This week I spoke with Matt, a new agent and member.
In the interview we went over:
- How he sent out four books prospecting FSBOs.
- He got a listing out of the four.
- He had instant credibility even though he had no real estate background.
Highlights:
Full Interview:
Transcript:
Smart Agents: Alright. You said you only sent out four books and you already got one listing?
Matt C: Yes. That's correct.
Smart Agents: How long have you been a realtor?
Matt C: I got licensed in 2015, but I started down in Fort Lauderdale. They had me working in leasing and it didn't work out. I wound up coming back to Gainesville. It's been a struggle to get things rolling, but things just started to seem clicking as of late. I added the books on recently. I'm getting worried about having too much business because I'm the only agent here. We have another agent here, but we don't really talk to each other.
Smart Agents:Can you explain how you gave out the books, how many you gave out, and then what was the follow up like?
Matt C: Sure. I went looking for for sale by owner listings in realtor.com, Craigslist, Zillow, Trulia, all that stuff. I found some listings that I thought
I would like to list and wrote them a nice letter explaining, "My services are available. We'd be glad to help. In the meantime, take a look at my book. See if this helps you. Let me know."
I hadn't even gotten back to a follow up phone call with this one guy and he already said, "Yeah. I'd like to have a chat with you. Can you come over tomorrow at 2:00", or whatever, I don't remember what time, but that's not the point. Had met with him and boom, done. Got a listing out of him just like that. Incredible.
Smart Agents: Did you mention the book?
Matt C: Yes, yes. We talked about it briefly. We didn't get into it too much. He was just thanking me for sending it. He had his house on the market for quite a while, well below market price, and was not able to sell it.
Kind of extenuating circumstances. The property's probably worth about $260, $270, but the house had a sink hole on the property in 2010. They did full remediation, but people see that and that kind of scares them away. We only had it listed about eight days before we got a full price offer. Still left money on the table, in my opinion, but he is extremely happy with what he's getting.
Smart Agents: That's awesome. Do you have any other plans to use the books in different ways?
Matt C: Right now, if this is going to consume a big part of my time, then I'm going to continue with the "Secrets of Wealthy Homeowners" and keep sending that out. I have a couple other books that I ordered in my initial order, which I have not even distributed a single one of yet. I'm going to get to that if things slow down a little bit. I'm just too busy right now.
Smart Agents: That's awesome. What do you think the books do when you hand them out compared to just an agent handing out a business card?
Matt C: It's clearly giving it some credibility.
The question didn't even come up, like the specific questions about how did you write this book or what gave you the idea or anything. With only having dealt with one person so far, it's hard to ... One could argue that, "Well, it's just luck of the draw. I hit the right guy at the right time", but just the excitement level that that generated for me comes through. It shows you're passionate.
People get jazzed up, like, "Wow. This guy knows what he's talking about." Boom, instant credibility. You'll overcome a lot of other objections, like he never asked me how long I've been in the business, he doesn't ask me how many closings I've had this year, anything like that.
One of the best methods we use at Smart Agents to separate yourself is books. Books have a huge perceived value. They don’t get thrown away.
They can get tucked away somewhere, but most people aren’t going to toss them in the trash. They’re worth something, and they’re worth something to the author’s name.
Do this and you will position yourself as the authority in your market. When you give away your book, it will separate you from your competition. That’s how a smart agent thinks!
Want to get a free sample of the book that will get you more listings? Click the link below.
Joe Nickelson is a real estate professional dedicated to helping home buyers and sellers achieve their dreams of owning property, and helping real estate agents stop using the sometimes-vicious tactics that weigh on their consciences. He believes that the Smart Agents books will, quite literally, change people’s lives for the better. Check out his full bio here!
