FSBO sellers will reject you. Remember, they would rather not use your services. But if you maintain a stable professional relationship, offer help, and stay in touch for four to five weeks, you can usually win an interview. From there, a list follows.
Increase your chances of success by taking these two precautions:
1. Limit the amount of FSBO you grow. Focus only on the best customers.
2. Avoid unmotivated prospects or excessively high price expectations. These salespeople are often the most toxic, and all too often will try to take their frustrations out on you.
FSBOs essentially become a lead tracking game. You should contact your FSBO prospects personally and regularly to discover their motivation and qualifications, book a face-to-face meeting, disqualify prospects as needed, provide regular communications and services, and schedule an introduction appointment. Then you need to repeat the service and communication steps several times a week until the list is available.
To make personal contact, start by asking the FSBO salesperson if you can come by and see the house. You can ask them in different ways. You can explain that you want to keep track of the regional housing inventory; You can tell that you are working with buyers who may be interested. You can present yourself as a potential investor; When you can, you can use the “non-inverse” technique. Below are sample scripts for each approach.
Script to keep up with inventory:
“Mr. Salesperson, your home is located in my main sales area. Because that’s right, I’d like to stop by and see a preview of your home. Will there be an hour on __________ or __________ to do that this week?”
Script to work with the prospective buyer:
“Seller lady, I understand you are selling your house on your own. Let me ask you this: are you cooperating with real estate agents? What I mean is if a real estate agent brought you a qualified buyer at an acceptable price for you, would you be willing to pay a partial commission?
We are working with some buyers for your area that we have not yet been able to locate. Can I come by on the __________ or __________ later this week to see your home? “
When you use the approach above, understand that you are not interested in reducing your commission. What you’re really trying to do is set up a face-to-face meeting to gather more information about your salespeople’s motivation to determine the likelihood of getting a quote in the future.
Script for a potential investor:
“Mr. Seller, your house is located in a solid area for real estate investment. I was wondering if I could go on to look at your house as a starter for a possible purchase and see if it is a property that meets my investment needs. for you __________ or __________? “
When using the above approach, keep in mind that the key phrase is investment needs. You will rarely find an FSBO that meets your investment needs. My personal investment need is a home that can be purchased at a discount of 70% below fair market value. Most FSBOs are trying to sell their home for 110% of fair market value. This technique takes you to the door to see the house and talk to them.
Dash for a non-inverse:
“Lady saleswoman, would you be offended if I came to take a quick look at your house?”
The reverse-technique cannot be used with just any script. Take advantage of the normal reflective human reaction of “no” to elicit a positive response. He opens the door for you to then schedule an appointment.
FSBO survey script
Hi, I’m from __________. I am looking for the owner of the house for sale.
Your house is in my main area. I’m doing a quick survey of the FSBOs in this area. Can I take a few minutes to ask you some questions?
The ad in the newspaper said you had _____ bedrooms and _____ bathrooms.
1. Do you have a two-story or a one-story home?
2. Are all the bedrooms on the same floor?
3. Are the rooms a good size?
4. How is the kitchen?
5. Are the bathrooms in good condition?
6. Can you describe your garden for me?
7. Is there anything else you think I should know?
8. You seem to have a great house; How long have you lived there?
9. Why are you selling right now?
10. Where do you hope to move now?
11. What is your time frame to get there?
12. How did you select that area to move in?
13. How did you determine the initial sale price of the home?
14. What techniques are you using to display and market your home?
15. Do you know that more than 86% of property buyers start online now?
16. If there was a clear advantage to you in using me to market and display your home, and it cost you very little, would you consider it?
17. Let’s simplify. Set a meeting time of fifteen to twenty minutes so that you can see your home and understand your goals. I have __________ time available, or would __________ be better for you?
Building relationships
FSBO relationships are built over time. By introducing yourself to owners the first weekend their FSBO is announced, before the masses start calling on Monday, you create a good connection. By sending them tools, educational materials, free reports, and forms, you become an ally. By taking a personal interest in them and their situation, you create a strong connection that, in many cases, pays off when homeowners decide to go with an agent they know and trust, preferably you.
Throughout building a relationship with landlords, you will be able to make them understand that a commission is paid on every real estate transaction. In the end, FSBO sellers do not “save” the commission. Rather, they try to earn the commission by doing the job of an agent. In doing so, they spend their money and time to perform, to the best of their ability, the functions of an agent. Those duties include exposing the home through marketing, introducing the home to buyers, creating a sense of buyer urgency to generate an offer, scheduling home inspections, handling qualification checks with the lender, overseeing repairs, and facilitating closing.
Not only does it take a lot of work to earn the real estate commission, but FSBO owners unknowingly allow buyers to basically steal commission through low-priced offers. People who buy FSBO are not buying for their health. They want to secure a low price and a high starting capital position. In the process, they set out to “earn” the commission, and they often do.
By building a relationship over time, you will prove your value to the FSBO seller. Remember at all times, whether you are working with FSBOS or expiring, your goal is simply to be one of two, three, or four agents that the owner will interview when the time comes. You just want the opportunity to compete and make your presentation.
