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Expired Marketing Ideas
Courtesy of
Best Agent Business
Phone: 202-297-2393
[email protected]
www.bestagentbusiness.com
We provide part-time virtual assistants to
top real estate agents
Authors of
This is an unedited collection of Expired Marketing suggestions gathered from various
internet resources. It is not edited and there may be typos.
You may forward this to other brokers/agents who can benefit from these ideas.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 1
Best Agent Business
Part-Time Assistants for Your Business
Dear Realtor:
Best Agent Business can help you grow your business and make more money. If you
currently make over $100,000 GCI per year, you should have an assistant. We provide
part-time assistant services for marketing, listing, and closing coordination services.
How many hours a week do you spend doing $20/hour assistant-level tasks? If your time
is worth $50-100/hour, how much money are you losing every week by doing $20/hour
work instead of $50-100/hour sales activities? We can help solve this problem – fast.
We help you delegate and outsource so you can focus your time on your unique talents
and abilities. If you wish you had more time to sell and you wish you could spend less
time on non-sales activities, then Best Agent Business can help.
Best Agent Business published Billion Dollar Agent – Lessons Learned in 2007 after one
year of research. Billion Dollar Agent – Lessons Learned includes the success secrets of
over 50 top real estate agents who have or will sell over $1 billion in real estate in their
career, as well as interviews with top national coaches/trainers such as Howard Brinton,
Mike Ferry, Ken Goodfellow, Walter Sanford, and Floyd Wickman.
Our unique business model takes the lessons learned from Billion Dollar Agent and
applies to agents who make from $100,000 to $1,000,000 GCI. All of our work is done
remotely. Unlike hiring a single assistant or virtual assistant with the time/risks of
recruiting, hiring, firing, training, and managing, Best Agent Business operates a full
business which had over 500 job applicants, and hired only 50 people in the first year.
The most successful agents delegate and outsource to assistants and other service
vendors. Are you ready to make a leap and delegate more work to business assistants?
Contact us today at [email protected] and 202-297-2393 or fax us a note to
fax: 240-751-4247. A regular client effort is about 10-12 hours per week for about
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We always appreciate referrals. If you know an agent who is looking for part-time
assistance, please connect us to them via [email protected].
Best Agent Business – www.bestagentbusiness.com
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 2
Table of Contents
The Market/Property Profile Formula ................................................................................ 5
The Flyer that Converts Expired Listings – A Different Approach.................................... 6
Farming Expired Listings ................................................................................................... 8
A Note on Farming Expired Listings .................................................................................. 9
Postcard Marketing to Expired Listings ........................................................................... 11
Uniqueness… The Key to Listing or Re-Listing Expireds!.............................................. 13
Get Expired Listings with Postcards ................................................................................. 17
Expired Listing Postcard Tips ........................................................................................... 19
Expired Listing Marketing System – How to Build One .................................................. 21
An Expired Listing System to Close at Least 2 Transactions Monthly ............................ 24
Build Income with an Expired Listing System ................................................................. 26
How to Get Expired Sellers Chasing You ........................................................................ 28
Take Expired Listings Year Round Regardless of Market Conditions............................. 30
Discover an Expired Listing Letter That Gets the Seller Calling You, Begging For
Your Help.......................................................................................................................... 32
Two Old School Marketing Ideas in the Age of Social Networking ................................ 34
Old Fashioned Marketing ................................................................................................. 36
Marketing the Old-Fashioned Way ................................................................................... 37
More Evidence That Old Fashioned Marketing Doesn’t Work ........................................ 39
Dead Marketing Ideas, A List ........................................................................................... 40
Get the Most Out of Your Marketing ............................................................................... 42
Old Fashioned Marketing With New Fashioned Technology .......................................... 44
Advertising is Dead........................................................................................................... 46
Bringing Dead Files to Life .............................................................................................. 47
Mass Marketing is Dead, Long Live Nano-Marketing ..................................................... 49
The Sales Pitch is Dead; Here’s A New Way to Sell ....................................................... 52
No Objection Handling, Stop Selling Yourself, and Get More Appointments ................ 55
Control Just A Few Key Hours Weekly And Take As Many Expired Listings Than
Anyone In Your Market .................................................................................................... 57
Stop Making Excuses, Make It a System.......................................................................... 58
With The Right Letter Expired Sellers Will Be Calling You and Begging For Your
Help ................................................................................................................................... 59
Not Every Seller Will Qualify For Your Services, Find Out Quickly Who Are The
Right Sellers ...................................................................................................................... 61
Why Target Expired Listings? .......................................................................................... 63
Expired Marketing Campaign ........................................................................................... 65
How to Contact Expired Real Estate Listings................................................................... 69
Expired Listings Marketing Tips – August 07 .................................................................. 70
How to Get Expired Listings to Find You on the Internet ................................................ 71
Capitalize on Expired Listings .......................................................................................... 73
The Expired Listings Goldmine ........................................................................................ 76
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 3
Five Easy Questions to Get Expired Listings ................................................................... 78
Turn Expireds into Inspireds ............................................................................................. 81
We Reveal The Expired Listing Marketing Techniques To Close At Least 10
Transactions A Month....................................................................................................... 83
So your home didn't sell the first time around. Now what? .............................................. 85
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 4
The Market/Property Profile Formula
When you’ve kept your home show-ready, left for showing appointments and anticipated
an offer for months, it can be quite frustrating when your home listing expires without a
sale, or possibly even an offer. It’s tempting to want to place blame on marketing, your
listing agent, a bad local market or other factors. It could be any of these or a
combination. Let’s look at this situation as a very straight-forward analytical formula:
Time on Market =
Supply + Price
___________________________
Product Quality + Marketing




If the supply of homes increases without a corresponding increase in demand, the
time your home stays on market will increase.
If you increase the price, the time on market will increase. If you decrease it, the
time on market will decrease.
If the quality of your home (appearance, staging, cleanliness, paint, maintenance)
increases, the time on market will decrease.
If the quality of marketing increases, the time on market will decrease.
These statements are generalizations, but the ratios are such that increasing anything on
top should increase time on market, while increasing anything on the bottom will
generally decrease time on market. The bad news is that you cannot control
supply/demand. You, or your listing broker, can control marketing, but it cannot
overcome a supply overage or negatives in product quality or over-pricing. The good
news is that you have some control over Product Quality and total Pricing control.
Take action today and let us help you to control the process. Call [Name] now at
[phone number] or email me at [email address] and we’ll:



Provide a comprehensive market supply/demand analysis
Provide a Comparative Market Analysis to allow you to view your home’s
condition, features and price in relation to the competition
Provide an analysis of previous marketing and recommendations for future
marketing and media tailored to your needs
Our Business is Helping You to Sell Your Home
No Hype
-
No Pressure
-
Just Consultation
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 5
The Flyer that Converts Expired Listings
– A Different Approach
http://realestate.about.com/od/servingsellers/p/expired_flyer.htm
You're Not the First - Expect Negative Impressions:
The fact that the listing has expired indicates there was some problem. Either price,
condition, marketing, agent neglect, or any number of factors can be involved. The
prospect might not have the highest regard for the real estate profession right now,
whether deserved or not. This is more of an opportunity than a problem, as an approach
that positions you differently than those who came before will serve you well.
When People Have Problems - They Hire Consultants to Help:
This approach is one of a consultant who is available to help the seller in solving their
problem - a home that hasn't sold. Success in this business will ultimately result from
helping sellers to sell and buyers to buy real estate. Your value isn't as a sales person, but
more as a problem solver. This involves getting to know the prospect and their
requirements. Though you can get business from friends and relatives, your long term
success will come from referrals from very satisfied clients who valued your help.
Help the Seller Move Past the Emotional and Toward the Business of Selling:
Yes, many sellers love their homes. Emotion and stress are involved in this large
transaction and a move to another home or area.
As a professional consultant, hired to help them solve their home sale problem, we need
to move them away from emotion and toward pragmatic business decisions involving the
look, condition and pricing of their home.
Lead the Seller to a Logical Decision Based on the Facts and Market:
This flyer is geared to do a great deal of your work for you, before you ever speak to
them. The Market/Property Profile Formula shows the forces that influence whether their
property sells as well as time on the market. It leads them to understand which forces
they can control and which they cannot.
Presenting the formula in the flyer gives them the time to think it through and hopefully
come to the realization that changes need to be made by them in order to get their home
sold in a reasonable period of time. When you get the call, just help them with the
mechanics.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 6
Offer the Data and Interpretation They Need to Get the Job Done:
The flyer leads them to an understanding of how the market works, tells them what they
need to know and the data they need, then offers that data and the consulting help to
interpret it. This is Sales 101:
• Define the problem - The home hasn't sold and why
• Offer solutions - Data and interpretation to make decisions
• Call to action - Your contact information and invitation to help
Arrive at the Appointment Ready to Take the Listing:
You're not there to beg for business. You're not there to sell them something. You're an
expert in your field, there to solve their problem and get their home sold.
Bring your listing agreement, camera and whatever else you need to take the listing.
You'll be glad you did.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 7
Farming Expired Listings
One of the most profitable areas in Real Estate Agent Marketing is Expired Listings. If
you're constructing a comprehensive Real Estate Agent Marketing Plan than you must
include expired listing letters. Farming expired listings means targeting clients that have
already jumped the hurdle and decided they need a real estate agent. You won't be
spending time convincing them that they need an agent instead you have to convince
them that they need YOU as their representative. Expired listings can be a tough niche to
crack, for every expired listing out there, there are 15 real estate agents waiting to
pounce. With the Get Those Listings system, your expired listing letters target the
specific questions your potential clients are already asking themselves. When you are
farming expired listings with the Get Those Listings expired listing letters, clients will
call you for listing appointments! Let's be very clear here: There is NO cold calling
needed, clients will call YOU for a listing appointment!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 8
A Note on Farming Expired Listings
www.getthoselistings.com/farming.html
Whether you’ve been a real estate agent for twenty years or just starting out, you already
know that the most important part of being an agent is marketing. Marketing for a real
estate agent takes on two different forms: active and passive. Passive marketing covers
everything from how you present yourself in public to talking to friends and colleagues
about your real estate business. Active marketing refers basically to the campaigns that
you run that advertise your services whether they be in the form of letters, newspaper
advertisements, postcards, etc.
One of the most important tools in your Real Estate Agent marketing toolbox has got to
be your Expired Listing Letters. If you’ve been an agent One of the most important tools
in your Real Estate Agent marketing toolbox has got to be your Expired Listing Letters.
If you’ve been an agent for any real time, no doubt you’ve amassed a nice collection of
real estate agent letters that you like to use regularly. One set of these you no doubt use
for farming expired listings. Expired listing marketing can be extremely lucrative to
adding listings to your inventory and it’s important to dust off your system for expired
listings from time to time and really give it a thorough review. Like all of your real estate
agent marketing tools, your expired listing marketing should be strong and sound. When
a potential client opens the letter, it should convey a sense of professionalism that puts
you in the forefront of that home-owner’s mind.
Farming expired listings can be one of the easiest ways to get a listing appointment while
at the same time being some of the hardest listing appointments you’ll ever go on.
Usually, getting the appointment can be extremely easy if you are farming expired
listings correctly. The seller has already long ago decided that they need an agent to list
their home but the sting of having their home expire before sale has also left serious
doubts in their mind about the effectiveness of real estate agents.
If you are farming expired listings as a regular part of your active marketing, you should
tailor your expired listing letters to help nip any doubts in the bud as your prospective
client is reading them. You want to keep the listing appointment as much as an interview
as possible and steer away from having it turn into a gripe session about the past agent
that allowed the home to expire.
What all of your real estate agent marketing tools should do is basically sell you in such a
way that giving you a call becomes the only option that the homeowner has. Sure, they
might interview other agents but you’re on that list and getting your foot in the door is the
position you want to be in with every expired listing letter you send. With expired
listings, your window of opportunity has already begun to close the moment the listing
has expired. If you don’t want to spend your time cold-calling, then make sure you hit the
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 9
expired listing fast and furious. Let your real estate agent letters do the talking for you. If
you concentrate on expired listings and you do it right, even the newest real estate agent
can carve a niche out for themselves quickly and effectively.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 10
Postcard Marketing to Expired Listings
by Brian Anthony
http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=1326161
As real estate agents, we're in some difficult times for generating new business. Some of
the tactics that have worked in the past aren't working now and real estate agents across
the country are scrambling to find ways to create leads.
One of the ways my team and I have kept the leads pouring in is by modifying our
postcard marketing to expired listings. In the past, we have simply mailed a letter to
every expired listing the day they were dropped from the MLS. Facing plummeting
listing numbers, we realized that our approach was not working and dramatically changed
our tactics. I share the basic approach we took to get massive results from our expired
listing campaigns.
Step 1: First Postcard
In years past, all it took was one mailing to an expired listing. Generally we had a 7% call
back rate on our mailings and we were thrilled. However, with the national media
spreading doom and gloom, many homeowners are now convinced that the housing
market was horrible and would never allow them to sell their home.
Faced with this change in mindset, we started a three step campaign using postcard
marketing to expired listings in our market. The first mailing was a typical real estate
postcard marketing piece touting our experience and our team. While we don't receive
many calls on this piece, it lays the groundwork for what's to come.
Step 2: Second Mailing
Exactly two days after we send our generic postcard, we send a hand addressed letter
with a hand written return address. In this letter we explain that we know the media says
their home will never sell, but we can sell it. We include a printout with market statistics
and a resume describing our team and the success we've had in their area.
This three piece mailing usually arrives in the homeowners' mailboxes about 5 days after
their home has been taken off of the market. This is generally enough time for the
onslaught of real estate agent marketing they will receive to dissipate and allows our
letter to stand out. But we're not done yet…
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 11
Step 3: Third time is the charm
Exactly one week after our second mailing, we send a third, jumbo sized postcard to the
homeowners. The front of this mailing exclaims in giant, bold type "We're Not Going
Away Until We Sell Your Home." On the back, we explain that while other agents have
already given up on them, we won't give up until their house is sold.
By the time the homeowners receive this mailing, they have stopped receiving other real
estate postcard marketing materials. At this point, our marketing stands out and it's the
third time in a week that the homeowners have seen our materials. It works like a charm!
