Part 2 of 2 - Mastering FSBO Preview Appointments

At The Preview Appointment - 

Objective - Gain access, establish a relationship with &  continue to qualify the seller. 

The Tour:  While walking through the property, take notes on the home’s features and benefits.  In a casual, yet deliberate manner, ask questions to determine what the situation is with this particular lead. 

Greeting: Introduce yourself, hand them a business card and thank them for having you over to take a look at the house. (Notice, I say house a lot, not home. Why? Home is emotional, a house is not). Also, assure them you won’t be long which should send a message that you aren’t going to overstay your time and push them into listing w/you. 

Create a casual conversation as you tour the house: Ask we walk through the house, I have a list of questions to ask you, do you mind if I take some notes? (They always will say ok, sure that’s fine)  This allows you to relax, just read your questions and take notes...they gave you permission). 

Remind me, how many bedrooms/bathrooms? Square footage? Lot size? Year built? (get the answering/talking easy common questions) 

Can you point out what you’ve done to improve the property since you’ve owned it? 

So, when you sell the house, where are you moving to? Or You said when you sell the house you’re moving to ___...correct?  (How’d you happen to pick that area?) 

If a buyer was looking to close in 30 days, would that pose any challenges for you? 

Have you been successful selling other houses of yours in the past? I am always curious...what caused you to sell the house yourself vs. hiring a professional, like myself? 

So, how’d you determine your sales price? (sourcing, valid or not) Zillow vs. CMA.

Are you prepared to adjust your price down when working with a buyer? 

I’m sure it won’t happen, if the house didn’t sell, what would you do? Would that be a problem? (must be sure to say this with the right tone of voice) 

You know, this is really a nice property...are you sure you don’t just want to keep it? (giving it back to them tells you about their commitment to sell. Do they go along with it or immediately give it back to you?) 

Before You Go - After gathering the general information, make your way back towards the front door. Before leaving, stop and ask…”Mr. Or Mrs. Seller, I have to ask...I know you’re planning to sell your home by owner.  However, if you actually felt you could sell for more money, a quicker sale with less hassles/liability and meet your timelines by hiring a powerful agent like myself...would you at least be open to considering it?

(find out where they’re at, this will help flush out where they really stand) 

How much time would you take before you would consider hiring someone, like myself for the job of selling your home? (Get a timeline to work towards) Two weeks, 30 days. 

So, just to be sure I am understanding correctly...if you’re not able to (and I am sure you will) sell the house in 30 days, you’d then at least be open to having a meeting to discuss solutions and a fresh approach I can bring to the table to help you get to ___? 

Follow-Up - Well, thank you for having me over to preview your house.  I will keep it in mind and see if any of the buyer leads we have could be a match.  In the meantime, I will check in with you ...say...maybe once every 5-7-10 days to see if you were successful in selling the house. (explain the only way you can keep accurate status of the house is to keep in touch with them. Time frame to f/u based on motivation/market conditions. 

Now, do your follow up moving closer to that timeline established.  Each call ask “I know you mentioned 30 days and its been ___ so far...are you sure you don’t want to just go ahead and meet now? This way I can help you get to ____ by ____. LA/January. 

Don’t forget it takes practice -

I can’t stress it enough...P,P,P,P,P.

Write the entry script out by hand 2-3 times per day.

Chant the script out loud as fast as you can, 4-5 times a day.

Roleplay at least 2-3 times a day, with the script in hand. You can do this as long as you are comfortable since you are always on the phone and the person selling their home can’t see you.

 

Keys To Success:

Be willing to struggle a bit, before you become great:

• Like anything, it’s a process, and we have to accept being uncomfortable for a short time until we become comfortable.

• Everyone has to start somewhere; it’s a process we must be ok with and go through.

• The sooner you go through it, the sooner it is over.  Just do it. 

Keep everything in perspective:

• Remember the goal for the year.

• At times you may feel like it’s not working. Don’t forget; this example is 6 sales over a 12 month period.  That means 359 days you didn’t have a sale from this source and that can mess with your head. Yet, you hit your goal! 

Follow up, follow up, follow up - consistency is key with this source of leads.

• Our goal is to call at the very moment they throw in the towel.

• Don’t ever give up, until the y list or sell (and you confirm it) You will prove yourself through being consistent in your approach. 

Draw a line in the sand and keep the process moving along.

• Ask “How much time are you planning to sell yourself before considering the option of hiring a professional, like myself/me for the job of selling your home? OR

• What would have to happen for you to consider hiring a powerful agent, (like me) for the job of selling your home? (The first question is time-based, and the other is condition based)

• They say “30 days” that is the timeline you are now moving towards.

• Don’t ever give up, the longer you hang in there, the higher odds you will have for conversion.