Expired listing can be the core of anyone's business in the real estate field. You can create a system that will give you repeatable results for your effort. Let's look at the three very positive factors in prospecting expireds.
They are easy to find: The expireds come up everyday. You have a handful that you can work on a daily basis. Expireds provide a steady stream of new leads of people to contact for appointments. There are usually a few very heavy days in each month. You will need to set your schedule to take advantage of the heavy days. The end of the month is usually one of the heavy times for expireds.
They want to sell: The expireds was on the market at one time. They had a plan laid out to sell and move. Their plan did not work out and they are not ecstatic about moving. There will be some expireds who are tired of the process, but the majority of them still want to sell.
The bulk of them are looking for an agent: If the expired still has the desire to sell, which are most of them. Then they are searching for a new agent. They are looking for someone who can solve their previous problem. Most do not know why their home did not sell, but they are frustrated with their previous agent and sometimes all agents.
The successful way to work expireds is the CAP system.
- Consistency
- Attitude
- Persistence
The first part is consistency. You must consistently work the expireds. For you to achieve a large return on your time invested you must work diligently for 30 days straight. Expireds can not be started and stopped without losing momentum. There is a rhythm and a flow to expireds. They must be a daily discipline that you work on. If you prospect them for two weeks then take a week off, you are back to zero.
Your leads must build and your follow up must grow. When you get down the road 30+ days, you will begin to have call in listing appointments from your work earlier in the month plus your new appointments.
Your attitude plays a crucial role to your success with expireds. You need to convey to the sell an attitude of compassion and problem solving. They are not just looking for someone to pound a sign in the ground. They are looking for someone to get their home sold. They are looking for someone to solve their problem. They feel that everyone else is the problem when it is them and their price.
The price is the problem 90% of the time when it comes to expireds. You have to read the people you are meeting with regarding their home. Too many agents who work with expireds hit their prospective clients with a ball peen homer between the eyes about the price. That will work with some and fail miserably with others.
You need to read the prospective clients, but most importantly you need to exude an attitude of caring and compassion for their situation while conveying confidence in your ability.
The last, and at times most critical, is perseverance. Your perseverance or stick to itness can have the most positive results of all. Many of the expireds do not set appointments right away with agents. They will wait a week or two or a month. The amount of calls they receive about their home drops dramatically as the weeks tick by. Do not be one the agents who drop off unless the sellers have low motivation or are unreasonable.
Be persistent in your calling. Call them a few times a week. All you are doing is trying to set an appointment. You are not doing a listing appointment over the phone. Just close for an appointment. That is what the call is for. You just want to be one of the three or four they interview. If you keep that as your goal, you will get plenty of salable listings.
Focus on the CAP system daily. Work both today's expireds and the past ones daily. Effectively follow up with your hot leads daily. Remember consistency, attitude and perseverance are the keys to success to0 make six figures in prospecting expireds.