Paying For Postcard Marketing to Expired Listings
At this point, you may be thinking that our system sounds more expensive than your
current program - three times more expensive to be exact. It is, but with the success we've
seen with this approach, we've been able to cut down on our other real estate postcard
marketing.
Instead of blanketing a neighborhood with hundreds of real estate postcards, we have
significantly reduced our farming and expanded our expired marketing. The number of
postcards we send out has decreased, but our return on investment has spiked.
In addition, we are always keeping our eyes open for discounts and coupons for online
printers so we can further reduce our costs and increase our revenue.
I hope this article will help you with your postcard marketing to expired listings. I'd love
to hear your results and how you alter my program to beat your competition.
Good luck!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 12
Uniqueness… The Key to Listing or ReListing Expireds!
http://www.realestategrowth.com/rep/expired.asp
Dear Friend and REALTOR®,
One good thing about an expired listing is you know they want to sell. The biggest
difficulty is they are getting hit with a ton of calls once their listing expires. They get
calls, mailers and agents knocking on their door. With so many messages being flashed in
front of them, how do they decide?
This is where the power of a crystal clear USP is so crucial. If you don’t have a clear,
distinct, compelling reason for them to choose you…frankly, why should they?
So how do you do that? How do you separate yourself from the growing crowd of lookalikes? Again, you have the easiest, simplest, most compelling reason for them to want to
do business with you in your hands right now! This marketing system!
What is it about these strategies and a response hotline that would appeal to an Expired?
Let’s look at the top three complaints of sellers: "agent didn’t show property enough",
"agent didn’t advertise enough" and "agent didn’t communicate enough". This system
solves all three problems!
If you can solve your prospect’s problems, eliminate their complaints and serve them in a
way that brings value, they'll want you! You don’t have to sell them. Once they
understand the value of your offer…they'll want you!
Do You Call Them or Mail Them?
I would suggest you do both. First, I’ll talk about the direct mail step. Then, I will explain
the thought process behind your next step, the expired phone call. Both steps ultimately
lead your prospect to this system as your Unique Selling Proposition.
Your first step is to mail your expired prospect a brochure, in a plain white envelope,
with a two-line address. Leave your company name and logo off the envelope. I know
that many local boards have regulations about company name and so forth. But nowhere
in the country are you required to put it on an envelope. Your advertisements maybe but
not the envelope.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 13
The A-Pile...Make It Look "Personal"
The strategy here is simply to get your envelope opened. One of my direct marketing
mentors, Gary Halbert, explains it as the A pile, B pile theory. He suggests that we tend
to sort our mail standing over the trash can. It’s a very useful mental picture. Your
prospects quickly scan their mail to determine what is worth opening (A pile) and what is
junk (B pile).According to Halbert, your first objective has to be getting your mail in the
A pile. He further explains that the best way to get your mail in the A pile is to have it
appear personal, because everyone will read a personal letter.There are six steps to
achieving the "personal" look:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Use a plain white envelope
Leave out your company name and logo
Put a simple two line return address
Never use address labels
Always use a live first class stamp
Preferably make them handwritten (hire a school kid for 3 cents an envelope)
If you prepare mailings in this fashion, you maximize the probability of clearing your
first direct mail hurdle. Getting your envelope opened by an Expired prospect is probably
your biggest challenge. Once you’ve got it opened, at a minimum, you have a few
seconds of undivided attention.
Your Offer Has To Be Inviting
Once you have their attention, you need to make your offer inviting. It needs to appeal to
prospects and be easy for them to take the next step. Taking the next step is your entire
objective at this stage of the game. All you want them to do is pick up the phone and dial
for recorded information. By calling for information, they’ve opened the door to your
follow-up call.
So what kind of offers will get an expired prospect to pick up the phone? Once again, we
go back to the three top complaints. If you can solve a prospect’s problem they want to
do business with you! Here’s an example:
4-Step Postcard Strategy for Expireds
These four post cards can be used as a four-step mailing program for expired listings.
Mail them one postcard per day for four consecutive days, or until they call your recorded
information line.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 14
If They Don’t Respond to Your Mailers...Call Them!
After you’ve sent them a mailer, if your expired prospect hasn’t called your response
hotline, I would suggest calling them. Make it a very simple, non-threatening call. And
when you get them, follow the sample scripts we provide you in your course materials.
Remember all you want to do at this stage is to get them to take the next step. You’re not
trying to close for the appointment. If you can get them to take the next step, you will
have a very high probability of being able to set the appointment when you follow- up.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 15
Agents using this approach are setting themselves apart from the crowd. And with
Expireds…that’s what it takes…distinction!
My very best to you in your business-building. Until next time...
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 16
Get Expired Listings with Postcards
http://hubpages.com/hub/Expired-Listing-Postcards
For me to say that expired listing postcards are a goldmine would be a gross
understatement.
My name is Tony Zito and I am a broker in Baton Rouge Louisiana and I own a small
virtual real estate company with 6 agents. I got in the real estate business way back in
1991. I was told with my talent I would make one hundred thousand dollars a year with
my eyes closed!
As I look back on that first six months in real estate maybe I should have shut my eyes
because I made a whopping $275 in the first six months, and yes it was in one check!
Well, the good news for me is, in the second six months I closed over twenty
transactions! And that is because of a great agent by the name of Bill Mauffray!
Fortunately, Bill took me under his wing and showed me how to make money. Bill
worked the expired listings. He didn’t use the expired listing postcards, they came later in
my career!
He showed me how to call them. I would call them an average of 6.3 times before I got a
listing! The lesson that I learned back then was the power of following-up! Most people
in marketing know the magic that following-up holds! And this goes for all industries!
I mean, industries like the fast food industry. They understand the value of following up
by doing commercials of all shapes, sizes, and media in front of us until our mind is
numb. McDonalds knows that if they don’t put their selves in front of you, you will
forget about them.
This same fundamental is what caused me to study direct response marketing back in the
late 90’s. And that’s why I came up with an expired postcard system that guaranteed my
success! The reason for that I knew I had to stay in front of the expired listing sellers and
it was not always possible to contact them by phone!
A fact that any proactive agent must face is no matter how focused, or determined we are
to reach our production goals of listings sold there are always going to be days in this
business that it’s just not possible to make phone calls and or go see people face to face.
That’s another great reason to use expired listing postcards you can get an assistant to
send them on regular schedule. And that’s where you really see the magic of an expired
listing direct response mail campaign when it’s done consistently no matter what.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 17
Or if you’re a Realtor that works solo and if you would just commit to about an hour
every other morning before you start your day to mail expired listing postcards you will
be amazed at the results in about three weeks!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 18
Expired Listing Postcard Tips
http://hubpages.com/hub/More-Tips-on-Expired-Listing-Postcards
What is so good about expired listing postcards?
There are actually few great things about them. And that’s what this post is about.
In today’s world I think people are getting less tolerant of advertising which of course
makes the job of keeping a steady flow of leads coming in to our real estate business
more difficult.
And no matter what kind of business we are in if we don’t have a steady flow of new
leads or new clients we won’t be in business very long!
The biggest challenge we have as agents is getting a steady flow of leads. But the good
news is, as Realtors we have a target audience to market to like no other industry in the
world and that’s of course expired listings.
There are a few options for us! We can visit them which is not the most efficient method,
we can call them and attempt to use strong expired listing scripts, which is more efficient
than visiting them but the main challenge with that is unless you have a cell phone
number it is difficult to connect with very many expired listing sellers.
Then there is my favorite method and that’s expired listing postcards and letters. Now the
biggest challenge with that is what do you put in the letters and postcards to get their
attention? How often do you mail them and what frequency do you send them?
As far as what to put in them is a very difficult and is something I have studied for years.
Copywriting is a very deep and complex subject that there are volumes of books written
about as it is a science.
So I can help you with the last two items in this post. Here is what I have found to be
very effective over the years.
In fact, recently I challenged one of my agents here at my company in Baton Rouge,
Brenda Long to follow my system for 37 days and I assured her that she would get at
least five listings!
At the time of this posting May 30, 2009 it’s day 27 of that challenge and she listed the
expired listing today that was the seventh appointment set a couple of days ago.
Here is how the system works! Brenda either delivers or mails the initial letter the day the
home comes up expired in the MLS! Then she mails them a postcard every two days until
she mails them the full set of eight postcards!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 19
She also tries to call them and she will even drive by the house again to speak with the
ones that she can’t talk to over the phone. The great thing about this type of system it can
be done consistently. And the biggest advantage of the expired listing postcard is they
will see the message. It’s impossible not to see it!
Hope this gives you an idea as to how powerful expired listing postcards are, and what a
huge impact they will have in your real estate marketing program! Also keep in mind
Brenda Long was a buyers agent and rarely had more than a couple of listings in her
personal inventory.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 20
Expired Listing Marketing System – How
to Build One
http://ezinearticles.com/?Expired-Listing-Marketing-System---How-to-BuildOne&id=1247009
Expired listings are the hottest "cold lead" you can find. These people tried to sell their
home, and the market unapologetically told them it didn't want it, which creates a more
motivated seller with a dose of realism. If you're in a reasonably busy market, you could
probably make a healthy living from just expired listing marketing alone.
There are several people representing their system as the magic bullet for this booming
market. In this article, I'll show you how to leverage some off the shelf parts and very
quickly, and efficiently create your own expired listings marketing system. Our goal for
you is creating a very turn-key system that simply delivers leads to you with minimal to
no work.
Any expired listings system will require several parts:
First, you'll need source data of expired listings. Typically this coms from your MLS, but
there are 3rd-party providers of this as well, which will attempt to run a name-match on
the address, and will send you data in a format easier to deal with. One such company is
TheRedX (no affiliation), though you can certainly get this data free from your MLS.
What one pays for is ease-of-use, as they will email you a CSV file. My opinion is this
service is definitely worth the cost, but for those concerned more about money than time,
you can certainly pull this data yourself, then key it into a reverse-address-lookup to try
and get a resident's name.
Second, you'll need a way to get in front of these potential listings, which will require
using postcards. In most cases, a phone number is not available or the resident is on the
do-not-call list. It's not enough.
Here you have a few choices:
a. You can wait until the listings stack up to 100 or more, then use a postcard service to
print and send them all at once. This is inferior because expired leads depreciate in a
matter of hours, and within a few days are pretty much worthless. You need to reach
the potential seller very quickly. You need the right information seen by the right
people at the right time.
b. You can deliver them to the house, or have someone else do it. This is the best for
timeliness, as if you're first in line, you can "lay a bear trap" for other real estate
agents, as I'll show you in a bit. This helps you get the listing, but is time-consuming,
or costly if you hire someone else to deliver these for you.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 21
c. You can pre-print the postcards, then hand-address them as you get the data. This is a
bit of work to set up, but low cost overall. The biggest drawback to this is that it will
require your time every day, and most people quickly fall off doing this as soon as
they get busy. Also, if you use multiple cards, this can get complicated quickly, as
you'll have certain people on day 1, others on day 2, others on day 3.
d. You can purchase a postcard automation system which will print, stamp, and mail, in
your own handwriting, even multi-card campaigns for roughly $.52 per postcard. This
is especially effective for postcard campaigns, where doing it oneself would get
horribly complicated and time-consuming. This card automation system allows for
pre-created campaigns and typically includes scanning of your handwriting to turn it
into a font. One upside to this is if you subscribe to a 3rd-party data source, you can
even, with a bit of work, make this 100% hands-free.
Third, you'll need your message. This can be a bit tricky, because it's easy to fall into
being the bearer of bad news. Personally, I'm a big believer in using video, because
people are busy, and sometimes lazy. If they need to read a lot, you'll need to catch them
with a killer headline, or your postcard will go straight to the trash. Two proven
techniques I've seen work are to first, tell them it's more than just about the price, and
second to make it clear "the Market" has told you the house isn't worth that. Using a
video, phrased as a 3rd party, can also deliver news the seller doesn't want to hear - which
is that the house was probably overpriced.
Only 1.5% of all agents follow up over 5 times, yet 60% of sales happen after the 5th
contact. See the pattern? Now you know the reason for the 80/20 rule, about 20% of the
real estate agents outselling the other 80%. The trick: automated followup, via email
sequential autoresponders and card campaign automation.
Your expired listing marketing system should let the potential seller know it's about
pricing, promotion, and presentation. They may be able to leave the price as-is, provided
they increase how the home is presented (read: add staging, re-paint, cosmetic repairs,
etc.), and promotion (read: reach a wider audience). If you are the one to tell them their
house is overpriced, they'll shoot the messenger. Don't be that casualty. Instead, try "the
market of supply and demand has told us in it's current condition, the price requires
adjustment." I like to remind people I'm like the weatherman - I don't make the weather, I
just let you know how to prepare. Expired listing sellers are probably frustrated, so use
caution in your language.
Our company, has produced a customizable video called "Help! My Home Won't Sell" or
"Why Didn't My Home Sell?". If you decide to produce your own video, be sure to have
a crystal-clear "call to action" for them to call you at the end, and illustrate the value by
doing so.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 22
Whatever course you choose, I hope this helps you get more business. Real estate
marketing is competitive, but can lead to many closed transactions and millions in
income. Investing just a few hours to set up your turn-key expired listings marketing can
provide a pillar of business for years to come.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 23
An Expired Listing System to Close at
Least 2 Transactions Monthly
http://ezinearticles.com/?An-Expired-Listing-System-to-Close-at-Least-2-TransactionsMonthly&id=2433121
An expired listing system will allow you to take 6, 8, and 10+ expired listings every
month. Unlike other forms of marketing in real estate developing an expired listing
system is not very expensive. To generate listings monthly an expired listing system must
have several key components.
Consider the following components for any expired listing system.
Gathering expired listing opportunities
Unfortunately for many professionals they just don't ever get enough expired listing
opportunities to work with to be able to take listings monthly. Just scrolling through your
local MLS in your city generally won't give you enough opportunities.
The first part to gathering enough expired listing options is to have a system that pulls
them from the MLS for you so you don't have to look through each home. There are
many different ones out there, one that many of our clients use, is RedX. Tools like RedX
save you time by only pulling in the listings that are actual expired listings instead of the
homes that have already been re-listed.
