What if you could have dozens and dozens of qualified leads to chose from? And only pick the good ones. Only the easy, qualified clients who are ready to buy NOW. Wouldn’t that be cool?

PLUS, imagine talking to an expired listing or walking into a listing appointment and telling the seller:

“Here is another advantage of listing with me. As soon as we put your house up for sale, I will contact every potential buyer in my database and let them know about your home. And I currently have over 140 of them“.

Now that’s powerful. Talk about standing out.

I know, how in the world would you get so many qualified buyer leads without spending tons of money (or time)?

I didn’t know either… Until I met Josh.

This guy has it down. Simple system. Easy to follow. No big budget. No BS. Just tons of quality leads. All from Craigs List.

Sounds crazy, right? I want to know how he does it. So I got Josh on the phone and got the answers. And since you’re my subscriber, you can listen to our conversation. Plenty of great ideas and tips. Check it out… and please leave a comment!

How to quickly generate leads from Craigslist

Q&A Follow up

Download the seminar
Download the Q&A

More info and tips from Josh

“How does he do it? What is his day like? “Does he call or knocks on the door?”

So I spent over an hour with Jimmy on the phone. Going over every single question you guys sent.

• Jimmy walks us through his day (I was kind of surprised – no weekends?)
• How Jimmy tracks his leads (no, it’s not on Top Producer!)
• Check out how he solved the “no track record-no testimonials” problem
• How Jimmy convinces an expired to list with him
• How he sold 30 expireds last year
• Why he prefers NOT to be the first agent to list the house
• How he handles expireds that are overpriced
• What about the DNC – this was a surprising answer!
• …and much more!

Find out, enjoy and learn – Jimmy Q & A. And remember to post your comment!

You can also download the call here

“You have been just the encouraging kick in the a*s I have needed. Thanks! I still need to work on my daily “to do”. Help??

~ Sharron

Doing stuff matters. Doing the RIGHT STUFF is important – and we’ll get to that in a moment. But first….

There is to it than the doing part to reach your goal. Yes, prospecting, contacting expireds, calling, door knocking – all that is all well and good. But the important secret is in FOCUS. What you focus on expands. What you focus on you attract into your life.

1. Focus on WHY you are in real estate. What do you like about the business the most? Keep reminding yourself why you do what you do every single day.

2. Focus on FUN and JOY. What do you enjoy doing most? Do more of that and MORE of it will show up. I know I’m going a bit Tony Robbins on you here, but feeling good is so important. Feeling good is contagious. If you feel good, people around you feel good. That includes your prospects and your clients.

3. Focus on PEOPLE. What type of people do you enjoy working with most? Be specific. My list includes “fun, interesting, agreeable, pleasant and ready, willing and able to pay for my services” people. Make a list and keep looking for those and they WILL show up.

4. Focus on your SUCCESS. What are the things you are most proud of right now? Keep reminding yourself and more will show up.

Now back to the DOING – the action part. Here is your plan daily plan to get you up and running quickly:

• Before you do anything else, review your FOCUS list every single day, first thing in the morning for 2-3 minutes.
• Practice by yourself or with a partner: 15 minutes – prospecting scripts and role playing, 15 minutes – listing presentation
• Call one person on your SOI list and chat with them
• Call or visit in person one expired listing and/or one FSBO
• If weather permits, knock on 10 doors around your listing (or your company listing) and chat with the neighbors
• Call two leads on your follow up
• Preview two listed properties near your listing
• Preview (drive by) two recent sales
• And finally, absolutely take at least one full day off per week. No work, no cell phone, no email, nothing that has to do with real estate. Just fun, family, friends.

Take command of your Direct Mail Army! Your expired listing letters and postcards are talking to your potential (and current) customers when you’re not there, or when you can’t. Many expired listings will not have a phone number. Vacant properties, sellers out of the area, gated communities…. In all those cases, direct mail becomes your way of introducing yourself to them. After the initial contact, direct mail talks to your leads about the benefits of working with you. It keeps reminding them who you are, how you are different from the regular real estate crowd, and how the sellers benefit by working with you.

Here are eleven quick tips to help you spend less and get more leads, more listings, and more commissions.

1. Repeat. Don’t rely on single mailing. Consistency is just as important as interesting content. Set up a plan to mail at least two or more mailings in a sequence. More is better.

2. Vary your content. Make some pieces educational, some interesting, and some about you. Don’t make each one ONLY about you. Leave ego promotions for your competition.

3. Vary the format. Mix up postcards, letters, newsletters, updates, fliers. Keep it interesting.

4. Have a good design. Make sure each piece is well designed. Design creates a powerful first impression about you and your business. Your audience will create opinions before they even read your letter, postcard or a mailer.

