By Lonn Dugan, The FSBO Killer Coach at www.FsboKiller.com
Let’s establish a baseline for this article. That baseline is that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE helping real estate agents learn to list For Sale By Owner homes. If I can do it, and I have done it almost 100 times… then you can do it too!
This article, and my FSBO Listing Materials at www.FsboKiller.com provide a fun and powerful way for new or experienced agents grow their business - FAST! What you will learn is that you can turn 'something painful' (FSBO Prospecting) into a fun and powerful profit center. The secret to listing FSBO Sellers is all in the APPROACH and ATTITUDE.
I used to call it "LOVING THEM UNTIL THEY GET THAT THEY NEED A REALTOR. Another way to describe it is to GIVE 2 GET. You have to GIVE the FSBO something they want before you will GET their listing.
My first broker taught me: “FSBOs LIST WITH THE AGENT WHO IS THERE WHEN THEY DECIDE TO LIST” I never forgot that. Neither should you.
It’s almost like the only real trick to this thing is to BE THERE when they GET IT! You can call them weekly or visit their house weekly and share a little each time – which is what some programs teach… But that takes to long, IMHO.
The best way to BE THERE when they decide to list is to offer BRUTAL LOVE. By this I mean getting in the door, and lovingly showing them how to get what they want
If you know what they want, and you focus on it… without wavering, and without ever taking NO for an answer, they will appreciate your insight and your commitment to helping them. This is when they hire you as their agent. It can all be done in one phone call, and one house call - if you can simply offer what they want, engage them in a heart to heart, and commit to not leaving without the listing.
You can probably list about half the ones you meet - If only you know what FSBO sellers want! The answer to this question is what this article is about.
FIRST: SOME DISCLOSURES
(Never let it be said that I hid something from you)
Prior to working in real estate, I worked in marketing and dotcom marketing. Early in the dotcom revolution, I built a web site that served an entire industry, and really enjoyed doing so. Technology was my playground, and personal sales was not my forte. But when the dotcom bubble imploded about 10 years ago, a friend who had gone into Real Estate encouraged me to consider the field. What I found was something that used all my business and online marketing skills – but was also in a sector that was working! So I made the move.
I sold real estate for about 4 years, reaching almost $5,000,000 in sales in that short time.
These days… I no longer sell real estate. (I can hear the "BOO-HISS" sound already - but don't be so sure I 'failed out'. Please Read on!)
I have graduated to coaching and serving realtors as a teacher and helper. If it matters, I still have a real estate license, but it is in a holding company. I don't compete with my clients for listings – as that would be bad business.
SECOND: A LITTLE HISTORY
(To Prove I Can List – So You Know That You Can Do It Too!)
I started my Real Estate Sales Career on a RE/MAX Team as a FSBO listing specialist. Everything I could find to read about becoming a Realtor told me that LISTING was where the money was. I wanted to "Begin With The End In Mind" (aka author and speaker Steven Covey of "7 Habits" fame). So I started with this listing focus instead of the more traditional "buyer's agent" role.
In my first year in the business, I listed about 50 Homes (mostly FSBO). After mentoring under a solid pro for about a year, I went out on my own. I willingly left all my listings with the team where I had trained, but stayed with RE/MAX at a different office in another state. This meant that I had to start over from scratch. I listed 50 more homes that year. I also won the title of OFFICE SALES LEADER at my new office. They even put a sign out at the street with my face on it! I did this by listing and closing more homes than anybody else in the office. It was enough to make my wife proud, but it barely paid the bills! You have to REALLY BE IN REAL ESTATE to understand.
Over the next two years, I built my practice to almost $5,000,000 a year. In our market, this performance landed me in the top 5% of all Realtors. In spite of this success, I wanted more.
So for the last year or so, I have focused on the parts of real estate I enjoy the most ("Stick To Knitting" is a principle I learned from author Tom Peters and Co (In Search of Excellence)- which are web marketing, online lead generation, SEO, and Listing Coach and agent success coaching!
When I worked as a Real Estate Agent, I loved working the For Sale By Owner Category for Real Estate Listings. I listed about 50 homes my first year in the business (almost all were FSBO's), and listed over 100 FSBO's in my first few years in the business. It became fairly common for me to book 2 or 3 appointments per hour of prospecting, and to list about 50% of FSBO prospects on my first visit to their house. One Weekend, I listed 4 our of 6. That was the weekend I learned not to make 6 listing appointments in two days!
