Please....help me climb out of my comfort zone...

Donna, if you are going for FSBO's and expires the key is consistency. One realtor in my area, shows up every week at the same time and drops something off to help them. Most of my listings the first few years were friends. After about three years it changed to equal buyers and sellers. Now 13 years later, I do the lisitngs and my team does the buyers.

It takes time to be a listing agent. In this market, buyers are where the money is at anyway.

Donna... I am very interested in the response that you will receive to this question.  Honestly, I work in a rural area and folks tend be very friendly.  Most folks that have a sign in the yard are going to expect some type of door ringing (in my experience).  Once I start a conversation it usually deals with tips on selling there home and etc...  Which has built business for me...  My point being they are going to expect someone coming to the door and just for you to offer some type of friendly advice would be non-threatening ... at least in my experience..

        
 

Instead of leaving the bag of goodies, you should knock on the door and hold the bag in your hand so they can see at . Believe me most people are receptive when you give them something. I remember years ago when I was not in real estate a young lady knocked on doors in my neighborhood and gave everyone a small plant. I saw her go to my neighbors house and i quickly opened my door for her, because I could also get a plant.

 I would not leave the gift there because no one is going to call to thank you.

Count yourself lucky that you have some buyers to work with.  The listings will come.  In this market who wants them anyway???

Concentrate on learning your job.  By the time you have gotten to settlement with your buyers, assuming you are so lucky, you'll have some experience and will be able to focus on how to speak with sellers. 

I agree with Donna in that you should approach the FSBO'S with helpful advice. "Do you have a sign in register for customers wanting to view your home?" Usually the answer is no. Let them know that it is Wise and safe to have all customers sign a register or that the home owners take down their name and number for security reasons. Then you can go on to explain your service to provide safety when letting customers off the street view their home. Let them know that you are their for them if they need any help or advice.

Donna-Welcome aboard and congratulations on getting your license. The first few steps are very hard but you will find that it becomes easier with time and practice. I am not a phone person, so I know exactly what you are going through. I do a lot of mailing to a certain geographic area(my farm area). If you look back to several of my early blogs-you will find several blogs for new agents to get up and running their first year. (building the farm, jumpstart your career pt 1 & 2, etc) Also check out the Rookies Turning Pro group on this board-there are several great posts for the Rookie.

There are many outstanding posts on AR concentrating on the rookie-and in particular the first two years of business. Do a general search or look through the rookie groups-I found a lot of the information very useful!

Print out this great quote by Robert Allen and stick it on your dashboard, desk, fridge, etc.....

"Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone"

Donna,

That quote has really helped me do things I wasn't always real comfortable doing. Some things didn't work and some things worked out great. But the more you step out of your comfort zone the easier it becomes. And remember, the people that have had the most success are usually the people that have taken the most chances.

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!!

Donna, fear of the unknown is one of the biggest obstacles to taking action.  Think of the worst thing you can picture happening.  The FSBO is unlikely to chase you down the street with a broom (although you could survive even THAT, couldn't you!)

There is a good chance your offer of help will be rejected.  So what?  Offer some non-threatening free service, such as providing a generic Open House sign for them.  Ask if you could get the names afterward of those attendees who weren't interested in the sellers' home.  It will generally take five to eight 'no's to get to a 'yes'.

If you continue to offer non-threatening little services, you may be the agent the seller calls when eventually they find they can't sell the house on their own.

Woody Allen once said, "85% of success is showing up." 

knock on the door and hand them your materials. The worst that they can say is "no". It would be different if you knew them, but you don't

Knocking on doors? ICK. I don't like it when someone arrives at my door uninvited, especially if it is a sales person.  I don't knock on doors. Ever. Converting FSBOs are easy. It's all about how you venture into THEIR comfort zone.  Preview their home for your potential buyer...surely there is "potentially" someone you know or will soon meet that may be interested in their home.  Call them and schedule a preview visit of their home as part of your research on the market. As you preview, give them some worthy tips and tricks to incorporate into their marketing/selling plan. Offer to share a little bit of your market research with them as a courtesy. Follow up in a week or so to see how they are doing and ask a few more clarifying questions about their home and, of course, give them another tip. Do this a couple of times and they will likely see the many benefits of working with you. If they don't that's OK, you've gone a long way in building a potential referral source. This approach works for me on For Sale by Owner and For Rent by Owner prospecting. Remember to think outside the normal real estate box...you don't have to do it like everyone else does it.  When you find what works for you, you will do it with ease and success.  I've subscribed to your blog so I can keep tabs on how you are doing.  Here's to your success!

Well a different viewpoint. FISBO's...why. Why work with someone that doesn't value your profession or service. I don't need that kind of reinforcement.

However, your willing to keep trying and to keep knocking (as it were0 tells something about your resolve. So if you can handle the no's , as you have, and still come back you can exist in the business.

You need to identify your clients. Prioritize them, and work with people that can or are willing to work with you. In the long run far more successful. There are lots of ways, articles and seminars on how to. Most is probably already known to you but your not going after it in the right way. I recommend Buffinf. But you don't need to spend big bucks either. You can do it on your own. Organize, have a system and stick with it are the base ingredients. From there hard work and dedication.

You'll do fine... keep pushing the comfort zone. There are no easy fixes just working smarter!

Hi Donna,

I'm 4 years into a market in Michigan that is not all that good:( But I am making it. When I first started I knocked on fisbo doors and called on ad's in the paper and while some worked out most didn't. I still do call on fisbo but have worked the bugs out of my approach, I have also put my focus on networking to get to know people personally. You can do all the calls and letters you want but if you don't make a connection with the potential clients "personally" they won't do biz with you.

Case in point, I attended a women's networking lunch and met nice lady that wanted to give me a tour of her business, while I have no need for what she has to offer (health ins) I'm lucky to have my hubby's! I still wanted the tour to see if it would fit into clients or friends and family needs.  Well this week I got an email from her, she gave me a referral to another person that was looking for a real estate agent to refer her clients to:) It's what I call a GOOD DAY TO BE MAR DAY!!!

So, get out there and met "People" and get to know THEM! and the benefits will certainly come! Best of luck to YOU!