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Getting Around the Do-Not-Call List

By
Real Estate Agent with Realty Station

If you are a newer real estate agent, your broker might give you a phone book and tell you to start making phone calls.  Perhaps the broker gives you a stack of papers and tells you to call "Expired" listings.  Worse yet, the broker may give you a newspaper and may tell you to call "FSBO's".  But first, check the DNC list.

The what?

The Do-Not-Call list is a federal database of people who have chosen not to receive telephone solicitations.  If you do call someone on the DNC list, you have broken the law.  Before you pick up the phone, the broker tells you, you need to check the DNC list, to make sure the people you are about to call are not on that list.  And yes, that does include FSBO's and expired listings.

But wait!  I have a better idea, and you won't even need to check the DNC list!

Go knock on the door! This is really effective with expired listings, and how many agents do you know who can go knock on the door of a FSBO with a smile on their face? 

When you have exhausted your sphere of influence, it's time to think outside the box.  Do what other agents in your area are not doing.  Go see the owner of an expired listing face-to-face!  Go introduce yourself to a FSBO owner in person!  Step outside your comfort zone, and get ahead!

Go, and good luck!

Marlene Scheffer, Realty Station, Bremerton, Kitsap, WA

Comments(15)

Chris Griffith
Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL - Bonita Springs, FL
Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent

I just keep bumping into your posts around here. 

 We have mostly gated communities in this area and a huge amount of rules against no nocking.

Oct 24, 2007 10:14 PM
Marlene Scheffer
Realty Station - Bremerton, WA
Realtor to Kitsap County, WA

LOL, Chris, that's because we are both up at a ridiculous hour, and I did get a bit post-happy this evening! 

 The no-knocking rule must make it difficult to generate new leads once you have been through your Sphere list for the month....  I'm curious about how you tend to generate new leads?

Oct 24, 2007 10:18 PM
Chris Griffith
Downing-Frye Realty, Bonita Springs, FL - Bonita Springs, FL
Bonita Springs Listing Specialist - Agent
Internet and past/prior customers.  
Oct 24, 2007 10:19 PM
M A
Boston, MA
Curious...have you gotten customers by knocking on doors?
Oct 24, 2007 11:02 PM
Kathleen West
Trademark Realty Group of Palm Coast - Palm Coast, FL
Flagler County & Palm Coast Realtor
Just make sure you also know the local solicitation ordiances, and have the appropriate permits if necessary.  I had to pay $50 for that permit here or else I could fined quite a bit.
Oct 24, 2007 11:11 PM
Anonymous
gail
Just this week it was mentioned about gated communities and what to do.. Join their associations and events to get to know people in the community was the answer most given.  This worked for several people  and  it keeps your social life booming too!! 
Oct 24, 2007 11:25 PM
#6
Charlie Ragonesi
AllMountainRealty.com - Big Canoe, GA
Homes - Big Canoe, Jasper, North Georgia Pros
I always ask myself how many times have I reported someone who is in violation of the TCPA. The answer is 0. I do not condone calling against the rules but ...
Oct 24, 2007 11:44 PM
Danielle V. Lewis
DDR Realty - Newburgh, NY
DDR Realty
I'm glad on personal levels for the DNC list, but its existence does make life harder for certain businesses.
Oct 25, 2007 12:16 AM
» Bill Burress Nationwide Mortgage Originator
» Bill Burress Nationwide Mortgage Originator - Fort Myers, FL

Marlene:

Great post.  It never ceases to amaze me.  I have talked to many starving agents who claim that "knocking doors is beneath me.  I would never do that."

Keep on knockin'

Oct 25, 2007 12:21 AM
» Bill Burress Nationwide Mortgage Originator
» Bill Burress Nationwide Mortgage Originator - Fort Myers, FL

Marlene:

Great post.  It never ceases to amaze me.  I have talked to many starving agents who claim that "knocking doors is beneath me.  I would never do that."

Keep on knockin'

Oct 25, 2007 12:21 AM
Stacy Magid
Century 21 New Millennium - Woodbridge, VA

We have many neighborhoods that prohibit soliciting.  I even got a nasty phone call from the HOA President when I put newsletters at each door threatening that they would call the police. 

My broker really discourages the door knocking due to safety concerns although I have done it before.  Sometimes if a FSBO is having an Open House I will stop by and check out the house and then provide my information.  People are receptive to that.

Oct 25, 2007 12:26 AM
Rich Jacobson
Fathom Realty West Sound - Poulsbo, WA
Your Kitsap County WA Real Estate Broker
Hey, don't KNOCK it til you've tried it!.....
Oct 25, 2007 02:17 AM
Marlene Scheffer
Realty Station - Bremerton, WA
Realtor to Kitsap County, WA

I admit that I have never knocked on a "cold" door.  The only doors I have knocked were warm  When I prioritize my marketing time and money, I will always spend significantly more on my sphere, but thre comes a time when you need to go beyond that sphere.

When I knock, I will always go knockin' on Expireds and FSBO's first.  I tell my assistant where I'm knockin', so she always knows where to send the police when they come looking for my body.  Then I show up with either a brochure on staging tips or a flyer on market conditions. 

I always joke with them about how many calls they must have received by now, and they almost always give me a high number, even if they are on the DNC.  But when I ask them how many personal visits they have received, the answer is always "none, til now".

And yes, I have gotten listings this way.  Do what others aren't!

Oct 25, 2007 02:19 AM
Marlene Scheffer
Realty Station - Bremerton, WA
Realtor to Kitsap County, WA
Oh, Rich, that's terrible!!!!  LOL!
Oct 25, 2007 02:21 AM
Rich Jacobson
Fathom Realty West Sound - Poulsbo, WA
Your Kitsap County WA Real Estate Broker
Just be thankful that I didn't pull out any of my "Knock, Knock" jokes!....
Oct 25, 2007 02:35 AM