How to Take More Expired Listings: Tips and Strategies

If you’ve ever watched Vulcan7’s ROADMAP series or read this blog, you know that most to-producing agents in the country leverage expired listing leads as the foundation of their business. These agents know that a homeowner with an expired listing often needs to sell quickly, thus making expired listing leads the low-hanging fruit of our business.

It takes unique skills and the right tools to find success in prospecting expired real estate listings. In this post, we’ll discuss the importance of prospecting expired listings. We will also share tips from top-producing agents on how to set yourself up for success when prospecting expireds. And we’ll close by letting you know how to get expired listings.

INTRODUCTION TO EXPIRED REAL ESTATE LISTINGS

Understand the benefits and challenges.

There are myriad reasons why a listing expires, such as:

• Pricing: If the home is over-priced, it will likely attract fewer interested buyers. Poor pricing is the top reason homes fail to sell.
• Poor marketing: This can include any number of factors, such as Poor-quality photos, lack of online presence, or limited open houses, which can all contribute to a listing expiring.
• Property condition: Homes that need extensive updating or look run-down may repel potential buyers, who prefer something in “move-in” shape.
• Location: A poorly priced home in a run-down neighborhood might fail to attract many shoppers.
• Uncooperative seller: A home may not sell because the seller is adamant about setting a certain price despite getting proper guidance from their agent.

Many other reasons exist for listings to expire, but these are the most common.

As we mentioned at the outset of this article, top-producing agents tend to focus on expired real estate listings because they understand the two primary benefits of an expired—focused portfolio strategy:

1. Urgency: A homeowner who did not sell the first time likely feels more urgent to sell the second time around. If you stick to the strategies outlined below, you have a good chance of converting the lead to a listing.
2. Revenue: Working with expired listings allows you to make significant GCI over a shorter period of time, especially compared to working as a buyer’s agent.

While expireds may be low-hanging fruit, an agent must understand that those homeowners are often frustrated, angry, and anxious because their previous agent failed to deliver a sale. Moreover, once their listing has expired, they will likely get calls from numerous agents, exacerbating their frustration.

In the next section, we’ll discuss tips and strategies for navigating the potentially lucrative world of prospecting expired listing leads.

TIPS FOR PROSPECTING EXPIRED LISTING LEADS

If you want to know how to find expired listings, you are in the right place. Vulcan7 has long been recognized as the leading industry source for the best EXPIRED LISTING LEADS.

Here are a few of the fundamentals when it comes to working with expired listing homeowners:

Nail your first impression.

When it comes to calling expireds, focus on those critical, initial seconds to position yourself:

• Let the homeowner know how you would do things differently(“While your home was on the market, here’s how I helped X homeowners sell their property”).
• Remind them about what motivated them to sell in the first place (i.e. the importance of their next move).

Remember those older expired leads.

Older expired listings could be homes that came off the MLS a month ago, or a year ago, or even longer. You need to define “old” based on the dynamics in your market. In a large market, with lots of expired listings, you might want to focus on those listings that came off the MLS one or two months ago. In smaller markets, you might want to expand your pool with much older expireds.

Two things make old expireds particularly interesting.

• First, because many agents dismiss old expireds, you might find there is less competition when trying to build a relationship with these homeowners.
• Related, compared to new expired listings, old expired homeowners are likely not being inundated with calls from aggressive agents. This gives you a unique opportunity to forge a relationship.

Be persistent.

Call early and be persistent in your follow-up with expireds. Prove that you are dedicated to selling their property-they will appreciate that dedication.

• Expireds also appreciate it when you show them you remember their property.
• Remember that time and price are the things they are most concerned about.
  • Have your stats at the ready: examples of your quick sales, especially those made above the listing price.
• Be persistent about getting an in-person listing presentation because the rapport-building magic begins when you sit across from the homeowner.

Embrace partnership.

Show the homeowner how you would be a partner and problem solver.Have examples of how you went above and beyond for other clients.

Master your scripts.

Real estate prospecting scripts (like those you’d have at your fingertips as a Vulcan7 client) are invaluable tools when prospecting expired real estate leads. As we discussed in our blog post SUCCESS WITH EXPIRED LISTING SCRIPTS, scripts help you sound comfortable and confident when speaking to a prospect, such as in the following situations:

• You may run into situations where the homeowner previously listed with a friend and is possibly inclined to re-list for the same reason. You might discover that the homeowner previously listed with a friend. Using scripts, you can turn this to your favor: “I appreciate great friendships, but do you think you gave your friend the best chance to sell your home?”
• Be straightforward if the expired listing client asks if you’re willing to negotiate commission: “It depends on many factors, such as the condition of your home and the price we set. We can discuss that in more detail when we meet tomorrow.”
• Firmly and politely fight through the objections until you secure the listing presentation.

Follow-up with an expired listing letter.

If you haven’t been able to connect by phone, you might want to move on to a second step: An expired listing letter. As we discuss in our post on CREATING THE PERFECT EXPIRED LISTING LETTER, an expired listing letter is, on a certain level, your formal sales pitch, your introduction, and your chance to make an excellent first impression. It can’t replace a well-crafted, scripted phone conversation. But it can serve a vital role in your real estate marketing strategy and maybe even be the thing that helps you get your foot in the door.

Here are five key components that will make your letter stand out:

1. Empathy: Remember, you are dealing with someone who may be discouraged and probably frustrated. An empathetic tone helps to build trust, which is important in this initial phase of prospecting.
2. Analysis: Provide your prospect (and hopeful lead) with insight as to why their home may not have sold, and reinforce your knowledge of market conditions. Do you best to inspire them to believe you have the experience necessary to sell their home.
3. Succinctness:  Don’t ramble on about yourself. Make the points above in succinct fashion, using bullet points instead of lengthy paragraphs to get your story across.Keep your message concise and to the point.

Expired listing packet/presentation.

If you follow the tips in this post and leverage your industry-leading Vulcan7 leads, you should have no problem securing a face-to-face meeting with the homeowner. You’ll want to head into that meeting with a polished, professional expired listing information packet/presentation.

Our post on EXPIRED LISTING PACKET BEST PRACTICES provides a detailed approach to creating a game-winning presentation. At a minimum, your packet should include:

• A SHORT, well-written, grammatically correct bio.
• Some initial thoughts on pricing.
• An overview of your approach to marketing a home.
• Your philosophy on client service
• Clint testimonials.

VULCAN7: BEST EXPIRED LISTING LEADS

Invest in your success.

Many of the country’s top-producing agents turn to Vulcan7 as the foundation of their real estate prospecting efforts. Here’s why:

• The most respected, expired listing leads in the industry, featuring the most accurate contact information.
• A superior CRM platform that keeps you on-task with your lead generation and lead follow-up.
• A world-class dialer that helps you make calls FOUR TIMES FASTER than by manually dialing.
• A game-changing onboarding and training program

If you’d like to learn more about our lead generation platform, CONTACT US HERE.

Doug Spak

Doug Spak has over four decades of experience as an advertising copywriter, agency creative director, blogger, and content creator. He joined Vulcan7 as a Content Specialist in 2016. In addition to ongoing website copy refreshes, Doug has produced over 300 blog posts while developing content for Vulcan7’s social media platforms.