I say "when I worked as a Real Estate Agent" because I have changed my work to focus on the part of Real Estate I enjoy the most.
THIRD: THE FREE COACHING SESSION
So you want to list FSBO's? Maybe? Maybe not?
Maybe you REALLY want more listings? Maybe you REALLY want more signs in more yards? Maybe you REALLY want more referrals? Maybe you REALLY want more buyer calls? Maybe you REALLY want more commission checks?
If any of this is true for you then this article with help you with your goal.
On the one hand, some real estate agents are taught that For Sale By Owner (FSBO) sellers are hard to work with. It is said that they are, "independent, strong minded, controlling people who think they know more than the average home seller or realtor about what their house is worth and how to sell it"
One the other hand, some agents are taught that working FSBO's is the best way for a new agent to start, or an experienced agent to build a big listing inventory. All you have to do is call enough of them and you will find some who are ready to list.
So who is right? BOTH!
Many real estate books and tapes and coaches teach a FSBO Prospecting program that they call a "NUMBERS GAME". It's true, if you call enough FSBO sellers, you will find 1 in 20 or 1 in 50 that are simply ready to give up and list.
But this kind of work, sometimes called DIALING FOR DOLLARS can be grueling and demoralizing for many. I met a lot of “negative people”. After a month or so, I thought, there has to be something more fun, efficient and productive. So I made a game of it. I learned to MEET – HELP – SELL – in that order.
There are four cardinal rules for this game of MEET – HELP – SELL:
1) YOU CAN’T LIST FSBO’s IF YOU DON’T START MEETING FSBO Sellers
In order to meet FSBO sellers – you can’t call them up and tell them they are stupid. This is what many FSBO programs teach. The call script outline goes something like this. Hey, I heard you are trying to sell your house without a realtor. That never works, and is really pretty darn dumb. Can I come over and tell you 12 reasons why it won’t work?
Honestly, this is the most awful way to begin a client relationship that I can possibly imagine.
I recommend a completely different approach. It starts with being in the right place to meet prospects. The FSBO Seller’s Kitchen Table is a great place! Almost one hundred percent of the people you meet there need a Realtor – and FAST!
It’s hard to go wrong if you are in the right place : ) So step one is to get in the door. My free call script will get you in the door – but you can blow it fast if you don’t know why you are there! So lets go a little further in to this before you read the call script.
2) SALES IS A HELPING PROFESSION
Selling is a high art. Yes, it’s a profession, and it takes skill too. Practice makes perfect. There are many techniques, and schools of thought about it. You can take college level courses in sales methods. You can study psychology. You can learn and practice dialogue and objection handling… It’s all helpful.
But in the end, selling is helping somebody with a purchase decision. Nothing more.
If they don’t need to buy it then I should not be selling it! See what I mean?
Think about the last major purchase you made. Did you buy what some salesperson told you to buy? Did you buy something you did not want? Or did you buy the product or service that most provided something you wanted?
People “buy” from a salesperson who helps them get what they want. FSBO Sellers are no different than you or me. They want what they want – and will buy from the realtor who offers it. So all you need is to know what they want (hint – it’s not a REALTOR!)
3) YOU ARE SELLING YOURSELF – NOT YOUR COMPANY OR SERVICES.
You are in the business of selling yourself. It helps if your company has a good brand, and great advertising, solid marketing, and a wonderful local reputation and etc…
BUT FIRST – they have to BUY you!
When they BUY you – they automatically get the brand, the company, the service.
So – don’t go in blowing some bugle horn about how great your company is or how great your marketing is… Just go in to offer help! It’s hard for people to dislike somebody who is genuinely trying to help them.
4) IF THEY LIKE YOU THEY WILL LIST WITH YOU
The first step in selling is – building rapport. It is a lot like making a new friend. Before you make a new friend you have to meet a prospective friend. After you meet, but before you know if you want to be friends, you need to know if you have something in common. To know if you have something in common, you have to find out something about them. What do they like to do? Are they fun to be with? Do they have interesting ideas?
So go meet some FSBO’s! Get them talking about themselves, their hopes and dreams. Offer to help them get something they want. Pretty soon – They like you!
