Getting your first listing can be one of the biggest hurdles in the real estate sales business. There are many ways to get listed, but let’s look at some of the quickest and easiest ways. I’ll assume you’d like to keep your marketing budget low for your first list.
I always come back to this, but start by asking your family, your friends, coworkers, former schoolmates, Facebook friends, and anyone else who knows you. Ask them of all the people they know who they would say is most likely to be the next person to think of selling their house. Make them think about it. Even if the person you’re talking about isn’t ready to sell yet, they now have good listing potential. You can follow up with them every other week and even set up a buyer profile for them on MLS to keep your name in front of them.
Another way to find motivated sellers is to search for “for sale by owner” properties and also keep track of expired MLS listings. Again, I’m assuming your marketing budget is very low, so let’s go ahead and use an effective but awkward technique. You can do the same with expired listings. Go straight to the house, bring your marketing materials and knock on the door. What you say is going to differ between these two types of leads, so let’s go over both sales scripts now.
FSBO sales script.
“Hello FSBO person, my name is _______, and I’m a real estate agent at _____________. I just wanted to stop by and ask if you plan on using a real estate agent to help you buy your next home after you sell this one? (Let them respond) The nice thing about using a real estate agent as a buyer’s agent is that you don’t have to pay a commission, that’s paid by the seller.May I get a little information on what you’ll be looking for so I can keep a watch out for you? I can even set up a profile for you on MLS that will email you the listings so you get an idea of what’s out there and of course all of these services are free to you.”
Note: Do not ask to include your house on the list when you first meet them. Most FSBOs think they will sell it themselves and then get tired of trying. If you are the agent that has been in contact with them during this time, then you have a great chance to be the one to list your house.
Expired listing sale script.
(Use this on the same day the MLS listing expired)
Hello owner, my name is _________. I am a real estate agent with _____________. He was stopping by as a courtesy to let her know that her house is no longer for sale on MLS. The ad for him expired today. (let them answer). Are you still thinking of selling your house? (answer) Why do you think your house did not sell? (Response) (If you plan to re-register with your current agent, waste no more time. If it looks promising, try going straight to a listing appointment, or at least try to schedule an appointment for the same day or at least within 24 hours).
Note: Going directly to the person’s house is time-consuming, but it is more effective than sending emails or making phone calls. As your marketing budget grows, your time will become more valuable, and you don’t want to spend as much time going to all these houses. Use these techniques effectively and you should be able to bring in some new listings within a week or two. It’s a lot of hard work and you’ll need to put in a lot of time, but this is a great way to start spending almost no money.