Don’t you wish every FSBO understood the value your services bring to the transaction?

If you’re tired of cold calling FSBO’s to “convince” them to list with you…take just 2 minutes to read how a veteran agent in Illinois gets FSBO prospects to beg her for representation…

Linda’s proven process is a winner if you take this easy strategy and use it in your practice. Here’s her idea (in her own words)…

“I have found that cold calling never works to persuade FSBO’s (or anybody else) to list with me.  Instead, I use the following 4-steps to get FSBO’s to beg me to work with them:

STEP 1:  Gather FSBO Contact Information

On Friday’s I go through our local paper and the FSBO web site and pull all the “open house” notices in the paper (with phone numbers and addresses) in the areas I’m working.

STEP 2:  Contact FSBO’s and Get Appointments

I start making calls to the FSBO’s. My conversation goes like this:

Hi, My name is Linda Fogarty and I’m a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker. I noticed you have your house on the market (NOTE: I DO NOT TELL THEM I KNOW THEY’RE HAVING AN OPEN HOUSE), and I like to stay on top of the market and was wondering if I could preview your home.

Nine times out of ten the FSBO will be more open then any other time. They are getting their home ready for an open house and are afraid no one will show up. So they usually respond by telling me they are having an open house so I can come over. Then, I respond with:

Oh, I would love to but I’m having an open house myself, could I come over AFTER my open house?

They always say, “YES”! The reason I don’t go over during their open house is because I want their undivided attention. I continue to call FSBO’s in the same general area until I have a minimum of 3 appointments.

STEP 3:  Make the First Visit and Become the “Helpful Agent”

When I arrive to their home, I start asking questions about their open house and of course my open house was always better.  I am building rapport while I’m looking through their home and noticing they don’t have any of the following home marketing tools…

• brochures
• seller’s disclosure forms
• sign-in forms

I give them a few extra copies of the forms and tools they need to have a good open house.  In essence, I become their helpful REALTOR^®.  Plus, I just happen to have a copy of one of my beautiful brochures of my listings (so they see what they’re missing out on).

STEP 4:  Follow-Up Each Week with Valuable Resources

During the next few weeks, I drop by with helpful articles that I read and thought might interest them, or I drop off forms I think they might need, or I do a market analysis for the neighborhood and go over it with them.

I have created 10 weeks of “stuff” in files that gives me another reason for going back to them again as a “helpful REALTOR^®.”  I rarely or never ask for the listing.  In most cases it comes right to me.  Why?

Because most agents I know who prospect FSBO’s give up after the 1st or 2nd try.

BIG TIP:   I stay persistent when other agents are unwilling to keep going back.  My average number of contacts with the FSBO is FIVE! I get most listings by the 5th visit, but I don’t give up even if it takes TEN visits. When they’re ready to list, I’m getting the listing.

I’ve calculated the amount of time it takes to call 100 FSBO’s to simply get one deal, and found that following up with a handful of open FSBO prospects each week is far more profitable.  I know it will be for you too.”

Thanks for sharing, Linda. I don’t think there’s any agent reading this who couldn’t immediately start using your system. Best of all, there’s almost no money needed!

One final thought: even if the FSBO sells on their own, you can add them as a contact to your database for regular monthly contact.  And then you open yourself up to getting a flow of referrals. Remember, it’s all about building market share. And market share comes from building and nurturing your House List!  Learn more about maximizing your referrals here.

Now that the new year is upon us, I’m getting calls and emails from agents who want a better, easier way to grow their businesses.

Below, in no particular order, are FIVE strategies and in-the-trenches “marketing wisdom” that will help you generate more clients, and build a long-term viable business. Many of these suggestions are further detailed in the 3-Steps Marketing System.

1. Prioritize Your Marketing Time, Money and Effort According To the QUALITY Of The Prospect/Market

“Quality” is defined as how well the prospect already knows you and is most predisposed to use you over any other agent. Remember:  never chase cold prospects at the expense of higher potential prospects. Here’s how I believe you should prioritize your marketing:

