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The Reliability of sheep Also called why I love For Sale By Owner and Expired Listings

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty

The reliability of sheep

Also called why I love For Sale By Owners and Expired Listings

One thing we can count on in this world in addition to death and taxes is the reliability of sheep.  What I mean by this is that the general public are sheep.  They can be herded into a given activity by the news media's gentle push.  Many Realtors now have to fight the perception that they are some sort of pariah trying to sell people things they don't need.  For Sale By Owners and Expired Listings are the same until they have been educated.  The days of Glengarry Glenn Ross hard selling stealing people's money are still alive, just not for Realtors.  Just like in accounting I think Realtors now pay a lot of attention to how they are perceived.  The public's perception is important...have you ever tried to talk to a sheep? 

The key to talking to For Sale By Owners and Expired Listings is to never ever attempt to talk at the heard.  You must slowly but surely secure each For Sale By Owner and Expired Listing by themselves and convince them one by one.  Convince the public One by one (similarly to how Ron Paul is attempting to win over the American Public). 

The average Realtor gets a few ads in a few magazines and maybe even pays a lot of money for a website.  I call and physically go see hundreds of For Sale By Owners and Expired Listings.  Why?  Because I can not convince them as a herd!  For the For Sale BY Owners, and Expired Listings they must be secured slowly and one by precious one.

The Reason I love them (For Sale By Owners and Expired Listings) is because they are well educated, and they are ready to listen and do their own research.  The average home-buyer or seller that contacts you via an ad may or may not be educated on how to pick a Realtor, or even how to realistically look for a home, or sell a home.  An expired listing is in a perfect position to see that you and he/she are a great fit, and how you can add value.  A For Sale By Owner is exhausted and sooooo happy you are there to save the day when they finally list with you.

Don't get me wrong I don't turn down anything but the collar of my shirt, but I simply prefer For Sale By Owners and Expired!  

The general public can and sometimes does come around.  I have included and will continue to include RSS feeds on my website (http://www.raymondwilburn.com/) that will aid in research.  I think that once the general public is educated and starts really researching instead of just accepting that ‘the market is down' (lol there is no United States Real Estate Market...at least not the way that most folks imagine it).  For Sale By Owners and Expired Listings are my absolute favorite clients to work with because they are ready to research and wanting to be educated...why?  Because they are veterans of the Real Estate Battlefield!

It's been fun chatting with you all about one of my favorite topics For Sale By Owners, and Expired Listings.  Stay tuned and there will be more from your friend ‘The People's Realtor'

Ray Wilburn

The People's Realtor

Be sure to check out the links to both my site and my Myspace page!

Comments(5)

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R. B. "Bob" Mitchell - Loan Officer Raleigh/Durham
Bank of England (NMLS#418481) - Raleigh, NC
Bob Mitchell (NMLS#1046286)

I agree with your one on one approach, but disagree with you about Realtors being all that concerned (or at least concerned enough to do anything about our reputations).  Until they make it more difficult to get and to keep a license (and we cull our herd as mentioned in another post this morning) the public is going to view us as what we are...a bunch of poorly educated smucks who couldn't hold down a regular job!

 

Bob Mitchell

ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc. 

Jan 04, 2008 04:23 AM
Ray Wilburn
Keller Williams Realty - Everett, WA
CPA, MBA
Thanks Bob!  I agree with you, but as a holder of an MBA I am very concerned about us realtor's as proffesionals.  I completely agree that we Should 'Cull the heard' will you maybe forward me that blog?
Jan 04, 2008 04:41 AM
Brian Nelso
Thneed, LLC - Aliso Viejo, CA
Brian Nelso

Ray,

Great point.  This is a numbers and relationship game.  You can't take the shotgun approach and be successful with FSBO's and expired listings.  Which lead system do you use?  RedX, LandVoice, Total Agent, Netscape listing search?

 

Jan 07, 2008 05:01 PM
Robert Krames
Smart Media Creative Solutions - Gainesville, FL
I love to read different strategies, thanks for sharing with us. Sounds like you are a convincing sales man and you have found a method that utilizes your unique skill set to generate business for you.
Jan 08, 2008 12:25 AM
Joseph McCullen
Silentstill Photography & Design - Cape May, NJ
Great stuff.  Besides being a great salesman, in your experience, how are these fsbo and expired listings deciding on a new Realtor?  Like you say, they are at the least experienced on the battlefield, where do they do the most research?
Jan 08, 2008 04:30 AM