Today you’re going to learn a very shrewd, smart way to generate clients from FSBO’s – and they’re NOT listings! Check out how agent John Carle snares 3 to 4 solid buyers every month AND 1 or 2 listings to boot…

“In this tight market, FSBOs have become increasingly sophisticated and knowledgeable. The old tactics of, ‘I can get you more money’ and, ‘Are you sure you want to waste your weekends?’ are falling on deaf ears.

Why? Because sellers know as well as we do that it’s a load of BULL!

“I have my buyer’s agent call every FSBO in the market. (Ed. note: FSBOs can be called because they usually run ads, so an agent is really responding to a promotion – hence, you’re clear from the ‘no call’ lists.)

She explains to them that she’s NOT calling to list their home, that in fact she CAN’T list their home even if she wanted to (because she’s a buyer agent). She’s calling to see if they have bought their next home. If they haven’t she offers them her services, including instant home-matches, CMA’s on any property they take an interest in, etc.

She usually secures 3-4 solid buyers every month. Of those, at least two of them end up needing to sell their home in order to purchase. We (our agency) ends up with that listing because they suddenly become VERY motivated once they have a deadline to get their own home sold.

It’s an easy listing appointment every time.

“This approach is effective for several reasons. First, the FSBO isn’t expecting it. They only expect Realtors^® to call them to try and get the listing. That’s what we’ve always done.

Second, it offers them something of value, something of value from their point of view. They know that finding a home through a Realtor doesn’t cost anything. It’s the seller that pays the commissions.

Because they’re receiving something of value from us first, it builds trust between us. That’s very useful when it comes time for the eventual listing appointment.

“There are critics. There always are. Sure, we don’t get EVERY listing. Sometimes they sell on their own. So what? She still gets the buyer end. That’s better than most agents get.”

“I like to work with FSBOs, which is my target market. (If you can’t identify your target market then you don’t have one, so find your niche and be an expert in it!)

“I like to approach the FSBO as a genuinely helpful REALTOR^®. I offer to do a walk-though of their house and offer up ideas that may help them sell the property. I usually keep a couple of ideas tucked away in case I get the listing later.

“I also will offer to do comps to help them determine if the property is priced correctly. I am always available to answer any questions. The great thing is that I have generated business from this whether I get the listing or not. I offer to make professional looking fliers for them and give them a flier box that they can put outside on the lawn. The boxes are cheap enough when you buy 12 or more, and the fliers are also an inexpensive tool.

“After approaching the FSBO, I talk about disclosure, home warranty, fliers, price, condition, etc. I offer up FREE helpful information and some forms, like a sign in form, to help the FSBO sell the property. I offer to keep the flier box stocked for them with my professional quality fliers. I give them extra so they can fill the box, and check on it from time to time to be sure they use mine and the box is full.

“I also put a message on the back of the flier that offers a FREE report. I have one for buyers and one for sellers. I also offer one of these to the FSBO so that they can see I am not trying to steal their customer. I have a dedicated phone line with an answering machine so they can leave a message for me and get the FREE report sent out. This gives me another contact based on which report they choose. I have a step-by-step contact program to stay in touch with these people to ensure I don’t lose them.

“If they don’t use the fliers, I give them a FREE sign in form, to see who is looking at the property and capture potential buyers that way.

“If the FSBO property doesn’t sell, which only about 7% do, then who do they come to? The agent that has been there working with them all along. Between the fliers and the sign in form, I have gotten as many as five transactions on a property I didn’t even list!

“One seller had his property overpriced and refused to budge. He was one of those sellers who would only sell if he could get his price. The best part: Guess who he called when he tried to sell at a ridiculous price again? That’s right, me. I came out and got two more transactions from a property I didn’t list! I spend a few bucks, but I wound up with seven transactions for just doing a little work–being nice and helpful and, of course, a little creative and diligent about the follow-up. Not bad for a listing I never got on a property that never sold.

“How many of those transactions do you think I get if I act like the other agents in my office and just sit around and wait for the phone to ring? Zippo! Just under $20,000 for working a little smarter.”

I got this idea after reading Linda Fogarty’s FSBO technique (click here to see Linda’s idea from last issue). When I see a FSBO pop up, I call and tell them I have a client (usually my mom or a friend) that would like to see the house but is not comfortable viewing properties w/out their agent.

They always schedule an appt. and allow me to ‘tag along’ too. I let my ‘client’ ask questions and remain pretty quiet, only handing them my business card upon arrival. Usually they start asking me questions. One time, she did not ask me anything but called me a week later. After initial contact, I have done what Linda does: just follow up with them with little bits of information, friendly emails or phone calls.

Since reading Linda’s idea, I have listed three homes, one of which is in escrow now. It’s kind of a spin off of Linda’s and I would not have tried it if it weren’t for Linda sharing her idea. It really does work!

This article appeared in a past newsletter, but because it was so good (and I want to get it into our archives for more agents to see), it’s making a second appearance…

Linda recently submitted a proven idea she’s used to capture FSBO’s in her market. It’s a winner if you decide to use it in your practice. Here’s her idea (in her own words)…

“I have found a sure-fire way of getting FSBO’s to work with me. 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. I start making calls to the FSBO’s. My conversation goes like this:

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 very little money involved too!

One final thought: even if the FSBO sells, by adding the contact to your database for regular monthly contact, 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!