By Bill Butler, RE/MAX Leading Edge Productivity Coach
The expired listing…a rare species on the verge of extinction in 2016 is making a come back.
Luxury listings, over-priced listings and sellers who were just plain victimized by poor real estate practice are seeing multiple months on the market and their contracts expire as we head into the heart of the holiday season.
Is there an opportunity here? Not if you’re merely looking a listing. For those looking to sincerely help those who failed to sell in an historic sellers market; yes.
Tackling these sellers is not for the faint of heart. It can be a very rewarding process if you avoid the following common mistakes:
You can’t call expired listings as a means to chase dollars. You’ll struggle. The sellers will be able to smell your commission breath and you’ll get frustrated easily. You must truly believe these people need your help and that you CAN help them! You must believe you’re on a mission to save home owner equity throughout your community.
2. Logistics Aren’t Automated
Virtually all agents who try their hand at marketing to expired listings fail before they even contact anyone. They spend all of their time researching who is expired, then cross-referencing to confirm they haven’t re-listed. If not, they then spend hours researching phone numbers. By the time they finish researching, who has time or the energy to actually call them?? Use programs like Landvoice and The Red X to automatically collect, scrub and research contact methods all with the click of a button and about $50/mo.
3. Lack of Follow Up
Most expired listings are won on the 4th or 5th phone call. Merely giving up after the first “no thanks!” isn’t giving anyone a chance! These sellers are looking for something different. Show them how different you are by your follow up. Provide value each time and don’t give up!
4. Failure to Uncover True Motivation
Most expired listings expire due to being over-priced. While most agents recognize this, they fail to truly uncover the true motivation of the seller. Without uncovering true motivation, the task of getting the seller to a realistic selling price is significantly more difficult. Keep probing…even challenge the seller, “You’re in such a nice home here…I can’t imagine why you would even consider selling in the first place! What in the world are you thinking??” By a subtle challenge, sellers will tell you exactly why they want to move. Keep reminding them of this reason.
5. Failure to Differentiate
As I mentioned earlier, these sellers are looking for something DIFFERENT. What they had before didn’t work. Are you able to effectively articulate how you market, negotiate and communicate differently? Do you have a track record that separates you from your competitors. Are you following up enough and showing you actually care about these folks?
Follow the above tactics and strategies, help these wronged sellers sell their home and you’ll reap some of the more rewarding experiences this profession has to offer!