Getting Listings From FSBO’s

Overview of the Strategy

One of the most effective ways to get new listings is by working with FSBO’s. They want to sell and they really need your help. The problem with FSBO’s is they want to save the real estate commission and/or they just don’t see the value of a realtor.

However, the majority of all FSBO’s end up listing their home and/or using a real estate agent to sell their home.

Here’s the obstacles the FSBO encounters:

• Unqualified, waste of time buyers going through their home
• They try to sell their home to everyone that comes in – potential buyers feel pressured
• Lack of exposure – the vast majority of buyers out there don’t even know the home is for sale
• Many astute buyers think that FSBO’s are hiding something
• A buyer that is serious about purchasing a FSBO knows that the FSBO is saving the real
  estate commission so the buyer wants the Seller to pass on the savings to
  them!

And the list goes on. But conveying this to the FSBO is a daunting task and they are threatened 

and some are even hostile towards Realtors. Another major issue is that the FSBO receives most of their calls from realtors that want to list the property. They are very annoyed by Realtors.

All of this aside, the strategy here is to provide the FSBO with a FREE service, not asking for the listing at all.  In fact, you only want the listing after they are tired of the entire process of trying to sell on their own.   You must first come in as an advocate providing something of tremendous value to them. 
 

This is where you are unique: you can offer them the entire Real Estate Marketing System we provide you at no cost.  Offer them the 360 Virtual Tour,  Craigslist Ad postings, Single Property Website, Call Capture System, Text Messaging System, Mobile Website, and Info Box Flyers all for FREE.  It will get you in the door and get you some good buyer leads at the very minimum. 

And you will likely get the listing, eventually.

How you can start implementing this Strategy into your Business

Step 1

You must first get a consistent list of FSBO’s in your target area. Make sure you can easily drive to this area as you will need to follow-up consistently with the FSBO.  You can get a list of FSBO’s on:

• Craigslist.ca
• Google For Sale By Owner to find other FSBO websites such as usellahome.com; property guys; etc.
• While driving around you may see FSBO signs – jot the address down 

Email me if you would like me to send you a complete list of FSBO websites!

 Step 2

Your next step is to do a little bit of research.  See if the property was ever listed before.  If so find out some info about the property. See when they bought the home, how much they paid for it, check all the listing history to see if it has been listed by the current homeowner before they decided to go FSBO, check the tax assessment value, maybe even do a quick CMA and compare it to the price they’re asking for to see if they’re “in the ball-park”.  Being prepared will help you answer any questions the FSBO may have when you contact them. 

Email me if you would like me to send you a FSBO Property Worksheet itemizing all of the necessary things to check before you contact the FSBO!

 Step 3

Your next step is to contact the FSBO.  There are 4 different ways you can contact a FSBO:

1.     Phone Call

2.     Email 

3.     Direct Mail

4.     Face-to-Face at their home

Phone Call:

If you call the FSBO, remember that they have been called by dozens of other Realtors already and they have heard every kind of sales pitch and may be very frustrated by now.  They may be very irritated if you call them. However, you can still do it this way, but I personally wouldn’t advise
you do it this way unless you are very good on the phone and can handle an earful of rejection.

Email:

This method is very effective if you do it properly.  You will need to send a series of emails to the FSBO as 1 email won’t work very well.  I suggest sending up to 3 emails within 2-3 weeks and wait for a response from them. Obviously a YES response will necessitate a phone call.
A NO response – just take them off of your list. No response at all means that you will need to call them or see them personally face-to-face.

Direct mail:

This method is also very effective if you do it properly.  You will need to send a series of letters to the FSBO as 1 letter won’t work very well.  I suggest sending up to 3 letters within 2 weeks and wait for a response from them. Obviously a YES response will necessitate a phone call.
A NO response – just take them off of your list. No response at all means that you will need to call them or see them personally face-to-face.

Face-to-Face:

If you go to their home and see them face-to-face you will want to make sure that you know exactly what you’re going to say and practice a few objections. Bring your sign with you right to the door and tell them that you would like to help them sell their home.  Make it clear to them that you don’t want their listing (at least not yet!). This is by far the best method, but it takes a bit of time and consistency to get the results you desire. 

Email me if you would like me to send you our complete FSBO Listings Package which includes all of the scripts, letters, emails, worksheets, follow-up plans and more. We have prepared a complete FSBO Listings Package for you!

Step 4

After meeting the FSBO face-to-face, make sure you follow-up every 1 or 2 weeks. The follow-up can be over the phone or in person. Prune the list if they are confrontational or non-cooperative. If you have the Real Estate Marketing System working for the FSBO, make sure you follow-up with stats every week.

You will get your first FSBO to use the marketing system within the first week or two.
Some will say yes, and some will say no thanks. Move on with those that are not interested.

Here are the hard facts – over 70% of all FSBO’s sell their home through the help of a Realtor.
If you start with 5 FSBO’s per week, and consistently follow-up with them every 1-2 weeks, you will get 3 or more listings per month. Try to keep about 25-30 FSBO’s that you have contacted face-to-face in your database at all times.  You won’t need to follow-up with a FSBO more than 4 times, unless they are using the Real Estate Marketing System.  If they don’t take you up on your offer to use the Real Estate Marketing System within the first 4 follow-ups, then they’re likely a waste of time for you. Make sure you add at least 5 FSBO’s into your follow-up database every
week.  That means you have seen 5 FSBO’s face-to-face and they seem interested or they’re on the system. This strategy will take you about 5-10 hours per week. This is a very lucrative strategy, but requires diligence and consistency to make it happen.

Benefits

There are several ways you can grow your business (and bottom line) using this strategy:

1.    FSBO could list their home with you (eventually)

2.     You could double end it if you get the listing

3.     Help FSBO buy their next home

4.     Help 1 or more of the many Buyer leads buy a home

5.     1 or more of the Buyer leads may need to sell their home

6.     FSBO may refer you to a friend or family

Here’s the potential financial impact:

5 new FSBO’s per week

200 new FSBO’s per year (assume about 40 weeks per year)

25% will work with you at least – 50 “FSBO Listings” (where you offer the system only)

10% will list with you – 20 new listings per year

20 Listings x $5,000+ per listing = $100,000+

FSBO purchases through you = ??

40 leads per FSBO listing = 2,000 potential Buyers

Potential Buyers x closing rate = ?? Buyers under contract

YOU CAN EASILY MAKE $100,000+ ON THIS STRATEGY ALONE!

Some of the most successful Realtors started out doing this for the first 3-5 years of their career and then their business went on auto-pilot with all of the referrals they received.

You can do this!