THE MORE COMPLEX THE PURCHASE – THE MORE PEOPLE BUY FROM SOMEBODY THEY “LIKE”. Again, go to your own life experience. Think about the last time you bought something complicated or something you did not know a lot about. Chances are, you talked to a few providers or salespeople and then made a purchase from a salesperson you “liked” or “trusted”. The fact that you “liked” them helped you trust them to guide you through the process.
For more on rapport building – read Dale Carnegie’s “HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE”.
NEVER FORGET THAT PEOPLE BUY WHAT THEY WANT.
FSBO SELLERS DON’T WANT TO BUY A MARKETING PLAN, OR A BRAND OR A BROKERAGE.
FSBO sellers already know WHAT THEY WANT – but they don’t know how to get it.
What FSBO Sellers REALLY WANT is “As Much Money As Possible, In Their Pocket, after the closing.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew somebody who could give them a professional marketing service, and not charge a dime? Hey, wait a minute… THAT’S YOU!!!
Realtors do not charge for their service. Get this out of your head. What you do is create value. In fact, you create so much extra value that sellers get more money in their pocket by working with you than by selling on their own. You actually create so much extra value that you get to keep some of the extra value without taking a dime away from the seller.
According to the National Association of Realtors, (NAR) Realtor sold homes generate a sales price that is an average of 15% to 25% higher than similar Owner Sold Homes in the same neighborhoods.
Roughly 90% of all homes are sold by Realtors. When FSBO sellers research market prices, they are getting a false picture of what a home can sell for.
What they are really learning – but don’t realize it - is what REALTOR SOLD HOMES will sell for (at least this is true in 90% of all data available to them).
If you charge 7% and your marketing can command prices 15% higher than owner sold homes, then owners actually get 8% more money, in their pocket, after closing, than if they sell on their own.
All you have to do is help them become aware that what they WANT is best obtained by using a Realtor. Then, you need to be the Realtor who is THERE when they get it!
###
Now that I told you all the above, I can share my deceptively simple prospecting script:
It goes basically like this:
Hi! I am calling about the house you have for sale… (YES)
Is it still for sale? (YES)
Oh Good!
The reason I am calling is that I meet lots of home buyers. I wondered, if one of my buyers would make a fair offer for your house, would that be OK with you?
(At this point the seller usually wants to know if I am a Realtor, and how much I charge.)
Oh, yes, (with pride) that’s the secret to how I meet so many buyers. The thing is, my buyers agree to pay me 3% more than the price a seller really wants, so one of the ways I can sell houses costs sellers nothing at all.
IF ONE OF MY BUYERS MADE A FAIR OFFER FOR YOUR HOUSE – AND IT COST YOU NOTHING AT ALL - WOULD THAT BE OK WITH YOU? (BRUTAL LOVE FOCUS ON WHAT THEY WANT)….
(CLOSE FOR A PREVIEW TOUR OF THE HOUSE – SO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF BUYER TO BRING).
(Alternate Choice Close Technique): I have some time on Friday or Saturday, which is better for you? Morning or Evening? 6 PM or 8 PM? Great – I look forward to seeing your house!
YES – IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE !!! Once you get in the house, you GIVE them some help, understanding BUYER PSYCHOLOGY - and you GET the listing!
After the preview tour, I ask one simple question… Would you like to know more about BUYERS? Since I meet so many, I might be able to give you some tips on what makes them tick, how to tell real buyers from lookey lous, and time wasters… Do you have 10 minutes for a free consult about “BUYER PSYCHOLOGY” ?
This is called PERMISSION BASED MARKETING. Only one seller in four years ever said no! Just make sure you know what to do once you get inside the house and get agreement to HELP them understand buyer psychology!
For more about WHAT FSBO SELLERS WANT, and lots of dialogue and psychology, and a free recorded coaching call, as well as a complete version of the FREE FSBO Prospecting Call Script that will get you in the door… as well as help with what to do once you get in the door, please see www.FsboKiller.com
PS… PEOPLE ASK ME ALL THE TIME: WHO IS GETTING KILLED AT FsboKiller.com ? People have asked me, Isn’t “FSBO KILLER” kind of a violent name? Are you going Postal? I just laugh. Nobody is getting killed by the FSBO Killer or by students of my FSBO Listing Program. What we kill are MYTHS that lead FSBO Sellers to think they can handle their own sale. And we kill those MYTHS with LOVE!
Copyright 2009, Lonn Dugan, The FSBO KILLER Coach, all rights reserved.