Consider expanding the cities in which you operate for expired listings to give you more
to work with. When you build an opportunity list of at least 20 expired listings weekly
you will be well on your way to taking as many listings as you want.
Mailing Expired Listing Sellers
An essential part to getting expired sellers to pick up the phone is sending them
mail. This doesn't have to be an item that is off the wall in order for them to open it, in
fact the more simple the envelope the better your chances are of getting them to actually
open it up.
Your mailing piece should not include a resume, your sales data, or a list of what you can
do for them. Send your expired sellers a simple 1 page letter that identifies the benefits of
calling you. To get this benefit out in the shortest period of time your letter should open
up with your marketing message which identifies how you can save them time and
money. Make sure to include in your sales letter an easy way to contact you that means a
simple 1-800 number tracking service so you can track the mailing piece and give them
the confidence to call at any time of day.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 24
Converting Your Expired Listing Leads to Appointments
As you are making calls to expired sellers and receiving calls from your direct mail
turning those leads into appointments is what gets you closer to your goals. An expired
listing system should provide you the scripts and objection handling techniques to book
the appointment. There are two moments that you need to extra powerful scripts for
when you want to book more appointments.
The first moment is the very first time they pick up the phone as this is when most sellers
try to hang up the phone because they are tired of all of the phone calls. It's important to
have the right tone and ask a powerful opening question to get them in the mode to listen.
Once the expired seller is in the mode to listen have a minimum of three interest peaking
questions to ask them so they can understand the benefits of meeting with you. Once they
understand the benefits of meeting with you, simply make it easy for them to agree to
meet with you (like mentioning your easy exit listing agreement and you just need 20
minutes of their time).
Convert the Listing Appointment Into A Listing
Taking expired listings monthly means you don't have time for a "presentation". With any
expired listing system it is important to have the right interview process when you are at
their home to ensure you take the right listings and you turn the others away.
In order to qualify the seller your expired listing system should include an application
where you take the time to interview them. This should be very complimentary to your
pre-listing packet which will allow you cut down your listing appointment times. As
soon as you complete the interview, get them to sign the contract, and leave! Don't stay
for chit-chat as you have already built enough rapport to get the contract signed and that
was the goal.
When your expired listing system covers all of the above areas you will be able to take
the number of listings you want monthly. Stick with your schedule, keep mailing, and
keep taking listings that will turn into commissions.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 25
Build Income with an Expired Listing
System
by Terri Murphy
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20010625_expired.htm
If you need listings, the quickest and easiest way to ramp up your inventory is to solicit
properties that have expired. Generally the property owner has heard lots of promises,
and with little or no results. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your unique selling
advantages with cutting edge marketing and strong communication skills. Another
standard presentation isn’t going to charm a disgruntled seller, who is ready for results.
Finding expired properties to list is easy if you know where to look. Consider going back
to properties listed from several months to 3 years ago of instead of soliciting the latest
crop, which many other agents may be calling. The script to use can be as simple as just
asking if the property was sold or not. This opens to the door to asking if there is still
interest in selling, or if the property owner has any other properties that they might be
interested in professionally marketing.
Maximize your efforts by using a consistent property selling “system” to win the expired
listing. Several top producers across the country have from 3 to a dozen steps in their
strategy to win the opportunity to market the property for the owner.
For positive results, here are a few pointers to build a strong program:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Begin with a call asking if the property is still available and if you can interview
for the job.
Be ready to listen to what the property owner’s expectations are, so that you can
meet and then exceed those expectations.
Find out how many showings the property had during the initial marketing period,
and if there had been any offers. If the seller has turned down a previous offer,
find out why so you are clear on their motivation.
Ask what the showing comments had been previously communicated about the
property from prior showings and if those objections or concerns were addressed.
Have a checklist at the listing interview to record what had been done in the
previous marketing period and the results. Having a structured list shows the
homeowner that your plan is deliberate and focused. This professional step
demonstrates your interest and your analysis on how to make the property sell.
Very often, there was no real marketing plan, no accountability for
implementation of services or feedback given to the property owner by the
previous agent.
Don’t be afraid to ask the property owner to do those things that will improve the
“salability” of the property. Guide the seller with ideas to make the property more
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 26
7.
8.
9.
10.
presentable for showings. Prepare a list of those things that must be done, should
be done and might be completed. Be sure the “a” list is completed before
marketing begins. Items to address may include a more competitive price pocket
for the property in the current market. Other issues to address is the professional
staging of the property, cleaning, painting, lighting, etc. The property owner will
be more amenable to guidance if you are prepared, especially when they perceive
your intentions are sincere on their behalf.
Be prepared to guide the property owner to launch the marketing with a new
offering price. The property has expired for a reason. In many cases, it was the
value as it competes with the other properties in the current marketplace. There is
a strong possibility that the original listing agent may not have presented the
market pricing position accurately at the original market time. Or perhaps there
has been a strong shift in market values since the property was listed previously
and the property owner was never apprised of the shift. In many instances, the
property owner will be more receptive to committing to an offering price that is
realistic to get the property sold.
Have your new marketing strategy in writing with dates for the completion of the
each step.
In some cases, be prepared to choose not to list the property. If the homeowner is
difficult to deal with, the property is in poor showing condition or you haven’t
been able to educate the seller on a competitive value to market the property in
the present market, you don't want to waste your time or marketing dollars.
Sometimes it may take more than a phone call to keep a prospective property
owner. Develop a follow up system for contact that keeps your name in front of
that property owner.
When you demonstrate to a homeowner a full executable plan for marketing, your
guidance to executing that plan and your commitment to both you can be sure there is
confidence that this time the sale will occur.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 27
How to Get Expired Sellers Chasing You
by Jamey Bridges
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Expired-Sellers-Chasing-You&id=3044463
When a property is listed for months on end, only to end up going to an "Expired" status
there are many different items that happen.
First, the moment it changes from being available for sale to "expired" every listing agent
in the area is calling. Some agents want to beat their competition by calling as early as
5am. Imagine how happy that seller is to not only NOT have their home sold but to now
be bothered at 5 o'clock in the morning!
Some agents try the personal approach and drop something on their doorstep. I am sure
the home owner is thrilled when they come home to find DVD's, letters, or maybe a
creative box on their doorstep telling them about how "this time it will be different". Now
after a long day of work they have to pick everything up and throw in the trash can and
yet...their home still isn't sold.
The challenge with calling early in the morning or even dropping items by the expired
seller's home is you are chasing them! They already aren't thrilled with real estate agents
and now you are rubbing salt in the wound by giving them the same old speech as
everyone else.
In order to get expired sellers chasing you, your real estate marketing must be different. It
can't give the same old song that everyone else does AND it needs to make the expired
seller feel like they are in control.
In order to give the seller control and be different than your competition, I invite you to
consider the following tactics.
Send A Postcard with A Powerful Message
Don't send a postcard with your face on it, or with a "slogan" like neighborhood expert.
Send a postcard that is short and gives them a reason to take another step. Consider
sending a postcard with a message like the following:
Free video reveals
"A Marketing Mistake That 99% Of All Realtors Make That Cost Homeowners
Thousands!"
This postcard is now reaching directly to the needs of the seller. They are already
blaming their previous realtor and now will want to take the next step to find out how
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 28
they can avoid the mistakes of the past. This is just 1 postcard message, and you may not
get their attention on the first postcard, consider sending them at least 6 different
postcards each with a different headline.
Send Them to a Website
Your website needs to be as different as your postcards. Your website should be focused
just on expired sellers. Consider having a 4-6 minute video that focuses on the challenges
that expired sellers face and give them the opportunity to discover more how they can
have a successful experience by simply requesting more information.
Follow up from Your Website
After the expired seller submits for more information, you now should have two forms of
follow up in place. You can now call them and email them. Your email follow up should
last for at least 45 days to give them the chance to be educated on their terms and every
email along the way they should have a reason to call, email, or even revisit your website.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 29
Take Expired Listings Year Round
Regardless of Market Conditions
http://www.therealestatesuccessprogram.com/real_estate_Expired_Listing_Marketing.sht
ml
In every city across the United States there are homes expiring from their current listing
contracts every day. The homes couldn't sell for a variety of reasons. Maybe they were
overpriced, maybe the home wasn't properly prepared for sale, maybe the agent never
returned any phone calls.
The nice part is, you don't care why it didn't sell! Your job with expired sellers is to get
your foot in the door and present a solution to their problem (their home didn't sell).
Let's face it, anyone can get lucky and take 1 expired listing a month. Taking 1 a month,
keeps you in survival mode, and our role here is to get you out of that mode so you can
achieve success and accomplish your bigger picture.
In order to take a serious number of expired listings, 5, 10, 20+ a month, consider an
expired listing marketing program that gives you the control and allows you to decide
what seller's you will take on as clients and which ones will NOT qualify for your
services.
A complete expired listing marketing system will have the following:




Schedule - More than likely you won't get an expired seller to list their home on
the first phone without you having to show up (if you do, that's luck, not a
system). Having a consistent schedule and a method of follow up to gather the
most motivated expired sellers is essential. A good schedule will give you an
activity to do every day, generally over a 21 day period for maximum impact.
Marketing Message - Expired sellers don't want to hear that you are a
"neighborhood expert" or that you have been in business for "15+ years". Their
problem is they have wasted time on the market without selling their home so
your marketing message better solve their problem in less than 5 seconds. When
you send out letters your marketing message needs to be clear and at the top so
they understand how you can solve their pain.
Expired Listing Scripts - Expired sellers are going to give you many different
objections. Understanding how to handle an objection and better yet, ask interest
peaking questions will make the difference between taking 1 listing a month and
20. Get the right scripts to overcome any objection.
Expired Listing Letters - When you mail to expired sellers you will actually get
them calling you! An expired seller who calls you from a letter is a slam dunk
because you have already gained their interest from your letter. In your letter,
don't talk about yourself, it's all about the seller.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 30
With a balanced approach of calls and letters to expired sellers you will have a constant
pipeline of new listings every week.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 31
Discover an Expired Listing Letter That
Gets the Seller Calling You, Begging For
Your Help
http://www.therealestatesuccessprogram.com/real_estate_expired_listing_letter.shtml
Dear Real Estate Professional,
Expired Listings are a source of listings for you to go after each and every month. Many
real estate agents start down the road, attempting to take these listings with cold calling
techniques or sending them letters about their production.
Before even considering sending a letter out to an expired seller, I invite you to consider
the following items about expired sellers:


They don't like real estate agents! That's right, their home has been on the
market, for 90, 120, or maybe even 180+ days and it hasn't sold. They now think
real estate agents are lazy and don't do anything! They have listened to lies and
have only been told to keep lowering the price. Now that their home is expired
they are getting flooded with phone calls and mail from this community of real
estate agents that are saying the same lies they got told the first time.
They don't care about you! Maybe this is obvious consider they don't like real
estate agents, but too many real estate agents make the mistake of thinking that a
expired seller will actually care about them. This means that sending a letter about
your awards, about how you are a "neighborhood expert" means absolutely 0 to
the expired seller. The less you speak of yourself and the more you focus on the
seller, the better off you will be.
An Expired Listing Letter Needs to Be Different
In order to get expired sellers to pick up the phone and want to work with you, your
expired listing letter needs to be different. This can't be the same letter that you send to
your farm, to FSBO owners, or to your past clients.
An expired seller is getting anywhere from 7-20+ pieces of mail every day for the week
that their home is off of the market. In order to not end up in the pile that gets thrown into
the trash can, your letter has to stand out. This doesn't mean a $10 envelope with your
logo and when they open up that piece of mail it better continue to be different or it will
be torn in half and thrown away.
I will reveal two methods that will allow your expired letter to stand out among the mass
of mail the seller is receiving:
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 32
Hand write the address - This is $10/hr work so you don't have to do this yourself,
but it is VERY important. Everyone else is sending letters out in masses so they are
printing mailing labels or printing directly on the envelope. Handwriting the address
on your envelopes will increase your chances of being read by 40%! A handwritten
letter looks personal and gets them to open up your letter which is the first hurdle to
overcome.
What is your marketing message? - When your letter opens up about you and your
product it will quickly get thrown into the trash can. Your expired letter needs to
address their pain quickly in the very first sentence (preferrably even above the
salutation) to get them to read the remainder of the letter. Your marketing message
must speak to their pain of sitting on the market. Marketing messages that get calls
focus on saving people Time and Money. For an expired seller, consider getting their
attention by saving them time! They have already wasted a huge amount of time on
the market and they don't want to waste anymore.
When your letter follows just the two methods above you will start to get more calls each
and every time you send out your letters.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 33
Two Old School Marketing Ideas in the
Age of Social Networking
http://marketinggimbal.typepad.com/marketinggimbal/2008/02/two-old-school.html
In the age of digital conversations, digital relationships, and digital communities we often
forget about some old school ideas that potentially offer great impact to our efforts in
connecting with our customers.
Three weeks ago I was on a flight from Barcelona back to the USA on Continental
Airlines. I had the luck, and luxury of flying in their business first cabin. The flight was
uneventful and all was fine. This week I received a card with a handwritten note from
Continental Airlines that read:
Dear Mr. Brice
On behalf of Continental Airlines I would like to thank you for having you on board of
flight 121 from Barcelona to Newark. I hope you’ve enjoyed this flight and from all of us
on the Bacelona team we would like to see you again on any of our flights.
Yours Sincerely
Ben
Kudo’s to Continental Airlines for the highly inefficient snail mail, but oh so effective
customer experience. This makes me recall Danny Meyer’s message that service is
different from hospitality. Service is the about the process and operations of service
execution. Hospitality is about the experience and relationship with the customer. The
service of the flight met expectations. The personal note brought an added sense of
hospitality, and a better experience with Continental’s brand.
I recently read a post from the Lonely Marketer Blog where Patrick Schaber recounts a
story he was told by a family friend about a simple idea she had. The idea was to put a
topic and two chairs in the open, and wait for employees to come and sit with her and
then engage in a conversation about a particular topic. The concept of “The Chair” is as
follows:
““The Chair” is designed to spark open, face-to-face, one-on-one conversation with
employees in the simplest way possible: by offering employees a topic to talk about, an
empty chair to sit on and an Employee Communications team member to listen to them
(really listen - without a laptop, cell phone or Blackberry in the way). “The Chair” gives
us a pulse-check on employee opinions, thoughts and ideas, while giving employees a
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 34
place to be heard. “The Chair” is set up every other Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to noon
for corporate employees, with plans to expand it to store employees in the future.”
