Last week, we talked about how to communicate effectively with people as real estate agents. We mentioned that the proper mindset—building relationships comes first before getting the business or deal—is important coming into the conversation.

This week, it is about empathy and really getting into the shoes of whoever you are talking to, and at the end of the day, the goal is building trust by coming from a place of “I am here to help you” or, for the case of our sphere and past clients, letting them know that “Hey, I thought about you and I care.”

1. Expireds

When talking to expired leads, the number one thing you should remember is, these people are probably frustrated. Why? One, because their home didn’t sell, and it probably affected some major life decisions they made and things had to be pushed back. And two, you are probably not the first agent who called them to ask about their house.

These people are getting calls from tens or even hundreds of strangers throughout the day, probably rubbing salt on their wounds by asking about why they took their home off the market. That is pretty stressful.

Your tonality has to be right. Don’t be too forceful or aggressive—these people are already stressed out as it is, and they’ve probably had a handful of pushy agents talk to them about the thing that has been stressing them out. Be more natural and genuine and come from a place of “I am here to listen, and I am here to help."

This is a mock conversation sample Mark Raider and I did on the coaching:

During the call, try to discern their mood. Is there an urgency there to hang up? Try not to bombard them with so many questions during the call. Maybe scheduling a Zoom meeting later in the day or offering to come to their house to talk in-person works better for them.

Chances are, they will get another call right after they end their conversation with you, and that gets overwhelming for most people. That’s why I always try to call expireds calls between 8:00 AM to 8:30 AM–that way, they aren’t in a bad mood yet after the 50th call of the day, and they are more willing to listen.

In most areas, there is an unspoken rule that you shouldn’t call before 8:00 AM.

One of the questions I get asked the most when it comes to expired leads is, "Where do you get those leads?"

I use REDX, and you will find all their information there: their name, contact numbers, email, mailing address, and the address of the property. They even provide the market insights on that area, which is helpful when you are making your pitch that “It is not impossible to sell your home, this is what the market pulse looks like for your property.”

REDX also has a script in there that you can use, or you could make one of your own. That way, when you blank out on what to say, you get some prompts.

Another tip I want to share with you is: to pay attention and try to categorize how you are going to nurture the expired leads you just talked to.

For example, in our mock conversation above, I told Mark that I would drop by to hand them something. Make sure to follow through with what you agreed on, and in order to not forget, I take notes. Aside from that, I try to gauge, based on their response to the call, and how much I want to get that house for listing, I would categorize them into different nurture/follow-up categories. For this, I use Trello, but you can find a system that works for you.

Your best opportunity is to get them to agree within the call to meet up at a more convenient time for them. In that meeting, you can dive deeper into the questions you want to ask to help you develop a better marketing plan to propose to them, and sort of figure out why their house didn’t sell the first time: Is it the pricing? Is it marketing? Do you need to do an open house? What things were they expecting to be done for the marketing that didn’t get done? Find the holes and plug them in, then present the new strategy you want to do, and see whether they find that plan more satisfactory.

But before you can get to this part, you need to get the conversation part right. And it all boils down to your mindset and your attitude.

2. More on Past Clients and Sphere

Last week, we touched on past clients and spheres, and Mark and I did a sample conversation too. However, I know that a lot of agents still feel hesitant about reaching out to their circle. So, we highlight four opportunities that you could take that make reaching out to your past clients and sphere feel more natural.

Occasions or events

It could be their birthday, and you want to greet them. “Happy birthday! Where are you planning to celebrate your day today?”

Or it could be your birthday and you are inviting some people out for lunch or coffee.

Maybe you have an open house (or any event you organized), or you know someone who is going to do an open house (or other kinds of events), and you are invited to come to the event and bring some past clients that you know.

This makes reaching out to them feel more intentional and less forced and unnatural.

Vendor list

This is a favorite of Mark's. If you are doing a home inspection and you have a new lineup of plumbers, carpenters, electricians, or home inspectors in your arsenal, it is a nice way of saying to your people “I care about you” if you text them: Hey. How are things going? If you need contacts for anything, like plumbers or inspectors for your house, I have a list of vendors. Let me know if you want me to send them to you.

You are being proactive in giving them value before they even ask. That deepens the connection of trust between you and your clients, and even your vendors.

Plus, you can even translate this conversation when you are doorknocking in the neighborhood.

Check-in on them

I’ve mentioned this several times, but LCM (Like, Comment, Message) goes a long way in terms of reaching out to your sphere and past clients.

For example, if I saw a friend (who is pregnant) who posted about doing a keynote at a recent event, I can hit them up (on messenger or through text) with something like: “Hey, I saw your post today. How do you even do that, speaking while you are pregnant? You are so awesome. How did your keynote go?”

Or, if you passed by their neighborhood, or showed houses near their neighborhood, you can message them and say: “Hey! I was in your area the other day, and I thought of you. How are things with the kids? Are you home on the weekend? I’ll be in that area again, maybe we can grab coffee before I go home?”

If they reply and bring up things like “Oh! I finally managed to install that bathtub I wanted!” you can even bring up a bit of business to the conversation (“Awesome! I’ll drop by some time and look. That really brings up the value of your house. Plus, a warm bath at the end of a tiring day is always a good idea.”)

Holidays

Don’t half-ass your holiday texts. Add more to it that will prompt an actual conversation.

If you just say “Happy Labor Day!” you will probably get, at best, a “Happy Labor Day” back. But if you add a little something to the end: “Happy Labor Day! Are you barbecuing later?” then you start a back-and-forth conversation.

Ask questions.

There are many different ways to be more effective with the people you encounter and have conversations with. It just really takes the right mindset and empathy.