FSBO Leads: Create Your Story to Close the Deal

FSBO (For Sale By Owner) statistics are probably familiar to you if you’ve been in the real estate business long enoughNearly 9 out of 10 homeowners fail when trying to sell their own home. Wanting to pocket the commission, they go into the process thinking a sign in the front yard is all it takes. Frustrated, they typically turn to a real estate professional, especially if they have some level of urgency to move their house quickly.Like most agents, seeing that FSBO sign in the yard is an urgent invitation to prospect to someone who is, in most cases, eager to sell. Or, you may get an FSBO lead through a CRM/Dialer program like Espresso Agent. Either way, the obvious next step is to give them a call or ring the doorbell. When that happens, you’ll want a professional-looking information packet.But what do you say to your FSBO prospect? Remember, they’ve just gone through months of futility in trying their own hand at real estate sales. If they decide to make the leap to an agent, they’re going to need to feel comfortable that you can bring considerable value to the process.When creating your information packet, here are five points we believe are critical to convincing the FSBO lead to replace their for-sale sign with yours. How do you stack up to each?

1. PRICING: The prospect needs to understand your approach and philosophy to pricing their home. Chances are they priced their home too high to attract enough traffic. What will you do to price their home in a way that will attract as many qualified buyers as possible?
2. MARKETING: Marketing is the biggest challenge with FSBO prospects. In today’s complex environment, marketing a home requires much more than a yard sign. You’ll need to spell out the ways in which your team connects with and engages highly qualified buyers.
3. PROSPECTING: How often do you and your team prospect for buyers each day? A homeowner wants to know that the numbers will work in their favor. That means, how many calls do you make in a typical day? Plus, how often do you get out into the market and knock on neighborhood doors?
4. COMMUNICATION: One of the most common frustrations clients have with agents is the lack of effective and frequent communication. You need to share your plan for keeping the seller apprised of your progress on a continual basis. If you’re part of a larger brokerage, what’s the process by which you keep other agents informed of your listings?
5. CLOSING: One of the reasons more people don’t try to sell their own home is concern about the closing process. You need to walk FSBO prospects through your approach to handling the complexities of closing procedures: contracts, titles and any other related closing item.

Along with expired listings, FSBO leads represent the richest source of ready-to-move listing prospects, for both you and your competitors. What are you doing to differentiate your brand from the pack when it comes to securing that hot FSBO lead?