How Susan Waldron Prospects $3 to $6 Million Expireds With the Same Scripts

Susan Waldron00:12

They feel like they need to be someone in order to speak to these people.

00:18But the way I see it is that there’s a lot of entrepreneurs, there’s a lot of people that have gained massive success, that they’re not generational wealth. So when they see someone who’s just professional, who’s being real, who’s giving them the stats, who’s gonna go to bat for them, who knows how to negotiate, who knows the contracts inside and out, who studies the market, that’s who they’re gonna select.

00:44‘Cause they’re gonna be like, “Yeah, you remind me of me, but you’re just not where I’m at.”

Susan Waldron01:28

I’m doing great, Aaron. Thank you so much for having me.

Susan Waldron01:34

Oh, the market. I was looking at the stats and actually looking at the data, because as I call and as I’m getting these appointments, not only am I practicing scripts and just diving in and speaking, trying to get that appointment, but I’m also realizing in this market here, it’s selling very quickly.

01:53Last year it was like 20 days to get offers accepted, and now it’s taking about like 10 days. So that’s very exciting there.

Susan Waldron02:14

The inventory has gone low, so therefore the demand here has been peaking up. So homes are selling a lot quicker on the market, and they’re also increasing in price, actually. I know. I was in a coaching session, and this is new for me. I was like, “The agent, how come I don’t know this?”

Susan Waldron02:53

Same until yesterday. I was just like, these little nuggets.

02:58And so now I’m on the phone, and now I’m doing the three hours, and now I’m like, “Screw it, I’m gonna do the fourth hour,” because these properties are selling so quick that I need to inform sellers on the other side that were looking to sell last year and dropped out, maybe ’cause they were waiting 20 days on the market, and let them know that, “Hey, it’s taking half the time, and I can prove it.”

Susan Waldron03:37

I’m gonna be very honest, that it’s not consistent.

03:42But I am working towards that. I’m actually in Vulcan7, like I’m the West Coast person that people can jump in with, and so that holds me accountable, because I know I put it out there that people are gonna be coming in from the West Coast. So it keeps me in line. But I typically prospect about three times a week for three hours.

Susan Waldron04:24

That’s right. Well, it’s more like I have this Zoom link out there, and anyone is welcome, even if they’re listening to this on the West Coast. If you’re looking for accountability, just chime in. I’m gonna be honest, it’s gonna be a boring group, because we’re all on camera, but we’re all on mute, but we’re all doing the prospecting, and I think that’s pretty cool, because it shows people that there’s other agents that are also calling and doing the work.

Susan Waldron05:19

Yes. I always say it’s like building a muscle, right? So if I’m doing three hours and I look at it within a quarter, if I’m consistent, I track it. I have these little marks, and I’m just like, “Okay, I did this day,” and so I can see it for the month, because I just don’t wanna go back to the same routine, which I find agents keep doing: they’re inconsistent, but then they go back to the same routine, and then they wonder, with this pain of, “Why am I not getting something?

05:53Something’s wrong.” So I think I’ve been in the business, and also obsessed with learning the skills of how to do things, and the patience of what it really takes time-wise. So then I realized that, okay, it’s a quarter thing. Real estate’s always a quarter thing. If you prospect within that quarter, you will have an amazing second, third, or whatever quarter after the one you started.

06:16So I see it the same with cold calling. It’s a new skill for me. I’m not gonna jump in and say, “I’m gonna…” Because I still have sphere of influence, and I’m also a mom, so I have a busy schedule. But I have to work a schedule that I know that I’m able to pull through and see if I’m being effective, and if I’m not, maybe I have to practice my skills, or there’s another level that I need to reach, after seeing if it’s all panning out.

Susan Waldron06:59

I learned to be that way because I’ve learned that successful people are that way. So I think it’s a good way to track and measure.

Susan Waldron07:28

Absolutely. And it’s also like you don’t wanna go into the sign of insanity of doing things over and over and over, right? So at some point the brain goes into, “Is this really working?” And of course, it’s gonna work if you’re consistent, but the brain is gonna say, “It’s not working,” because you’re inconsistent and you have zero results.

07:51So I just do that measure.

Susan Waldron08:29

I am so proud that we bought last year here, and I feel like that has everything to do with prospecting. I also still do open houses. That’s something that I’ve learned from the beginning.

