Expired Real Estate Listing Leads: The Five “Ws” (and one “H”)

By Cheri Alguire

Why:

The real estate market is slower right now and more and more home sellers who want and need to sell are not doing so as quickly as in the past. This means there is a bigger pool of potential clients in the expired listings that pop up every day.

How:

The best place to find your Expired Listing Leads is through a program that will check your MLS System, double check them to make sure they have not been immediately re-listed, cross-reference them with the local tax records, find owners’ names and contact information including telephone numbers, and then check those numbers against the Do Not Call List. Now, this can all be done by your administrative assistant, or by you, but that would be an extremely time consuming. It is best to use a service like the one at ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com

Who:

Your assistant can get the list - and apply a preset action plan - and even do the mailings to the Expired Listing, however, an experienced agent or team member that is experienced at calling leads and setting appointments must also be involved. Once the appointment is set, the agent do the listing presentation must be good converting that appointment to a signed listing contract. Chances are, you will be in competition for this listing and the potential client has already had their house listed for a period of time and they are clearer on what they want to see from their new agent.

Where:

The expired real estate listings you are going after will be in the Farm areas you work, in the areas and neighborhoods that are selling the quickest in the current market in your area, and in the price ranges that are currently selling the quickest in your current market conditions. It is imperative that you stay extremely updated with these ever changing market statistics in order to best direct your efforts.

When:

You need to contact expired listing leads immediately and continuously. This means your first contact should be the day the property comes up as expired. Many expired listing leads will want and need to get their house back on the market as soon as possible. It is also important to note that there will be a multitude of agents contacting this lead on the first day or two after it expires. For those leads that take time to make up their mind in who they will relist with, it will be important to have continued contact that lessens in frequency of contacts over the next days, weeks and sometimes even months ahead.

What:

A combination of phone calls, mailings, drop-bys and even emails when that information is available. Different people respond differently to different forms of contact and you are never sure which one will be the best method for this lead.

Remember, the goal of these contacts is to get the appointment and eventually the listing!

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Find out more about Cheri’s Expired lead Program at www.ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com or www.CheriAlguire.com

Knowledge Really is Power

By Cheri Alguire

While training for my half-marathon, I needed some knowledge of running fundamentals. In deciding to become a student of the game of running, I immediately headed to the nearest bookstore. Let me tell you, there are a LOT of books on running and I looked through every single one. In fact, I spent so much time at the bookstore browsing through running books; I got more than one weird look from the sales clerk!

Ultimately, I selected five books to begin my education on running a half-marathon. Out of those five, my favorite two were:

1. Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Half-Marathon Training, written by Heather Hedrick, and
   

2. The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer, written by David A. Whitsett.

Once I read these books, and the other three that I’d purchased, I also spent some time on the Internet. I took a lot of notes and, along with my trainer, eventually developed a training program I could stick to. Beyond that, the information I learned gave me the ability to see the finish line clearly. Before this, both the half-marathon and the actual running of it were nothing more than a fuzzy goal in my mind.

When you take the time to educate yourself, these fuzzy goals become clearer, make more sense, and you can finally begin to truly visualize yourself meeting them.

What I want you to do – RIGHT NOW – is make a list regarding your goals. I want you to answer these questions:

1. What is the category my goals fall in?

2. What information do I currently have on this category?

3. What else do I need to know?

4. Where can I go for this information? Think about the Internet, bookstores, libraries, coaches and/or trainers, and possible mentors that already have this information.

5. What do I hope to learn?

6. How will this make a difference in my meeting my goals?

As you answer these questions and seek the knowledge, you will gain power. Your goal will become more defined and you will be even more anxious to get started! Education is a strong motivator for success. Educate yourself first and success will follow!

Knowledge is power! Learning has never been easier. You can research practically anything on the Internet. Books have been written on virtually every subject known to man. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to do something – the information is out there to teach you.

Cheri Alguire is a real estate, business and life coach who partners with you to help you take your business and your life to the next level of success. For more information on Cheri Alguire's book 13 Lessons Learned in 13.1 Miles, visit www.13lessons.com For more information on Cheri Alguire can partner with you to take your real estate business to the next level, please visit http://www.CoachCheri.com

April Fools' Kid

Every family has to have at least one. That child who is the one you can blame for the early gray and mommy stress. If you have middle child, he or she is probably the one. Or it might be your youngest. Mine, is my middle child.

Over the past 18 years, he is the one that I would get the call from the principal saying he was in trouble at school again, this time for tap dancing on the teacher's desk while she stepped out. He is the one that would play tricks on his little sister that caused her face to be covered with permanent marker (something to do with a penny rolling over her nose, don't ask) right as we were trying to get out the door in the morning.

Yes, this practical joking child lives for April Fool's Day.

