We recently talked to Ginger. She was an agent for about 6 months and struggled to get listings.
It seemed like every seller asked her, “How many houses have you sold?”
When she answered, “One,” it totally killed her credibility. As a result, she couldn’t get any listings.
Then, she started using the books. They gave her clout and credibility.
When she gave them to sellers, no one asked how many houses she sold.
She started to get listings. The first home she listed was a $425,000 FSBO. The owner was a builder. For some reason he hated Realtors.
The owner was a builder. For some reason he hated Realtors.
He used them in the past and had a really bad taste in his mouth.
Ginger gave him her book and told him, “Here’s how I’m different.” She got the listing for $425,000!
It got tons of traffic, and it looks like it will sell.
She’ll make approximately $12,000 on that sale.
And, she won several more listings from the books. They’ve transformed her business from “Struggling Newbie” to an “Experienced, Successful Professional.”
Do you want sellers to respect you and simply decide to list with you? Here’s how to do that.
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Highlights:
Full Interview:
Transcript:
Smart Agents : Are you ready to go get that million dollar listing today?
Ginger: Actually, I have one on my radar that I sent my book to, but they're just not ready to list yet.
Smart Agents : Nice. Good job. Tell me, what is the median home price there in Oklahoma? And you got a million dollar prospect there. Is that pretty common?
Ginger: The median home price here is, depending on what area of Oklahoma City, is somewhere between 150 and 165.
Smart Agents : It sounds like you're getting some of the high-dollar listings in your area. Tell me, how long have you been in real estate?
Ginger: Well, I'm a newer agent. I got into real estate by accident. My husband started flipping houses, and we decided it didn't make sense to give someone else money to sell our houses, so I got my real estate license, and I kind of fell in love with it.
I had a rocky start, because I had my idea and ways of doing things, and they weren't necessarily the best ideas or ways to do things, but in the last three months, I've really ramped up production.
I've got six listings going right now and at least two closings a month in the pipeline for the next couple of months. That's a big improvement over no paycheck for six months.
Smart Agents : Wow. Six months with no income or no listings. Yeah. The struggle is real.
Ginger: Absolutely.
Smart Agents : What was the shift from six months of struggling to get listings to getting listings and actually getting checks in the bank from closings?
Ginger: Well, honestly, I probably had the worst mindset on the planet. I've always been a pessimist and a cynic and didn't want to listen to anybody. Finally, something clicked, and I completely switched my mindset and stopped complaining and started listening, and that's helped.
Smart Agents : Yeah. I was the same way when I got into real estate. I thought, "I'm going to do this with just sheer hard work and no strategy," and it was hard.
I started seeing very little results, and then when I shifted my mindset into being open to others' opinions and really working off of what made them successful, that's when I saw a major shift from three to $4,000 checks at closings to 30 to $40,000 checks in one month. It really is a mindset shift of not trying to do everything on our own, what I see, and being open to others.
Ginger: Right. That's how I feel. I've always been kind of "self-made", and now I really understand that there's no such thing as "self-made".
It was hard for me to switch that mindset and start listening and opening up and being vulnerable, even, because I am so strong-willed and hardheaded, that vulnerability to me is a weakness.
Smart Agents : Yeah. I'm amazed that so many people that never even have the mindset shift that you've had. When you decided to go with this Book Leads program, how did you get started? Was it hard? Walk us through what you did.
Ginger: I ordered my first 10, and I ordered the For Sale By Owner book. I figured that would be the easiest niche to get into. I have listed one for sale by owner.
That was actually a builder who had been trying to sell his brand-new beautiful house and hated realtors.
They had used realtors in the past and had a really bad taste in their mouth. So I used the book, and I just talked to him and said, "You know, here's how I'm different," and got the listing.
Smart Agents : What's the price point on that listing?
Ginger: A price point? It's in the $400,000 range, which is way over our median home price, so that market's just and take longer to sell. We've been on the market for three months, but we've had tons of traffic.
Then I have a couple of other FSBOs that I've sent books to, and one of them is a 1.2 million dollar listing, but they're waiting until after the summer. But I did follow up with them, and they said, "Yeah. You're the only person that's mailed us a book, so that impressed us." That, hopefully, will bode well.
Smart Agents : You're so right, because 90% of the for sale by owner sellers really hate realtors, because they've been beat up by realtors. That's why they're selling their home for sale by owner. Going in there with the book really sets you apart to where you don't even have to tell them how good you are. They look at that book, and it establishes you as the authority, as the expert.