• Build a “house list” and market to them on a monthly basis (this is your “market share”, where 70% or more of your business should come from – more on this later).
• Market off “Transactional Leads” (from your listings for buyers) and other listings (once you have them).
• Work hot leads – follow-up is essential. At the very least, you know they’re in the market to buy/sell, and most agents hopelessly ignore follow-up.
• Do your research homework to select market niches that have the most promise, and work them (i.e. fish in a stocked pond) – this includes geographic markets (farms), specialty markets (resort, golf, vacation, etc.).
• Work FSBOs and Expireds – but notice the low quality of this group. We both know the reason. Here’s a revealing fact: The National Association of REALTORS^® produces an annual research report called Profile of Buyers and Sellers. It’s filled with lots of facts and figures, but the most startling fact they’ve discovered is that approximately 74% of all real estate transactions occur because the client either 1) knew the agent already, or 2) was referred to the agent from a trusted source.This means that 3/4 of all transactions happen because of a relationship –  yet only 4% of all agents have any “systems” to harvest deep relationships and build market share. So about 4% get the lion’s share of business and 96% wrestle each other over the scraps. THIS fact alone is why I told you (above) to create a “house list” of friends, family, past clients, acquaintances, etc., and market to them first and foremost. It’s also why I created Service For Life!^® at www.ServiceForLife.com as a ready-to-use tool to capture that business. I’ll cover this in more detail later.

2. When Starting Out, Spend 80% of Your Time Prospecting

Whether it’s cold prospecting or establishing marketing systems, focus your resources on getting business. Don’t allow distractions (self imposed or otherwise) to interfere with this task. At the same time, don’t neglect establishing other marketing systems so you can quickly stop manual prospecting.

3. Get a Hotline and Use it

Your hotline will become the foundation of your marketing systems, and will become the “mechanism” that generates leads and clients automatically from ALL your other marketing, so you can do your job: working clients, closing deals and cashing commission checks. You’ll use it for classifieds, display ads, sign tags, info tube flyers, listing presentations, and lots more. Go to www.SixFigureHotlines.com and subscribe to the free course there and examine Proquest’s hotline service – it’s first-rate and they give you extra marketing tools to use in your practice.

4. Product-Ize Your Real Estate Services

This industry is a mass-commodity of agents all screaming the same thing to prospects. You need to be seen as different. So create unique products out of your services.

• For example: “Your Maximum Value Home Marketing Plan,” or “Preferred Buyer Program”.
• Another example: Rather than give CMAs, agents will offer a “Maximum Home Value Audit” to examine and determine ways to maximize the value of a home and sell in least time.

The secret is to weave the greatest benefit for the client into the name. Then, make a simple list of everything you do for the client as part of your program – even if other agents do it, it’s likely they don’t promote it, so you have the advantage.

5. Make Yourself A Self-Proclaimed “Specialist” in Your Market

Farming a resort area? Make yourself a “resort property specialist” and title your product specifically to it: “Ventana Canyon Golf Property Specialist” and “Ventana Canyon Maximum Value Golf Property Program.” Use your creativity and match your services specifically to the market.

Your success in 2010 and beyond require intense focus on your highest priority activities. This list will get you started down the right path of where to make changes to grow your real estate practice this year, and for the future.

“Every time I become aware of a FSBO, I in turn spend about 5 minutes preparing a short letter that is hand-written wishing them the best of luck with the sale of their home and then proceeding to let them know that if they decide a different route, that I am more than happy to help them.

I am up-front, yet subtle in my approach. I offer to come to their home and do a brief evaluation of the property and give them tips “on the spot” of different options they have that may very likely increase the salability of their home. I include real testimonies of past clients that I have helped in this way.

Of the first 9 letters I sent, I received 2 listings. Sellers told me that out of the stack of solicitations they received, mine stood out because it was handwritten and seemed genuine.”

“Go after FSBOS by offering to ‘rescue’ sellers from the ‘FSBO-Blues’. Treat the ‘ailment’ like a paramedic would treat any temporary illness.

“Start with a list of symptoms: Extended market time, difficulty setting up appointments, expensive advertising, no-shows, low ball offers. If they are experiencing more than three of these, then they are definitely suffering from the ‘FSBO Blues’.

“Once diagnosed, offer them your ‘Treatment Plan’. For extended market time, apply your marketing plan, and offer a ‘Prognosis’ of an estimated sale in 45 days. You can throw in a ‘booster shot’ of a complimentary virtual tour of their home. For low ball offers, apply a CMA. For difficulty setting up appointments, apply professional scheduling services using your 800-numbers and capable office staff. You get the idea. This approach his can also work well for ‘expireds’.

“Taking a unique approach to FSBOS will get you noticed. It’s working for me!”