If you’re a realtor and looking to get listings, about the best thing to do, is to work on expired listings. Homeowners whose listings had expired from the multiple listing service, are a rich source of opportunity for getting new listings. The best thing to do is to set up a marketing plan that targets “expired listings”.
Here’s how! Start a marketing plan to get an appointment. There were a few ways of doing this. Let’s start by exploring two ways. To begin your marketing for expired listings, write an article about expired listings. Talk about homes that didn’t sell and the problems they encountered.
Have your article published in a local newspaper even if you have to pay to do it. Once that’s done, you can go to the second step. Start your next step by sending out a series of letters designed expressly for expired listings. Include a copy of the article in your expired listing letter mailing. By doing this you are showing the homeowner that you are somewhat of an authority on homes that did not sell.
Once you start your letter campaign you should follow-up with a phone call or personal visit. Keep in mind that a phone call is good, but you need a face-to-face meeting to get a homeowner’s signature on a listing agreement.
The article about, real estate expired listings and a phone call are all done for the purpose of getting an appointment.
When you meet with the homeowner, you can walk through the house and determine whether there is anything detrimental that prevented its sale.
What you have to keep in mind, the main reason some homes do not sell is because, the listed price is too high for their location and condition. This means that one of the things you have to work on is getting the house priced properly. This is not always an easy task because homeowners may still resist a price change. If you get resistance, be easy-going and do not apply too much pressure. Practice some scripts on how to get your point across on price reduction.
There is something you must never do. It is very important that you do not discredit the previous realtor because, among other things, they may have already tried to reduce the price. The homeowners will probably never admit to it. Why? Embarrassment! They thought the other realtor was wrong about the price. They are trying to get the most out of the sale of their home, so you can’t really blame them for that!