Scripts – FSBO

Ask Owner for an Appointment

Agent: May I speak to the person with the home for sale, please?

FSBO: This is he/she.

Agent: Great. Mr./Mrs. ______, this is ________ with ________.  Tell me, have you sold your property?

FSBO: No, not yet.

Agent: Just out of curiosity, how many people have called about your home in the last week? [Regardless of the number they say, unless it is zero, continue with:] How many of the people who called were agents? Out of those who called, how many actually came to see your home? [If they say “none” or a “few”, continue with:] Well, Mr./Mrs. _______, I find that to be the norm with for sale by owners (FSBOs).  They always receive a lot of calls, but with very few people come to the home and even fewer make an offer.  Would it be of interest for you to know what the people who come through your home think about it?

FSBO: Sure.

Agent: Let me do something that has helped other FSBOs – maybe it will work for you.  Every Monday I will deliver a new guest log to you and pick up the old one.  I’ll call all the people on the guest log and find out what they thought of your property.  I have actually been able to help FSBOs obtain a contract.  The reason I have done this is two-fold.  One, if the buyers have a home to sell and they want an aggressive, hard-working agent, I interview for the job.  And two, if the buyers are not interested in the home I can show them other properties and give a referral gift to you.  What would be a good time to come by and drop off the guest log?

Source: MAPS Power Hour

I Am Going To Sell It Myself

• Great! Tell me, if there were a specific benefit for you to list your home with me today, would you at least consider it?
• If YES: Oh fantastic, that is exactly why we need to get together!
Or
If NO: Great, well let me ask you then – what would have to happen first?
Oh fantastic, that is exactly why we need to get together!

• Oh fantastic. So tell me, what specifically is the benefit to you doing that?

  • Yeah, and after what you have been through I certainly understand. In fact, you’re generally better off being a FOR SALE BY OWNER than to be with an agent who doesn’t understand the market and what it takes to sell houses.
  • You know, most agents do what I call the 3 Ps of real estate. They PLACE a sign in year, PLACE your house in Multiple Listing and PRAY that some other agent will come along and sell it for them.
  • I go A LOT further than that – I study the market every day and stay in constant communication with my sellers about their specific market every week. Also, I proactively and aggressively prospect for buyers for my listings every day! In fact, for every 70 new prospects I spoke with last year, something of mine sold! Is that the kind of assurance you would be looking for in an agent? I mean, if you were to hire one?
  • Yeah, and what else are you looking for in an agent?
  • Fantastic, that’s exactly why we need to…get together…today!
  • What is it about getting a FSBO sign in the yard that has you 100% confident that you will get your home sold?
  • See, when we…get together…if you aren’t 100% sold on why I am going to…sell your house…then you have no obligation to hire me. So let’s go ahead and get together.

FSBO Fallacies Script

• Hello is this ____________________? Hi Mr. /Mrs. ____________________, I wanted to give you a quick call about your property that you have up as For Sale By Owner, is it still available or did it already sell?

• Okay. Let me ask you, since it hasn’t sold yet, do you have a time in the future that you’re considering listing your property with a Real Estate Agent?

If seller says: WHY WOULD WE WANT TO DO THAT? I DON’T WANT TO PAY A BIG COMMISSION IF I CAN DO IT BY MYSELF.

  • I can completely understand where you’re coming from Mr. /Mrs. _______________. Did you know that that 95% of all homes sold in _______ are with the assistance of a buyer’s agent? The reason I say this Mr. /Mrs. _______________ is that you could potentially be missing out on thousands of buyer’s that are in the market to buy in your neighborhood but are simply unaware of your property because it hasn’t been aggressively marketed with a Real Estate team. (Go straight into saying the • We specialize in working with For Sale By Owner’s just like yourself, assisting them with aggressively marketing your home to get you top dollar with a minimum amount of days on the market. In fact we even have a program where you can continue to market the home on your own and you don’t owe us a commission if you find your own buyer.
  • Just out of curiosity Mr. /Mrs. ____________________, If there was a way that we could show you how teaming up with our company and selling your home with us will actually get you more money and get you more qualified traffic to your property….thus getting your property sold without all of the headaches that come with selling it on your own would that be something you would be interested in learning about?
    If YES: Great! We look forward to showing you how our program works. Are evenings or afternoons better for you?

If they are selling and buying:

  • Mr. /Mrs. _____________, may I ask you a question? It sounds like you are buying a home after this one sells, is that correct? But it also sounds like you want to net the most money possible on this transaction and pay the least amount possible on your purchase….doesn’t everyone!? There’s a lot that we can do to work with you on the commission structure. We’d be willing to work with you on our flexible commission structure if you would consider working with us on the buy and listing?
  • In addition, by having a professional negotiator working on your behalf on the buy and the sell side we’re going to be able to negotiate the MOST amount of money for you selling and buyer your new home. Could you see the benefit of having a team of professionals working hard to make sure that you net the most amount of money?
  • Let’s simply set an appointment to have our Specialist come out and learn more about your property and also explain in further detail all it is that we’re going to be doing to get you and your family to most money on the these transactions. Does that make sense? Great! What times are best for you, afternoon or evenings?

