Another important part of the conversation with an expired lead is knowing your local market, both recently sold homes and homes for sale. What businesses are moving into the area? How are the schools? And make sure you don’t have to give these leads vague, empty answers — put in a little bit of time every week to stay up to date on your area. What's happening? What's going on? As you're talking to these expireds, understand that their previous agent might not have informed them so thoroughly on schools, businesses and other important tidbits of the area. Right away, you’re going to look more capable of selling their home if you are knowledgeable about the local market. When you’re working with these leads, by the way, be consistent with your marketing and branding. Don’t switch off in the middle of a marketing campaign and confuse your leads — figure out what it is that you stand for and what your specialty is and stick to it. You have to know your topic and your business before you know your audience. If you know your topic but not your audience, you’re just creating noise, and homeowners are going to be frustrated with you for not listening to them. But if you know your audience but not your topic, you come across as a phony. Get reviews from people you’ve helped in the past, so you have two legs to stand on — your knowledge and your satisfied clients. Letters The next step in perfecting your process is perfecting your template, a crucial part of dealing with expireds. The first thing most agents do is contact someone whose home has recently expired with a deceptively heartfelt letter. Most letters say something like, “I'm sorry your home didn't sell, but please do not be discouraged. I've analyzed your home and the sellability. I'm happy to report that if it's marketed correctly, your home can still be quickly sold for a good price.” They might intersperse these letters with texts and a phone call or two. Still, with this type of funnel, which is 10 to 30 letters, the majority of it is mailed letters. But the important thing is that each letter does not say the same thing — each letter offers different information, another piece of the pie that will help the lead feel confident in listing the home. I’ve had agents tell me that when they finally meet these leads in person, the leads appreciate both the persistence and the information. I’ve had agents describe how some of the letters share stats or testimonials — together, the letters tell a story that gets attention. It’s similar to a long-form sales letter with a lot of bullet points — but it’s divided into smaller, digestible chunks. If you do decide to use a sales letter funnel like I’m describing, I do have a piece of advice: Anything you send in the mail should have a reason, or call-to-action, for the lead to get back in touch with you. How are you different? Make an impression and impact, whether it's with an engaging story, a
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