Winning with Expireds: A Refresher Course

Most top-producing real estate agents focus on “expired listings” as the cornerstone of their prospecting strategy. Indeed, on a certain level, newly expired listings are low hanging fruit and a tremendous opportunity. At the same time, it takes skill to work with expired listing homeowners because they are often frustrated by their inability to sell the first time around. In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the strategies that you can employ to help you pull in a larger share of expired listings that hit the market.

EXPIREDS: THE FACTS

There are several things to keep in mind with regard to Expired listings:

• They’ve already made their most important decision, that is, to sell their home. So, no convincing is necessary.
• They are obviously open to working with a real estate agent.
• They have a property they need or want to sell, and, at that moment, no assigned agent.

It’s likely you’ve heard some or all of these stats before, but, if not, here are some important statistics that validate the revenue potential of Expireds:

• More than 50% of Expireds will successfully re-list and sell with another agent
• Expireds are 90% immediate, urgent business, and 10% futures
• 4 out of 10 list within one month
• 6 out of 10 Expireds take a break before signing with a new agent
• Only 28% will re-list with their current agent
• 35% will have their home off the market for a month or more
• 37% will re-list with a new agent within 30 days

Clearly, as you can see, Expireds represent a tremendous opportunity to agents willing and ready to make the effort. Espresso Agent clients are fortunate to have a leg-up on many of their peers. That’s because they receive the best expired leads in their CRM inbox every morning throughout the year.

TIPS FOR PROSPECTING EXPIREDS

Let’s walk through some of the basics of working with Expired listing homeowners:

• The first seven seconds are critical when calling Expireds:
  • The homeowner must know how you would do things differently (“While your home was on the market I sold X homes in the same area.”)
  • Get them back in touch with their original motivation to sell by asking when and where they are hoping to move when they sell
• When calling Expireds, call early and be persistent in your follow-up. Show the home sellers how dedicated you are to selling their property-they will appreciate that dedication.
• Expireds will be impressed and endeared to you if you show them you remember their property.
• When calling Expired homeowners, always remember that time and price are the things they are most concerned about.
  • Make sure you are armed with examples of quick sales you’ve made that were also above listing price.
• You goal should always be to get an in-person listing presentation-try you best to avoid having to make a listing presentation over the phone, or even via Zoom.
• Be a partner and problem solver, and be willing to go above and beyond what their previous agent did (or didn’t do).
• You may run into situations where the homeowner previously listed with a friend, and is possibly inclined to re-list for the same reason. Try to turn this to your favor: “I appreciate great friendships, but do you think you gave your friend the best chance to sell your home?”
• As to the question of a negotiable commission, be straightforward: “It depends on many factors, such as the condition of your home and the price we set. We can discuss that in more detail when we meet tomorrow.”
• Firmly and politely fight through the objections until you secure the listing presentation.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT OLD EXPIREDS

Many agents ignore the value of old expired leads, thinking they are yesterday’s news.

But there are a couple of reasons why investing some of your prospecting time on old expired leads can pay huge dividends:

• First, because many agents dismiss old expireds, you might find less competition when trying to build a relationship with these homeowners.
• And, related, compared to new expired listings, those old expired homeowners are likely not being inundated with calls from aggressive agents. This gives you a unique opportunity to forge a relationship.

Keep this in mind: if you are able to help an Expired listing homeowner sell their home, they will be truly grateful and, more than likely, willing to give you a glowing reference. After all, you were the agent who got the job done when others had failed. That’s the kind of reputation you want in our hyper-competitive business.

Learn more about Espresso Agent’s EXPIRED LISTING LEADS.