According to Patrick, there is now a line of people waiting to converse on topics with
another human being.
Two points for consideration. One is to not forget about good ole analogue forms of
communication in your social media thinking. Face to face, handwritten notes, phone
calls etc. These analogue communication channels aid in building your relationship with
your customers and prospects. The challenge is in identifying where and how to use them
in the most cost effective and efficient way. It’s not 100% digital or analogue but rather
what’s the optimal integration of all forms of communication that build the best dialogue
with your customer/prospects. Second point is that sometimes the simplest idea can yield
the greatest results, and when thinking of social media do not forget about those
constituents inside your company…Nuff said.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 35
Old Fashioned Marketing
http://my-creativeteam.com/blog/?p=902
Every year we start seeing all the articles about what the new year will hold. Everything
from politics to marketing is dissected and forecast. I like to take advantage of trends as
much as anyone but you can’t let the new blind you to the tried-and-true.
You may be considering adding podcasts, blogs, local search and social media to your
marketing matrix and that is fine, if you strategically think through how they fit with your
business and your audiences.
Blogging and podcasting are great tactics, but if your website has no traffic they are a
waste of time, effort and resources.
Let’s get back to fundamentals. I’ve had clients who were so ADD they couldn’t sit still
long enough to even think about who their best customer is. However, they got so excited
about new marketing ideas that they just had to try them. Never mind that those tactics
didn’t make sense for their business.
If you don’t know who your customer is, don’t bother spending money on marketing.
That would be a colossal waste.
Ask and answer the fundamental questions before you go spending marketing money
willy-nilly. How many audience segments do you have? Who is your best customer in
each? What is your best customer’s age, employment, sex, and marital status? Do they
have kids? What are their media habits? What attitudes or values affect their buying
habits?
If your customer buys for business, what is her title? Is she the final decision-maker or is
the decision made jointly? Who influences the sale? What industry associations do your
customers join? Do they go to trade shows? Which ones?
The more you know about the customer, the easier it is for your creatives to develop
relevant, original and impactful messages, and to determine the best ways and vehicles
through which to disseminate your messages.
While doing this hard work may not be as much fun as podcasting or Twittering, it is
infinitely more important to your bottom line. And as my friend ad agency consultant Joe
Grant says, the number one rule of business is to stay in business.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 36
Marketing the Old-Fashioned Way
by Pat Bertram
http://marketingfloozy.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/marketing-the-old-fashioned-way/
So you’ve written a wonderful book. Friends and family who’ve read it rave about how
good it is. Now all you have to do is to figure out how to get it into the hands of the
hundreds and thousands of other people who you know would enjoy it.
Marketing your book can be far more intimidating than writing it – especially for a writer
who is more introvert than extrovert. For me, it is not so much the lack of courage, but
lack of time that comes into play.
Whatever your reason for not getting your book out there, conquering a few easy
marketing strategies can make the difference between your book being a success and not.
I’m not a marketing expert by any means, but I’ve owned and operated a fairly successful
bed and breakfast and tea house for 17 years, and I have learned quite a bit about
promoting a product. Here are a few ideas that I’ve come up with for marketing my
recent release, Night and Day, that I hope you’ll be able to adapt and use to market your
own books.
(Note: In this article, I will concentrate on old-fashioned, non-internet marketing ideas. )
1.
2.
3.
4.
A couple of weeks ago, I personally visited several grocery stores and specialty
shops in my area with a book in hand to let them know about Night and Day. One
shop owner handed me cash right then and there and said they’d call when they
needed more books. They’ve already called to order 2 more. Other shop owners
seemed more skeptical, and wanted to have the books, but on consignment.
One woman wasn’t there when I stopped by, so I left a book for her to take a look
at. When I returned a week later, she had read half of it, and was saying things
like, “What are you doing living in St. Ansgar, Iowa? You should be in New York
City writing full time – you have such a knack for this! The book is wonderful! I
love it!” and “If I don’t get my Easter ham in the oven, it’s going to be your fault.
I can’t put this book down!”
While not everyone is going to react to your book with such enthusiasm, all it
takes is one person – in a store, a community, an area, and the word is going to
get out. Word of mouth is always the best advertising. Giving away a few books
to people you think might be good cheerleaders might really pay off.
I also sent out a letter to a dozen or two shops in areas mentioned in my book. For
Night and Day, I targeted Scandinavian specialty shops, quilting shops, and book
stores in areas of Minnesota mentioned in the book, as well as areas of Iowa and
California with high concentrations of Danish settlers. So far, I have only had one
positive response, but it was definitely worth my time. And, once I follow up with
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 37
5.
6.
7.
8.
a personal visit (I’m planning to head to Red Wing, Welch, Cannon Falls and
Blooming Prairie, MN as soon as I have more books, and a free day.) I hope to
land a few more placements for my book. You can find email and mailing
addresses online if you visit the chamber of commerce pages for the community
you’re targeting.
Offer to do a book signing at the shop’s next sale, open house, or special event.
Shop owners are always looking for ways to attract a few more customers. Some
shops have wine tastings, or craft demos, or participate in community
celebrations. Ask if you can come to their next event and be part of the
excitement. Everyone I spoke to reacted enthusiastically to this idea. I’ve even
been invited to do a book signing at the Book Loft in Solvang, CA next January
when we’re out on the West Coast. It might have something to do with the fact
that I offer to bring a plate of Melting Moments (a little Danish butter cookie my
family has always made) with me when I come. A unique slant can catch their
attention.
Woman’s groups and clubs, church groups, community groups, most any kind of
group enjoy special speakers. I’ve been on several committees, and it’s a constant
challenge to find someone to speak at our monthly meetings. Prepare a 10 – 15
minute long talk on some aspect of your experience, and contact libraries,
churches, friends, community centers, senior citizen centers, and let them know
you’re available. Odds are, they’ll be delighted, and you’ll soon have an
opportunity to present your book to a captive audience! I will be speaking to a
local writer’s group this Friday at 10 a.m., and another, in the next town over,
sometime next month.
Send out press releases to area newspapers, radio and television stations. Include a
blurb, a bio, a photo, a list of places your book is available, and hopefully, a slant
that makes your story unique. A unique slant might be how you were discovered,
how the story ties in with a local legend or current event, or what inspired you to
write the book in the first place. Most of them will go in the trash, but if even one
picks up the story (who doesn’t love a “local girl or guy done good” story?), it
will have been worth your while. I taped my first radio interview yesterday, for a
station in Atlantic, Iowa, a large Danish community a couple of hours south of
here. Who knows what will come of it?
Offer your book as an auction item or special prize for your favorite charity, a
church bazaar, or a local contest. Most places will also let you leave a stack of
business cards or book marks to maximize your exposure.
I’m sure there are many other ideas that you can use to market your books, but hopefully,
this short list will jog your creative impulses and help you get started. If not, make a list
of what kind of people you think would enjoy your book (who is your target customer?)
and where you are most likely to reach them. Then, make a list of each place, area, craft,
hobby, or profession mentioned (hopefully in a positive light) in your book, and start
thinking about how you can market to those niches.
You HAVE written a wonderful book. Now it’s time to tell the world!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 38
More Evidence That Old Fashioned
Marketing Doesn’t Work
by Jack Humphrey
eMarketer has published new findings regarding advertisers on social networks and
revised their projections for ad spending on social sites.
“In 2008, companies will spend $1.2 billion on US social network advertising, down 14%
from our previous estimate of $1.4 billion, published in May 2008,” says Ms.
Williamson. “Even in 2009, spending will rise barely $100 million to $1.3 billion.” Social Networks: Millions of Users, Not So Many Marketers
The way I see it, the problem is the way in which advertisers are going about getting in
front of surfers who are spending more and more time on social sites. They are
advertising with banners, videos, and all the other interruption marketing of the past.
Not surprisingly, they are getting lower returns than expected. It comes from a lack of
understanding of social networking. Social sites are not traditional websites. People are
there for a specific purpose and do not want the distraction of clicking ads.
Surfers are actually doing something on these networks and they visit to accomplish
certain tasks that they do not want to be pulled away from. When your ad is up against a
new message from a friend or colleague that your target wants to respond to, the friend is
going to win 99% of the time.
Guess what? That “friend” who is pulling your prospect away from your ad might
just be a marketer!
They’ve built a relationship of sorts with the person you want so badly to click on your
ad and they are winning the attention game.
What traditional marketers fail to understand is that the action in social networks, where
all the customers are, is in the actual use of the networks to build virtual relationships and
followers. And this is done through genuine communication rather than pesky intrusions
on surfers’ valuable time.
The fleet-of-foot small marketers are getting this. The big business-as-usual companies
are continually mystified by the difference, or that there is any difference at all.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 39
Dead Marketing Ideas, A List
http://www.spaboomblog.com/2009/dead-marketing-ideas-a-list
The world around us is changing quickly. Ideas and strategies that worked last year but
can’t keep pace are going to die and fade away. Here is a list of marketing ideas that are
fading into history for good.
If you build it they will come.
That is what GM and Ford have been delivering for the past twenty years and they are
now paying the price. They were asleep at the wheel while other companies were
delivering cars based on consumers' needs and wants. Being customer centric means
delivering products and services designed around their needs, not the other way around.
Price is the only way to win.
Think of the last time you deliberately went out of your way to purchase something at the
right price but left the store because there was no one to help you. The lack of human life
can be deafening. Even companies that lead on price are holding themselves up by more
than that, they must also provide some sweet spot mix of convenience, service, selection
and speed.
Follow the Big guy’s lead.
In recent months we have watched large corporations flounder in a sea of price reduction
in their effort to maintain cash flow. Tomorrow I plan to haggle with Jiffy Lube to get my
oil changed.
Take advantage of small now. Spas need to be light on overhead, quick, creative,
adaptable and then they must bring it all into focus for customers. Customer service may
be old fashioned, but it is still in style.
Marketing 101-distribution model: producer, wholesaler, retailer.
Right now Zappos.com is killing the competition by controlling their distribution and
offering customers free shipping and unparalleled customer services. It is the magic of
tight distribution and giving the Zappos.com customer service personnel the power to
WOW.
The days of waiting for products are over. New models are leaving traditional retailers
and online merchants in the dust. Right now, it is all about service and delivery.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 40
Web designers controlling a business’s website.
Spa retailers must maintain control of their websites the way they do their brick and
mortar spas and salons. Having a web designer manage a spa’s online presence is the old
paradigm, the sluggish and slow paradigm. Right now spa owners are updating, changing
and empowering their websites to do more for their business before finishing their
morning coffee. Take control, check out the SpaBoom Dynamic websites and empower
your spa business.
Your only customers are those who walk through your spa door.
Last year I wanted to surprise my aunt in Denver with a nice birthday gift. I went to
SpaEmergency, found a great spa, clicked to their website, purchased and then emailed
my aunt the Instant Gift Certificate. My aunt prides herself by being "in-the-know" and
her response to the gift was beyond my expectations. It is one of the best spas in Denver.
Boy I looked great, but I never actually went to the spa, just their website. I will most
likely never enter that spa, but I am a customer and I will likely make additional
purchases, perhaps this summer for my Denver-based sister-in-law, right before her
wedding.
This new shift requires local spas and online businesses to expand their customer base
beyond their geographical area and think big.
We must learn to view change as a natural phenomenon–to anticipate it and to plan for
it. The future is ours to channel in the direction we want to go… we must continually ask
ourselves, "What will happen if…?" or better still, "How can we make it happen?" –Lisa
Taylor
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 41
Get the Most Out of Your Marketing
by Pat Price
http://www.napervillemarketingideas.com/
I love baseball movies, particularly Field of Dreams. Remember the classic line? “If you
build it, they will come.” Unfortunately, I speak with many entrepreneurs who act as
though that were true in business. If they just hang out their shingle, advertise in the
newspaper, or publish a paper, prospects will beat a path to their door.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the methods mentioned. As a matter of fact, they
really can help you build your business if done properly. I’d like to spend a few moments
getting back to the basics, though. You may be overlooking some of your best
opportunities.
People want to buy from those they know and trust. That’s the relationship side of things.
Add to that the fact that you may know and like someone, but you wouldn’t necessarily
go to him or her for badminton lessons if they didn’t know the first thing about the sport.
So it’s important that you also have credibility in your business. You need to be
perceived as a go-to person for your industry. If you’re in a services business, or you sell
a higher-end product, the two dimensions I’m showing here are critical.
Ads and promotions are actually lowest on the scale of relationship and credibility. Yet, I
wish I had a nickel for every time a business owner came to me and wanted to focus
solely on that bottom piece. That’s the equivalent of hanging out your shingle expecting
everyone to now start doing business with you. It’s possible. But, it’s more likely if you
combine those elements with others that get you better acquainted with your prospects.
For example, as you work your way up the diagram, the level of credibility and
relationship goes up. Those tactics can add dramatically to your results when combined
with advertising and promotions. And the beauty of these is – they are usually free!
So think about ways you may be able to:
Use the media: Are you a good writer? Even if you’re not, you can hire someone to
ghostwrite for you! Consider writing articles, advertorials, or case studies that highlight
the positive results some of your customers have experienced. And don’t forget media
releases. They are a great way to keep your name out in front of the public and in your
industry.
Showcase your expertise: If you can stomach speaking in front of a group, this is a surefire way to highlight your knowledge. Of course, it is the number one fear of adults. (It
ranks higher than death!) So I wouldn’t recommend this for everyone. But I WOULD
recommend everyone practice and get more comfortable with speaking in groups. Odds
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 42
are you have plenty of opportunities to give that 30-second verbal commercial at
meetings and events. I had no idea how powerful that could be until I had two people
come up to me after one such round of introductions at an association meeting. They
wanted to hear more about my business specifically because of the way I introduced
myself!
Leverage your efforts: I love referrals because they’re usually a slam-dunk. The trick is to
cultivate and ask for them. As I wind up a consulting project or I finish a speaking gig, I
always ask my clients to think of anyone that might also benefit from my services. In
addition to clients, professionals with synergistic businesses serve as sources of referrals.
