Why the objections never changed: taking listings through the COVID-19 shutdown

Ren Jones00:04

It’s that time. Welcome to Roadmap, how to take three listings a week until you’re ready for more. Each week we interview a great agent consistently taking several listings, and this is the COVID-19 report for the last week of March going into April. But first, let me introduce my co-host from San Diego, Carley Hathaway, that’s carleyhathaway.com. Hi Carley, how’s the real estate business?

Carley Hathaway00:31

Hi Ren, hi everybody, coming to you live from quarantine California. And it is great — more time to prospect and more people are answering the phone, so work as usual.

Ren Jones00:48

That’s it. All right, we’re going to move fast, we’ve got a lot of information today, hang tight folks. First we’re going to go live right now to Miami Beach — welcome Jackie Kravitz. Jackie’s a real estate agent in the state of Florida, has been in the industry a long time, studying this and making a lot of observations. She’s been making phone calls to expireds and FSBOs over the weekend, March 21st to be exact, calling on that Saturday, and found some very interesting things. Jackie, welcome.

Jackie Kravitz01:26

Thank you, Ren, it’s good to be here.

Jackie Kravitz01:28

You probably know this because you may be hearing it too — I’ve been hearing a lot of real estate agents say, “Nobody would ever list a property right now, nothing is selling,” a lot of conversations and messages on Facebook, agents really nervous about the thought that nobody’s buying and selling. So Saturday morning I get on the phone, I’m like, okay, I’m going to call FSBOs and expireds, because I actually love them, and let’s see what kind of response I get. And what I found was that nothing has changed. I heard the same objections I’ve been hearing my entire real estate career. The FSBOs were saying, “Yeah, I just put it up as a FSBO two or three days ago, so I want to give it some time,” and, “I don’t want to pay a commission, I’ve sold a few properties on my own before, so I think I can do it.” And expireds the same thing — “I’m going to wait, I’m going to take it off the market.” There was no conversation about, “Oh my gosh, the coronavirus, what will I do.” None of that. It was the exact same objections.

Ren Jones02:38

And you’re in a hot zone — everything’s shut down.

Jackie Kravitz02:46

Absolutely, and as agents we can work virtually, Ren. The beaches are closed, the businesses are closed — Miami is like a lot of cities in this country right now. And the good news is, for realtors, working from home is not a new concept.

Ren Jones03:03

Absolutely. And Zoom, this platform right here, they were using it.

Jackie Kravitz03:15

It’s being done. Saturday was early in the morning when I was in the MLS, 9:00 a.m., and there were 700 properties that went under contract in a five-day period here in Miami, with all the businesses closed.

Ren Jones03:44

Wow, that’s amazing, 700.

Jackie Kravitz03:48

And the good news is we can call them on the phone, we can meet with them virtually, we can sign contracts virtually, we can show property virtually, we can list property virtually — we can do 97% of what we normally do. As a seller, I can say, “Let me walk you through the house,” and they can take their laptop and walk you through, show you everything in the house. A buyer can go by and walk around the outside and get a feel for, is this a neighborhood I want, is this the layout I want, look at the pictures, and put a little clause in the contract to inspect it on the inside before closing. And in that same period of time, from Monday March 16th through Friday March 20th, over a thousand residential properties were listed for sale in the South Florida MLS that I access in Miami. So people are listing their properties, and their buyers are buying. We’re taking things one day at a time — next week might be better, and right now there’s no reason why not, unless you’re in New York.

Ren Jones05:02

We were talking about New York earlier, because even though they’re not hosting open houses, they can call FSBOs, they can call FRBOs, they can call neighborhoods and offer information and ask questions. Everywhere else there’s a lot of business going on. The message to realtors was work from home, and a lot of realtors heard that wrong — they heard “don’t work, sit at home.” Work from home. This is not Thanksgiving, this is not Christmas, this is the spring market.

Ren Jones05:42

Here’s the other thing I was thinking about. I’ve got a picture here of a glass being filled with water — we’ve got to look at this as the glass being half full, because honestly there’s never been a better time to prospect. Why? Because I’m stuck at home and everybody else is stuck at home, so people want to have a conversation. You know how to speak with them, and you sound like a professional.

Jackie Kravitz06:19

I didn’t have anybody saying, “Why are you calling me?” No, they want a word of encouragement from anybody that’s encouraging. In fact, what I found also is that a lot of these FSBOs and expireds, the objections were the same, but they were a lot more open to anything I had to say. They’re looking for some hope, someone that is confident, that can tell them they can help them. They are so much more open. Listing and selling property, I take this as a challenge, kind of like a game — we can have some fun and it could make life very exciting.

Ren Jones06:56

There’s a large coaching company — we don’t promote any one coaching company — one of the largest coaching companies has a listing contest going on right now.

