Expireds Guide - Authorify

Chapter 7: Following Up With Expireds

Be prepared to follow up...a LOT. Now let's talk about tracking your follow up. Following up is so critical with expireds. The goal is to win the listing — that's the reason you're putting the energy into it. But desire alone won't get you there. You have to have something to support your process, and that means consistently following up with home sellers. Maybe you send them a marketing package right when they expire. After that, you need to send them a text and ask if they got the package. You need to get them on the phone, or send them an email with some useful local information. Then maybe you mail them a letter or follow up with another phone call. Finally, you call or stop by to see how they’re doing. Just keep the conversation flowing and the lines of communication open. The agents I’ve spoken with about follow-up methods tell me that repetitive reaching out is a lot more effective than just asking for the listing. Imagine you’re an expired lead, disgusted at how things went with the home sale, and some hapless agent shows up and asks to list your home without any fanfare whatsoever. No wonder these real estate agents are getting yelled at. But also keep in mind the process shouldn’t take forever. Some agents simply are not acting fast enough, and they end up completely missing the opportunity. See, you can’t give up after a call or two, and you also can’t go too slowly. Agents need to understand the sweet spot between too little and too much. Successful agents are successful because they have a follow-up system in place that supports them all the way until they get to the listing. Of course, you also have to take cues from the lead — are they ready to get started? Are you losing them? — and adjust accordingly. That said, it’s critical to your success to know the approximate time frame for expireds in your area. It varies in different areas. For example, I was talking to an agent in Illinois and he was telling me it's much slower in the winter because everyone is snowed in. I was talking to an agent in California and it was really quick. I would recommend that you look at different seasons and neighborhoods and find out what is normal. It might be a week; it might be a few weeks. Whatever it is, don’t miss your opportunity to get the listing — schedule your funnel, keeping this time frame in mind. But however your follow-up schedule goes, remember that you can’t really qualify a lead online. At some point, you need a real conversation and not just an email, direct mail package or text message.