How Carolyn Young listed 80 expireds in year one and 140 the next calling daily

Loida Velasquez00:04

What would be one tip that you would give someone that’s hesitant about picking up the phone and calling these expireds?

Carolyn Young00:11

Just do it, because you’re not gonna secure them as a client by not picking up the phone, but by picking up the phone and becoming a little bit more skilled and more confident. By the way, after you get a couple appointments, your confidence changes tremendously.

00:26And by the way, expired sellers are some of the best clients you can get, because they had a bad experience before, and when you sell and they’re so appreciative, they have been the best referral source that you can get. So it’s been amazing, actually.

Loida Velasquez00:57

What’s going on everyone? Welcome back to a brand new episode of Vulcan7 Coaches and Mentors, where we bring you some of the best agents in this industry so that they can share with you their tips and strategies, so that you can take your business to the next level. Now today we’re gonna talk more about expireds.

01:15This agent, this coach, this mentor that we have for today’s episode, her first year she listed 80 expireds, and the following year it was 130. So if you’re looking to do those numbers, if you wanna find out how she did this, well, definitely make sure you have your pen and paper ready. So with that being said, let me bring on today’s guest, Carolyn Young.

01:38Hey, Carolyn.

Carolyn Young01:39

Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Loida Velasquez01:41

Yes. So for everyone that’s watching that might not be familiar with you, go ahead and share with us a little bit about yourself.

Carolyn Young01:48

So I’m in the Northern Virginia market. I’m a team lead. We have now 23 agents on the team. We’ve been growing. I’ve been an agent for over 30 years at this point, and up until about six years ago is when I really decided to launch my team and my growth, and it all started with expireds.

02:13So I went all in on expireds, and I think consistency, doing things regular, figuring out what works, doesn’t work. The first year, staying all in with it, I listed about 80 of ’em. In the second year it was 140 of ’em, which is quite a few a month. But once you get the rhythm going, honestly, as much as you’re willing to make calls and work, you can do as much business as you like.

Loida Velasquez02:41

Absolutely. So that year, that first year that you did over 80, what did your schedule look like for you to be able to achieve those numbers?

Carolyn Young02:50

Yeah. So basically for me, I find that consistency with it, right? And I’ll have to say, for anybody, you’re not gonna pick up the phone and start having those kinda numbers right out of the gate.

03:02There is a J curve, which is your learning curve to anything you do. So it took a few months for me to figure out what to say and how to do it and how to be effective with it. So basically, when I first started into Vulcan7, I was listing prior to that maybe 15 homes in a year. So for me, it was just really big, because I was averaging about seven a month.

03:31Honestly, it was more like probably about 9 or 10, because of the fact that the first couple months I did have a learning curve. But it looks like, maybe in the morning… I pretty much every morning made my calls, and by doing it every day and being consistent, and not moreover taking the new calls, but making sure that you make all your follow-up calls, ’cause as we all know, the money’s in the follow-up.

03:57So there would be times that people I would call 25, 30 times. So your follow-up calls are really important. But generally speaking, people that were on the market and came off, they need somebody to help them.

Loida Velasquez04:13

Yeah. So then that following year it was almost double from the previous year.

Carolyn Young04:19

Yeah, yeah.

Loida Velasquez04:21

How did that happen?

Carolyn Young04:22

Well, I got good. After you make that many calls and you sit on the phone for two to three hours every morning making calls, you get better. ‘Cause as we know, everybody has the same objections, right? So you’re only gonna have the same objections, like maybe six different main objections.

04:44And so once you get used to what to say and how to handle it, and the most important is, when you’re calling, is that you’re coming from a place of help. You don’t come from a place of, “I’m the best and I want your listing,” but a place of help. People appreciate it, and how to get them in the conversation with you.

05:02But as you get a little bit more of an understanding of what to do and what to say, that’s how you’ll increase getting into the appointments and getting the listings.

Loida Velasquez05:14

Yeah, absolutely. I’m glad that you’re saying that, because sometimes agents, especially that are watching this, maybe they’re trying to get their first listing, and they’re just trying to sell themselves instead of coming from a place of, “I wanna be a problem solver, to see if I can actually help that seller.”