Jackie Kravitz07:08

Absolutely. Most of the coaching companies, and there are several — most people know the Mike Ferry organization, Tom Ferry, MAPS coaching, Brian Buffini — most of them are saying double down in your conversations, work from home, double down, double down, double down.

Ren Jones07:30

Exactly. So Ren, there has never been a better time, because your peers in the spring market are going to sit on their hands.

Jackie Kravitz07:44

That needs to change immediately, because Saturday I got a sense that I was the only one calling FSBOs and expireds. South Florida, the Miami MLS, is the largest in the United States. A month to three months ago, you’d call a FSBO or expired and within the first hour, between 8:00 and 9:00, they’d already be getting a hundred calls. Well, guess what — very few are calling now. And the ones on the phones that are going to be making the money are the ones using your service, because you’re providing the information out there. So take advantage. We have the best work-at-home business. It’s time to speed up, not slow down.

Ren Jones08:32

100%. That’s it. I want to wish you an early Merry Christmas, because it sounds like abundance is yours.

Jackie Kravitz08:41

Thank you.

Ren Jones08:43

Thank you, Jackie Kravitz, appreciate your wisdom. Everybody, take some advice, it’s easier than you know. Stay safe, work hard, have an exciting spring.

Jackie Kravitz08:56

Thank you, Ren.

Ren Jones08:58

So we’re going to continue our COVID-19 update, we’re going to go now to St. George, Utah and talk to John and Chase Saenz. Welcome, folks.

John Saenz09:11

Thank you, thanks for having us.

Ren Jones09:12

Glad you’re here. Carley and I wanted to learn what you’re experiencing this week — you’re knee-deep in this, and Utah has a lot of cases. So do you have people buying and selling right now, or are you doing both?

John Saenz09:31

We’re really fortunate, because in terms of tracking our numbers, Chase right here is the all-seeing brain of statistics, particularly in our St. George market. Chase, help everybody out — why don’t you contrast the last two or three or four weeks versus this week, and what you’re seeing in terms of our numbers, the county, and all its transactions? A quick snapshot.

Chase Saenz09:55

So last week there were 118 new pendings in our marketplace, which is kind of right where we should be every time of year during our spring market. Last week was tracking right about where we are right now, so things are great. The last couple weeks before that have been just about the same, and we currently have 54 properties under contract with accepted offers. So properties are still moving, buyers are still putting offers in, and homes are selling.

Ren Jones10:23

So here we are in late March, coming on to April. What are the conversations like with expireds, for sale by owners, your database?

John Saenz10:40

If I could make a comment relative to the numbers, because it’s important: last week there were 180 new listings in the last seven days, and new pendings, new accepted offers. And how many new listings came on last week — I think 105 last week. How many new listings did you take in the last seven days, Chase? You took ten, right?

Chase Saenz11:01

I’ve taken 11 this month. I took four last week, two the week before, and two the week before that. So you can see, relative to the numbers on a weekly basis, we’ve got our lines in the water and we’re pulling.

Ren Jones11:15

You’re blowing it up. A lot of people watching are like, “I want to do what they’re doing, I want to go crazy like they are.” But people are saying, “Are things selling?” You use the statistics to make the observation, but is there anything else in the conversations? They want to express a lot of empathy and concern and helpfulness, come in contribution, but they also want to list property, sell property, show property. Can you give them some guidance? Some people are in Atlanta, or in some of our hot spots, and that’s a little trickier, but for mid-range like you are, what’s your advice?

Chase Saenz11:57

Just keep doing what you do, keep hitting the phones. The most common — I wouldn’t necessarily call it an objection — most common question we’re getting right now is, “Are homes actually selling?” or, “How’s the real estate market?” Know your numbers, it makes things so much easier and you can take part of the emotion out of it. It is emotional, there’s a lot of craziness going on and it does hurt, but when you can make a more logical decision and put some numbers and facts and figures to it, it makes it so much easier, and you can move forward to get a listing, because homes really are selling. It’s had surprisingly little impact on the real estate market here.

Carley Hathaway12:32

Have the phone calls changed as far as your objections? Are people pushing back, like, “Why are you reaching out to me, we’re in a crisis?” Or do those phone calls look the same?

John Saenz12:41

The market hasn’t changed and turned into a seller’s — because if they were a real seller a week or a month ago, they’re certainly still a real seller now, so their reason for moving hasn’t changed, which means they still have the same motivation. More importantly, the ones on the market right now, or coming on, are even more motivated, because their question is probably, “Will my house sell if I list right now?” Well, of course it will. I know you’ve got realtors curling into a little ball, and the seller who just expired or is a FSBO is like, “I’ve got to get this done,” and the agents are curling up in little balls.

Carley Hathaway13:25

But your guys’ numbers are on track, it sounds like. So you took three listings last week, you took five — are you going to their houses and doing real listing presentations, or doing it via Zoom, Skype?