5. Always mail letters first class. Nothing screams “junk mail” like a bulk stamp and a window envelope.

6. Mail the right message to the right audience. Each piece needs to be target-specific. Expired listings worry about getting the house sold and getting it done right. FSBOs are concerned about commissions. Make each message RELEVANT to them.

7. Four questions. Every point in every mail piece MUST answer your customer’s questions: Why is this important? Why should I care? How will this benefit me? What do I do next?

8. Keep it personal. A quick way to a trash can is through using sales talk, business jargon, and empty buzz words. Make your language informal, personal, interesting, and easy to read. Write as if you were speaking to your reader in person.

9. Test and adjust. You will never be done. It’s a process that always evolves. Talk to your customers, ask them what worked, what didn’t and why. Then go back and make changes. Everything works sometime. Nothing works all the time.

10. Follow up in person or over the phone, if you can. Don’t rely on mail alone.

11. Use testimonials. Third party can sell you and your service faster and better than anything else. Use pictures, stories, and be as specific as you can.

Pat Argo replied:
“ Borino, my biggest problem is actually getting in contact with the Expired home owner. Yes, I already use RedX. Most have DNC numbers or there are no numbers.  I am lucky if there are 2-3 new calls I can make a week! In my area, about 80-85% of my mailings are returned as well. I have used postcards and personal notes. I have left info at the door.”

That’s a valid concern: How to effectively contact expired listings? And more importantly, how to turn an expired into a good listing and a commission quickly? In Part One of “From Expired to Lead and Listing”, I will give you a quick overview of the process. Check out the following video and download the reference PDF map here.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what happened to the demonstration of my stellar sailing skills… well, right after we finished shooting the opening segment the wind just died on us! Completely. The water was like a glass. So next time…

Go Get ‘em.

The U.S. housing market has started to recover from the most far-reaching crisis since the Great Depression, data released Thursday show. Sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third month in a row in June.

Summer’s here. Buyers are out. And homes are selling again. So for a while the market may come into a nice balance. Properties moving, buyers buying, sellers selling. But then, as it always does, it will swing towards multiple offers, shortage of good listings, and bidding wars. And then back….

Just another cycle. But here is some more good news…

The share of foreclosures on the market is shrinking. About one out of three homes sold in June was foreclosure-related, down from nearly half earlier this year.

Not as many homeowners in trouble. That’s always good.

So, it all means NOW is the time to build up a inventory of good listings. Start going after FSBOs, expireds, even get in touch with your past clients. Price them well and get ready for a good time (all the way to the bank).

How is the market in your neck of the woods?

“I must say Borino you made a tight webpage. In my neck of the woods taking listings isn’t converting much to sales.

In a regular market I could see the numbers working like your excel video. I can see in my mls (area) however everything that is selling is REO or an agent trying to work a short sale in pre-foreclosure.It’s not about if the sellers want to sell they just can’t sell at a price to attract a buyer to compete with REO’s.”

—————————————————-

Yes, true. In many areas this is a challenging market, no question. It takes a lot of effort to sell a house, especially with all the short sales and REOs. I know – Southern California has had its share of them.

BUT – it can still be done. There are folks out there today – right now who have to sell - expired listings or just regular sellers: job transfers, divorces, unemployment, you name it…

So how can you pull it off without losing your mind (and money) in the process? And without sacrificing all that’s left from the seller’s equity?

Here are some tips that helped me sell and close 8 out of 10 listings – even in a crappy market:

1. Market. I had to know my market inside out. What is selling: what area, what type of property, what price range. I would preview and study it every day. Here is the rule: I only list property I KNOW I can sell.

Are you in a market where nothing is selling? Why stick around – CHANGE your market.

2. Price. Price it RIGHT right from the get go. No “testing” nonsense. No “our house is better“. I would do my clients a HUGE disservice by overpricing their home.

3. Reductions. I review feedback and showings quickly. I wouldn’t wait a month to reduce the price. If there is no action in 7-10 days, it’s time to review the CMA and reduce the price. I know, it takes balls to go back to the seller after only a few days on the market. But what’s the alternative?

4. Commission. This is my biggest secret. Most REOs and short-sales offer 5%. Some retail listings offer standard 6%. I offer 7%, 4% to the selling agent. No strings attached. No “full price” silly conditions. Great way to get tons of showings (and offers).

5. Terms. What is the worst part of dealing with REOs and short sales? Terms. Long waiting time. Long approvals. Tons of paperwork. Lots of hassle. No inspections. No guarantees. No repairs. Pain in the ass. I make sure I highlight all the positives of my listings: short escrow, full disclosures, instant response, flexible seller, etc.

Yes, many REOs and short sales are priced low, but keep in mind it’s not ALWAYS just the price.

