Q: Should I farm the area I live in?

Well, sure. There is no objection to that, but just like any other farm area you need to research and check the turnover in that area, also size of the competitors to see if you feel you can successfully compete against them to get your share of the win. So look at it like you would any other farm and there is no objection to farming in your own area, but just make sure that there is enough turnover and that you can handle the competition, who’s already farming in that area.

If you are a real estate agent or broker that is looking to for more insight and direction on how to get more listings, sell more homes to your investors, and work with more buyers, then this podcast is just for you!

Q: How much time should I spend practicing my scripts?

Well, I would say a minimum of 15 or 20 minutes, but there’s another suggestion I would make to you. If you’ve never recorded yourself, I strongly suggest that you do that. It is very, very important that you hear yourself, the emphasis you put on different words, the excitement that is in your voice. If you have an iPhone, all iPhones have the ability to make a recording. It’s not difficult to do or if you have another instrument at your home office or wherever, where you can record yourself. It’s just a great experience.

The other thing that comes up when this question is asked is when you make calls and you’re prospecting, always warm up first, if you will. If we were going to an athletic event tonight, if we were going to the theater, if we were going to hear a symphony, 15 to 20 minutes, an hour before the actual event professional athletes, professional musicians, professional actors and actresses are all warming up. So when you make calls for prospecting don’t let your first call be your first call. I know agents all over the country, what they do is they will find someone in their office that they can actually practice with. In other words, maybe 2 of you have set a certain time together where you are each going to make your own prospecting calls, and you call each other, even if you are in the office. One go to one side of the office, one go to the other side of the office. Call each other, go through your script, warm up. The other person may be saying to you, whoa, you’re talking way too fast. Or they may say, you know, you need a little more enthusiasm in your voice. You’re coming across a little bland. So then after you’ve done 3 or 4 of those warm up calls, then you always sound so much better when you’re making your first call, no matter how many calls you’re going to make.

I know agents all over the country, what they do is they will find someone in their office that they can actually practice with. In other words, maybe 2 of you have set a certain time together where you are each going to make your own prospecting calls, and you call each other, even if you are in the office. One go to one side of the office, one go to the other side of the office. Call each other, go through your script, warm up. The other person may be saying to you, whoa, you’re talking way too fast. Or they may say, you know, you need a little more enthusiasm in your voice. You’re coming across a little bland. So then after you’ve done 3 or 4 of those warm up calls, then you always sound so much better when you’re making your first call, no matter how many calls you’re going to make.

If you are a real estate agent or broker that is looking to for more insight and direction on how to get more listings, sell more homes to your investors, and work with more buyers, then this podcast is just for you!

Q: I want to go after CPAs, probate attorneys, and estate planners and that kind of stuff, so to go after them do you have any good ways of going to them and giving them the value proposition of why I would be beneficial for them to work with me?

Yeah, so the way I look at it if I’m going to try to get other people that have a client base to refer me, you know, other professionals, the way that I kind of look at it is I think okay, what is it that I can do that is going to make their job easier? How can I help a probate attorney? What is it that I can do that is going to help him? So it isn’t necessarily what can he give me, but what is it that I’m able to do for him? SO when you’re looking at that or thinking about that, I would come at it from that way so that when you make the presentation you’re able to spell that out for him, you know, here is what I offer. Here is how I’m going to make your life easier. Here is how I’m going to help your client and why I would be the obvious choice, you know, as a real estate agent to refer because here are the things that I do.

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I think awhile back I might have talked about this but it just came up today so I wanted to bring it up again, the Seven Pennies Game. So you know the old saying, “Don’t take no when a yes is still possible.”

Well, in the 7-penny exercise you don’t let them go. You line up these 7 pennies on the edge of the desk and each time you get a pushback or a no, you have to continue on. Now, continuing on may be asking one more question.

“Well, I understand you need to go. Before you go, may I ask you one thing”?

“Yea, sure, what is it?”

“Tell me why do you think the home didn’t sell?”

“Oh the agent was an idiot. They did a terrible job.”