08:43It’s how I’ve generated business, like when I first started real estate, and so I still continue doing that. So it’s also good to do what actually works, right? And not just give it up. So then I was doing an open house in Newport Beach, in this specific neighborhood, and as I was seeing the market being very steady, I was looking at the buyers coming in and telling me where they’re at in buying, how long.

09:12‘Cause that’s another reason why I do open houses, to meet buyers and to see where they’re really at, right? Because that and data equals, okay, you have knowledge. Now you know how the market is going. And so I was eyeing this neighborhood, and then when it dropped… I lived in a townhouse, like a townhouse community.

09:36It was listed for 1.4, and then it dropped to like 950, and I dove in. This is a hard community to get in. There’s never homes for sale. It’s like one or two, maybe, a quarter that’s up for sale, and then they get sold so quickly. So the rates increased during that time, 7%. So this is where buyers were like, “Heck no, I’m not gonna buy,” when I was telling my buyers, “Go ahead and buy because everybody has to now.”

10:06You know? If a seller really needs to sell, they’re gonna adjust. They’re gonna be workable. So that’s when I came in and I bought my property, and I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s the beauty of being in this business.” That’s the beauty of it, even during that time, I’m prospecting. It’s not like I had a lot of leads and my business was going all hot.

10:28It was still the same. It was going through the motions of what’s going on in the market. But I was able to get an opportunity because I was tracking the market and I was seeing what was out there. It was either a client of mine or me that was gonna jump in, and so we were able to jump in and purchase.

10:48And now it’s worth the 1.4.

Susan Waldron11:04

It was important to us. And not just that, I also experienced other miracles with other clients.

11:10That’s what I always say. This market always shifts, but you have to learn the shift. I see it like a playing field. So you have to know how people are playing in order to win. So I got other clients amazing opportunities, again, unheard of. They weren’t qualified high, and they were able to sweep in, get something, and boom, within like six months now they have like 100K equity.

11:39The market is amazing that way. It’s almost like you never wanna go where the ants go. You wanna be that one little ant, the ant that drifts away. And that’s how you play in this market. That’s why I love real estate so much.

Susan Waldron12:51

Sure, but you know what I actually do? I don’t look at the price range of who I’m calling.

13:02I mean, believe it or not, sometimes it’s insane. Sometimes it’s like 20 million, 30 million, like these homes in Laguna, because I’m also hitting Laguna. I’m hitting Newport Coast, and so it’s like these are… And I just talk to them like human beings.

13:23I go with the script, and my whole goal is to do the script as effectively as I could and be a listener. And when they speak, I just let them speak. I don’t ask the next question. I let them guide. I let them tell me as much, ’cause I know the more they tell me, the more that I’m gonna know. Take notes.

13:55They’re gonna remember me. I’m not gonna be an obnoxious agent who’s just going for the hunt. And I’m looking more for the opportunity to build rapport with them, to have an opportunity to visit them, and of course to see their motives, if they’re looking to sell, if that really does make sense for them.

14:22And then offering them the suggestion of, “Would you like for me to show you the snapshot of the current market to see if it makes sense for you to sell?” Because a lot of times, these clients that have that high price, they’re not concerned about their next buy. They just wanna make a smart decision if they’re gonna put their property up on the market.

14:48And they might have a second, third home elsewhere. They’re not attached to, “I have to move somewhere.” They could make it happen, but it just has to make sense for them business-wise, ’cause these are business owners. So that’s how I approach it. I come in as, “Let me show you the stats of the market.

15:10Let’s have a conversation of what’s going on. Let’s see if this makes sense for you business-wise.” And it could be emotional, because it could be someone’s home.

Susan Waldron15:32

Yeah, expireds.

Susan Waldron15:38

I think the average would be maybe about 6 million.

Susan Waldron15:44

3 to 6 million. Yeah.

Susan Waldron15:52

Mm-hmm.

Susan Waldron16:01

No.

Susan Waldron16:16

We all use the same scripts, same words. It’s all human touch. They’re human. At the end of the day, they have the emotions. They have the reasons of why they took their property off the market. If they yell at me, hey, I can get yelled at by someone who has a home that’s 400, right, in my area.

