The Heart and Soul of Winning FSBOs Over

Here is a For Sale By Owner strategy that generates up to 45 leads a month—for about $8.

Dear Friend and REALTOR®,

I’ve heard it before: real estate agents hate going after For Sale By Owners. They hate the rejection, the embarrassment. But here’s a strategy that will reduce your risk to rejection and embarrassment at the same time open up your chances to list 14 out of every 15 FSBOs you approach. It’s a strategy that will have you at the least generating 45 leads a month, for about $8.

Think about it: the for sale by owner is selling his home most likely because he wants to save money by not paying a commission. And, like it or not, an agent personifies a commission.

Besides, in less than a day after the orange and black “For Sale” sign has even been planted in their yard, every real estate agent in a 100 mile radius has contacted the FSBO. Why would you want to be the fifteenth in line?

Here’s the deal. With a toll-free call capture hotline, you have a lot to offer a FSBO. And you have a whole heck of a lot to gain. Even if you don’t land the listing or collect a commission check from them. In fact, work this strategy properly and you can generate 45 to 50 (mostly buyers, but a listing or two) for less than $9 a mont.

Let me start with the obvious: what is a toll-free call capture hotline? Good question. In a nutshell, this is a tool that sends you via email or cell phone contact information anytime someone calls your special toll free number.

But you have to make sure you are building rapport, which is at the heart of winning FSBOs over, throughout the entire process

Here’s How the Strategy Works

Offer the FSBO a helping hand in selling their home. Make it very clear to them though that you are doing this in the hope that if they do decide to list, that they will at least consider you as a possibility to represent their home. If you don’t, this strategy isn’t likely to work. People sometimes need it spelled out very clearly for them.

Here’s what you do.

Create a FSBO booklet or package. The idea is to include tips and tools they can use to sell their home. Include in that package:

Package the whole thing in a 3-ring binder. Use a color printer and first rate paper. But other than that, you invest about $4.

While you’re at it, offer them a yard sign that they can use.

On this yard sign will be your toll-free number and their extension. In fact, record a short audio tour of their home on one of the extensions before approaching them. Tell them that you want to give them an extension and that this system tracks leads. Then show them.

The Largest Untapped Source of Leads

Ask them to call into your toll-free line and enter the four digit code. When they hear the tour and you are notified on your cell that they called, hand them your phone to show them what happened.

Then explain to them that any time someone calls that toll free line, the details can be sent directly to their email inbox. What happens is they are positioned to follow up on all the leads that the toll free line generates. And as you know, the offer of free recorded information is a huge enticement that draws in a lot of interested buyers. And monster traffic means a higher selling price in the end, which should interest just about everybody.

But giving them an extension and a yard sign isn’t enough. You have to give them a brochure box also. Here’s why.

Explain to them in your experience the highest amount of leads is generated from the fliers inside the brochure box. That’s when you show them the 100 copies of fliers you stuffed into their brochure box. Their faces will light up with joy.

You’ll have to take some time with this, of course, but being patient and thoughtful is the heart and soul of rapport. So go as far as creating a flier for them and offer to refill it every two week.

At some point they’ll be asking the question, “Why are you doing all of this stuff for me?” Here’s where you explain that the only reason you’re doing this is because if they decide to list in the future you hope they’ll consider giving you the chance to show them how much you can help them sell their home. That’s it.

Now, what’s in it for you?

Imagine the Benefits—
Even If You Don’t Have Any Listings

I mean, you’re giving away all of this stuff, even running up a small bill because of the calls interested buyers are making. It should seem obvious, but if it’s not, let me explain: you’re shooting for the listing. But there’s more to it. A lot more.

I know an agent who has listed 14 out of 15 of the FSBOs she’s approached using this system. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are other benefits in utilizing this strategy.

For instance, another agent I know received 6 referrals from one FSBO—who didn’t even list with her but sold on his own—because he was blown away by her generosity and help. Even though she didn’t get the listing or commission, she was more than compensated by the six other listings she got from the referrals. And that’s not the end of it: she generated 45 leads from his home alone.

In a nutshell, it’s a low-cost way to generate leads. Especially—and this is important if you are a rookie—if you don’t have any listings. A lot of agents make a mint by just working with FSBOs. You could too. Approach every single FSBO in your market once a week, work with two or three of them, and you’ll easily generate over a 100 leads a month. And probably land a listing or two. It makes a lot of sense.

And you’re cost? It’s easily under twenty dollars. Which brings me to my next point.

If you really wanted to blow the roof off of this strategy, consider this: hire an assistant to do the legwork of tracking and approaching FSBOs. Pay them 5 or 10% commission if you get the listing and it sells. The key is nothing out of your pocket unless the home lists and sells. An astute, professional college student would be perfect for the job.

What to Do If You Meet Resistance

What if the FSBO resists the offer to lend them a toll free number?

If that’s the case, then leave the booklet or package with them. Leave it as a “gift” to help them sell their home. It’s got all the tools, reports and tips to help them sell their home, but it also has your listing presentation in it.

Also, inside the booklet you explain that the toll free number is what you do to sell other homes. It’s the real horsepower behind selling homes quickly and efficiently. They’ll be able to see in print how the benefit of being able to follow up on leads instantly, striking while the iron is hot, is a powerful way to sell a home for the most money, in less time and less hassle.

For an agent out of North Carolina, it usually spells lights out for the prospect when they see the thick, 12-page Call Detail Report (CDR). They understand the value of building traffic to sell a home for the most money.

Now, if they accept your offer, bingo: give them the extension. (And remember every extension on your toll free hotline can be customized to notify a different email address, phone number or pager.) It will take them or you less than five minutes to set up. And tell the FSBOs this: they will receive notification of every call to their extension automatically via email.

What you don’t want to tell them, however, is that you are going to swing by every week or two and drop off the call detail report. This way they can have a hard copy of all of the leads they are generating.

You can even drop off a few MLS sheets on homes they might be interested in buying or financing option if they are staying in the area. Who knows, you may get not the listing but they may want you to represent them in buying their home.

What these examples do is provide you more opportunity to meet with the FSBO face-to-face—more opportunity to build rapport—which, as you know, is the heart and soul of winning FSBOs over.

Warmest wishes for your success,

signature

Gary Elwood
Founder and Chairman

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