FSBO sellers will reject you. Remember, they would prefer not to use your services. But if you maintain a steady, professional relationship, offering help and staying in contact for four to five weeks, you will usually be able to win an interview. From there, a listing follows.
Increase your odds of success by taking these two precautions:
1. Limit the number of FSBOs you cultivate. Focus only on the best clients.
2. Avoid prospects with low motivation or unrealistically high price expectations. These sellers are usually the most toxic, and too often, they will try to take their frustrations out on you.
FSBOs fundamentally turn into a game of lead follow-up. You need to personally and regularly contact your FSBO leads to discover their motivation and qualifications, book a face-to-face meeting, disqualify prospects as necessary, provide regular service and communication, and schedule a presentation appointment. Then you need to repeat the service and communication steps several times weekly until the listing is in hand. fsbo leads
To make personal contact, begin by asking the FSBO seller if you can come by and see the home. You can ask them in a few different ways. You can explain that you want to keep abreast of the regional housing inventory; you can say that you are working with buyers who may be interested; you can present yourself as a potential investor; when you can, you can use the “reverse-no” technique. Following are sample scripts for each approach.
Script for keeping up with the inventory:
“Mr. Seller, your home is located in my core area of sales. Because it is, I would like to come by and preview your home. Would there be a time on __________ or __________ to do that this week?”
Script for working with the prospective buyer:
“Ms. Seller, I understand you are selling your home on your own. Let me ask you this: are you cooperating with real estate agents? What I mean is, if a real estate agent brought you a qualified buyer at an agreeable price to you, would you be willing to pay a partial commission?
We are working with a few buyers for your area that we have not been able to place yet. May I come by on __________ or __________ later this week to see your home?”
When you use the above approach, understand that you are not interested in reducing your commission. What you’re really trying to do is achieve a face-to-face appointment to collect more information on their sellers’ motivation in order to determine the probability of securing a listing in the future.
Script for a potential investor:
“Mr. Seller, your home is located in a solid area for real estate investment. I was wondering if I could come by to see your home as a principle for possible purchase and to see if it is a property that would meet my investment needs. Would __________ or __________ be better for you?”