Expired Listings: Calls or Mailings?

Expired Listings: Calls or Mailings?

So you have decided to try your hand at expired listings. Congratulations you are one of the very, very few agents who are willing to proactively commit to a lead generation strategy.

But now you have a dilemma do you call them or mail to them?

To answer the question let's start with the famous parable "The Town up Ahead".

Once, a man pulled up into a gas station in the country, and asked the gas station attendant, "What are the people like in the next town up ahead?" The attendant said, "What were the people like in the town you just came from?" "Awful people," the man responded. "Rude, cold, hostile, abrupt, unfriendly. They wouldn't give me the time of day." "Well," said the attendant, "I'm sorry to say it, but you're going to find exactly the same sort of people in the next town up ahead." A bit later, another driver pulled in, heading in the same direction as the first. "What are the people like in the next town up ahead?" the second man asked. The attendant said, "What were the people like in the town you just came from?" "Wonderful people," the second man responded. "Friendly, warm, helpful, patient, kind. They went out of their way to help a stranger." "Well," said the attendant, "I'm happy to tell you that you're going to find exactly the same kind of people in the next town up ahead."

Did you get the morale of the story? You find what you expect to find in people.

So here is the answer to the dilemma. By far the most effective least expensive type of prospecting is always calling people directly. Sure it's easier to do a mailing but you have to ask yourself why you are doing a mailing. Is it because you are avoiding making contact with potential sellers directly? Do you fear rejection? Do you think that expired sellers are like the people in the "town up ahead"? To overcome these fears you may want to follow the path that has been blazed by thousands of top producers before you at Expired Listing Guru.com we use their techniques as a model for your business. For example here is a script that is a goldmine for working with expired sellers:

"Mr. and Mrs. Johnson it appears that your home is no longer being actively marketed for sale on the MLS today. I hope you don't mind my call but I specialize in working with sellers who are looking for a different approach to marketing their home. You see I use the internet as my number one marketing tool. I just don't "put your home on the internet" I actually have a very sophisticated marketing method to expose your home to every available buyer in the market place. I will be in your area today would you be open to allowing me to stop by and chat for a few minutes?..."

Ok but what about those expired listing that are listed on the do-not-call registry or have unlisted phone numbers? Great question. In that case you have two options - knock on their door or send them a mailing. Remember the first and best bet is to make direct contact by phone or in person but that doesn't mean you should not use mailings as another way to reach expired listings. At Expired Listing Guru.com we have developed a series of letters designed to reach out and grab sellers by the collar. Check out this sample paragraph:

What happened? I saw your home on tour several months ago so I am surprised you were unable to successfully attract a buyer. You have a great home! As a residential marketing specialist I would welcome the opportunity to provide you with a tool that may help you identify why the market seems to have rejected your home. The tool I use is called a Home Scoring System. Simply put it rates your home on 17 key selling points and assigns a "score" to your home. The higher your home "score" the more likely your home is to attract a buyer.

Why not give me a call today to find out what happened and more importantly what we can do about it!

Powerful letters can generate incredible results. To see more like this one visit www.expiredlistingguru.com. But the key with both scripts and mailings is consistency. You must commit to a plan of action and stick with it! Set a goal of contacting a specific number of expired sellers every working day. Remember you are part of select group of superstars who make these contacts and expired sellers really do want to hear from you!