If they say: We will hire an agent if it doesn’t sell in ______ months.

  • My question is, are you really prepared to endure the opportunity cost of NOT selling your home in the next ____ months? The reality is we DO NOT KNOW what the market will be like in 6 months but we know exactly the highest price we could sell your home for today. In addition, the area where you want to buy may also be appreciating in value. You could miss out on your dream home! Doesn’t it make sense to consider taking advantage of the market today and not risking a shift that moves?
  • Let’s simply set an appointment to have us come out and learn more about your property and also explain in further detail all it is that we’re going to be doing to get you and your family to most money on the these transactions. Does that make sense?
  • If YES: Great! What times are best for you, afternoon or evenings?

We're Taking It Off The Market – We Have Decided To Stay

Great! Tell me, if there were a specific benefit for you to list your home with me today, would you at least consider it?

If YES: Oh fantastic, that is exactly why we need to get together!

Or

If NO: Great, well let me ask you then – what would have to happen first?

Oh fantastic, that is exactly why we need to get together!

Great! Tell me, what specifically is the benefit for you to do that?

I mean, if you knew I could sell it for you in this market and net you what you need, would you at least consider it?

If YES: Oh fantastic, that is exactly why we need to get together today!

Oh, I see. Just out of curiosity, where were you moving to when you sold? That’s great! Why was that important?

Well if we could still make that happen, I mean if a contract were presented to you today, would you still sell? Great! So, there is still that desire to move as long as you don’t have to go through what you did last time, right?

If YES: Fantastic! That’s exactly why we need to get together today!

Asking For An Appointment To See Their Home

Good morning, my name is _______ with Keller Williams Realty, and I noticed your home is for sale. As a real estate customer service expert, I like to keep up with the inventory in this area so I know what kind of buyers to bring. Would you be offended if I came over to view your home?

If “Yes” (they would be offended), or “We don’t want to list with a real estate agent.”

I promise I won’t ask you for your listing. The reason for my call is not to list your home. I would simply like to put the home on my For Sale by Owner Inventory List. Would today at 3:00 p.m. or tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. be better for you?

Source: Ignite

Touring Their Property

Mr./Ms. FSBO, thank you for allowing me to view your home today. Would you mind just showing me around and pointing out the features?

Where are you going next? When do you need to arrive?

Mr./Ms. FSBO, thank you so much again for showing me your lovely home. I want to wish you the best of luck in selling it. I have ______ (offer one of your reports) that might help you sell your home. I’d be happy to drop it off, because I’m hoping for a win-win here. I can provide you with information to help you sell and I hope that, in return, you will refer any buyers not interested in your home to me. Is there anything else I can do to help?

Source: Ignite

Build Rapport And A Relationship With Them

It was good to meet you the other day. I’ll plan to check in with you from time to time—just to see how things are going and where there have been any changes in your plan to sell.

Selling is hard work. I have a tip sheet on preparing your home to sell that might help. I’ll be in your area tomorrow: can I drop it off around 9:00 a.m., or would the afternoon around 2:00 p.m. be better?

Source: Ignite

We Decided To Sell It Ourselves

I can certainly understand your frustration. However, even though it may seem to save you money, a recent National Association of REALTORS® survey found that homes sold by an agent sell for an average of 13% more than those sold by their owners. Furthermore, a good agent is also going to save you a lot of trouble with their knowledge of disclosure requirements, sources of financing, contracts and by showing your home. Let me tell you about how my services can get your home sold. (Discuss points from your Value Proposition and Marketing Plan)

Source: Ignite

We Had A Bad Agent

Unfortunately, I hear that a lot. My job is to really listen to and address your needs and provide you with professional guidance and assistance during the entire process. But the real benefit to you is a sold house! Can you tell me more about your experience with your previous agent?

Source: Ignite

We're Not Sure What To Do

There are usually four reasons homes don’t sell—price, condition, marketing, or the professional handling the job. How do you feel the home was priced? (Listen to their answer. If pricing seems to be the issue, use your pricing discussion scripts.)

How do you feel your home was promoted? (Listen to their answer. If marketing seems to be the issue, present your 14-Point Marketing Plan.)

Does the home show well? (Listen to their answer. If condition seems to be the issue, use your staging scripts.)

Did your previous agent provide great service? (Listen to their answer. If the customer service provided by their previous agent seems to be the issue, address it using your 10+ Customer Service Commitment scripts.)

