For some reason real estate agents generally view For Sale by Owners (FSBO’s) as a very tough market to conquer. They view private sellers as big, snarling, frothing monsters ready to devour the first agent that dares enter their domain.

Quaking with fear the few agents that do make the attempt to talk with a private seller usually start their conversations off with something like this:

“Hello, is this the person with the house for sale? Have you ever considered listing the home? If you do would you consider hiring me? Will I cut my fees? No, I’m sorry; my broker won’t let me do that. Oh I see....sorry for calling...Bye.”

Sound familiar? The fact is private sellers offer us one of the most lucrative markets in real estate. Think about it, these people are advertising the fact that they want to sell their home. How much time do we invest sifting through potential sellers to find those precious few that have a need to sell? Some studies show that over 84% of all private sellers end up working with a REALTOR®, and 70% work with the first agent that contacts them after they make their decision to list with a professional

The first step to winning private sellers over into listings is simply by talking to them. When you have a fear of people, whether it is private sellers, potential sellers, or past sellers it will limit your income. You can not afford to limit your income; you must look for ways to expand it.

Imagine for a moment that you were not in the real estate business and you needed to sell your home. Is there a chance, that like the thousands of other homeowners across the country each year, you might try to save the real estate commission and sell your home on your own? You might even think to yourself:

Hey, if I can’t sell the property I can always just list the home with a real estate agent.

Many superstars have learned that this is exactly the attitude that most private sellers have when attempting to sell on their own. With this mind, top producers have learned that the key to working with For Sale by Owners is relationship building.

You want to be the real estate professional a private seller thinks about when they do decide to list with an agent. You may even help push them over the edge with some gentle prodding along their decision making path. So how do you begin the relationship? How do you start this “romance”?

Let’s take a look at three systems used by successful superstars. Of course before calling any For Sale by Owner you must first cross check their phone number against the do-not-call registry. One short cut approach is to use a web based service that will cross check private sellers in your market automatically against the do-not-call registry and then email you a clean list each morning; one website that does this is www.warnocks.com.

Cooperating Agent Approach:

The cooperating agent approach is perhaps the simplest, fastest way to contact a large number of For Sale by Owners in a short period of time. By using this simple system you can take the first step towards building a relationship with a private seller that may lead to a listing. Let’s look at this simple script:

Hello my name is <Agent Name> I’m with <Company Name>.

I noticed your <ad/sign>. First I want to tell you that I’m not calling to ask for a listing, and I respect your decision to sell on your own. But I do have a quick question.

If I had a buyer that would fit your home would there be a possibility that I could show the property?

Great, may I stop by and preview the home Monday or would Tuesday be more convenient?

Did you notice something special about this approach? This script immediately takes down the sellers defenses by announcing early that we have no intention of asking them for their listing today, and we respect their decision to sell on their own.

How would you feel if you were the seller, and an agent used this approach with you? Most sellers take a deep breath and relax. There is no reason to feel defensive because the agent is only asking to see the house they aren’t asking for a listing.

The next step is to ask them if you may show their property should you find a buyer that would be a right match their home. If they say yes, you can now set up an appointment to view their home. Your job from this point on is to build as strong a relationship as possible over the course of the next several weeks, perhaps by providing the sellers with financing sheets for their home, guest books for open houses, or even flyers.

Now let’s look at another approach for that slightly tougher For Sale by Owner who may need a little more finesse.

Relocation Approach:

How many times have you seen a For Sale by Owner sign that says “NO AGENTS!” or read a private seller advertisement that said “Principles Only!”?

This script will give you a back door into the home by offering a service that has nothing to do with listing the seller’s home. Instead you will offer the seller your relocation services to help them find their next home. Using this approach may help you to build rapport with the private seller, and you may be the only person who has a relationship with them when they do decide to use a professional.

Let’s see this approach in action:

Hello my name is <Agent Name> I’m with <Company Name>.

I noticed your <ad/sign>. First I want to tell you that I’m not calling to ask for a listing, and I respect your decision to sell on your own. But I do have a quick question:

When you sell your home will you be staying local or moving out of the area?

<Local> I have access to hundreds of homes through our MLS system. Would you like a list of some homes that may fit your needs?

<Out of the area> My Company has a national Referral and Relocation program to help folks like you relocate to other areas of the country. Would you like some free relocation information on where you’re moving?

Great, I can drop that information off Wednesday or would Thursday be more convenient? Morning or afternoon?

Top producers are often pleasantly surprised to find that these sellers who have previously said “No Agents” are actually very open to this approach because it has nothing to do with talking about the home they are attempting to sell. Instead this technique gives you a way to lead with the sellers need and offer them something of value before you ask for anything in return.

The Helping Hand Approach:

To nab even the toughest FSBO we can all learn something from Lt. Colombo. Remember the old television series staring Peter Falk, as the incompetent bumbling detective who before leaving any room would always say “Oh, just one more thing.” He was successful because he always left himself an opening to come back in and continue his investigation.

Superstar agents often use this same strategy when working with a private seller. Although we don’t wear a crumpled trench coat and drive a beat up car, at least I hope we don’t, we should find a reason to continue visiting with the seller every five to seven days. This will ensure that you are ready to catch the seller in the act of hiring a real estate agent!

The Helping Hand Approach can help you to achieve this goal. The key here is we are going to help the seller sell on their own. Yes, that’s right we’re going to help them sell on their own! Let’s take a look at how superstars use the Helping Hand approach as a painless prospecting technique:

Hello my name is <Agent Name> I’m with <Company Name>.

I noticed your <ad/sign>. First I want to tell you that I’m not calling to ask for a listing, and I respect your decision to sell on your own. But I do have a quick question:

My company has put together a free For Sale by Owner kit for people selling on their own. It’s a free service that we offer to every private seller in the community. It includes <provide list>.

Have you received your free kit yet?

I’ll be in your neighborhood later this afternoon, or tomorrow morning when would be a good time to drop off your free kit?

Now if you use this approach it requires that you actually build a For Sale by Owner kit. Some offices and some agents even feature their FSBO kits on their websites to attract the tech savvy private seller.

So can you crack the For Sale by Owner Market? Of course you can! Just apply one of the three easy strategies and you can instantly join the ranks of the top agents in American who regularly farm this market.

About the Author
Jim Remley is a speaker, author and active real estate broker with eight offices. He is also the owner of Pro Performer, the RealtyU® Affiliate in Southern Oregon. Jim won the RealtyU®, Rookie Instructor of the Year award in 2001 and the Pacesetter Award in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The RealtyU® network consists of 40 accredited real estate schools and colleges that serve 42 states and provinces in Northern America. Collectively RealtyU® has some 500 qualified and licensed educators that offer more than 6,000 different classes every year. RealtyU® is expected to once again educate over 250,000 real estate professionals in 2005, making it the largest real estate education and training network in the industry.