Welcome Agents. Thanks for joining this series of posts about how to answer common objections consumers raise when you solicit their expired listing.

Welcome Consumers.  You have questions about how to get your home sold.  This series will be of benefit to you as well.

Every Friday I am writing about objection handling.  These posts will reflect 13 years of experience in handling objections and reveal collected scripts that you can use.  Your comments and participation is welcome.

Our Bradenton, Fl real estate market has seen more expired listings in the last 12 months than at any time since records have been kept.  Most markets across the country are experiencing the same thing.

Both agents and consumers are frustrated. Agents WANT to be successful and sell their listing.  Consumers want an agent who gets the job done.

You may want to read the introduction to this series: Objection Handling: New Series of Posts. I also suggest you read: Objection Handling For Real Estate Professionals: A Five Step Method . Both agents and consumers are invited to participate.

Here are the most common objections posed by consumers that I'll be addressing:

1. "We're going to re-list with the same agent."
2. "Where were you when my home was for sale?"
3. "All real estate agents are the same anyway"
4. "We are going to drop our price and sell it ourselves."
5. "We are only going to interview agents who showed our home."
6. "We are going to take it off the market for a while."
7. Bonus: Killer Closes for Expired Prospecting.

Objection #5: "We're only going to interview agents who showed our home while it was listed."

When the consumer makes this statement I believe it's because they just do not understand exactly what agents do.  They do not see the value of your marketing strategy. You really want to help them and know how to help them.  How do you communicate that to your prospective customer?  

Here's some dialogue you might want to learn to share in your own words....

Answer #1:

"When were you thinking about putting it back on the market? Well, I guess you could wait a few months...AND...can I tell you how that might actually work against you?   You see, when your home goes back on the market, very often, the public never knows that you took a break...they think your home has been on the market a LONG time and wonder what's wrong with it. 

"Because your home has already been on the market, we need to meet right away.  I'll show my plan for attracting serious buyers and how I'm getting my listings sold faster and for more money than my competitors."

Answer #2:

"I'm curious about that...and I guess you could do that...and can I tell why that could be the worst possible thing to do?  You see, with today's declining market, homes in our area are worth about 9 percent less than they were at this time last year. It you were to wait a few months wouldn't that mean you are potentially going to lose a LOT of equity in your home.  What would happen if in a months from now your home was worth tens of thousands of dollars less than it is today?"

"You don't want that to happen, do you?  ....Let's get together and I'll show exactly how you can get your home sold today and avoid that risk."

Answer #3:

"Let me ask you this...If I could find a buyer willing to pay your price today, would you sell it?  OK, great!  So, in other words, you'd still like to sell it, yet you just don't want to go through the experience of having it sit on the market and not sell, right?

"Wouldn't it be great to get the home SOLD, without it being a hassle?  Let's get together and I'll show you how I can do that!"

Remember these keys:

1. Objection handling isn't about tricking the consumer or finding some magic words to convince them to do what YOU want them to do.
2. Objection handling is about telling the truth in a non-confrontational manner.
3. Objection handling is not about memorizing a script, but about listening to the customer and answering their honest questions with honest answers.
4. Objection handling is about improving your communication skills which will help you and your customer.

For Consumers
These posts are giving you a peek behind the curtain of what we as REALTORS do to earn our fee for service.  

You see objection handling isn't about "tricking" you the consumer into giving us your business. It is about honestly answering questions and objections in an effective way to help you, the consumer, make a wise choice.

Hiring the right agent is 95% of getting your property sold. I trust that this series will help you make the best possible choice when it comes time to hire your next agent.

Having your listing expire is a frustrating and disappointing experience. You may feel anger at your listing agent and toward all agents in general. I understand that feeling and can appreciate your frustration.  And, you need to know that not all agents are the same. What you need is a Realtor who is experienced in counseling you about this major decision.  You need a Realtor who has a proven marketing strategy and the ability to help you price the home correctly.