Source: Ignite

We've Decided To Wait Before Listing Again

Just out of curiosity, if you did sell, where were you moving to?

WOW! Why was that important? What would that do for you and your family if you had moved? If I could show you a way to make that happen, would you be interested?

You see, I specialize in getting homes sold that should have sold. Even the best houses don’t sell the first time and it just takes a new approach and new ideas like I use to get houses sold. When could I stop by and spend 15 minutes with you and show you why so many homeowners choose me to sell their house?

Mr. / Mrs. Seller, if a contract were presented to you tomorrow, would you still sell? Great, so there is some desire to move, right? You know, Mr. / Mrs. Seller, I specialize in houses that are great, yet didn’t sell the first time for various reasons. Let me ask you: why do you think your house didn’t sell? What will you look for in the next agent you choose? Let’s do this. I’ll drop by and look at your house, that way you can meet me so at a weak moment you don’t end up with a weak agent. After all, you don’t want to put it back on the market later to have it sit for another 6 months, do you?

Mr. / Mrs. Seller, if I could sell your house in 30 days and net you what you need would that pose a problem for you? That’s exactly why we need to set an appointment.

Source: Ignite

We'll Make More Money By Not Paying Commission

Most people assume they’ll make more.  They think it will sell for the same price whether they sell it for I do.  That’s just not true.  The best agents get 98 to 99 percent of list price.  For sale by owners often get what less experienced agents get – usually 8 to 10 percent less than the experienced agents do.  You see, if you pay me 6 person commission, you’ll still be ahead of the game by a couple of percent and you won’t have the stress of managing the sale by yourself.  Wouldn’t that be great?

Source: MAPS Power Hour

We Can Sell It Ourselves

If you were going to sell a major item, say like your car, would you put it in front of your house with a For Sale sign on it or would you be better off doing the same thing on a busy corner where everyone would see it?

You see where I’m going here right?

When you are trying to sell your home yourself, very few buyers are exposed to it.

But when you hire me it’s like moving the car from the front of your home to the busiest corner in town, everyone’s going to know about it!

Now that’s all well and good but can I tell you what the real advantage of doing that is?

Perfect.

You’re going to make more money that way!

If everyone knows about your property, rather than just a few people, how do you think that’s going to affect the amount of money it attracts?  Will we get more or less money?

You are right!

Now to be quite honest with you I don’t know if I can do this for you because I haven’t seen your home.

So I would like to borrow 15 to 20 minutes of your time to come and take a look at your home and see if I can do that for you, would you prefer an afternoon or evening appointment?

FSBO Script

I’m calling about the home for sale, is this ___________?

This is __________, I’m a real estate agent here in the area and I noticed that you have your home for sale and you’re selling it yourself, right?

I decided to give you a call today because I have helped a lot of For Sale By Owners sell their homes, and I am just calling to see how things are working out for you?

When you do sell this home, where will you be moving to?

What is your ideal time frame for getting there?

I’m curious, is the commission the main reason why you decided to sell the home on your own instead of using an agent?

If I can show you how I can sell this property for you and actually net you more money than if you sell it yourself, even after my commission is paid, is that something that you would be interested in looking at?

I completely understand, if you thought that an agent could do that for you, you’d have hired one already, right?  And at the same time, if there was a financial benefit for you to list with me, rather than sell it on your own, you’d probably go ahead and do it, wouldn’t you?

Yeah, let’s meet.  Would today at 2 work or would 4 be better?

Source: MAPS Power Hour

Setting The Appointment

[Park on the wrong side of the street, open your door toward the house, and leave your car running.  Take a business card with you.  Knock on the door and take three steps back.]

Agent: Hello, I’m ____________, a real estate consultant from Keller Williams Realty.  I was driving by on the way to another appointment. [Peer into the house or look around the yard and give a sincere compliment.]  What a beautiful _________.  Where did you get it?

FSBO: Oh that, I got that at _________.

Agent: I would love to take a few moments to see your home.  It’s not uncommon when I’m showing the neighbourhood to have a buyer who will ask me about properties for sale.  I make every effort to have all of the information available for them.  What time would work best for you? [If the homeowner wants to show you his/her home immediately, tell him/her that you’re on your way to another appointment, then ask again what time would work best.]

FSBO: I can show you my home tomorrow at _____, but I’m not interested in having you sell it.

Agent: I understand.  I want to see your home because, as a real estate consultant in this area, I often have buyers who ask me questions about homes like yours.

FSBO: Okay.  But I can’t spend more than a half hour with you.

Agent: No problem.  Could I get the correct spelling of you name and telephone number where you can be reached in case I should have to cancel?

FSBO: The correct spelling of my is ________ and my telephone number is ________.

Agent: Great! Here’s my business card in case you need to reach me – see you tomorrow at _____.

Source: MAPS Power Hour