“Oh my goodness, you’re kidding.”


“Yea, but I’ve got to go. I’ve got to go.”


“Okay, I understand. One more thing, so when will you try to sell again?”

See, I moved through the no’s and each time I push through I get to move another penny, so the game is I either book the appointment, they hang up on me, or I’ve moved all 7 pennies. There’s nothing here to get, and I can be assured I did my very best.

Now what’s interesting is when people play this game, they often triple their appointments, but they don’t keep it up because it’s kind of hard. It’s a little bit tough, but it’s really eye opening about how often we give up just a moment too soon.

If you are a real estate agent or broker that is looking to for more insight and direction on how to get more listings, sell more homes to your investors, and work with more buyers, then this podcast is just for you!

Q: How frequently, with a luxury home, does the seller help out with some of the marketing costs, like Facebook ads or that sort of thing?

Very, very common. So guys, luxury is defined by whatever that is in your market, but it is very normal that in a higher end home that agents will say to the sell, “If you want those extra things done, we can do them. You will need to front the cost and I will pay you back at the closing.” I

see that done and they may not pay them back the full amount. It may be a percentage, but you cut a deal and it’s not unusual at all because they know you’re not making anything up front.

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Q: I’m having a little bit of trouble calling people in my sphere because I’m always afraid of interrupting them while they are doing something more important.

First of all, just knowing that the story in your head doesn’t really come from reality helps.

The second thing is you know people love to talk about real estate. They are fascinated with it. They love it. So fortunately, we don’t sell vacuum cleaners where we’re calling to tell them about the latest model and they wouldn’t care.

I think the third thing is having your theme and your script and your value added message ready for them. So I don’t necessarily have them all as my friend, and so if I call and am trying to pretend like I’m their friend, that’s pretty awkward. But if I’m making that call and saying, “You know, I’ve been thinking about you guys because many of my clients and friends have reached out and asked me what’s going on with the real estate market. I know you’re very busy so I won’t keep you long but I thought I would just touch base and see if you have any questions that you would like to ask me about the market.”

They are going to say yes or no.

And you answer them or don’t.

 “And by the way, one of the services I’m doing for my clients is an annual real estate review, so if you’re interested we can loom at the values and talk about your plans for the future if that would be helpful.”

 Now they are probably going to say no they don’t need it. They’re not moving.

Okay, no problem.

But see, you offered them something, a gift, so theory of reciprocity, now they feel just a little bit obligated to do something for you which is the perfect time to say…

“You know, before I let you go, I do live to work with people like you that I know and your friends and family. Can you think of anyone today who might need my help even if they just have a question?”

See guys, every time people tell me they don’t want to call their past clients, but when they do it goes really, really well and they’re glad to hear from you.

 I think they’re busy though. I don’t think they want to chat.

You know, I they want to know why are you calling? What’s valuable about your call? And then it’s perfectly fine when you provide some value to ask them for a referral.

If you are a real estate agent or broker that is looking to for more insight and direction on how to get more listings, sell more homes to your investors, and work with more buyers, then this podcast is just for you!

Q: Would you suggest doing a CMA in advance of visiting an expired and if you get them home kind of list the property right there and then?

You know, I never did a CMA in advance unless it was a committed appointment because it is just too time consuming and personally I was going out on too many and you guys are all very busy in your day. I always looked at it like this, if I know my market, which you all should, if I am previewing property every day, and if I'm looking at what that house was listed for, if I'm asking them how many offers or what was the activity, I am going to get a pretty good feeling for what that house is probably worth. So if a seller said to me, well we were on the market for six months and we had very little activity and we had no offers, guys you know it has got to be at least 10% too high. In fact, there was a NAR statistic out years ago and I should’ve kept a copy, but it said if you have some activity and no offers statistically you are probably at least 5% too high. If you are dead in the water and nothing is happening statistically you are probably 10% too high. So I had a pretty good read on it and guys let’s be honest, most sellers do kind of control the price, at least initially. So if you went into an expired and it’s a good house and the seller was willing to adjust the price down but it still was maybe a little higher than