Chase Saenz13:35

We’re doing a bit of both. We’re still going in front of them, trying to do a bit of social distancing where we’re not actually shaking hands, kind of bumping elbows and doing that thing right now. But for the most part you can still go over, because we’re not in a lockdown or quarantine situation here yet, and for most people it’s not a problem. We have had some people who prefer to do FaceTime walkthroughs right now for listing presentations, and that’s been fantastic. We just have to adapt and keep moving forward, because those who want to sell will do it, and same thing for buyers — there are still buyers, they’re still putting offers in and making this happen. It’s really just the low-producing agents or weak-mindset agents who are saying, “Oh, things aren’t going to sell right now.” They tell that to themselves, or to their clients and sellers, and the seller is thinking, “Oh, the reason my home wasn’t selling is because the market is dead.” The market is not dead, it is moving.

Ren Jones14:32

And you don’t have to do open houses, which we hate anyway.

John Saenz14:40

In terms of an agent right now, an agent might say, “I’m not getting as many calls to pick up right now because people are quarantined.” Well, that’s really simple — that means you’ve got to make more phone calls a day. That means you may have to come in this evening and dial from five to seven, as well as your normal dials at four or five or six o’clock. It’s that simple.

John Saenz15:06

The greatest thing you can do right now — I’m going to paint a picture for you mentally. I want everybody to think about going fishing. Maybe you’re out at the end of a dock at a big marina, and you see these guys coming in with a few fish here and a few fish there, and then Chase, the great fisherman, comes in every single day at four o’clock in the afternoon with these mammoth yellowtail tuna. Chase does it every day. Now I’m going to make you a fisherman. As an agent, you can throw your hook in the water after expireds and FSBOs right now — but picture 60 or 100 fishermen elbow to elbow with their hands on their rods, circling one little pond, trying to get their fish out. Chase doesn’t fish in the main hole with the other 60 elbow-to-elbow fishermen. Chase has found a hole that has only one or two other people in it, and those are called your past clients and sphere. If you make calls to your past clients and sphere right now, there’s probably only a handful of other agents that know them or are even actively trying to call them — but they’re friends of yours, you did a good job on the last transaction, they think of you as a realtor. You should be calling them right now. And the very first question you ask them, Chase, is out of concern — what do you ask?

Chase Saenz16:45

How they’ve been impacted by the coronavirus, are they safe.

John Saenz16:50

Are they safe, is there anything you can do to help in regards to what’s going on right now. Because our team and our families have taken on some personal projects to help people right now as well. In the course of that conversation, the question may come up about real estate. You’re not calling them about real estate — you’re actually calling to check on whether they and their family are safe, which they will appreciate, both as a friend and as their realtor. If a question comes up about real estate, all the better — you’re taking care of your business responsibility to them as well as your personal responsibility.

Ren Jones17:25

And those people, nine out of ten times, are they happy or sad that you’re speaking with them?

John Saenz17:31

99% of the time, especially if your approach is, “I’m calling to check on you, and I may be able to be helpful,” they’re going to love it.

Ren Jones17:45

So if I’m hearing you correctly — the people that have a home for sale now, what a big dose of common sense: if they’re an expired or a FSBO right now, they want to sell right now. And question number two, if you’re calling your database, you’re coming in with, “How can we help you, are you okay?” — they’re going to love you. What a great day to have. Your clients are usually happy.

John Saenz18:20

Everything we’re doing, Ren, goes back to all of our core training and all of our core events with Mike Ferry — follow the Mike Ferry process, which means do your job, trust the process, and keep your emotions between the lines. Right now the important things are the core basics again. You should have your schedule — it may be modified right now, but you should have a schedule you’re working to. Number two, you should still have a daily target as to how many appointments you’re going to set and contracts you’re going to write. Not calls — appointments or contracts, different.

Carley Hathaway19:02

Perfect. And I’ll add, those phone calls to your personal sphere are good for you and your mindset as well, because you’re coming from a place of service, so that makes you feel good for your next phone call.

John Saenz19:15

That’s right.

Carley Hathaway19:16

You’re going to have an amazing spring.

John Saenz19:18

We’re already having an amazing spring, and we’ve just gotten started, right in the first few weeks.

John Saenz19:24

The phone call to your past clients is going to be like this, Ren — so you’re the past client. Ring, ring, ring.

Ren Jones19:31

Hello?

John Saenz19:32

Hi Ren, this is John Saenz, your realtor, how are you?

Ren Jones19:35

Oh, John, hi.

John Saenz19:37

Are you and your family safe and okay?

Ren Jones19:40

Yeah, we are, we’re one of the lucky ones.

John Saenz19:43

Good, glad to hear that. Oh, by the way, do you guys need toilet paper, do you have any hand sanitizer? We’ve been using Tito’s vodka.

