Expired Listings – Systematic Follow up
Follow up on expired sellers should involve two major components: mail and phone calls. Taking time to have a balanced attack will bring sellers calling you and make your phone calls easier.
Your expired listing letter can actually be quite simple. One of the most important aspects is that you get your expired listing letter in the mail on the very first day the home is identified as an expired listing. This will ensure that your letter arrives just after the initial flood of people who rush to drop something off in person. Keep your envelope and letter simple and make it easy for them to pick up the phone and get a hold of you.
Phone call follow up is what is going to enable you to take the number of listings that you have always wanted. When most agents have stopped after day 5 you can keep going and stand out from the crowd. I invite you to consider the following methods to get the most from your phone calls:
- Call at the same time each day – It doesn’t have to be at the crack of dawn, but calling at the same time each morning will give you the best chances of getting a hold of the home owner. Your pipeline of potential sellers should be large enough to spend at least two hours on the phone.
- Leave voicemails – Most agents avoid voicemails because they don’t know what to say. Leave voicemails and give them a reason to call you back. Let them know they can call you back to learn more about your “29 Day Guarantee” message. The more interest peaking and easier you make it on them to return your call, the more call backs you will receive.
- Be prepared with scripts – Have a list of qualifying and interest peaking questions that you can ask the seller when you get them on the phone. You may get their voicemail 80% of the time so when you get them on the phone you want to take advantage of those valuable minutes to get the appointment.
- Set a timeline – Your phone call schedule should go far beyond 5 days. Consider a phone call follow up schedule that lasts for up to 21 days. You don’t need to call every day, but put a schedule in place that allows you to reach them 6-10 times during that period.
Following up on expired listings won’t take much of your time, especially when you do it consistently every day. Along with your consistent follow up you will be able to consistently take listings monthly as well!