So if you went into an expired and it’s a good house and the seller was willing to adjust the price down but it still was maybe a little higher than market and you knew they were motivated you are probably going to take it. I would do a quick research on the history of the market and what happened there, I would grab my listing agreement because yes I would always have that with me and here is a backup plan guys that you can have if you get there and you can list it. List it and tell them you are going to go back and research the price and if that price appears to not be accurate either too low or too high you will discuss it with them through the phone, you will make the agreed upon changes and that if you cannot agree you will give it back to them. One of the things I’ve always positioned with them is there are two issues and they are completely separate from each other although people always try to tie them together.

So issue #1 is the agent I select, are they qualified, can they do the job for me, do they have the experience. Issue #2, what is the price the market will bear. The agent you choose has no control over the price unless they plan to buy the house from you. So we really have to separate that and that’s why it’s okay Mr. Seller for you to go ahead and sign the agreement to choose me as your agent and then, now that I am your agent, I am going to go back and I am going to study and I am going to research and I am going to come back to you with what I believe is the proper recommendation of pricing and where we need to be.

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Q: I just signed up for an expired and canceled system, which has given me great results and I remember hearing a few years ago that 60% of the time you are the first agent they see, that they will list with you. So how important is it to prequalify vs. just getting in front of them?

I don’t think it’s excessively important to qualify them like you would on a cold call because on a cold call who knows? Who knows how motivated they are or not but on an expired I always feel like they were motivated enough to go through the pain and agony of listing the house and putting it on the market, that is not a fun project. So right there that gives me some indication of motivation. The next thing is I also have all the information on the property in front of me so I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on there. I know the price that they were asking but here’s the thing on that guys, don’t pre-judge them as a bad expired just because their price might be ridiculously high. Because it could’ve been their agents fault, right?  

They might have given them the wrong price or did not guide them properly. It could be that they were kind of wacky to begin with but now they are realizing that they really have to be careful if they want to get the property sold now. Maybe they are more motivated. So I never used price to rule them out until I talked to them. Now, if I talk to them I always have to understand that an expired, canceled or a for sale by owner, what they are going to do is they are going to lie to you because we know they don’t want to seem too motivated or they feel we have the advantage. So when they are telling me, I don’t have to sell, I'm not in any hurry, I kind of just hear blahh, blahh, blahh, blahh, blahh, and instead I will have to ask them questions. Okay that’s fine, good thing that you don’t feel like you are in a hurry, um let me ask you something if I may, tell me what is the timeline of when you want to be moved, if you moved? Where would you go? How do you feel about the fact that the house didn’t sell? Just start digging and probing a little to see if the words fit the music. If they sound interested in selling, if it looks like a decent size property that you want, there is some motivation there, and it is within a reasonable bulls eye of your office, let’s say it is within 15 minutes of your office or your home, why not stop in, look at them in the eye and get them listed.

Now, if it is further out and traffic and distance makes it a little less desirable to go get in front of them those would be the ones you really want to dig in to make sure they are really interested in listing and possibly with you. Most of my expired listings over the years though came from me getting in front of the expired, having them walk me through the house and me saying, you know what I can help you, let me sit down and we will talk about what went wrong and I will tell you how I can solve that. The only thing I would encourage you guys with expireds, canceled, and FSBO’s is to please avoid what I call hallway conversations or presentations. What I mean about that is they love to get you in the hallway and pick at you. Well how much do you think it should be? What do you think went wrong? What would you do for me? Don’t let them do that. Say, you know what, why don’t you continue to show me around? I want to gather the data and then we can sit down and talk. If there is only one party home you can say that you want to do some research on it and then come back with a game plan. So just remember they are very tricky.

The only thing I would encourage you guys with expireds, canceled, and FSBO’s is to please avoid what I call hallway conversations or presentations. What I mean about that is they love to get you in the hallway and pick at you. Well how much do you think it should be? What do you think went wrong? What would you do for me? Don’t let them do that. Say, you know what, why don’t you continue to show me around? I want to gather the data and then we can sit down and talk. If there is only one party home you can say that you want to do some research on it and then come back with a game plan. So just remember they are very tricky.