05:32So when it comes to mindset, how did that come into play for you to be able to increase your numbers and just be able to handle objections that were coming your way?

Carolyn Young05:43

I think if you go in with the mindset, and as most of us know that do call, you’re not the only caller. You’re one of, you know, 5, 10, 20 calls.

05:54And most of the agents come at sellers with the wrong approach, which is unfortunate. Well, it makes it easy for me, ’cause it’s easier to get an appointment. But after 10 people have called, and they’re calling saying, “I’m number one, I’m the best, you made a mistake, don’t make one again,” nobody wants to hear that.

06:15Save that for the listing appointment. All you’re calling for is to see if you can help. Like, “I see you came off the market. How can I help you?” You know, you’re in my market. I like to help people that were unsuccessful at selling. And even if they say, “I don’t wanna talk to you, I have an agent,” would you mind if I got a personal tour of the home?

06:35You just gotta go meet them face to face. Once you meet people face to face, that’s your time to win them over. It’s not to argue with them about stuff.

Loida Velasquez06:44

Exactly. So in the beginning, was it just yourself, or did you have a small team, or when did you start growing?

Carolyn Young06:50

So that was at the beginning of me launching my team.

06:53At that point, it was just me, an assistant, and I had one buyer agent. And so I just decided that’s what I was gonna do, and of course it increased my business, and then I got busy because I was investing in other pillars. And then it was the need of growing the team by need of demand. So again, we went over the past six years from having kind of me and one buyer agent to now 23 agents.

07:21So we’ve grown quite a bit over the past six years. And I have a couple people on the team that are very, very good at expireds. And they’re calling now, because I don’t have the time to do it all the time anymore.

Loida Velasquez07:34

Yeah, so now you’re just leading your team and training them to be an extension of you, pretty much.

Carolyn Young07:40

Yes. Yes. Sometimes I jump in there with them, because it’s just kind of fun to do. So we all meet on Zoom in the morning, and so we always try in the morning… we have several dialers on our system, and everybody signs up for the dialers in advance, and we all call together. I like to keep people…

08:00If it was me, I’d be calling two to three hours a day, because it’s such a money maker. There’s just no doubt about it. And you get the opportunity to help so many people. But I can only do so much. But generally I’ve got a couple other people that are committed to, like, an hour a day, four days a week, Monday through Thursday, but they’re doing well with it, so.

Loida Velasquez08:22

Okay. Okay, that’s great. So let’s say we have someone that’s been working mostly with buyers, and they’re ready to transition to listings, because maybe their buyers have been wasting their time or things have happened. What would you recommend for them to start, in terms of, like, their schedule, the amount of hours if they’re doing this full time for them to be calling, maybe amount of conversations to have?

Carolyn Young08:47

So I would say that, for one, if it’s something you’re gonna do, you have to commit to it. And you can’t say, “I’m gonna commit to it,” and do it for a couple weeks and then, “Oh, I got busy and didn’t call.” That is not committing. I’m talking about you gotta commit. Maybe you say Monday through Thursday, every day you’re gonna call.

09:07You call your new ones, and then you call your follow-ups. That’s just a must, and you should spend a couple hours there. And nobody can say the thing that… ‘Cause I have a lot of people that call me that I help with the system, right? So the number one thing that just makes me crazy is when people say, “Well, I’ve been trying it and it’s not working.”

09:28How long have you tried it? You made, like, 100 calls and it didn’t work? Are you kidding me? Make, like, 500 and tell me it doesn’t work. Like, you have to put in the time to get used to it. But if you’re not getting people to respond to you, change what you’re saying and see if that works. Like, you gotta…

09:47People will respond if you say the right thing. So people just have to keep working on what they’re gonna say when they call and when they connect with someone. But if they don’t answer the phone, leave a compelling message, because they’ll call you back.

Loida Velasquez10:00

Yeah. I’m glad that you brought that up, because, yes, we hear it all the time, “Oh, you know, making the calls doesn’t work.

10:07The expireds, for sale by owners, it doesn’t work.” But maybe the agent just hasn’t been making enough calls, or they only did it for a week and then they stop. So being consistent and disciplined, I think that’s what obviously you have done to take yourself and your business to the next level. As the market, obviously we have seen a change with the interest rates, and some agents are leaving the business.