Over the last few years his April Fool's pranks have included stories about failing classes, getting kicked out of school, being in jail, and being hurt. I think I liked the purple-flamingo-on-the-back porch-tales of his younger years much better.

So, for all of you moms out there that have a child that LIVES to make your heart skip a beat, hang in there! I am still waiting for my son's prank for this year. As I sit here and wait, I found an article with some interesting stats on April Fool's Day. I thought I would share them with you.

May your April Fool's Pranks be mild!
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Comic Stimulus

by Vera H-C Chan

Yesterday Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:17:56 PDT

Tuesday is April Fools' Day, and a slowed economy, serious politicking, and global turbulence may be driving people to seek comic stimulus. Online research into April tomfoolery is up 40% over last year.

In the past 7 days, searches have soared 302% for "practical jokes" (as opposed to impractical jokes), 344% for "april fools' jokes," and another 1,564% for "april fools' pranks."

Get ready to file the workplace harassment claims: Your sacrosanct place of productivity isn't inviolable. Worker bees are investigating "april fools' office pranks" and "office pranks." You won't be able to answer a phone call without wondering if you'll hear "prank call soundboards."

In the spirit of public service, beware these April fools:

1. Youth means guile. Sweet-faced, female pre-teens prone to uncontrolled giggling should be approached with extreme caution.
2. Don't trust them when they're older either: Conspiratorial women 35-44 make up 1 out of 10 pranksters. However, ladies 45-54 are more likely to be into verbal wit then short-sheeting.
3. Biggest gathering of April Fools? Depends. Folks most into "april fools day" hail from Wisconsin. However, Pennsylvanians led queries into jokes and pranks. Must be all that pre-primary stress.
4. Media conspiracies. Slate has come out with its April Fool's self-defense kit, although searchers have already been checking out "snopes hoaxes" to educate themselves against mass manipulation. Meanwhile, Wired panders to readers with its top 10 nerdy pranks.
5. Did you hear the one about... If you're going to tell a joke, avoid ones about dumb blondes, people's mothers, and Chuck Norris. Everyone has been reading them online already—and don't come crying when Chuck Norris' mom comes to kick your sorry patootie for making fun of her boy.

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/91276

Learning the Game

I can honestly say that – WHATEVER YOUR GOAL – learning the game, becoming a student of the game, will help you get you the results you want. Why? Because you will take the time to inform yourself of the path ahead, and by doing so, you will increase your chances of success by a very large margin.

Regardless of the event, the industry, or the focus of your goal – it is critical to learn about the game, the rules of the game, and the best way to meet the objective of the game. The only way to do this is to become a student of the game.

What does all this mean? Honestly, it’s a lot simpler than it sounds! Delving in a little deeper, let’s use an example of publishing a book along with an example of running. Say your goal is to publish a book you have written. You will want to follow these steps:

1. Learn About the Game: Determine the category your goal falls in. In the example of publishing, is your book fiction or non-fiction? In the example of running, are you interested mainly in getting fit or, do you need to know more about endurance for, say, a half-marathon?

Once you know the category your goal falls in, you will know where to begin gleaning information to educate yourself. If you have written a non-fiction book on Chinese Wedding Traditions, for example, learning about publishers that focus on fiction isn’t going to help you much. Taking that a bit further, you will need to focus on the type of non-fiction book you are wanting to market.

Likewise, if you are mostly interested in endurance training, learning the ins and outs of strengthening your body for a half-marathon are most important on your list. While you could certainly receive worthwhile information by looking at fitness as a whole, you needed to focus more in order to truly “get it.”

Know your goal. Know the goal’s industry. Know the category.

2. Learn the Rules of the Game. Okay, so you know the category your goal falls into. Now, it’s time to learn the rules for that category. Again, using publishing as an example, you want to find the best publisher for your book on Chinese Wedding Traditions. Where do you start? What about the example of learning how to gain endurance for running a half-marathon? Where would you start?

Regardless of the industry, regardless of the category, there are people who have gone before you. Many of those people have written books, articles, created Web sites, and train or teach others how to be successful. These are the resources you want to tap! I recommend starting on the Internet because it’s a free resource that can give you a ton of information very quickly.

After you’ve spent some time researching on the net, you may find books, audio-books, DVDs, or even organizations devoted to what you’re trying to learn about. It’s completely up to you how you choose to educate yourself at this point. You can join some of these organizations, hire a trainer or a coach, purchase a book or five, or any combination of the resources available to you that you want.

Educate yourself. Study the rules. Learn the rules.

3. Learn the best way to meet the Objective of the Game. You’ve spent some time educating yourself on the ins and outs of the industry and the category of your goal. You have a lot more information about this than you previously did – CONGRATULATIONS! Now, take this information and you apply it to your personal goal.

