LESSON 6 - THE SELLER’S RESPONSE
The seller will often respond with their defenses up. Most of them are actually very nice. But by now, many agents have irritated them.
For most agents, they will be shot down. They will get a cortisol rush that feels like pain. They will not make their next call for an hour or so as they rethink their approach. In the beginning, look at your goals before each call. Read how you plan to preserve in the face of the challenge. Your brain needs to see that you can overcome the challenge. Your voice will be more powerful, and you will be more persuasive.
THE SELLER’S RESPONSE
- Are you an agent?
- We are not paying a commission.
- We have an agent.
- My cousin is an agent.
- We don’t need an agent.
- We don’t want any investors.
- Sure, come by at that time.
YOUR RESPONSE
You have just a few seconds to make an impression. You may be the 40 th agent that day to call them. So, what you say next had better be meaningful.
“Yes Mr. Jones, I am in real estate. My question for you is, since the National Association of Realtors settlement, there are options for the buyer to pay the broker fee, not the seller…..if that is the case, may I view your property?”
“Yes Mr. Jones, I am in real estate. My question for you is if I have a buyer, and they pay the fee, and you pay zero, would I have the opportunity to view your property?”
“Yes Mr. Jones, I am in real estate. My question for you is….pretty much everything has changed. Buyer are now in a position to pay their own way allowing you to offer little or zero to a buyer agent. With that being said, may I see your property at 2 pm today?
JUST LIKE FISHING
Some fish will bite, others will ignore your offer. Some By Owners will like what you are sharing, some won’t. It takes just two wins per month to hit 24 listings in one year.
SHOULD I CALL AGAIN?
Should you call the FSBO a 2nd time? I would think so. I may try another approach with them. But just because they said no thank you does not mean you never call them again. In your daily tracker, indicator who you spoke with, if they were polite or rude, or any small nuance that they shared. Persistence pays off. Do not be deterred by the word “no.”
TOLD NO BY YOUR PARENTS OR TEACHERS
Were you ever told NO when you were a child? Did you try again and again? That is what children do. Until they get older and fear rejection. My first mentor Tommy Hopkins said, “You are paid in direct proportion to the pain you can take.” To me he was MR. FSBO. I had all his books and tapes on By Owners. I became Mr. FSBO so much so in St. Louis I had agents I was competing with ask me to pay a referral fee if they backed out and endorsed me.
It always has been a challenge to get in the door. I have participated in listing over 1,000 but we have called several thousand along the way. At one point, we attempted to expand our territory from St. Louis and include Chicago. We simply wanted more FSBOs.
“You will be paid in the direct proportion to the amount of pain you can take.”