Ask yourself “Who else works with my ideal customer?” Those relationships need to be
cultivated. And you need to serve as a source of referrals for them, as well.
More “face time”: Networking and old-fashioned one-on-one dialog with prospects opens
doors and can lead to newfound opportunities. If you’re an introvert, I know how
challenging this can be. But your business depends on it. Worst case; hire someone who’s
good at this.
My key points for today:
1.
2.
Don’t’ put all your eggs in one basket. You need to have a combination of
programs and media working for you.
Find ways that are appropriate to your business (and your skills!) to build your
relationship and credibility with prospects.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 43
Old Fashioned Marketing With New
Fashioned Technology
by Kelly Harman
http://ezinearticles.com/?Old-Fashioned-Marketing-With-New-FashionedTechnology&id=2139295
It seems we've come full circle when it comes to communicating with our prospects and
clients. I noticed recently that I've been paying a lot less attention to online newsletters
and those pretty HTML announcements that arrive in my in-box every day. There are a
few exceptions of course. But for the most part I'm interested in the CONTENT of what
is being delivered, not the design or graphics. When given the choice I no longer ask for
the HTML version of anything - instead I choose the text-only version.
There was a time when it was unusual to receive anything but plain text into your email
box. Then we moved to designing branded newsletters and "postcard-like" invitations
that would capture the attention of our readers. Now, thanks to ever-improving SPAM
filters a lot of those fancy invitations, announcements and emails aren't even making it to
our desktop. And for those that do get through the fire-wall, we've become jaded and
tired of looking at all those designs. We just want the information - short, sweet and
simple.
Playing on this hunch we recently experimented with a client that has been holding a
series of seminars. As is typical, invitations had been sent out using HTML and branded
design. But registrations were down and we were looking for a way to drive attendance.
So we sent out another announcement about the event, except this was a simple text
email. In the "from" section we had real person's name. In the "subject" line we inserted
the name of the seminar. In the body of the email was a sentence inviting the recipient to
attend the seminar. We had about 3 key "what you'll get" bullets and the basic description
of the 2 hour session.
Within 24 hours of sending out the text email we received an additional 10 registrants for
the event. Since the event was capped at 25 attendees, this was almost 50% of our
audience! We thought we might be on to something, so we did again for another client
event. And again, the results were similar. The plain text email out performed the HTML
invitation by over 50%. Why? I think our brains are just a little tired. You can compare
this to walking down the Las Vegas strip at night. At first the lights are beautiful and
everything captures your attention. But walk the strip every night for months and months
and after a while those pretty flashing lights aren't going to capture your attention any
longer. You are going to simply focus on arriving at your destination.
Because of this, I believe that we're coming full circle back to a more old-fashioned way
of communicating. I don't have time to read my online newsletters as often as I would
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 44
like. But I notice that on Sunday afternoon I sit down and read several print journals I get
in the mail each month. The "cold-call" email blasts never capture my attention but last
week I got a very clever direct mail piece that gave me pause and actually got me to call
the service provider. And I recently signed up for a webinar on advanced search engine
marketing techniques that I learned about from a plain text email that was delivered to me
from the owner of the interactive consultancy.
Am I advocating that we do away with HTML newsletters and announcements
completely? Of course not. Those have a place in our marketing mix as does everything
else. I am suggesting that you consider alternating HTML with plain text and that you
experiment with both. If you're holding an event, why not alternate each notice -- the first
in HTML, the second in plain text, etc. And the day before the event -- send out a plain
text reminder. And let me know if your response rates start increasing with this "oldfashioned" approach to email marketing.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 45
Advertising is Dead
http://23kazoos.com/advertising-is-dead/
Shh, don’t tell anyone, but traditional advertising is dead! I can’t remember what I
had for lunch a half an hour ago, let alone what commercials I saw while watching
American Idol or what ads were in this month’s issue of In-Style Magazine. If you think
your customers can remember your ad because it’s funny, unusual, colorful, etc., you are
sadly mistaken. So if you want to get customers, you’ve got to go back to the old way of
doing things: word of mouth! Fortunately you don’t have to saddle up your horse and
ride through the streets yelling “the British are coming” Because in this era, word of
mouth spreads through what’s known as “social media.”
Yes, customers want to get back to the foundation of society: relationships. Just like in
the days of Paul Revere customers want to do business with people they know, like and
trust. Furthermore, they want the people that they do business with to know, like, and
trust them as well. No more, “If you don’t come see me today, I can’t save you any
money.” We’re savvy, we’re cynical, we relational, and we’re powerful. Through social
media marketing, we can reach all the customers we need and then some. And the good
part of all of this is, you don’t have to spend a single dime.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 46
Bringing Dead Files to Life
http://constructionmarketingideas.blogspot.com/2009/08/bringing-dead-files-to-life.html
Many years ago, as a junior real estate agent, I set out into the world of business and sales
without connections or client relationships. So I took every bit of sales training I could
find, and discovered two sources of leads (until I started building referral and repeat
clients).
The first group, "FSBOS", were people advertising privately their homes for sale. Using
the "script" from a sales trainer, I would call them, start a conversation, and ultimately
obtain a few listings. I determined the boundaries to call would be within the free calling
area of my home (in a far suburb of the city).
Interestingly, I had the greatest success in another suburb, at the opposite end of town -and by this community's standards -- a very long drive. But any time I tried to screen the
list to be more geographically convenient, I failed to get business, even though when I
didn't screen, I often found business away from this distant suburb.
Lesson learned: Don't screen too hard at the start, provided the core qualifications are
met (but don't deviate from your qualifications.)
My second best source of cold leads turned out to be the real estate brokerage's "dead
file", expired listings and records from former clients. I discovered a filing cabinet full of
these records and set out to call them (with the brokers' permission, of course). Several
were happy to hear from me, and signed up.
You may have dead records in your own office; it won't hurt to go through them and
make a connecting call -- you may find new business that way.
I learned some other lessons during my time as a Realtor. First, I discovered I enjoyed the
work as long as I was learning and growing; within two years, I had achieved my brokers
license, and helped put together some reasonably advanced commercial As soon I
stopped learning, however, I began to hate the work -- one deal seemed to morph into
another; the actual intellectual exercise required for the work seemed to lack enough
challenge to motivate me. Worse, while I was good, I knew I could never be great. I
needed to move on.
My solution: Return to my first passion, journalism, but this time as a business owner. I
would start a publication for real estate agents and brokers. Financially, the original
venture never made sense, but it got me into a business I truly enjoy and where I can take
the ups and downs because it always challenges me.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 47
However, I haven't forgotten the lessons from the real estate sales experience. If you are
starting out in sales or marketing with a construction business, maybe your boss won't
mind you going through the former client files and calling a few of them -- and if it is
your business, you might find gems of future business in those dusty files.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 48
Mass Marketing is Dead, Long Live
Nano-Marketing
by Laurent Liscia & Pierre-Loic Assayag
http://traackr.com/blog/?p=22
Summary: The Traackr team capitalizes on Gladwell’s Tipping Point theory by creating
a marketplace for influence; but discovers along the way that there can be nanospheres
of influence; and that mass-marketing may well be dead. Long live nanomarketing.
There are three major ways in which marketers have leveraged the Internet: one is a
transposition in email of direct marketing, and has had spam as a side-effect; another is a
transposition on the Web of media buying via mechanisms like Adsense or Doubleclick,
but with a level of automation, precision and tracking that are not possible offline; a third
is what we would generally call micro-marketing: the ability to respond to an individual
user’s expressed query with a targeted offer. While today, this is still limited to keyword
placement, we can count on Google to offer much sharper vehicles as its slew of free
apps helps build more and more accurate profiles of individual users.
With Malcolm Gladwell, however, micro-marketing has taken on a whole new meaning.
Marketers as a group have realized that the Web is the perfect medium for “tipping point”
phenomena. It now seems possible to target a select group of influential people online,
and to let them do your selling job for you. This select group, because of its importance,
would become the object of an even more refined kind of marketing: nano-marketing.
It’s already an industry, and in case you think we’re fantasizing, here’s a snippet from
Fast Company’s Clive Thompson: “According to MarketingVOX, an online marketing
news journal, more than $1 billion is spent a year on word-of-mouth campaigns targeting
Influentials, an amount growing at 36% a year, faster than any other part of marketing
and advertising.”
The Tipping Point
First, let’s review the principles expounded in the Tipping Point.
To summarize them:
The tipping point is the level at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.
1. There are laws of social epidemics, the first being the “Law of the Few”, stated
as: “The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the
involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social skills.” These are the
“connectors” who bring people and ideas together; the “mavens” or information
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 49
specialists who serve as experts on certain subject matters for others; and the
“salesmen”, who, much like your star insurance or car salesperson have
charismatic powers of persuasion (You have to wonder how often Gladwell has
been on a car lot lately).
2. The second Law is the Stickiness Factor: what makes your content stand out and
stick. To borrow a concept from the evolutionary theorist Richard Dawkins, you
want your ideas to become “memes”, concepts that spread like viruses. Otherwise
there’s no social epidemic.
3. The third Law is the The Power of Context: epidemics don’t happen in a vacuum.
The way society is set up predetermines how the epidemic will spread. The
existence of the Internet, for instance, is an accelerator of change and new ideas.
To marketers and particularly online marketers, the Tipping Point has become something
of a Bible. Traditional direct marketing experts are no longer dismissive of these
concepts. Symbolically, Karl Rove’s departure from the White House may signal the end
of the Direct Marketing paradigm, and the advent of the Tipping Point paradigm.
Strange side effects
Here are some of the ways in which Gladwell’s points have come spectacularly true, but
in peculiarly useless ways.
The strangest epidemic on the Web is the proliferation of tools that are supposed to
MAKE tipping points happen: social networking sites.
The snake bites its own tail: there’s been a tipping point of tipping point tools, with
thousands of startups attempting to capitalize on what they perceived as a trend, and
which can be summarized to the meteoric rise of MySpace, LinkedIn and Facebook.
This shortcoming may have something to do with a fatal flaw in Gladwell’s theory. If you
believe Yahoo’s social network theorist Duncan Watts, Gladwell’s “Influentials” theory
is all rubbish. In wild computer simulations of “meme” spread, and real-world social
experiments, Duncan Watts has found time and again that there are no laws of
propagation; that in fact, the average Joe is just as likely to spread the message as a socalled “influential”.
In other words, anyone can be influential.
Traackr: a new theory of influentials
First off we would reformulate the Second Law as: content is king. TV knows a little
something about that. It’s anyone’s guess what makes content sticky, so to try and define
stickiness has more to do with magic than marketing. Anyone have Harry Potter in their
address book?
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 50
The basic corollary of this law would simply be to say that a site that plans to engage
users on a regular basis has a better “capture” potential than a mere tool. In that sense,
Facebook’s “social utility” is a misnomer. It’s not a utility, it’s a hangout, in ways that
MySpace is not. MySpace went overboard on the personalized homepages. Users are less
interested in self-expression than in communication. Duh! We came from the savannah,
where knowing where the food, the water, the fun and the danger were ranked much
higher than showing off the latest bird feather.
Also, the Third Law is a tautology, a.k.a rubbish. Of course context is everything, but you
need almost 100 years to figure out what the context was at any given time. That’s the
amount of time it takes for the noise in the system to die down and the actual signal to
appear. 100 years from now we will all see what a great president George Bush actually
was. Just kidding.
Finally, anyone can be a connector, a maven or even a salesperson in turn. It all depends
on what the topic is. And that’s the key to successful nano-marketing: the topic, not the
influential!
Traackr is a platform that shows users that what they do on the Web creates a sphere of
influence. It teaches them to focus their efforts and leverage their presence into greater
influence. It delineates areas of expertise and connection. And it recognizes the power of
every individual to impact several decisions, whether political or economic. Emarketers
need to recognize this too, and give up on the pipe dream of influential elites.
Endorsements will continue to make sense; but viral campaigns are not about buying
influence; they’re about understanding how influence emerges and operates.
Companies like Buzz Agent have been surfing Gladwell’s wake – but rather than finding
the tipping point, they seem to have crested and crashed. It seems that promises to
manufacture influence, the way American Idol manufactures musical talent, are destined
to remain an Orwellian concept. (In some ways that’s a relief). Why is this kind of
approach bound to fail? If we accept Traackr’s premise that content is king, then only
content will gage the credibility of a specific influencer with his or her nano-audience.
Manufactured influencers can’t pass the community test. Real community influencers are
all too aware that their credibility is their main currency and will be hard-pressed to
compromise it. Does this mean that influencers and marketers can’t work together? Not at
all, but the rules for such a relationship have yet to be set. Nano-marketing is the first and
only step marketers can take to reach out to influencers.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 51
The Sales Pitch is Dead; Here’s A New
Way to Sell
http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/10/15/the-sales-pitch-is-dead-heres-a-new-way-tosell/
What do you do with your ideas? How do you get them traction? It used to be you made a
sales pitch – to venture capitalists, to customers, to your boss.
But today young people are deconstructing the sales pitch – paring it down to its core
information and parodying the BS that surrounds it.
The nail in the coffin of spin might have been last Tuesday, when Google purchased You
Tube, and the twentysomething founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen,
made a home video to announce one of the most significant corporate acquisitions of the
year to consumers.
The video starts out with the two of them talking about the benefits to the consumer –
lines that may or may not have been scripted and sound a lot like spin. But then Hurley
says of YouTube and Google, "Two kings have gotten together." He appears to realize he
has lost himself in generic salespeak, and he laughs.
Then someone says, "Just keep going."
So he does. He makes a Burger King joke.
Among young people, there is a general dislike for the classic idea of sales. "Our
company is not a sales-based organization," says Siamak Taghaddos of GobVMail, a
virtual phone service for small business. "Not in the typical sense. We educate people.
I'm a firm believer in letting someone make their own decision."
Sales spin only works if you have a monopoly on the real information. In an era where
information rules and everyone can get it whenever they want, there are scant
opportunities to credibly slant the truth. Instead, you just have to put it out there and
hope it works.