10:29Going to next year, what do you think are some changes that are gonna be coming, or that you see happening with maybe expireds or for sale by owners, more or less? Or what do agents need to work on to make sure that they are getting those listings?

Carolyn Young10:43

So I think as we’re going into next year’s market…

10:47And you’re right, you will see some people leaving the industry, and you know why? It’s because the market is becoming a very skill-based market. So if agents are not willing to step up their knowledge, their skill, and become invaluable to our sellers and buyers, you’re not gonna make it in the market.

11:05Because the sellers, they do need a good agent on their side that can add experience and value, to help them navigate a successful sale to get the highest price for their home, and to help a buyer win in a multiple offer situation. So it just means that people have to step up their skill, and I think 2024 is gonna be the year of success for those that are willing to invest into their knowledge and their skill and become a better agent and add more value to your client.

Loida Velasquez11:34

Yes. Skills…

Carolyn Young11:35

And that’s gonna separate. It’s gonna make it, for those that are willing to do that, they’re gonna have a fantastic year.

Loida Velasquez11:42

Oh, yeah. We’re starting to see it now. And I like to say, “Skills pay the bills,” because essentially that’s what it is. If you’re not working on your skills or investing in yourself to be better at having conversations or knowing what to say and how to help your clients, then of course you’re gonna probably want to get out and not do this business.

12:04So talking about investing in yourself, if any agents do want to reach out to you, do you have any programs, any events coming up, or how can they get ahold of you?

Carolyn Young12:15

So the easiest way to get ahold of me is just follow me on Instagram and send me a direct message. I watch that very closely, and I’m happy to share.

12:24I don’t really have any coaching programs I do with expireds. I should put something together, but I haven’t. But I’m always happy for someone that is venturing into it to reach out for any tips or whatever they can do to help their success with it.

Loida Velasquez12:43

So the team that you have, you mentioned it’s 23 agents.

12:47Perhaps there are some agents that are right now ready to scale and grow a team. What would you recommend are some things for them to look at, in terms of maybe the agents that they should bring on to their team, qualities, expectations, and things like that?

Carolyn Young13:05

Okay, yeah. So basically I think that, if you wanna… I really do think teams right now are clearly dominating in the market, and I think that’s gonna change even more so.

13:18But either you join a team or run a team, either way. But for me, my whole thing about the way I run my team is, I hire for people that work with excellence. I like people that have determination, that are good team players, collaborative, and they’re looking for change and success as well.

13:46So…

13:47Everybody has different teams. That’s just the kind of players that I look for when I hire.

Loida Velasquez13:54

Yeah, absolutely. So once again, for anyone that might be interested in reaching out to you, what is the best place to reach you? I know that you mentioned social media, right?

Carolyn Young14:04

I think Instagram, Carolyn Young Team.

14:07It’s easy to remember, and I always reply to the messages in there, and I’m always willing to help out.

Loida Velasquez14:14

Okay, awesome. What would be one last tip that you would give someone that’s probably hesitant about picking up the phone and calling these expireds, so that they actually get to doing it?

Carolyn Young14:26

I would say fake it until you make it.

14:29Just do it. Like, it doesn’t matter. If you get rejected, who cares? If you get hung up on, who cares? Because you’re not gonna secure them as a client by not picking up the phone, but by picking up the phone and becoming a little bit more skilled and more confident. By the way, after you get a couple appointments, your confidence changes tremendously.

14:53But by becoming more confident, without a doubt you’ll be able to help so many more people. And by the way, expired sellers are some of the best clients you can get, because they had a bad experience before, and when you sell and they’re so appreciative, they have been the best referral source that you can get.

15:15So it’s been amazing, actually.

Loida Velasquez15:19

Yeah. There you go. You heard it here. She said the expireds will probably bring you more business. So if you’re not picking up the phones, if you think no one’s gonna answer, you’re definitely missing out on a lot of business. All right, Carolyn, well, thank you so much for being on today’s episode.

15:34Thank you for all of the knowledge that you dropped. We’ll make sure to put all of your links in the description box below. And with that being said, thank you everyone for watching. We’ll see you on the next one. Bye.

Carolyn Young15:44

Thank you for having me.