They try in the morning, the afternoon, and the evening on their way home. They try Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon.  They hunt them down! Because they don’t have many in their market, and they have narrowed their territory, it makes it easy for them to focus on the few very hot ones that they really, really want.

Once they get in the door, they make it all about the seller’s motivation. They help the seller decide why the property didn’t sell and they present a powerful and positive plan to sell it and sign them up. You see, it’s not much different than what I did years ago as I worked them. They are just people, they need your help, and they are 50% nicer in person than on the phone.

Remember, your goal is to get in front of them, so stop trying to handle all the objections over the phone. And yes, you can mail them something, however I have noticed that in most markets too many agents mail, so your piece gets buried in the pile.  This doesn’t apply to every market, test it if you want, and yet that doesn’t make it any less important to get in front of them!

Great thoughts from a wonderful source of knowledge and skills to build your business! Be sure to check out the regular webinars from Debbie and her Excelleum  website: http://excelleum.com/

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development

Keep Those Cards Going Out!

As we start our 6th Peak Producers class, I wanted to again share some more of Brian Buffini’s approach to developing and maintaining a steady level of activity and revenue and avoiding the extreme peaks and valleys that come with the traditional approach to the business.

One of Brian’s keys to achieving that steady level of business is consistent, personal contact with our “database,” his term for that well maintained list including our clients, sphere of influence, contractors, friends, and family. He says, “Writing personal notes is the most powerful and least expensive way to grow your business!” Here are the Top 6 reasons for us to write personal notes:

1. Personal notes leave a positive, lasting impact.

2. They help you build a database of high quality relationships.

3. They deepen your personal and professional relationships.

4. Personal notes show you care enough to invest your time and make you a more likely candidate to receive referrals.

5. They can make someone’s day and they make you stand out from the competition.

And here are some tips for the Who and the When to write a note:

Write notes to:

•       Your clients—active and inactive (I don’t like to call any of them “past!”)

•       Family and friends

•       Your personal service providers; doctor, painter, landscaper, accountant

•       Lenders and title agents you do business with

•       Business owners you respect

•       Someone you’d like to meet

Write notes when:

•       To follow up a mailing, phone call, pop by, or a meeting

•       After you’ve received a referral (Remember to reward the behavior not the result!)

•       When someone does something that you appreciate or after you have received excellent service

•       Before, during, and after a transaction

•       To re-establish contact

•       To simply make someone’s day.

The bottom line is that personal, handwritten notes, with only a sentence or two, DO make us take notice when we receive them, so including writing personal notes as part of your daily rainmaking activities is sure to help you build and maintain relationships and earn more referrals on a proactive basis.

Now go fill up that trusty fountain pen and polish up your cursive!

David M. Hassler

VP, Professional Development