Prospecting is a critical factor to growing any real estate business. Most agents think that prospecting is doing nothing more then randomly calling strangers. That could not be further from the truth. Agents also make the mistake of thinking that the only people they can prospect is buyers or sellers, once again, a mistake. In every market there are listings that fail to sell and show up on the MLS as expired listings. Nearly 50% of the time, you will not find the telephone numbers for the expired listing. Less then 1% of the agents across the country will attempt to pursue an expired listing without a number.
The powerful agent will do the opposite of most and continue to pursue that lead. The biggest question is, how?
It’s simple.
Think of the agent who had the listing before it expired. They probably had the listing for 6 months. It is likely they held open house’s, ran a series of ads in the paper or magazines, placed signs and had their company do an agent tour. All of that work and now the listing expired and they are no longer in a position to earn a commission. They may have even reduced the price of the listing towards the end of the list period which makes it more saleable then ever. Now they lose the listing and all they have is the expense that they incurred over the past 6 months. That is lot of work for no paycheck.
Now, all of sudden, they get a call from you offering a possible solution to them earning some income on that very listing. Because you are not able to find the telephone number for that expired you offer the agent a fair trade. The agent gives you the telephone number and you give them a 25% referral fee when you list and sell that property. The agents must understand that before your call they were in the position to make zero dollars and now that you called they could be in position to earn 25% of the listing commission. That is a great offer.
Not every agent in the country thinks out of the box so it is up to you to properly present this opportunity. The following script is designed to assist you in making this call. Read the script often, role play it with people in your office and put it to work.
Hint: If you cannot find the number for the expired listing, nobody else can either. So, when you work out a referral arrangement with the past agent, it is unlikely that anyone else will be calling them. You will be the only agent they are talking to. You must take advantage of this opportunity.
Hello, ________________(past agent)
This is (you) from (your company). I wanted to ask you a few questions about one of your past listings, do you have a moment?
I believe you had a listing over on ______________(address) in ____________(community) that has recently expired or maybe the seller took it off the market, is that correct?
Please forgive me if this sounds a little strange, yet I am looking to build a few good relationships with agents, like you, who may be interested in trading out some referrals.
I was thinking, that when we have an expired that we know we will not be re-listing, we can then refer the names and contact numbers of the seller to each other for a 25% referral fee.
Speaking for myself, I have experienced those times when I had a listing expire, someone else listed it and then it sell in 60 days just because of the time on the market. I did 6 months of work for no pay and another agent took the listing and got the commission.
What are your thoughts on working together to send referrals back and forth?
How about the one in _________________(community)?
Would you mind if I called them with the agreement that I will pay a 25% referral fee if I end up making a sale?
What is the best number to reach them on?