6. Condition. Many competing foreclosures are in bad shape and need work (or they do a quick-slap carpet/paint job). My listings need to show great. Clean, spiffy, and sharp. They must stand out.

There is more (and I’ll share it with you when Presentation Plus comes out in July). But for now just focus on the 6 points above and you’ll do fine.

Hi Borino,

I purchased your Expired Listings system awhile back and I have a  question for you.  What do you think if using window envelopes?  I have a great mail merge program and it would be WAY easier for me to send the letters in this form.  Have you ever tried it?

Good question, Bryan. Yes, window envelope makes sense. Lot easier to produce, cheaper, and faster. I tried it. But there is one problem…

Your open rate will go down. See, the moment an expired listing receives a window envelope, what is the first thing they will think?

“Either a bill or a junk mail“, right? Your aunt Edna never uses window envelopes. So the wall goes up: “Somebody is trying to sell me something. There is probably not good news inside.“  Not a good mind set.

You want your mail to be from a neighbor. A counselor. A friend ready to help, not from a salesman. That’s why the tone of each letter is conversational and informal. And the call to action is soft and subtle.

So here are a 8 steps to make your mail to expired listings opened, read, and – most importantly – acted on:

1. Simple plain white envelope
2. Hand-written address
3. No logos on the envelope
4. No company letter head
5. No photos, slogans, or logos on the paper
6. Hand signed
7. Simple return address (name, street address, city, zip)
8. First class stamp

Yes, it can be a little time consuming, I know. If you get too busy, hire someone to help out.  Before I had a full-time assistant, I had to get creative…

here were times in my office when phones wouldn’t ring and the place was pretty quiet. So instead of playing solitaire, I had our receptionist help out with my mail. She made a little extra cash, she wasn’t just idly sitting there bored -  and my mail was more effective. Win-win

Now go out there and get some expireds!

I also got this one from Maricela: “Do you think that expired listings are good to do right now?”

The DNC Registry, no phone number, “why didn’t you show my house when it was listed?”…. and many more.

All the biggest problems, obstacles and challenges we face when working expireds.  So I put together a teleconference  and went over tips, tools and solutions.  Don’t worry if you missed it. The entire seminar was recorded. We talked about expireds and how to turn them into listings. BTW, this is THE PRIME time to go after them.

Private Teleseminar

Prime Season for Expireds

(and how to get a bunch of them)

Check it out here.

“Borino, I posed the question about expireds at an office meeting… Other agents told me that going after expireds would quickly get me hated in this local RE community! This response has made me hesitant!

MY QUESTION:  How does your program address this issue?  I have closed one sale with a first time home buyer. I don’t want to average 1 sale every 4 months! HELP!”
Gwen

Interesting question…. will other agents hate you for going after expireds?

Yes, there were some agents in my town who didn’t like me. Some didn’t care. And some admired my system and the results. Some even tried to copy it (which is a form of flattery, don’t you think?

It comes down to business. Why do I do what I do?

1. I want to help sellers who were stuck with a wrong agent.

2. I want to help buyers find a nice home.

3. I want to get paid well for my service.

That’s it. I don’t really care if I’m liked (or popular). This is BUSINESS. This is how I put food on my table. This is how I pay my bills. And this is what I enjoy doing.

Here is the thing. Agents who do well always have somebody who doesn’t like them. Simple as that.

Whether they do expireds, FSBOs, sphere of influence, advertising… There will be other agents out there criticizing, pointing fingers, and complaining.

Believe me, I had my share of critics and complainers. But none, NOT ONE of them had more listings and closed more sales then me. It was the same crowd reading the morning paper, worrying about the economy, and complaining about the market without actually doing anything.

You notice busy, productive agents don’t waste time and effort on stuff that doesn’t produce business? Go figure.

Here is how I address it in the Expired Plus:

• Be honest.
• Be ethical.
• Be truthful.

But also be aggressive and focused. Because at the end, you run your own business. You are the CEO and Sales Manager. You and only YOU are responsible for your income, your success and your life.

Wanna do more than one sale every four months? I’ll show you exactly how. Step by step. It’s actually pretty easy. Using the X-Tracker we analyze where you are. Then we set up a plan how to list 1, 2, 3 or even more homes every month.

Then you just work the system every day. Research expireds. Contact them. Start mailing them. Go visit them in person. Takes about an hour. Five days a week. 2-3 expireds every day and you’re on the roll. These could be new or old expireds (sometimes old ones are even better).

That’s all there is to it. You know the best answer for those negative complainers?

Massive success! Once you drive a nice car, live in a beautiful home, have plenty of money in the bank, then you can just laugh at them. And maybe you’ll even inspire one or two.

How about you? Do other agents dislike you when you go after expireds? And if so, what do you do?

Borino