They've done many studies on this, and one was that if you can have someone else tell your prospect about how good you are, that you will increase your close rate by 65%. Really, that's what this book does, because when you go to a for sale by owner, you give them the book. You don't have to tell them about yourself.
The book does that, and you can build rapport, and I've had some of my best listings that way and best relationships with sellers, even after and during the transaction. For Sale By Owners is a good way to get in there without being pushy, just befriending them and give them the book. It's simple.
Ginger: Absolutely.
Smart Agents : In real estate, we're constantly talking about ways to handle objections. What objections did it help you overcome with going in there with a book, not trying to just beat them up?
Ginger: I think the biggest thing it helped me overcome was it gave me some clout that I didn't have, because I was so brand new.
Instead of ... Before, the question I was getting, "Well, how many houses have you sold?" "Oh, well. It was mine." Having that made it appear like I had way more knowledge than I may have actually had at the moment.
Smart Agents : Yeah. I found out the same thing when I got into real estate is as a newbie, that was my big objection. "How many homes have you sold?"
That's awesome, because it handles, really, any objection. The objections that people have when they're talking to a real estate agent is they want proof of how good they are, and what a book does is it says, "Hey, I'm a professional. I'm an expert," and they don't question you.
Now you can focus on just being their friend and have a friendly transaction, a friendly conversation, and at the end of it, they're your friend, and they go hand that book out to their friends. Friends help friends, and that's just how this world works. It's a money-making machine for today and for the future, also.
Ginger: Absolutely.
Smart Agents : You have had great success with the For Sale By Owner book. What is the next book you think you will use to tap into a new pipeline of sellers?
Ginger: Yeah. The Expired book was probably the next book on my list to look at.
Smart Agents : That is a great choice. I think you'll crush it with the Expired book. So many agents have had amazing success with this, and then I have personally. For me, I look at it in Expired. We all know that they're going to ... They want to sell. We all know that they're open to working with a realtor.
We all know that they're getting hounded by all the realtors on the phone and the mailbox and the doors. What I would do is I would drop off this book to an expired, or I would mail it to them. Sometimes I'd call them and offer them the book, but a lot of times I'd drop it by, and what was surprising to me is I even got sellers calling me up saying, "Come list my house." Not even, "Come give me a presentation." Now, instead of chasing them, they were chasing me and saying, "We want you to list our home."
With Expireds, that the book is written really well. It positions you as the expert. It positions you as having the expertise to sell their house. Even on price reductions, they would be really open to price reductions when they were needed, and it wasn't a wrestling match and a fight to get them to reduce the price to get the home sold. Expired book, great choice.
You will do amazing with it, but you have done really well with the For Sale By Owner. I was just looking at my notes here. You have ... Let's see. You spent $100 on books, and if you single-side these transactions when they sell, you'll make about $40,000. If you double-side them, you'll make about $80,000. That's not chump change. You have done really well, and you're crushing it. So keep the consistency of giving the books out, and I don't know. You might forget about the six-month drought you had.
You will do amazing with it, but you have done really well with the For Sale By Owner. I was just looking at my notes here. You have ... Let's see. You spent $100 on books, and if you single-side these transactions when they sell, you'll make about $40,000. If you double-side them, you'll make about $80,000. That's not chump change. You have done really well, and you're crushing it. So keep the consistency of giving the books out, and I don't know. You might forget about the six-month drought you had.
Ginger: Right. No, I think I'll always remember it, because if I don't, I'll fall back into old habits. I learned a lot of lessons during that six months.
Smart Agents : What would you tell an agent that is going through the same thing that you went through? What would you tell yourself back then with the knowledge you have now?
Ginger: What would I tell myself six months ago? Six months ago, I would tell myself to one, stop being so hard on myself, and two, start listening and following models instead of trying to make it up as you go.
Why work harder when you can work smarter? Somebody else has already done the work.
Smart Agents : Yeah. I think you hit the nail on the head. It is about working smarter, not harder. That's what we're here for, to give you material, give you books, give you systems, give you tips and tricks, and information to help you work smarter every day, and so you can make more money with less time, hey, and enjoy life. That's what it's about.
Thank you, Ginger, for your time. Have a great day, and we will talk to you soon.
Ginger: Thanks. You too. Bye bye.
What if you left a book that you were the author of with these owners?
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!