Back to our example of publishing a non-fiction book on Chinese Wedding Traditions, the research conducted should give a clear idea of the correct publishers that would be interested in this type of book. Along with this, the knowledge of how to approach these publishers should also have been learned. Now, you know the proper way to begin meeting your objective.

In the goal of running a half-marathon, you should learn about running in particular. How you need to train and what to do each step of the way, such as the best way to increase your endurance, stretching exercises for before and after you run, and additional tips that will help you plan your attack. All of this knowledge will allow you to better plan so you will be ready to run a half-marathon when the time comes.

Research the rules. Understand the rules. Plan your attack.

4. Becoming a Student of the Game. By following the above three steps, you can become a student of any game! This is the best way to achieve the goal in front of you, regardless of what your goal is.

You absolutely need to acclimate yourself as much as possible. This will allow you to SUCCEED, which is the point of making a goal, isn’t it?

When you take the time to educate yourself and plan accordingly, even the seemingly most difficult objectives become easier to manage.

ü Learn About YOUR Game.

ü Learn the Rules of YOUR Game.

ü Meet YOUR objective.

People all over the world are learning new things every day. Education is an important facet in life, in all professions, and in almost every single thing we do.

When you were a child, you had to learn to tie your shoes. When you were a teenager, you had to learn how to drive. When you entered college and/or the workforce, you had to learn the rules of your surroundings. Our entire lives are made up of “learning the game” and of being a “student of the game.” Meeting your goals are no different!

This is Harder Than I Thought!

By Cheri Alguire

Running is like business. You can do it by yourself. You can do it with a group. You can do it anywhere. Other than a good pair of running shoes or possible a telephone, you don’t need any special equipment. With these facts in mind, I figured learning to run or running a business wouldn’t be that difficult. After all, running is one of the most popular forms of fitness and there are so many small businesses out there. It couldn’t be that difficult with so many people involved in the sport, right?

Wrong! When I decided to get out there and just do it, I found it far more difficult than I’d anticipated. Who knew running (the sport or running a business) would be so hard? I realized, quickly, that I’d not only underestimated the sport itself, but my own ability to acclimate by just doing it.

You may find yourself in a similar situation, depending on what your overall goals are. It’s not fun feeling like we’re in over our head and goals are ripe for this. What do you do if this happens to you? Basically, you have three choices:

1. Give up. Wow, this is so much harder than I thought! I was completely deluding myself into believing this is something I could do. No way can I accomplish this goal at this time in my life, so I’m going to set it aside and focus on something I feel more comfortable with.

2. Blindly forge ahead. Okay, so this is harder than I thought, but that’s alright. This is my goal and I’m determined to reach it, so I’ll just forge ahead. Eventually, everything will sink in and I’ll be more comfortable and everything will be fine.

3. Learn the game. Maybe you’re feeling a little discouraged, but you’re not ready to give up. You’re also not ready to forge ahead without more information. So you decide to learn the game, inform yourself, and then plan your strategy.

What are you learning to “run?” You might not be learning to run long distance, but you might be learning to run your business in slower economic times. Or you may be learning to run your Real Estate Business in a Real Estate market that is so very different than when you first learned it.

What are you going to do? Give up? Blindly forge ahead? Or learn the game? The choice is yours to make.

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Cheri Alguire is a real estate, business and life coach who partners with you to help you take your business and your life to the next level of success. For more information on Cheri Alguire's book 13 Lessons Learned in 13.1 Miles, visit www.13lessons.com For more information on Cheri Alguire please visit www.ProRealEstateCoach.com

How to List Expired Listings

By Cheri Alguire

With the average days on market up in many markets across the county, more and more Expired Listings are showing up on a daily basis. Expired listings are a great lead source, but only if you have a plan to work locate, follow up with, list at an appropriate price and then market properly so that it will attract buyer leads and then sell.

You can find Expired Listing on your local MLS system, or you can use a program like that one outlined at www.ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com that will do much of this initial research.

Then what? We will be talking about that in the weeks to come. Below you will find some information from NAR. What do you think about this plan? How would you modify it to fit with your market? Your style? Send me your comments and we will review that next week.

Prospecting Plan for Expireds

www.realtor.org

Use this plan as a basis for prospecting for expireds. Add other successful strategies you have tried as you learn more about what is most effective in your market.

Locate Expireds
You should spend 30 minutes each morning, as early as possible, printing out a list of expired listings from the MLS.

• Focus on expired properties in your market area or that you feel have a strong market appeal because of price or features.
• Keep track of how long properties that you consider particularly salable have been on the market. If you learn that a listing is about to expire, offer a referral fee to the listing salesperson to let you negotiate a new listing with the seller prior to expiration. This gives you the inside track.

What other lead sources for expireds have you found helpful?

Develop a Tracking System
You often will need several weeks of contact before you can convert an expired to a listing. Once they’ve had a bad experience with another real estate practitioner, expireds may not be immediately receptive to a real estate practitioner. You will need to demonstrate to them why you’re different than their prior salesperson.

