Making the FSBO Program Work

The FSBO Program is explained in the interview below. You will learn:

How to get FSBO's in a contract through benefit based marketing
How to generate 100's of leads from FSBO's.
How to get high commissions out of FSBO's.

Wayne, you have an very interesting FSBO program in place in your market, and what's unique about it is that it assists the FSBO, but also generates leads for you, and guarantees that you get the listing. Can you briefly describe the program to us?
1. This system has consistently helped me to get all of the For Sale by Owners that I have approached. My conversion percentage, if they plan on listing with an agent is over 95% and I generate 100's of leads from each FSBO.
2. This is a program that adds benefit to the seller. The greatest difference being that most Realtors attempt to convince the Seller that they shouldn't sell it themselves, I find out how long they are going to try it on their own and offer to assist.
3. I offer them a commercial quality lawn sign, a 24hr Infoline commercial, and web site that includes; virtual tours, satellite views, and the Infoline commercial.
4. When FSBO's sign up, they sign a contract & pay a small fee for these marketing services. If they are unable to sell their home in an agreed upon time period we offer them double their money back when we list it in a full cooperative commission type agreement.
Fantastic, that sounds like a great program, Wayne. So let's get into some of the details for our listeners. Let's start with how much does the program cost the seller, and what do they receive for that amount?
1. The fee will vary depending on the market, but we charge $199 for the Infoline commercial, Web Site posting and a lawn sign.
2. They must sign a contract up front that outlines all of the terms.
How do the web site and the virtual tour work and do the sellers pay extra for these services?
1. All of the marketing tools for this FSBO program are easy to use and setup.
2. Each FSBO gets a personalized web site. All I have to do is setup a new user account and give the FSBO their unique user name and password. They post of all their own property photos and details.
3. On the virtual tours, the FSBO pays an additional $49 to get a virtual tour on the site.
4. They also get satellite maps of the homes and surrounding area. All we do is add the longitude and latitude of where the property is and the web site does the rest.
5. If you want to see an example go to www.GoSeeThisHouse.com/999901
What about the lawn sign, what is on it and how does that work?
1. The lawn sign are the same quality, size, and color as my Real Estate company's signs. This significantly helps me with branding in my farm area.
2. The text on the lawn signs has the following information:
  1. For Sale by Owner Compliments of Wayne Cochrane
  2. Visit this home at: www.goseethishouse.com/999901
  3. Call: __________ (space for the home owner to write their phone number).
  4. For FREE 24hr recording information CALL 1-866-54-4SALE and enter code: ________ (unique Infoline code goes here).
3. If you want to see an example go to www.SmartSalesTools.com and click on the Order Sign Riders and FSBO Signs Now graphic at the bottom right corner of the page.
How do you advertise this program?
1. The first important point to make is that I primarily focus this program on my farm area which is approximately 1200 homes.
2. If a FSBO goes up in my area 98% of them end up with an agent within 45 days. I make sure that that listing goes to me.
3. I also use this approach if I am competing against real estate discounters or property marketing companies.
4. I knock on the door and run through a series of scripts and objection handlers I will explain a bit later.
5. My competitors attempt to tell the FSBO that they are not competent enough to sell it on their own; I pitch how I can add value.
Excellent! Now you mentioned earlier that this FSBO program actually generates hundreds of leads for you - tell us how that works.
1. A use a special 24hour Infoline commercial.
2. The 24hour Infoline is a system that allows you to record a commercial about the products features and price.
3. A special toll free number is advertised on the lawn sign and in the local newspapers where we encourage readers to call for more information about the property.
4. When a reader calls in and listens to the properties commercial, the Infoline captures the caller's phone number, name, where they live, and what advertisement they have read.
5. This information is sent to me and I have a chance to phone them back, qualify the highly motivated lead, and show them the property if they are interested.
6. This system generates about 50-75 leads a month per property and the leads are of extremely high quality because they have taken the initiative to phone themselves
Tell me about the terms of the contract you have sellers sign. What types of conditions are in it?
1. The cost is negotiable. As they try and sell the home themselves for 30-45 days my marketing program cost them somewhere between $299 and FREE. It all depends on what it takes to get the signature. If they have paid an upfront fee and the home has not sold in that 30-45 day period I offer them a double your money back guarantee. If goes like this; on a $199 fee, they get a $400 credit off a listing at 6%. So really this has only costs me $199 and they have sent me leads for 30-45 days. Who wouldn't buy a listing for that?
2. They sign a contract and pay the fee upfront.
3. I complete a full MLS cooperative contract with the following conditions added (assume today's date is Feb. 26, 2006);
  1. The Seller reserves the right to sell the property themselves until March 26, 2006 and no commission will be paid to the Brokerage during that time period if the Seller does sell the property themselves.
  2. If the Agent represents a Buyer in the sale of the property before Mar. 26th, 2006 the Seller agrees to pay a fee of 3.5%.
  3. The Seller agrees to pay a fee of .$249 on Feb. 26, 2006 for the agent to supply the following marketing that will be in effect until Mar. 26th, 2006:
    1. A lawn sign that will allow the Seller to display their own phone number.
    2. A unique web site that will allow the Seller to post their own property details.
    3. A 24 hour Infoline commercial that will allow the agent to effectively qualify potential Buyers.
  4. On March 26, 2006 all other conditions in this agreement shall be in full effect.
Note: These conditions include a 6 month listing, a 6% commission with 3.5% offered to the listing Brokerage and full advertising on the Multiple Listing Service.
Wayne can you give us an example of how you might explain this program to a potential seller and how you deal with objections?
1. Sure the script goes something like this:
  1. The first thing I do is do my homework. I find out everything I can about the history of the area, street, house, and home owner.
  2. Next, I get the phone number and the address for the house and the FSBO's sign or add.
  3. Then I look up the property on MLS to see when it was last sold or expired. This tells me a lot about the personality of the Seller.
  4. Next I do a reverse lookup of the phone number to get their name. I get this at http://www.whitepages.com/reverse_phone.
  5. I call the FSBO and use this script:
    - Hello, this is Wayne Cochrane with ABC Realty, how are you today? (Excellent)
    - I am a full time professional realtor, and I work with a lot of buyers and sellers in your area. I noticed your sign/ad and was if your home still available or have you sold it? (Great)
    - I was just wondering why you where trying to sell it yourself, is it to save the commission? (I can certainly respect that)
    - Do you mind if I ask you how long you are planning on trying it yourself? (OK)
    - Say, if I could offer some assistance during that time period and it was of no cost to you would you be interested. (Sure)
    - Ok, all we need to do now is simply set a meeting so I can show you the details. Won't that be great? (Fantastic!)
    - When is the best time for you and I to meet with me? Daytime or Evening? In the next couple of days when is best ______________ or _______________? (Great!)
    - Just before I go, there are a couple of quick questions I need to ask so I am better equipped when we meet. (complete Listing Qualification Form)
    - Great, thank you, I look forward to meeting you on ____________ at ____________ o'clock.
  6. Now I am ready to visit. There are four basic steps to the marketing proposal. They are:
  1. Introduction
  2. Home Tour
  3. Marketing Pitch
  4. Get signatures
This all sounds great Wayne, it someone wants to start a similar marketing campaign to yours, what do they do?
1. The great thing about this Call Capture Marketing system and FSBO Program is that it is included with every Smart Sales Tools account subscription.
2. All they need to do is to go to www.SmartSalesTools.com and complete the secure online signup form to receive 4 Products for One Great Price, $19.95 per month, including the FSBO Program."

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