Today we sat down with Greg, California. He recently secured a 2.8 million dollar listing and talked about it with us.
We also touch upon:
- Not only did he get a 2.8 million dollar listing, he also secured 2 other million dollar ones.
- How he listed three, million dollar homes with the books.
- The books give him an excuse to follow up with owners.
- The books completely transformed his relationship with FSBOs.
- He had his best year ever using the books.
- Other realtors are impressed by the books and think he is the man.
Here are the highlights.
Listen to the full interview here.
Transcript:
Smart Agents: How long have you been an agent?
Greg: About 15 years now.
Smart Agents: When did you join Smart Agents to our program?
Greg: I believe it's been about a year now.
Smart Agents: Leading up to that, how was your business doing?
Greg: Business was pretty good. I've been consistently probably a 20, 25 deal a year producer.
Smart Agents: What drove you and what did you like about our program to give it a shot?
Greg: I try to come from contribution in the way I approach my business with clients and buyers and sellers.
I liked the aspect of the for sale by owner booklet. You're really just handing them information to help them in an effort to build some relationship and some rapport there so that when the comes, as we know it will for 90 percent of them, that you're their first phone call and the same thing on the expireds.
Everybody in my market just sits and just pounds day after day with phone calls and direct mail, knocking on their door to try to get them to list. I thought it was a different approach to it, which is more in alignment with how I work.
Smart Agents: How many listings have you got with any of the books?
Greg: One for sale by owner listing a couple months ago. I'm trying to think, I've probably spoke just more on the for sale by owners initially and then transitioned about halfway through the year to going after more of the expireds.
They tended to not have such a ... Most of the expireds weren't holding a grudge against Realtors. I find that a lot of for sale by owners don't like Realtors, don't value what they do, which is why they're doing the for sale by owner route.
Over the second half of last year, I took three expired listings, sold all of them. One was 2.8 million. Another one was 1.7 million. Then I just closed one in December for 970,000.
Smart Agents: Have you tried any of the other niches?
Greg: I have the ones that are just ... I include your Think Your Business Card book that just talks about my approach to real estate, secrets of wealthy home sellers. I use that in all my listing presentations. I picked up your How to Buy a Home in a Hot Market Without Getting Burned, without overpaying booklet, maybe three months ago. I use that at open houses. It's just a nice way to differentiate myself. Nobody else is using it in this marketplace.
Greg: In general, I don't know that people that we send these to read them cover to cover. I've had a couple people that read them cover to cover. That's how I got the 2.8 million dollar listing. I mean, everybody that I've gotten business from on it said they were very impressed with the content.
Smart Agents: Can you describe the boost the books give you?
Greg:
I think the book gives me an into a whole segment of the market that I've never really gone after. I've never chased for sale by owners and expireds because I never felt like I had anything to offer other than my track record, which is what everybody else that's knocking on their door is offering.
The book gives me a nice, easy to introduce myself to them, offer something of value, and then a reason to follow up. Hey, have you read the book? What did you think about the aspects on pricing? Does that make sense to you?
Smart Agents: What do you think the most ... What is your favorite place to give away a book? Would it be just dropping it off or an open house?
Greg:
Recently I've had my assistant pulling up listings of expired properties. We do the intro letter and the booklet in a bubble wrap envelope direct to their door.
We just started doing that on a more regular basis. Now we're probably sending out five to eight a week. We don't have a lot of expireds in this market. For sale by owners, I usually, knock on the door, try to meet them. I'm also delivering that in a bubble wrap envelope along with a market analysis for the property.
--Then the buyer guides, we keep that on the counter at open houses as well as the Secrets of Wealthy Home Sellers. I tend not to give those out at open houses. I want somebody to give me their contact information. I only take one or two copies (to open houses) of each and say, "These are my last copies. Let me get your contact information. I'll drop one off to you."
Smart Agents: I know you were talking about you were a successful agent before. Does it just make the point of difference easier or does it expand on what you already have?
Greg:
It certainly has made it easier for me to expand on what I've had.
Although, last year was the best year I've had.
Certainly my best year since the market corrected five, six years ago.
Smart Agents: All right, and do you have anything else?
Greg: My gci last year was just under 420,000.
Greg: I listed and sold the biggest listing of my career by using this program.
Smart Agents: All right, that's awesome.
Greg: The wife said, "We already had a Realtor we were going to use, but I read your book and it made so much sense to me that I knew we had to to you."
Smart Agents: That's awesome. Any other anecdotes that you want to talk about?
Greg:
The response from other Realtors has been interesting. People in my business are floored when they see it. I've only shared it with one other agent in my office that I really like and we work different market niches. I wasn't concerned about competing with her.
Even agents who you would expect to be savvy enough to know that I didn't actually write the book are blown away by it. "Wow, you're published."
Want to list Expireds like Greg? Here’s how to do it. We just released a book that shows you everything we know about listing Expireds.
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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!