Spin doctors on sales teams are out, and authentic communication is in. This is why many
companies do not have a sales button on their web site, but they do have a blog. The blog
is a way of getting out information in an authentic, efficient way, which is the best path to
acceptance.
The power of authenticity for the new generation cannot be overstated. Guy Kawasaki,
former Apple Computer evangelist and founder of Garage Technology Ventures, is a
notable voice of authenticity on his blog, Signal Without Noise.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 52
Most people with Kawasaki's experience rely on their authority — the power of their
reputation — to push through their ideas. Kawasaki, however, is not afraid to rely on
authenticity — a dedication to providing genuine and useful information that has value to
his audience.
As a blogger he initiates conversations with his readers rather than issue one-way
declarations. His daily posts reflect an understanding that his resume is not as important
as the power of the information he provides right now. The tacit agreement is paying off:
in the pool of millions of blogs, his is one of the 50 most popular.
So what do you do to both act on your idea, and then be able to convey it effectively,
with authenticity? Here are six things to consider.
1. Jettison the stupid stuff.
"Ninety percent of selling an idea is having a good idea," says Kawasaki. "People think
that the difficulty is marketing and sales. But if you have a good idea then you can really
screw up in marketing and sales" and still succeed. So stop focusing on how you are
going to pitch, and come up with the ideas that pitch themselves by virtue of their genius.
2. Become the anti-salesman and slip under the radar.
One of the common complaints young people have about working in big companies is
that no one listens to their ideas. Outside a company, entrepreneurs have a good idea and
move on it. But inside a company there are customs and guidelines for starting new
products. Kawasaki says, "Being an entrepreneur and an 'intrapraneur' are more similar
than different. The key for an intrapraneur is not trying to get permission." He concedes
that you will have to step on peoples' toes, but you should do it only after you have a
version of the product ready to go.
3. Start a conversation instead of a canned speech.
People are looking for information and have little tolerance for fluff. So if you want
someone to believe in what you're doing, be a good on your feet. "It comes down to being
able to handle questions quickly and well," says Brian Wiegand, CEO of Jellyfish, a
shopping search engine.
Because the Internet turns the idea of authority on it's head, people want to contribute to a
good idea instead of being handed a good idea. So when you want your idea to have
traction, "let people add their ideas to your own so they like the idea more," says
Wiegand.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 53
4. Find people who need you.
Kim Ricketts creates book events at corporations. Like most good ideas, bringing authors
to companies fills a need – in this case to give employees the chance to hear new
thinkers. Ricketts also fills a void for publishers, who are looking for new ways to sell
books. Her events are a great example of how good ideas gain traction quickly, with little
or no marketing, because they answer a customer's problem.
5. Focus on the information.
Often, an in-person sales pitch to a young person is like an IM message blinking onscreen to a baby boomer: Unwanted interruption of information processing.
If you've been selling for decades, tone it down, because you sound desperate to a new
generation, and also a little dishonest. If you really have a good product, the facts will
speak for themselves.
And pay heed to people such as David Hauser, CTO of GotVMail: "I don't want to be
told what to buy. I can research online myself and make the decision on my own."
6. Be your true self.
Taghaddos says you should worry as much about yourself as your product. "Be authentic:
Lay a foundation for a company and yourself. If you are how you want people to perceive
you, then people will like you and they'll buy your product. They'll do it without any
pressure."
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 54
No Objection Handling, Stop Selling
Yourself, and Get More Appointments
Dear Real Estate Professional,
One of my clients who really wanted to work expired sellers called me the other week
and was having a problem getting sellers to agree to an appointment. I asked her how her
conversations were going.
She told me, "Well, Todd, these seller's are getting like 30+ calls every day, so I start off
with how I can help. I really don't let them speak for the first few minutes of the call
because I don't want them to hang up. I point many of the mistakes that the previous
agent made so they can see how I am person that pays attention to detail and how I could
get their home to sell.
I figure when I control the conversation from the beginning they will see how I am
different and how I am different than the competition."
Unfortunately her approach is like many real estate agents out there. After all, since the
home expired, if we just point out some of the mistakes the previous agent made, then the
expired seller is bound to see how good we are and want to use us...right?
Wrong!
When you start rattling off how good you are, the mistakes the previous agent made, you
aren't LISTENING to the needs of the expired seller. Controlling a conversation doesn't
mean talking through the seller or pointing out mistakes, it means leading them down a
path where they want to meet with you because that is the logical choice.
Avoid the need for Objection Handling with the Right Scripts
You can avoid many of the objections that expired seller's give when you know how to
approach the conversation. Most agents need an arsenal of objection handling methods
because they are starting the conversation with the sellers incorrectly from the moment
they pick up the phone.
Here are the methods that you can use use to simply avoid the objections which will lead
the seller to actually WANTING to meet with you.
Make it risk free to meet with you - The expired seller needs help, but they don't want to
go down the same path that they had before. To get the appointment with the seller let
them know it is easy to meet with you. You can do this by offering a short appointment,
mentioning your easy exit listing agreement, anything that lowers their fear and allows
them to open up the door and meet with you.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 55
Control the conversation with questions - When you ask Yes/No questions to an expired
seller you are setting yourself up for problems because you have no where to go! The key
to getting expired sellers to meet with you is asking interest peaking questions. These
questions have to be intriguing to the seller and ones where they don't know the answer!
Take the following example:
"Mr. Seller would you like to know how you could get your home sold and off the market
in the next 39 days?"
A question like above goes immediately to solving a key problem for the expired seller:
TIME.
Now is your time to start making calls differently. Start controlling your conversations,
be the interviewer, and ask interest peaking questions that lead the seller to the only
logical conclusion possible: They meet with you to solve their problem!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 56
Control Just A Few Key Hours Weekly
And Take As Many Expired Listings
Than Anyone In Your Market
Dear Real Estate Professional,
As I speak with clients across the country about taking Expired Listings I have found one
aspect that challenges many real estate agents: a schedule!
Having a schedule is often the last thing that real estate agents want to think of, after all,
we got into real estate for freedome, right? When you don't have a schedule though you
are destined for poor results. Some months you may take a few listings and then you get
sucked into the drama of real estate and you take 0 listings.
The best agents at taking expired listings (like my top clients who take 4,6,8 listings a
week) control their schedule so they can take the maximum number of expired listings in
their market.
Before you start rolling your eyes and thinking there is absolutely NO WAY you could
stick to a schedule, I invite you to consider the following methods to set a schedule that
will allow you to take as many expired listings as you want.
Phone calls - It really doesn't matter when you call (6am, 7am, 10am, etc.) just as long as
you pick the same time each day. Create a habit of calling the same time and you will be
able to get a hold of the expired sellers easily.
Mailing letters - Getting the most success from any expired system requires that you
mail the seller a letter. It's absolutely imperative that you get your letter in the mail on the
first day that home is expired. That way, by the time you call, they will have your letter
in their hand.
Listing Appointments - Don't interrupt your calling time for listing appointments. Make
sure the seller's jump through your hoops and set a time that works for you. Schedule
your listing appointments back to back to save yourself time.
Stop your follow up - It's up to you to decide when to cut it off, but at day 21 it's best to
decide on whether the seller is worthy of your follow up. The only way to take a serious
number of listings is to focus your energy on the seller's who QUALIFY for your
services.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 57
Stop Making Excuses, Make It a System
When you are looking to take expired sellers there are 100's of excuses you can make to
avoid getting started. I have heard them all, agents say things like:




They don't want to hear from me
Everyone in my market is doing it
I don't have time
They are angry
Most agents just constantly make excuses because they aren't controlling their schedule
and they don't have a systematic approach to taking expired listings.
Controlling your schedule to get results means applying a consistent approach to taking
expired listings. Whether you decide to implement our Expired Mastery System, or
develop one on your own, make sure to have a balance of phone calls, letters, and an
approach that allows you to take as many listings as you want every month.
Now is your time to start controlling your schedule and start taking more listings. Before
tomorrow set your schedule and stick to it!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 58
With The Right Letter Expired Sellers
Will Be Calling You and Begging For
Your Help
Dear Real Estate Professional,
Being a marketing agent, means that people are calling you and asking for help. Too
many real estate agents approach Expired Listings by just making call after call each and
every day and after just a few days they give up.
Taking expired listings every week means many sellers will actually be calling you and
asking for your help, you just have to book the appointment! Before that happens though,
you can't be sending out the same old letter that almost every real estate agent sends.
In fact, here are some of the key items you absolutely MUST AVOID in your expired
letters.
Information about you - They don't care so stop putting information about you in your
expired letter. They don't care that you are a "neighborhood expert" and they don't care
how many homes you sold. Remove anything about your in your letter.
Logos - Having your office logo on your envelope means it is destined for the trash can. I
don't care what market share you think you or your office has, the sellers just don't care.
Give yourself the best opportunity and ditch the logos from your envelopes.
Your Letter Needs To Stand Out, But That Is Easier Than You Think
Handwritten envelopes - Before they can read your letter they have to open the
envelope! When you print or print out labels for your letters they get torn in half and
thrown in the trash can without them even opening the letter. Stop wasting money and
spend just a few minutes (this is $10/hr work so get someone to do it) handwriting the
addresses.
Marketing message - Your marketing message better be at the top of your letter, even
before the salutation. It should speak to how you can save the seller TIME and MONEY.
Tracking phone number - Don't put your cell phone because you won't know where
they are calling from. Use a system like ProQuest and put that phone number in your
letter so you can track the results of your expired letter marketing.
Simple letters, with your marketing message, will get the sellers calling you enabling
you to book more appointments and take more listings. The calls will start rolling in
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 59
(especially when you send your letters out on Day 1) and then next big step is to qualify
the sellers and see if they get the opportunity to work with you (more on that on day 4).
Most of all, go back, rip apart your existing letters and start sending letters that get you
calls.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 60
Not Every Seller Will Qualify For Your
Services, Find Out Quickly Who Are The
Right Sellers
Dear Real Estate Professional,
By now, you know that you need to send the right letters, ask interest peaking questions,
and control your schedule. When you are doing that you are well on your way to taking
2,4,6, 8+ listings every week.
When you ask the right questions you can book as many appointments as you want, but
in reality you don't WANT to work with every seller because there are some sellers out
there that are totally unrealistic.
Let's focus on a couple of questions that you need to have answers to before you even set
the appointment. There are a dozen questions that you need to have answers to before you
set foot in their door, and here are two that you absolutely must get answers to.
Does My Prospect Know What My Real Job Is?
This is an important question to get an answer to. After all, some sellers think it is your
job to show every potential buyer the property or hold open houses, and we know that
isn't your job at all!
Your job is to price the home correctly so you can get the home sold! It is very important
to dig deep and get the seller to understand what you do for them. When you don't get an
answer to this question you could end up taking a seller who will be just a total waste of
time.
Does My Seller Understand What The REAL Problem Is?
If you take on a seller who expects that you will relist the home at the same price with
JUST some new pictures then you have a seller who unrealistic expectations.
It is important to get the seller to admit that there was a much bigger problem that
existed. They can't possibly blame their previous real estate agent for everything (if they
do, you need to dig deeper). It is essential to get the seller to admit there was a problem
with pricing, presentation of the home, availability, etc. so that you can ensure that you
have a successful listing for them.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 61
Reject Seller's Who Don't Qualify
Your skills with scripts and asking interest peaking questions will allow you to book
appointments, but if the seller doesn't QUALIFY for your services it is is better to pass
on the listing instead of wasting months on a listing that won't sell. When you start
rejecting expired sellers that is when you will start taking more listings than you ever
expected.
On your next listing appointment try digging deeper and getting to the root of the
problem with the seller. Try to determine the real cause of why their listing didn't sell and
get them to come to the same conclusion! You can't just tell them what their problem is,
they have to "see" it for themselves.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 62
Why Target Expired Listings?
http://www.va4re.com/real-estate-virtual-assistant-marketing-to-expired-listings
Sellers who have been unsuccessful in trying to sell their home are visible - ready and
more than willing to move forward in getting their home sold. You don't have to try and
find them, they're easily located with a quick MLS search.
Running such a search will give you everything you need to target your pitch - you can
obtain their contact information, the current asking price, how long it's been on the
market and any price reductions they may have enacted. Obviously, the seller is already
familiar with listing with an agent to sell their property and that's just one big hurdle you
don't have to face. Your task now is to engage them and earn their trust to win the
opportunity to re-list their home with you.
What they're going through
While the seller may already be familiar with listing agents, they may be quite
disillusioned with the entire process in general. You have to really convey a strong sense
of empathy and understand that they feel like they've "lost the edge" by relying on a poor
listing agent. They could very well have preconcieved notions (given by the agent) as to
why their home didn't sell such as market conditions, lack of improvements or the age of
their home.
If nothing else, the seller is feeling foolish - all the neighbors have seen that sign in the
yard for months...their relatives have probably asked them why they haven't sold their
home yet. It's got to be an embarrassing situation for them. They may even have friends
or relatives advising them to try and sell their home without agent assistance.
What else could they be feeling? Perhaps upset that the home that they've spent years in
has been virtually rejected by everyone who attended showings and open houses. They
may be second guessing many of the decisions they have made thus far. It's hard not to
take that personally and assign blame.
You will now represent ALL real estate agents - including the one that let them down.
As you know, 99% of the time when a house doesn't sell - it's because the price was set
too high. Especially today when interest rates are climbing and many of those who were
able to buy already have...You now have to be very engaging, thoughtful and calming in
your approach. They don't want the same old spiel, they want solutions.
How can you offer the best solutions? Something as simple as a post card mailing with
the headline: "Sometimes even the Best Homes don't Sell" can go a long way towards
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 63
building that relationship because it takes the home seller's side and gives them a way
out, a justification for why their home didn't sell.
The second postcard or letter in your expired campaign should build on the first by
acknowledging that they're probably being contacted by every other hungry listing agent
in town. Tell the truth - Yes, you want to help - but you can provide something that all
the others can't: Accountability.
Explain carefully to them that if you had been aware that their house was even on the
market, you may have been able to deliver a buyer. Show them that quality listing agents
have an immense list of other busy agents with buyers who are always looking for a good
value, and that there is something that can be done now to get them the best price for
their home quickly...