Ren Jones19:54

So just like that, you asked me toilet paper, and they laugh their head off. I love it. There’s a funny to crack the “woe is me” right now and start off on a good conversation.

John Saenz20:13

Get a smile for sure. We need to break up the monotony, especially as more and more people start getting quarantined. I’ve been quarantined for a little over a week now, and it gets real tedious.

John Saenz20:30

Let me ask another question. If you’re a normal realtor right now, you’re glued to — what, seven to nine hours a day — what are you glued to right now?

Ren Jones20:44

The news.

John Saenz20:47

The news. Agents, and even people on this call with us right now, are spending way too much time listening to the news, where you’re going to hear the same thing over and over, and it’s all “woe is me.” Turn that crap off. Ren, you were selling real estate September 11th, that week.

Ren Jones21:10

I was. That time is kind of like this time, where several weeks went by and then boom, everybody went out. On September 11th — I’m thinking of 2002 — I was on the 34th floor of one of our office buildings in downtown Chicago, across from the Sears Tower. One of the people in our office came and said, “Board members, you should probably turn on the TV right now.” We turned it on and saw the second plane impact, and about two minutes later, on the downtown broadcast system for Chicago, they said, “Everyone evacuate downtown Chicago and get on trains to safety.” So in most places where everybody is right now, you don’t have to jump on a plane or a train to get away — it’s quarantine at your house, go about your business.

John Saenz22:09

In terms of 2008, the whole world shut down effectively. So don’t let the world shut down for you guys. Working from home is not a new concept for realtor life. They want to take a call, because they’re going crazy from watching the news so much, and any positive voice is all you can give them — you can give them a perspective. A lot of times if you say, “There’s a lot of confusing information out there about real estate because it comes from a national level — what can I tell you about our community relative to real estate? I’d be happy to share what we know,” and then they’re like, “Great.”

John Saenz22:56

A couple of really short tips. Number one, if you have listings, get ahold of your clients and say, “Mr. Seller, would you like us to limit the amount of time, in terms of days or hours, that people are coming into the house, so we can help minimize contamination, if that’s a concern for you?” Number two, “Would you like to have some disposable gloves that people put on when they come through your house? We’ll help you with getting those.” Number three, “Do you want to change the comments on the MLS to say you’re having your house open on these days for showings?” Just some things that help your client.

Carley Hathaway23:31

And those buyers don’t want to touch a thing in the house anyway. Leave the lights on, don’t touch the light switches.

John Saenz23:40

Another idea for you: you meet your client at the house, you say, “Mr. Client, you stay in your car,” you give an iPad to them, and you do a FaceTime call off your phone. They’re in their car watching on their iPad, and you’re going through the house doing a FaceTime walk-around, answering specific questions and showing the house on your phone. Then, if they want to, they can put on a mask and or glove and come in the house. That’s the other option.

Ren Jones24:09

I think we have to get creative a few more weeks, maybe. But you’re not down at all, which is just amazing.

John Saenz24:21

We’ve had a handful of deals fall apart. We’d be lying to you if we said we haven’t felt an impact — of course there is, right through it.

Carley Hathaway24:38

And you’re still calling expireds — has your expired script changed, or are you keeping the Mike Ferry script?

Chase Saenz24:47

Nothing changes, we stick with the script. We’re getting new objections that we never had up until 30 days ago, but they’re very simple to handle — know your numbers.

Ren Jones24:57

Know your numbers. Well, thank you so much for letting us reach out. May we check back with you in about three weeks and see how this is progressing? Hopefully at that point it’ll be curving and working its way back out into the sunshine again.

John Saenz25:14

Ren, John’s, Vulcan and Mike Ferry are always welcome with the Saenz team.

Ren Jones25:21

Thank you very much, have a great day, have a great week.

John Saenz25:28

I’ll take a new toilet paper. See you guys next week.

Ren Jones25:31

Thanks everybody. I want to remind everybody that we’re simulcasting the show on the private Lead Gen Facebook group, and I want to thank them for carrying us. If you’re interested in the Lead Gen Facebook group, they’re at facebook.com/groups/gotobjections. If you’re watching on Facebook and you’re not yet involved with Vulcan7, make sure to sign up at vulcan7.com/leadgen for a special deal. And finally, when times are trying and tough, and you’ve reached out to your database and called expireds and for sale by owners because they need help now and they’re raising their hand, “We want to sell now” — then you go to the freezer and get delicious Graeter’s mint chocolate chip. This is the one for listings. If you’re working buyers, that’s Rocky Road, but mint chocolate chip from Graeter’s — go to graeters.com to find a store near you. And I forgot — if the listing’s slow to sell, but it won’t be right now, things are flying off the shelf, there’s not enough inventory and they’re giving mortgages away. So list property, folks. Don’t let the other virus get you — the other virus is the anxiety. See you next week.