If you are a real estate agent or broker that is looking to for more insight and direction on how to get more listings, sell more homes to your investors, and work with more buyers, then this podcast is just for you!

Q: How can I improve my response on Expireds? (Getting connected to them and getting a valid appointment)

A: A few things, whether it would be for an expired or a for sale by owner, any prospect that you guys may have, I think it’s important to identify as quickly as we can, is it a real condition or is it an objection? Sometimes that sounds simple but sometimes it’s not that simple because often people will tell you what they want to tell you, to get rid of us, but are they telling us the actual truth? For example, if you walk into a department store and a sales person says can I help you, often the first thing we say is no we’re just looking, even when we are there to buy something. So the fact that they would tell me they’re no longer going to move, I don’t assume they’re telling me the truth. I will dig a little more deeply with my questions and then I’m looking to find out, of course, if they are not a now possibility are they someone that would be valid for me to continue to follow up with.

One thing I never want to do with a prospect is argue, make them wrong, make them feel confronted so I would say, I completely understand and I’m sorry if I bothered you in your day, I just wanted to check in and see what you were planning to do. May I ask you though, do you think you would try again in the future? If they say that they might I would ask them, when do they think that would be? And let’s say, for example, they say not until the end of the school year, would you want to just be getting the home on the market or actually having it sold in June? So again, I am clarifying time frame and then I would just ask this question, if you really thought that there would be a financial advantage by selling it sooner, is there any way at all that you might be able to do that? And they may tell me “no,” they may say, no its three hours away where we are moving and there’s no way we’re going to spend half of the school year driving back and forth, so absolutely not, we can list in in May, move in June or July, but we are not doing it before. That’s probably a very clear condition. Then if I know there’s a condition I’m going to ask them at that time, would they be open to interviewing agents? If I stay in touch and I do a good job in keeping you informed on the market, would you at least commit to giving me an opportunity to meet with you? Because, you see, I don’t want to just come and throw them on my lead follow up pile if they are not going to be willing to talk to me, if they are not interested in me, but if there is some hope there then I want to grab that opportunity.

Now if there is any breath of life in an expired or FSBO at all, any sense that they do still want to do it, that they’re just hesitant, the best thing you can do is just sit down with them and say, let’s look at the numbers, let’s look at the trends, let me show you what I can do for you and then you can make up your mind. Getting in front of them is really the magic.

If you are a real estate agent or broker that is looking to for more insight and direction on how to get more listings, sell more homes to your investors, and work with more buyers, then this podcast is just for you!

Someone called in this morning and asked me, would you talk again about the high maintenance low profit client? What I had mentioned on a previous Debbie’s Tips is that on a panel of top producers in a discussion, they addressed something they had discovered that was critical to realize in their business. And that is that just because someone could someday buy or sell a property doesn’t mean that you should always be working with every single prospect and opportunity that comes your way. Now the reason for that is because some people quite frankly are far more trouble than they are worth.

Either they’re shopping way outside of the area that you service and it creates a nightmare of a commute and you don’t really have the knowledge or expertise in that market – or maybe they’re a seller that’s ridiculously overpriced and extremely demanding and yes, maybe one day you would get it sold, but what’s all the stuff that you’re going to have to put up with in the meantime? So I really want you to look at the lineup of the people that you’re working with today. Now maybe you just need to have a heart to heart and get them back on track, but there may be some that you just say, “You know, I just don’t believe I’m the right agent to help you, and I think that I need to let you go and let you work with someone else, so that you will get what you need from them because my plate is just too full.”

So let’s be careful that we’re working with the people who are going to get you paid, and are going to get you paid in a fashion that doesn’t have you working for a dollar on the hour. Because we want to make sure that you have the time to go find another great client that will potentially convert more quickly.

If you are a real estate agent or broker that is looking to for more insight and direction on how to get more listings, sell more homes to your investors, and work with more buyers, then this podcast is just for you!