Show them your personal marketing plan - a custom website for the listing, posting to
Craigslist, Realtor.com - A beautiful flyer that goes out via email and fax to all agents in
the area, your existing farm of hungry buyers - show them the difference between a lazy
agent and one who's truly dedicated to that seller's need for a quality buyer.
What else can you do?
Consider running a detailed CMA for the potential seller. Perhaps find examples of other
listings that were on the market for a considerable time and point out what the major
concerns were. Engage them and help them realize, too that even the ugliest property can
sell if enough potential buyers get a chance to see it.
If you find yourself on the other end - the agent whose listing is about to expire, you
might consider offering another agent the opportunity to solicit the listing in return for a
referral fee. Perhaps the seller will appreciate the 'fresh' personality, a new marketing
approach and you stand a chance of recovering your marketing costs.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 64
Expired Marketing Campaign
Message 1 – Sent day 1
If your home has expired from the Multiple Listing Service, you came to the right place.
You are in the same position that thousands, even tens of thousands of homeowners in
our Multiple Listing Service have been in. I know it is frustrating, and if you don't have
to move, you are probably ready to just throw in the towel.
If you absolutely must move, you may be dreading the process of interviewing and
choosing another real estate agent; who will probably just do the same old stuff.
Well, take a couple of deep breaths and read on, because you are about to learn some
things you may not have known. You are about to become empowered to make the best
decision when choosing your next agent. You are about to become educated on making
the most money and selling your home in a reasonable amount of time.
To accomplish all of the above, just take a few moments and go to
http://iprocenter.com/expiredhomes. This web site will give you some insight that you
may not have had and will take you step by step through what you need to know.
Remember to order the reports that are offered, because they will educate you to levels
you never expected from any real estate agent.
Sincerely,
(ENTER YOUR NAME HERE)
xxx-xxx-xxxx
I will sell your home in 59 days or pay you...GUARANTEED!
Message 2 – Sent day 4
I’LL SELL YOUR HOME IN 59 DAYS OR PAY YOU!!!
Fancy personal promotion ads or nice newspaper articles on an agent do not sell homes!
Having a support staff is great and is certainly better than an agent who works alone.
However, how many of their team are licensed agents; and how many hours a day do
they work to generate prospects for your home?
An agent who specializes in your subdivision or in your neighborhood may provide you
with flyers and magnets consistently; but if they mainly work in your neighborhood, how
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 65
can they effectively find you a buyer. More than likely your buyer will not already live
in your neighborhood.
Husband/wife teams are popular now, but in reality, very rarely do both actually sell real
estate. Usually one of them is actually a support staff person at the office, and only one
of them is active with sellers and buyers.
There are many types of agents in the market. How do you find out who is best for you?
Ask questions. Be blunt. Be prepared! Go to http://iprocenter.com/expiredhomes and
order a powerful list of questions for you to ask any agent before you ever sign a listing.
It will be sent in minutes, and will provide you the arsenal of questions that you need. If
they can't answer these, you may want to consider comparing other agents.
And by the way , if no one else offers a completely risk free listing agreement, a
guarantee to sell your home in 59 days or pay you, and constant pro-active marketing;
please call me for an interview. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity. Please call me at
Sincerely,
(ENTER YOUR NAME HERE)
xxx-xxx-xxxx
I will sell your home in 59 days or pay you...GUARANTEED!
Message 3 – Sent day 7
NEVER SIGN ANYTHING BUT AN EASY EXIT LISTING
You have probably received a lot of letters, flyers, and phone calls by now about your
home and a lot of promises and market plans as to how they can get your home sold.
Are you just a little bit confused right now? Does this sound familiar? I'm No. 1., We're
#1, I'm the best, We're the best, I'm the top listing agent, We're #1 in your area, I'm No.
1 in your City, and on and on. Well, the reason it is so confusing is because it is!!
Anyone can play with their numbers! In reality - who cares! Your home didn't sell, that's
all you care about .
You waited until the end of your listing regardless of the level of service you received,
and you would truly like to know why your home did not sell. Wouldn’t it be nice to
know why, and wouldn’t it be nice to have some control next time? Rather than having
to wait it out; as the homeowner, you should be able to call the shots.
Let’s face it, if they are not confident enough in their service to allow you to EXIT their
listing if you aren’t satisfied, then why should you be confident in their service? If the
service you are receiving is not good enough, just say so!! You should be able to exit the
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 66
listing WHEN you want! The level of your agent’s commitment can be easily
determined. Find out where you stand!
Incidentally, last year I helped over 60 families get their homes sold and get moved after
another agent could not. Don’t hesitate to ask for a list of references. Ask them if they
could have rescinded their listing agreement at any time. Then ask them why they didn’t.
Order my complete marketing proposal to find out why I can offer an EASY EXIT
listing. There is never an obligation, and I thank you for the opportunity.
Sincerely,
(ENTER YOUR NAME HERE)
xxx-xxx-xxxx
I will sell your home in 59 days or pay you...GUARANTEED!
Message 4 – Sent day 10
You have had a little time to consider your situation since your home expired from the
multiple listing service. No matter what the reasons given, there are actually only two
main reasons your property did not sell: PRICE and EXPOSURE. Price can be
determined easily using objective material such as recent comparable sales, market
conditions and trends, but exposure combined with price is the key to getting your
property sold.
If the proper steps are implemented, your home will sell. As a matter of fact, ANY agent
implementing the proper steps can sell your home. The key is: How effective is that
agent in implementing your marketing plan? Example: Everyone puts up a sign , but
how well are ALL prospects who call on that sign followed up? We did a test in this very
town and found that less than 30% of agents made sincere attempts to follow up with a
prospect who called on their sign in the front yard. Yes, everyone uses a sign, but how
well do they really use the sign? PROPER implementation of an aggressive marketing
plan will get your home SOLD.
I will be completely honest in telling you whether I can get it sold for you, and I will not
waste your time or mine. Don't hesitate to call even if you just have questions or need
information. I am always available to help.
Sincerely,
(ENTER YOUR NAME HERE)
xxx-xxx-xxxx
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 67
I will sell your home in 59 days or pay you...GUARANTEED!
Message 5 – Sent day 14
Disappointment is just one of the emotions a homeowner may feel when their home does
not sell. Once those feelings go away; however, it is important to learn what new steps
may be taken to effectively market the home. Are you ready to take the first step?
That first step is to ask for a complete review of your home's marketability using a
Salability Test to determine your home’s appeal to buyers. It is sometimes surprising
even to real estate agents that the BEST homes are not always the ones that sell first.
A Salability Test will include an analysis of current pricing and terms for homes similar
to yours which are currently for sale, under contract, or have already sold. This helps
determine your competition, as well as reviewing what buyers have actually been willing
to pay for a home like yours.
A close look at the condition of your home should also be conducted with suggestions
being followed for improving it’s “buyer appeal.” An objective opinion is nearly always
worth considering. (That is why we hire decorators at no cost to our sellers to put their
homes in the very best possible showing condition).
To get a thorough review of your home's marketability with a no hassle, no obligation
appointment, please call or e-mail me today.
Results are what count in real estate sales. You want an agent who sells homes
successfully by implementing the proper steps; BUT FIRST makes sure that your home
meets the Salability Test. Don’t waste your time unless your home is prepared properly
to meet the Salability Test. An old saying says “Measure twice and saw once.” There is
a good chance that it fits here.
Thank you.
(ENTER YOUR NAME HERE)
xxx-xxx-xxxx
I will sell your home in 59 days or pay you...GUARANTEED!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 68
How to Contact Expired Real Estate
Listings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8yf1V36790
Prospecting expired listings as a real estate agent can be the core of any agents business
in the real estate field. You CAN create a system that will give you repeatable results for
your effort. I do not personally follow this model, but I think this was an important
question to address.
Work both today's expired listings and the past ones daily. Effectively follow up with
your best leads each day.
Remember consistency, attitude and persistence are 3 critical ingredients to success with
prospecting expired listings.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 69
Expired Listings Marketing Tips – August
07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4a_WmnxbMY
Borino -the author of Expired Plus real estate marketing system answers your questions
on expired listings, the DNC, and when is the best time to contact expired listings.
www.ExpiredPlus.com
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 70
How to Get Expired Listings to Find You
on the Internet
by Joseph Bridges
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Expired-Listings-to-Find-You-on-theInternet&id=2124195
When a seller cancels a listing with an agent or allows it to expire when do you believe
that they start looking for a new agent to help them?
Think about that for just a moment.
Serious sellers, ones that have to sell their home, are completely focused on the goal of
selling their home. They are the kind of sellers that ask their agent if there is anything that
they can do to help sell the home. The professional agent, like yourself, takes this as an
opportunity to advise their client and present them with information. The agent who has
the listing expire ignores the call and doesn't serve their client as they should.
Getting back to the question, when does a seller look for a new agent when they know
their current agent isn't doing the job? They start looking 10 days prior to listing expiring.
We know this because we surveyed different groups of expired sellers over the last 12-14
months and the average number of days that they started looking was 10 days prior to
their listing contract expiring.
How does this help you?
One cannot market directly to sellers currently under contract but you can have
information on your website or blog that allows sellers who are looking for information
to possible get help from you or maybe just help them resolve their current situation.
On your website or blog it is important to address the following:
Why Listings Expire
There are many reasons for this and it is important to list the reasons out for people. This
will lead some back to calling their current agent and for the others they will call you
when their listing has expired.
Identify the reasons why sellers who list with you don't expire. If you have only ever
taken 1 listing and it sold them 100% of your listings sell. This is a very important
statistic for a seller to know and one that they should have asked their first agent.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 71
Identify what your plan is for expired sellers
If you target expired sellers let them know what your plan is for your expired clients and
that this is part of your real estate business. I call them "2nd chance sellers" and that I am
always willing to help sellers and give them a second chance at selling their property.
You need to present to them:
•
•
•
How you prepare them for the second time and why it will be different for them
How the issues that they faced with their previous agent are guaranteed not to
happen with you and that you put that in writing.
A guarantee so overwhelming and so amazing that no "2nd chance seller" could
possibly resist
By doing this you will generate more business for yourself and help sellers solve their
problems. You will have already presold yourself before you take one step in their door.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 72
Capitalize on Expired Listings
by Robert Fore
Leads are the name of the game in the real estate business. Each lead represents another
opportunity to step up to the plate and score a home run. Expired Listings are a rich
source of leads. Here's how you can capitalize upon this rich niche and profit
immediately.
Why Expired Listings?
Expired Listings represent a highly visible, readily available source of leads. You don’t
have to beat the bushes, spend your advertising dollars or cold call to find them. There is
no prospecting required. Simply run a MLS hot sheet every morning and, voila! - instant
leads.
The MLS report will also provide you with everything you need to know to best
determine how to work the listing. With a few simply keystrokes, you can obtain the
home seller's name, address, phone, type home, current asking price and any price
reductions that have taken place. Everything you need to effectively work the listing is
right there, readily available.
Plus, this home seller is already sold on the concept of using professional services to
effect the sale of their property. This means you don’t have to overcome the commission
hurdle or justify your fee. That's already been done. Your only job, then, is to convince
this seller to re-list their property and to re-list it with you. This makes the Expired
Listing a relatively easy listing to secure.
Understanding the Mindset
While the Expired Listing is relatively easy to secure, that is not to say you don’t have
your work cut out for you. You do. The key to your success lies in being able to
understand and empathize with the emotional state of the prospect.
Realize this homeowner is probably feeling embarrassed. He’s embarrassed because his
home hasn’t sold. The neighbors have watched his home sit on the market forever. His
family and his friends all know of his failure, and it’s embarrassing. It’s humiliating.
He believes his decision-making ability has also been called into question. After all, he
made the decision to hire the real estate agent. He is also probably feeling personally
rejected becaus th homeis is the place he chose to live and raise his family. He has
laughed, cried, anguished and rejoiced within its walls. And the home was rejected by the
marketplace. It's hard for him not to take that personally.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 73
This homeowner might also be angry. He’s angry because his property has been rejected
and he doesn’t understand why. He’s angry because he is being forced to change
whatever plans he had made. And, initially, he will direct his anger towards the listing
agent because he or she is directly responsible. He trusted them to come through and they
didn’t.
This anger could spill over to all real estate agents. After all, as members of the MLS,
you were responsible to market his home and you didn’t. In his mind, every agent in the
area knew his home was for sale - including you - and you didn’t produce a buyer.
So expect this homeowner to call your profession into question. Expect the homeowner to
blame everyone and everything for his home not selling -- including you. Meet the anger.
Encourage him to vent. Acknowledge the pain, salve the wound, and win.
Acknowledge the pain, and salve the wound.
Chances are the primary reason the house didn’t sell was because it was overpriced for
the location, condition and terms they were offering. However, any agent who
approaches the expired listing in this manner will have effectively shot himself or herself
in the foot and rendered themselves lame. A better approach is to pace the emotions of
this seller, gain rapport, and then provide a solution.
A simple post card mailing with the headline: "Sometimes even the Best Homes don't
Sell" can go far towards gaining rapport because it takes the home seller's side and gives
him a way out, a justification.
Continue, by pacing the emotions, "Ever since your listing expired, your phone has been
ringing off the hook. It seems like every agent and broker in town knows exactly why
your home didn't sell. Yeah, right. Where were they 2 months ago? If they know so
much, why didn't they know enough to bring a buyer?"
Now that you are aligned with them, take responsibility (remember, this home seller also
blames you) and then provide a solution: "You're right, you know. As a real estate
professional who specializes in your area, I should have been able to produce a buyer for
your home. But, quite frankly, I didn't know your home was for sale! You see, in order
for a home to sell once, it must be sold TWICE. First to the hundreds of real estate agents
serving the area, who, in turn, once they know your home is on the market, will sell your
home to their buyers. Here's how I propose we get that done..."
Another approach is to ask them why they think their home didn't sell. Then listen. What
ever the reason they think their home didn’t sell should be the area you stress you can fix.
Since they perceive a problem - address that specific problem and you will go far towards
securing the listing.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 74
More tips for expired listings
When you review a CMA with a potential seller, consider using the term "failed listing"
versus the less descriptive "expired listing." No one likes to fail, and no one appreciates a
failure. Capitalize on this negative connotation by pointing out the reasons homes fail to
sell: the property is priced too high; if we can smell it--we can't sell it, etc. Then show
how your marketing systems and expertise can be used to position their home for
success!