Your tracking system should include:

• Name, address, and phone number of expired
• Information on the property from the MLS, including previous list price, and, if possible, days on the market.
• Date that the listing expired and previous salesperson.
• Date, time, medium of every contact, and response with an expired, in chronological order—for example, phone call at 9 a.m. on 9/14, offered free comparable market analysis. If you do mailings or e-mails to expireds, be sure to include those contacts in your tracking system.

Other tracking information you’ve found valuable:

Develop a Solicitation Schedule
Although expireds are usually sold on working with a real estate salesperson, a bad experience with their previous real estate associate may make them distrustful of your promises. Keep this in mind, and focus your solicitation on providing consultative services that emphasize your past successes.

Week One
On the day the listing expires
Mail, or better yet drop off, a marketing package. If possible, do something to make your marketing package stand out from the many others an expired is likely to receive. Options include, sending it in a colorful or oversized envelope, adding a special delivery or personal/confidential stamp, or hanging it on the door in a plastic bag preprinted with you name and a drawing of a house.

Later that week
Mailings: Send a follow-up letter or postcard if you don’t get an appointment. Again, provide a supportive message, such as “Sometimes, even a great home doesn’t sell right away.” Also include a statistic noting what percentage of your listings sell in 90 days or less.

What other techniques have you used for making initial contact?

Week Two
Recheck the MLS to be sure that the home was not re-listed. Also drive by the house and look for a sign. Be alert to the possibility that a frustrated expired might become a FSBO.

Mail another marketing letter, emphasizing your success rate in selling listings in 90 days or less. Include information on any recent sales near the expired’s home, to subtly reinforce the going price range for the area.

Other techniques for maintaining contact:

Week Three

Recheck the MLS to be sure that the home has not re-listed.

Phone calls: Follow up to ensure that expired has received your service package. Use this opportunity to ask if you can come over and see the house so that you can keep your buyer clients informed of everything available in the neighborhood. Low-traffic times at open houses are a good time to make expired follow-up calls, suggests author Danielle Kennedy.

Buyer interest: If you have an appropriate customer, call expireds and ask if they would be willing for you to show the house to a buyer.

Other techniques for getting your foot in the door:

Week Four
Recheck the MLS to be sure that the home has not re-listed. Drive by and check for a yard sign.

Listing presentation: If you’ve gotten an appointment and the mood is right, present a prepared listing agreement during your visit for signature. As an alternative, promise the expireds that you will complete a marketing plan of the property within 48 hours for their review. Present the plan, then ask for the listing.

Final letter: If you’ve been unable to get an appointment, send a final letter asking expireds if their interest in selling their property has waned. Enclose a personal marketing brochure and suggest that they keep it for future reference if they later decide to list again.

Choosing Your Accountability Circle

By Cheri Alguire

You have heard the arguments for having accountability in achieving your goals and you’ve decided to bring one or two or a dozen people into the process of achieving your goal. How do you start? What can you do to make sure the accountability functions as you want it to, as it’s supposed to?

Who to pick and how many do you need for your accountability circle? For some, this is an easy question – they have a best friend, a sibling, another family member, a professional coach or even a colleague that they immediately gravitate to. Who you choose, and how many, is a very personal choice, but there are a few things to think about when selecting the members (or member, because you may only need one person!) of your accountability circle:

1. If it’s a personal goal that has nothing to do with your business or professional life, consider choosing a person who is in your personal life over one from your business/professional life.

2. Likewise, if your goal is a business goal – you may have a stronger feeling of accountability if you choose those from your professional life who will have a better understanding of your goal and the reasons why you’re pursuing it.

3. Select an individual (or individuals) that honestly want the best for you. Choosing someone you’re in constant competition with may have one set of benefits (you may work harder to win over them), but you really need at least ONE person that is completely on your side.

4. Consider finding those that have the same goal you do. Whether it’s a professional goal or a personal one, when you have others alongside you reaching for the same goals, it can become a mutually rewarding support system. This could be members of a Master Mind Group or a Group Coaching Program.

5. Hire a coach! Coaches are uniquely trained to help hold you accountable to your goals.

Once you have picked the members of your accountability circle and they have agreed to participate in keeping you accountability, it will be time to decide how often you will check in with them and how exactly you will do that. You could meet in person, over the phone, via email or even through some other form of social networking.

How about you? Who do you have in your accountability circle? Maybe it is time to find someone who will really hold you accountable and who really wants the best for you!

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Coach Cheri Alguire is a professional coach who holds her clients accountable to taking their businesses and lives to the next level of success on a daily basis. See what her clients are saying at http://www.prorealestatecoach.com/pages/testimonials.htm or check out her wide range of services at http://www.CheriAlguire.com