Many real estate agents rely on expired listing leads to grow their business. However, generating this lead type requires unique strategies to help you stand out.
Expired listings are homeowners who have had their homes for sale with another agent, and the contract has reached its expiration date without selling. This provides an excellent opportunity for agents to pitch their services.
Saves You Time
Selling a home involves handling buyer consultations, showing the property via open houses and private viewings, helping clients qualify for financing, arranging inspections and appraisals, and much more. By contrast, converting expired listings requires far less work since the seller has already experienced the frustration of listing their property and likely feels burnt out from working with a prior agent.
Consequently, most homeowners are receptive to new real estate agents who offer fresh perspectives and competitive services, especially if their previous experience could have been better. During your marketing presentation, you can highlight effective strategies, show how you can market the property better than the last agent, and prove your ability to sell the property within a reasonable timeframe.
For your first contact with an expired listings real estate listings, starting with a short, professionally-written email or letter that packs a punch is wise. Using a template, or one you customize to your style and brand, will ensure that your message stands out and makes a positive impression on the homeowner.
Be prepared for the homeowner to raise objections during your initial contact with them, such as the belief that their previous agent needed to be more professional or their home is overpriced for the current market conditions. If you have a response to the objection, then you can use it throughout your communication with them and convert them into a client.
Saves You Money
When a seller’s property doesn’t sell, they may be disappointed. However, it presents an opportunity for a real estate agent to step in and show homeowners that they are better equipped than their previous agent was to sell their home. Offering a competitive marketing strategy and professional services can help turn the expired listing into a success story.
To connect with expired listing leads, sending a letter highlighting the benefits of your services is essential. This will help them recognize you as trustworthy and knowledgeable, which is crucial in building a relationship with the homeowner.
Expired listing leads will likely receive multiple phone calls and emails from other agents who want to work with them, so you need to stand out with your marketing. You can create a customized email and postcard using a tool that offers a variety of expired listing templates.
Another way to save time is by using a prospecting service that can search the MLS and find contact information for homeowners. This will save you time from manually searching for numbers and help ensure that your contacts are accurate. Once you have the contact information, you can contact the homeowner via phone or email and convert them into clients.
Saves You Stress
To make the most of your real estate expired listings strategy, you must nurture leads by sending them valuable content. This is called drip marketing, and it’s a powerful way to keep in contact with the tips you generate. For example, you could send them market reports, seasonal greetings, and even case studies of successful property sales in their neighborhood.
Alternatively, you can use a real estate prospecting service to collect contact information on expired listing leads. These services will search the MLS for listing records and provide you with reliable information promptly. They typically cost a premium, but they can save you time by doing the work for you and allowing you to focus on your core real estate business activities.
Once you have the contact information for your expired listing leads, it’s time to reach out to them. You can start by contacting them via email or phone. Remember that many homeowners feel burned by their previous representation, so building natural rapport and showing them how you can help them is essential.
It’s also essential to avoid spamming your expired listing leads. If you do, you may be violating privacy laws or causing damage to your brand. Instead, try using a lead generation tool to automate your messaging and stay in touch with your prospects.
Saves You Energy
Unlike working with buyers, where you must attend listing appointments and showings, schedule home appraisals, organize open houses, help your clients qualify for financing, and more, expired listings do not require the same time-intensive commitment. A real estate agent who re-lists a property with the homeowner typically needs only to make one call or email to get the listing back on the market.
Many top-producing agents report that expired listings are one of their best sources of business. However, many of these agents also compete with local real estate agents for this same business. That’s why it is essential to formulate a strategy for finding, approaching, and converting expired listing leads.
The first step is identifying the correct listing contact information for each expired listing lead. To do this, you can perform a skip trace or use a list broker to gather the data. In any case, you should always ensure your contact information is accurate and current.
Next, you’ll want to write a letter to each of your expired listings leads that makes them feel like you are a valuable resource and will help them sell their home. This is a great way to establish trust and credibility with the homeowners.