When you work with buyers and find yourself having a difficult time finding a suitable
home within existing inventory, check the expired listings. Find a few likely homes, and
then call these Expired Listings with good news -- you might have a buyer. What a great
first contact!
The next time you have a listing about to expire and you don't think you have a chance to
extend the listing, give permission to another agent to solicit the listing just prior to the
expiration date for a referral fee if and when the property sells. You benefit by potentially
recouping your marketing costs, the new agents benefits from a lack of stiff competition,
and the seller benefits by a new marketing approach.
Win-win-win.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 75
The Expired Listings Goldmine
by Patti Brotherton
Every real estate professional should be looking at a program to work on expired listings.
More and more will be available because of the changing real estate economy and agents’
inability to stay ahead of the trends. This is a valuable resource for building your listing
inventory because the sellers want to sell.
Consistency
As every great agent knows it is your consistency that will make the difference in making
any prospecting work. There is no difference in working with expired listings. The agent
who does the most follow-up will be the winner. The best way to build in consistency
into your individual program is to calendar it and make it a habit. Do this work the same
time each day, week, whatever and you will find that the consistency is automatic—it’s
now a habit.
What to do
Local owners:
Calling the day a listing expires is always great, but taking it a step further is even better.
Deliver a package to the expired listing the day it expires, then call. We are assuming at
this point that this is a local owner and that you have their phone number. If this is the
case, then your letter should have a picture of their property embedded in the letter and
how you want to talk to them about marketing their property. The other items in your
package could consist of your resume, a sheet of testimonials, a list of all your sales for
the year, and copies of some of your advertising.
Other brokers are calling the same time as you are, but how many have delivered a
package? Some have. Make yours stand out. Put your package in a plastic bag and hang
on their door, or put it in a bag with a design of a home on the front, make sure you have
a picture of their home on your letter. You need to make yourself and your marketing
stand out from the crowd.
Keep calling to get an appointment. The difference in making this pay off is your followup. All you want to do is show the difference between you and the other brokers. Make
the sellers the focus of all your presentation materials—not you. Most agents give up
after one or two calls.
Should you leave a message on an answering machine? I say YES. Something simple, but
that will get their attention. “I noticed that your property is not in the Multiple Listing
Service any longer and there is no record that it has sold. I would like to spend just a few
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 76
minutes telling you about my marketing program so that we both win.” You can get even
more creative than this.
What happens when you have no phone number? You need to develop some quick
postcards that you can send every other day. Not too much, just a few lines about how it
is important that the seller get the best representation, etc. If you want some samples, just
email me. Most agents don’t even start to work on these sellers if they have no phone
number. You will definitely he noticed this way.
Out-of-area owners:
You can send the same letter and immediately follow-up with the same postcards. It’s an
easy system. If you have the phone number, of course, call.
There are two major points to this article. Be consistent with your follow-up and stand
out in the crowd. Do something different. The picture of the property embedded in the
letter is something that I have found works really well. Give it a try. There’s gold in those
expired listings!
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 77
Five Easy Questions to Get Expired
Listings
by Terri Murphy
The expired listing is one of the easiest sources of inventory for a savvy agent. Most
homeowners who have experienced the marketing process without a sale are disillusioned
by the lack of satisfaction from the initial listing agent, making it an easy addition to your
inventory when you just ask the right questions to make it yours. The questions you ask
will offer you the blueprint for meeting the expectations of the property owner, while
offering you an insight as to what other challenges may have prevented the property from
selling in the first place.
Question #1: What, Mr. Seller, in your opinion was the reason your home did not
sell?
If you let the homeowner describe the challenges, you will literally have the blueprint on
marketing systems and strategies that will please and delight this seller. It is at this point
they reveal their frustrations, concerns, and gripes from their initial experiences. It will
also let you evaluate whether or not this qualifies as a cooperative and motivated property
owner, and if you want to include this property and the owner in your current inventory.
When you know every listing costs you money until its sold, be selective in your choices.
Choose those properties that are presentable, easy to show, have a motivated and realistic
seller and are offered at a fair market value.
Question #2: Did you have any offers during your listing period?
If the property owner tells you they turned down several, you will get the concept that
they are inflexible on their idea of value, or are not truly motivated to sell. Find out what
the offers were, and how they were structured. With new information, you will be better
equipped to design a marketing plan that positions this property to sell quickly.
Question #3: How many buyer showings did you have during the listing period and
what was the feedback from your agent?
This is an important aspect of the surveying process. If the property endured over 15
showings with no offer, there are indications that there might be a problem that can be
easily reversed. In many cases, the property might be overpriced, and agents may show
this particular property to help sell a more reasonably priced property down the block.
Feedback from other agents and their customers can help redefine the objections and
address them better. If the feedback was consistently the same, for example, that the
home is too dated, then pricing the property in a lower price pocket will help the property
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 78
sell more quickly. Clean windows and opening window treatments can improve
properties that show dark and uninviting. Stale odors can be alleviated with a fresh
cleaning. Most of the obvious improvements can be done for little money and in a short
period of time.
Question #4 – Are you as the property owner, willing to make the changes to have
the home sell, if you were happy with the service, communication and work
investment?
This is where you determine that the homeowner is committed to selling. Perhaps the
property does not show well, due to poor staging of the home or disrepair issues that are
easily rectified. Something as simple as a can of fresh paint, or the removal of old tattered
carpeting that reveals a hardwood floor underneath can do wonders for initial impressions
by prospective buyers. Some work may be more expensive; will the seller commit to
getting it done?
In many cases sellers are at the stage where if they do want to sell they are more willing
to “listen” to the guidance of a real estate professional. You as the agent must be clear,
firm and honestly objective with the property owner about why the property has not sold,
and to give deadlines for when the work must be completed to affect a timely sale.
Question #5– What kind of marketing strategies were initiated with your previous
listing company, and what were the results?
This is where you get to learn what the other agent did or did not do to proactively market
the property. Your questions can cover these areas:
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What type of direct mail was used and how often?
How many public open house events were advertised and held?
What type of Web marketing was used besides the Company listing on the
website?
Was a virtual tour done that included an e-Gallery?
What type of electronic mailings were completed to promote the property, and
what was the response?
Was a voice-interactive response system employed to provide 24x7 information
on the property?
What was the schedule for classified ads and what was the response?
Was a brochure box used (if possible) on the exterior of the property and how
often were the brochures refreshed?
If the homeowner has had this spectrum of exposure and the property did not sell,
something could be very wrong with the pricing, the ability to access the property or its
condition. Most likely the other agent did the minimum by just listing the property and
submitting the listing to the Company to be included in their standard advertising
schedule.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 79
There are definitely more questions that can be asked at your listing appointment, but
these are sure to have the homeowner wondering why they didn’t call you first! Show up
with a plan, execute the plan, work the feedback and have your SOLD sign ready. The
results include a sale, a great working relationship and then for one last, and most
important question to ask the homeowner:
‘Thank you for being pleased with my services. Do you know of any friends,
neighbors or relatives that you feel would enjoy this service as well?…”
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 80
Turn Expireds into Inspireds
by Rob Fore
If you have been working to get your name and your listings in front of your region's top
producers, you know that your work is far from over. The next step is getting them to
appreciate you. This can be accomplished several ways, but one way that really hits top
producers in the pocketbook is to give them first shot at your expired listings. You pocket
the referral fee, and they have a chance to list and sell a home they wouldn't have
otherwise. It's a win-win.
Over a period of time, as you stay in contact with other top agents, you will find that you
lose listings and so do they. It is just a fact of life.
Contrary to popular opinion, top agents do lose listings - many more than you think.
Why? Because they are often too busy to give the sellers the quality and quantity of
personal service they feel they need. Top agents appear to get the lion's share of the
listings, but they also routinely lose, depending on the market, between 30 and 50% of
them. Agents know that losing a listing is sometimes out of their control (unrealistic
sellers, home overpriced, change in the market, etc.,) so it is no shame when you lose a
listing either.
The question is - how can you turn a negative into a positive? Use your top agent network
to gain additional revenue from a listing you anticipate losing and additional revenue
from listings they anticipate losing.
Here's the strategy:
You have a listing which is about to expire. You know your chances of saving the listing,
for whatever reasons, are about nil. You've already spent an enormous amount of time,
energy and marketing dollars on this particular property and all seems lost. Instead of
admitting defeat, you call Sally, a top listing agent in your network. You tell Sally you
have this listing which is about to expire in two weeks and give her permission to solicit
the listing prior to it expiring.
You can give Sally the inside track on why you feel the listing failed, which will make
her presentation to the seller easier. She will know what the seller's hot buttons are,
making it more likely that she will not only bag the listing but get the house sold. If the
situation allows, you even introduce her to your sellers as the answer to their current
dilemma - an unsold house. The agreement you and Sally make is pure genius. She takes
the listing and when it sells... Sally pays you a 25-30% referral fee.
This fee is wonderful!! It is "found" money. Money you would not have had otherwise.
Money which fully reimburses you for your time and efforts.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 81
Then, about three weeks down the road, Sally calls you. Sally, it appears, has a listing she
is about to lose for whatever reason and Sally was wondering if you'd like the opportunity
to solicit this listing without competition. Of course, if you secure the listing... Sally gets
a 25-30% referral fee when it sells!
Now think about the possibilities. How many top agents can you establish this
relationship with? If you establish this "expired listing referral system" with 3 or 4 top
agents in your area... I guarantee your listing inventory will explode. And likewise your
pocketbook.
The best approach, by the way, to establish this relationship is in person... usually over a
lunch or dinner - your treat. An impersonal contact or a direct mail campaign will only
look cheesy in this instance.
Be bold, be personable, and simply outline how they can profit by such an arrangement.
It works and works mightily. In fact, one agent we know makes over $500,000 in
commissions using this one marketing strategy alone! Imagine. The only difference
between you and her is the fact she has taken the time to set up this agent network.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 82
We Reveal The Expired Listing
Marketing Techniques To Close At Least
10 Transactions A Month
http://www.therealestatesuccessprogram.com/real_estate_Expired_Listing_Marketing.sht
ml
Take Expired Listings Year Round Regardless of Market Conditions
Dear Real Estate Professional,
In every city across the United States there are homes expiring from their current listing
contracts every day. The homes couldn't sell for a variety of reasons. Maybe they were
overpriced, maybe the home wasn't properly prepared for sale, maybe the agent never
returned any phone calls.
The nice part is, you don't care why it didn't sell! Your job with expired sellers is to get
your foot in the door and present a solution to their problem (their home didn't sell).
Let's face it, anyone can get lucky and take 1 expired listing a month. Taking 1 a month,
keeps you in survival mode, and our role here is to get you out of that mode so you can
achieve success and accomplish your bigger picture.
In order to take a serious number of expired listings, 5,10,20+ a month, consider an
expired listing marketing program that gives you the control and allows you to decide
what seller's you will take on as clients and which ones will NOT qualify for your
services.
A complete expired listing marketing system will have the following:

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Schedule - More than likely you won't get an expired seller to list their home on
the first phone without you having to show up (if you do, that's luck, not a
system). Having a consistent schedule and a method of follow up to gather the
most motivated expired sellers is essential. A good schedule will give you an
activity to do every day, generally over a 21 day period for maximum impact.
Marketing Message - Expired sellers don't want to hear that you are a
"neighborhood expert" or that you have been in business for "15+ years". Their
problem is they have wasted time on the market without selling their home so
your marketing message better solve their problem in less than 5 seconds. When
you send out letters your marketing message needs to be clear and at the top so
they understand how you can solve their pain.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 83
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Expired Listing Scripts - Expired sellers are going to give you many different
objections. Understanding how to handle an objection and better yet, ask interest
peaking questions will make the difference between taking 1 listing a month and
20. Get the right scripts to overcome any objection.
Expired Listing Letters - When you mail to expired sellers you will actually get
them calling you! An expired seller who calls you from a letter is a slam dunk
because you have already gained their interest from your letter. In your letter,
don't talk about yourself, it's all about the seller.
With a balanced approach of calls and letters to expired sellers you will have a constant
pipeline of new listings every week. I invite you to discover more about how you can
have a complete expired listing marketing system for your real estate business.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 84
So your home didn't sell the first time
around. Now what?
http://www.expiredhomeexpert.com/
FACT:
A record number of real estate agents are going out of business.
WHY?:
When the market was hot, it was easy for a part time agent to take
orders and work with buyers. Now buyers are scarce and it requires a
full time professional, seasoned and experienced agent with a team of
experts to keep you updated and launch a full marketing effort to get
your home sold.
FACT:
Currently only 1 out of 33 homes are selling in our marketplace.
WHY?:
Prices have been declining since 2005 and there is a lot of competition
from foreclosures and owners who are overextended and are desperate
to sell. However, there are still approximately 3000 homes and condos
going under contract each month and there are 4 factors which will
determine if yours is one of them. Price, Condition, Location and
Marketing Effort.
The good thing is that you control two of these: Price and Condition,
and we control one: Marketing effort.
PRICE:
Overpricing is the most common reason homes don't sell, but condition will help to
determine what the market is willing to pay. Remember - You control price and
condition. The wrong price attracts the wrong buyers. it creates a bad reputation for the
home in the marketplace and makes the properly priced homes look even better.
CONDITION:
ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL EXAMPLE: They all look good, but we always
pick the nice clea crisp one, over a dirty wrinkled one. How does it (the home) in
comparison to others? (showing condition vs living condition).
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 85
LOCATION:
Neither you nor I can do a thing about the location except accent the positives and
minimize the negatives.
MARKETING EFFORT:
This is where Roman Pavlik's marketing system makes a difference. We have an
exhaustive 30 point marketing plan including Video Tours, 24 Hour Hotlines,
International Exposure and you get the HASSLE FREE LISTING.
The Hassle Free Listing means that you get a Flexible Commission Structure with
commission starting as low as 3% for full service, and you are backed by our IRON
CLAD cancellation guarantee. We take all the risk so you don't have to. You can
cancel any time if you are not happy.
© 2010 Best Agent Business – Page 86