There are many home sellers out there trying to sell their property on their own and eventually enlist the help of a real estate agent. They are called For Sale By Owners (FSBOs) and a great source of leads for realtors.
Because they’ve already attempted to list their house, FSBOs have demonstrated a desire to sell. They have a greater urgency to sell their property, so as a real estate agent, your goal is to get these FSBOs to list with you.
But how can you enlist as many FSBOs as possible? All you need is a powerful For Sale By Owner script! In this blog post, we’ll walk you through some steps to help you nail down an average of five FSBOs each month.
The scripts that follow are not the only way to say something. They’re just suggestions for starting points, and you may find your unique voice in them. If you use the same script as other realtors do, it will lose its impact.
In that case, let me share nine steps on having the ideal For Sale By Owner script and how to make it work.
9 Steps on How to Get FSBO to List with You
1. Introduce yourself
Keep it short and sweet. Always stay pleasant and positive no matter what the person on the other line’s response is. It’s quite possible that your audience responds in different ways depending on their current situation. Prepare for anything that comes your way, but keep to the script.
“Hi, I’m Peter. I’m a real estate agent from Chicago. How are you?”
2. Make sure to find out whether they want a buyer's agent
Your main goal here is to know if they’re interested in working with a buyer’s agent. So make sure not to promise them anything like a certain buyer is willing to buy their property. For instance:
“Great! I saw that cool house you’re selling, and I was just wondering if you’d be interested in working with a buyer’s agent that can help bring in a qualified buyer for your property.”
You will find out that many would say yes, but are willing to pay only the buyer’s agent commission, instead of the entire commission fee. If they say they can’t pay the buyer’s commission fee, try to investigate further about what their current situation is.
But if you think this person is not open to it, don’t insist. Just move on to the next FSBO.
3. Get more information on their situation
“That sounds like it would be tough to move! Have you moved yet, or are still staying in the home?”
This question will help you understand what their motivation and urgency for selling is.
4. Inquire about their future plan
Try to get a better understanding of where they’re going to go. This question can be used two ways. You can ask,
“Got it. So, where are you going after the house sells?”
Another way to approach this is by asking, “So, where are you moving?”
If they do decide to share that information with you, it can help in your negotiations. yYou can offer up other homes in the area that meet their needs.
Finding out where the seller is moving and why will give you a good idea as to which home is a perfect fit for them. This could also give you an edge when negotiating.
5. Do reverse selling
“Reverse selling” is a way of helping the homeowners sell their home by giving a good suggestion.You can let them know that you’re there for them, in case they ever need anything else.
But make sure you don’t sound too pushy. Speak and act naturally as much as possible, keeping in mind your main goal to build relationships by establishing trust right off the bat.
“It sounds like your offer is pretty compelling! And with the market being so good at present, it would make sense for people to buy right now. But just in case you experience difficulty selling your home for whatever reason, it’s highly likely you’re not considering other options for at least a couple weeks, right?”
Make the person understand that you’re looking out for their best interest. It’s not selling them your services but rather just keeping the conversation going and helping them out in subtle ways.
And if it does come time where they need your help, you’ll be the first person they call. You can build a lot of trust this way and not worry about losing deals with FSBOs.
6. Set a Face-to-Face Meeting
“Absolutely. That’s fine. I’d like to drop by and take a look at your place one day this week. What time works for you usually? Is it possible to come in the morning or evening?”
At this point, you’ve already established rapport with the seller without being too pushy. They’ve also indicated their willingness to pay the buyer’s agent commission.
Now that you’ve earned their trust, it becomes easier for them to give you their availability to meet in person.
The reason why you’re dropping by is just to see if there’s anything else you could provide further assistance with.
7. Set a Specific Date and Time
Give them a specific date and time to move the conversation forward and assume command. If they say yes, then you know it works!
If not, give them another specific date and time or ask them what would work better because there’s no reason to keep your schedule open if they can’t make it work with you.
“I’m so glad you can make it on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. I’ll send a confirmation for this week’s meeting ahead of time in case anything comes up.”
8. Get the necessary Email Address
“Well, I’ll send you a brief email with my resume and contact information right away. Could you please tell me your email address?”
It is a question that pulls additional FSBO contact information from the database and allows you to shine.
Remember that as a realtor, your pre-listing package is your resume. As such, make sure that you impress FSBOs with it. You never know how well they’ll accommodate you by the time you meet them in person.
9. Close the conversation and verify details
“Awesome! So kindly expect to receive my email shortly, and I look forward to visiting your home on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. Thank you!”
When you’re talking with the seller on the phone, do not be afraid to confirm any first-time FSBO appointment details.
For example, if they have told you that they want to show their home at 2 p.m., we recommend asking them one more time what time they are expecting you to arrive.
This is important because you don’t want to show up at 2 p.m., but the seller thinks that you are showing up at 4 p.m.
It’s also advisable to text or call the seller at least 30 minutes before your appointment time to let them know that you are on your way.
Again, this may be a numbers game to the seller as they have several more appointments coming through that day. So it is important for them to know if you are going to show up or not.
For an FSBO appointment, this serves two purposes:
- One, the seller knows right away that you are not just some random person that is stopping by, and
- Second, it gives them the chance to do a little more research on who they are talking to before agreeing to meet with you.
What Should You Do When You Arrive at the Appointment?
Never let the perfect be the enemy of good. A great way to make your first listing successful is by focusing on being helpful, transparent and providing value during every step in selling a home with you as their realtor.
Be prepared for anything at all times because this may happen three months after getting off the phone or even that same day!
Make sure also to prepare a detailed CMA beforehand and bring this with you when going to the home. Not only will this save time but also help show how knowledgeable you are about the place.
You may bring a seller’s disclosure, too, in case they don’t have any at the appointment time.
Know Your Market Size and Get 60 FSBOs by Phone
You’ll need to know how big a market and region you’ll need to target to get 50-60 FSBOs.
It could be the whole city or just one of the zip codes. It depends on how big your city is and how many people live there.
You should visit three or four FSBOs each week, which would require roughly 15 connections. This means you need to have 15 sellers interested in talking with you on the phone.
To do so, you’ll need to make approximately 60 phone calls at the very least. If you do the work every day and follow these nine-step FSBO script consistently,.you may list four to six homes each month.
Final Words
And that’s all about the ideal For Sale By Owner script! For those of you looking to get FSBO to list with you, we hope this article has provided some helpful tips and tricks.
We’ll be happy to answer any questions or concerns that might come up as well as provide expert advice for navigating the FSBO process with ease.