16:40They will tell me, “Don’t disturb me.” 6 million will say, “Don’t disturb me.” A 400 would say, “Yeah, I’m not looking to sell right now. Possibly next year. We’re not sure.” Same answer on the 6 million: “Yeah, we’re not sure if we’re looking to sell right now. Right now probably is not a good time.

16:59Maybe next year.” And what I’m saying is it’s no different. So with the 400, I have to look at their stats and see if it makes sense for them. With the 6 million, I have to look at their stats in their neighborhood and see if it makes sense for them. All the same.

Susan Waldron17:26

About 800.

Susan Waldron17:32

I’m so lucky I’m here.

Susan Waldron17:55

You know what’s so interesting is that when I first started real estate, I was in Downey, and I was selling homes that were 400, 600, because this was like 10 years ago, right?

18:06And I got an opportunity to sell a home that was 1.2, and everybody in my office was like, “What the heck,” right? And I didn’t have a fancy car. I was probably two, three years in the business or something like that. The way I met this seller is I was just doing an open house like I always did, and she was just a lead, and then she just so happened to have this gorgeous home.

18:35And I went there, and I was so nervous, but I just did the stats. And I sat with her and we discussed the process of selling and where they’re at, why they’re gonna be selling, their big whys. They were retiring, and they sold their businesses, and now they wanted to sell this beautiful property.

19:03And so then I listed it, and it sat on the market for like… I had to do a price adjustment, and I was really nervous. I was like, “How do you make…” So we were at 1.2, and I had to make an adjustment of 75,000. And they did it, and then it sold. And I remember myself back then saying, “Oh, well, no different.”

19:29No different. Like, now it’s 6 million, so it’s, again, looking at the data and seeing, so at this price range, what would be the drop? What would be the significant drop to cause movement? It might be a million. I don’t know. I have to look at the location. And it’s the same thing if I’m selling a home that’s 400.

19:51I’m looking at the stats. What’s a drop? Is it 10,000, 15? What would cause movement? And just being crystal clear with the owner about that and seeing if it works for them or not, and why it doesn’t.

Susan Waldron20:35

They feel like they need to be someone in order to speak to these people. But the way I see it is that there’s a lot of entrepreneurs, there’s a lot of people that have gained massive success, that they’re not generational wealth.

20:51So when they see someone who’s just professional, who’s being real, who’s giving them the stats, who’s gonna go to bat for them, who knows how to negotiate, who knows the contracts inside and out, who studies the market, that’s who they’re gonna select, ’cause they’re gonna be like, “Yeah, you remind me of me, but you’re just not where I’m at.”

21:13But that doesn’t matter, because they only care about, are they gonna get the level of service that they want? They’re not looking at, okay, I have this Lamborghini, so I need an agent who has a Lamborghini. That doesn’t make any sense.

Susan Waldron21:48

Okay, so that’s what it is. I guess for the agent who wants to go into luxury, think about it: if they’re an entrepreneur, they run businesses, so then I guess the only match an agent has to be is that you have to operate like a business.

22:05And you have to be an entrepreneur, meaning you gotta do what it takes.

22:10So if it’s cold calling, if it’s door-knocking, if it’s having massive open houses, it’s just doing things at a very high level, because this is how they operate.

Susan Waldron23:02

Bring your A game. Bring your A game, because that’s what is gonna make you relate to people. I had someone tell me, who was super successful, when I first started in the business, “Susan, you can’t be like Marie. You can’t be like Michael. You can’t…” And these were top agents in my office, because the moment you act like Michael and Marie, your clients are not gonna know who you are.

23:32But if you come in as yourself, as your perfect whole self who wants to dominate, kick ass in your business, then that’s the person who’s gonna win the business. So that’s what I would tell them, is just be your authentic self, but just improve yourself with scripts, and get a coach, and do what you have to do to get yourself in the business.

24:01Become that business person that you envision yourself as, but be more of yourself in it. ‘Cause then that’s gonna open opportunities. That’s what I would say.

Susan Waldron24:23

Kick ass, and know your measures. That’s the only way. And stop chasing the shiny object.

Susan Waldron24:55

Okay, so give me a call. Text me. That’s the best thing. Just text me. I’ll get ahold of you very quickly. My number is 949-933-9794.

Susan Waldron25:10

949-933-9794.

Susan Waldron25:24

Sure.