This was week two, day one of our month long live series on aged expired listings. The topic was one I get asked about a lot. What do you do when an aged expired, or any motivated seller, says yes, I'm open to an offer? Or maybe, or what's the offer, or anything other than no. And we know "no isn't always the end of the line."
I walked through real conversations from week one, each one a little different, and what my next best step was for each. Then I spent the last part of the hour working cards live, and it ended with a call that started guarded and opened up. I've left out every homeowner name, address and number from the calls.
Start with the big picture
Every yes is different. I'd love to tell you there's one perfect way to take someone from "yes, I'm still open to an offer" to a signed contract, but that's not real life. The examples I shared ranged from a high end aged expired outside my market to a lower priced home with a tenant in it, and plenty in between.
Real estate has a long sales cycle. "It's not an event, right? It's a courting process" that ends with the event, the closing. So I use what I call the seven C's to more compensation:
- Choose who or what you'll reach out to. This month, it's aged expired listings.
- Collect the data. Here, that's pulling it from the MLS and scrubbing it.
- Contact them by phone, voicemail, text, email and sometimes direct mail.
- Conversation. The goal of the contact is a reply. "Yes, no, maybe, we don't care. We just want a reply."
- Connection. A deeper phone call, a Zoom, a meeting at the property, or a personalized video.
- Contract.
- Closing.
Compensation is the eighth C. Today was all about moving someone from conversation to connection.
When the yes doesn't fit the usual path
The first conversation from week one was with an investor developer. The property I called about had already sold. Because I got curious and kept asking questions, he told me about two other properties, one he's trying to sell and one he'd consider selling. Those were land projects, so my usual path of pocket, portfolio and institutional buyers didn't fit.
So I thought about who in my network works with that kind of buyer. Later in the week I had a great conversation with someone who does, and that gave me a reason to follow back up. It's a long shot, but we still have to take our shots. And at the very least, I have a new card in my hand for when the right buyer comes along.
Close the loop, even when it's not a fit
The second one started with a text I sent from a Friday night football game. The owner replied, "Let me know the offer details." This one was tricky. It was a newer, higher end home the owners never moved into because they were transferred across the country. It had expired more than once, and there weren't good comparable sales.
I got a preliminary offer option from one of the institutional buyers we work with, and I sent it live on the stream. My text said, "I know it's very unlikely that this will make sense for you, but I at least wanted to close the loop on it." I don't like leaving people hanging. And I only reach out when I have a real buyer or offer behind the question. No bait and switch.
Move them from text to a quick chat
Late in week one, an owner of a rental with a tenant in place texted back during the live. My next step was to move him along toward a connection, so I sent this: "Wondering if you'd have a couple minutes for a quick chat so I could confirm some details. That way I can get you the best offer possible for the property."
Before that call, I look at the old listing. When it expired, what the photos show, the school district, the lot and the rent. My research also showed he owns more than one property. So on the call I want to ask, "Do you have any other properties in your current portfolio that you would consider an offer on right now?" He replied to my text during the stream, so that question is coming.
Set up follow up that runs itself
For owners who say yes but not yet, like one whose tenants are staying through the school year, or one who paused plans to sell and build, I set up what I think of as an insurance policy. It's mostly set up once:
- CRM and market report. They go into BoldTrail with a monthly market report for their city.
- Updated home value campaign. A three step email and text campaign each month. That's at least two digital touches a month from me.
- Monthly market update postcard. We send it with thanks.io. Their property is on the front, or a map if there's no street view, and the back is tailored to their town.
- A personal video. For the owner who paused his plans, I sent a personalized video with preliminary offer options and mentioned our buy before you sell options. That shows I bring something different than most agents, likely including the one he listed with before.
The goal is simple. When their timing changes, I want to be the agent they think of.
How I find portfolio buyers
A viewer asked how I find portfolio buyers in LeadDeck. To me, a portfolio buyer isn't someone buying a portfolio. It's someone who owns at least five properties and is actively buying right now. I pulled the zip code for that tenant occupied rental and showed the cash buyers and active landlord buyers there.
Why does that matter? I can reach out to those buyers about a property they can't find in the MLS. These owners are more likely to transact, and often they want to buy and sell at the same time. To me this business is "an infinite game of real estate go fish." The more you play, the more cards you have and the more matches you make.
The same idea helps any listing. My only goal for a seller is to get as many buyers interested as possible, which means more showings and more offers. "If we have one offer, they have the leverage." With multiple offers, my seller does.
Live prospecting
Then I went back to work the deck of aged expireds I started late last week. A few things I showed along the way:
- Tie voicemail to text. When a voicemail wasn't set up, my text started with exactly that. Small detail, but it makes me real and less like spam.
- Watch the clock. I saw an out of state area code and paused, because I don't want to call someone at 7:30 in the morning their time.
- Check DNC numbers. When a number is marked DNC, I tap to search it. Some owners publicly market their numbers. If not, I send email.
- Send every email. A viewer asked if I send to all the emails I have. Yes. It costs me nothing and takes seconds.
- Use the Gmail nudge. If an email gets no reply, Gmail nudges me three days later. I reply with three question marks, and in my experience that brings 10 to 30 percent more replies.
- Go deep, not fast. Some dialers brag about 300 dials an hour. "That sounds like a punishment." I'd rather spend an hour going deep on 10 cards.
- Answer your phone. A lot of calls are real clients. "The business we signed up for requires us to answer the phone."
The guarded call that opened up
On the last card of the day, I was leaving a voicemail when a woman picked up. She was guarded at first. I told her it wasn't a solicitation and that we have a private client who'd be interested. The more we talked, the more she opened up. It turned out the property belongs to her parents, and her dad is the kind of guy for whom everything is always for sale. I gave her a preliminary range and my info, with no pressure either way.
I can almost guarantee no other agent went that deep on this card, either when it was a fresh expired or now. That's why going deeper on each card works.
Key takeaways
- Every yes is different. Use the seven C's to move from conversation to connection.
- When a lead doesn't fit your usual buyers, think about who in your network does.
- Close the loop, even when the offer probably won't work.
- Move texters to a quick chat, and always ask what else they'd consider an offer on.
- Set up follow up once: CRM, market report, home value campaign and a monthly postcard.
- Find portfolio buyers so you have more reasons to have more conversations.
Chapters
- 00:00 An aged expired said yes, now what?
- 04:30 The seven C's to more compensation
- 08:30 When the property already sold
- 10:00 Closing the loop on a tricky new construction home
- 15:30 Moving a texter to a quick chat
- 18:00 Researching the old listing
- 19:00 Follow up for not yet leads
- 22:30 Real estate go fish and three new contracts
- 23:00 What I set up for a paused seller
- 28:30 Finding portfolio buyers in LeadDeck
- 31:30 Reaching investor buyers for a listing
- 35:00 Live prospecting starts
- 45:00 The Gmail nudge and going deep
- 49:00 Checking DNC numbers
- 55:00 Answering the phone while prospecting
- 56:00 The guarded call that opened up
- 1:01:00 Housekeeping and wrap up