S2 E11: FSBO Mastery

Ren Jones (00:01):
Welcome to RoadMap, how to take three listings a week until you’re ready for more. Each week, we interview a great agent who is consistently taking two, three, four listings a week. And we have an exciting guest today. We encourage you to take notes and apply as much of their knowledge as quickly as you can, and then use the copycat principle. If you’re watching on Vulcan7 or on the Lead Gen Facebook group, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions during the broadcast. Please get your questions in early. All righty, let me introduce my co-host from San Diego, Carley Hathaway. That’s carleyhathaway.com. Hi Carley, how’s the real estate business?

Carley Hathaway (00:42):
Hi, Ren. Real estate is great as always. Sellers market, great time to be a listing agent. Beautiful, sunny San Diego. Cannot complain.

Ren Jones (00:50):
I know you’ve got the weather, you’ve got that covered for darn sure.

Carley Hathaway (00:51):
Yeah.

Ren Jones (00:54):
So before I introduce our guest today, I want to remind everybody that we are simulcasting the show on the private Lead Gen group on Facebook. They have 49,000 members, so we have a large audience there today as well. We will be pausing for a commercial message during the show as a thank you to the Lead Gen folks. Let’s welcome our guest today from Shreveport, Louisiana, Steven Futch. Hi Steve, welcome to the show.

Steven Futch (01:20):
Good afternoon, my privilege. Thank you.

Ren Jones (01:23):
I’m excited.

Carley Hathaway (01:24):
Hey, Steven.

Steven Futch (01:26):
Hello.

Ren Jones (01:26):
Excited you’re here.

Carley Hathaway (01:27):
Yeah, thank you so much for joining us. We’re so excited to have you.

Steven Futch (01:31):
Oh, it’s a privilege. Thank you for inviting me.

Ren Jones (01:34):
I did some homework, Steve.

Steven Futch (01:36):
Uh-oh.

Ren Jones (01:36):
On a couple items. One, you were in the Marines for a long period of time. Couple active tours of duty, combat tours. My goodness. Vietnam, Desert Storm. How long were you in the Marines?

Steven Futch (01:50):
28 years.

Ren Jones (01:52):
28 years.

Steven Futch (01:55):
Yeah. I almost made a career of it.

Ren Jones (01:55):
Well, there’s a little bit of a discipline there that you obviously carry into real estate, I would assume. Self-discipline. That speaks volumes. And then I did a little bit of homework and I found a couple quotes. May I read them?

Steven Futch (02:09):
Certainly.

Ren Jones (02:10):
Well, this one was from about five and a half years ago. This was from Gary Keller. I guess you were on stage at family reunion, was that correct?

Steven Futch (02:18):
That’s correct.

Ren Jones (02:19):
And Gary said that you had listed more for sale by owners in the past five years than any other agent in the United States. True?

Steven Futch (02:31):
That was true at that point, yes.

Ren Jones (02:33):
That was true at that point?

Steven Futch (02:34):
Yeah.

Ren Jones (02:34):
And then five years ago, Mike Ferry said that you are one of the best, if not the best, listing agent in the country today. And that was true then?

Steven Futch (02:44):
Well, we’d all like to think so.

Ren Jones (02:50):
But did you flip? You haven’t taken a step back since then, have you?

Steven Futch (02:52):
Not at all. No.

Ren Jones (02:53):
Good. I didn’t think so. So there’s going to be a lot of fun things to learn here. And we’re going to try to get Steve to work with us on a couple role plays, because his role plays are unbelievable.

Carley Hathaway (03:03):
Nice.

Ren Jones (03:04):
Good. Well, what’s the goal for this year, Steve?

Steven Futch (03:08):
This year, I’m really focused on getting my coaching and speaking business up to par. I’m looking at probably only 75 transactions this year.

Ren Jones (03:17):
75 transactions this year because you’re doing a lot of coaching and speaking. What was the biggest year you ever had when you were just doing sales?

Steven Futch (03:27):
2009. I actually listed over 300 in one year and I had 197 closed sales that year.

Ren Jones (03:39):
Wow.

Carley Hathaway (03:39):
That’s amazing. 197 closes.

Ren Jones (03:42):
So you know how to rock and roll here. That’s pretty good.

Carley Hathaway (03:44):
Yeah.

Ren Jones (03:44):
Good deal. Fantastic.

Carley Hathaway (03:48):
So what do you think sets you apart from other agents?

Steven Futch (03:52):
Oh gosh. I don’t know. It would have to be-

Carley Hathaway (03:54):
I know it’s a pretty broad question, but…

Steven Futch (03:56):
It would just have to be focus and work ethic. I think any of us are capable of outworking the competition. It’s all a matter of mindset. And as you well know, this entire business is 90% mindset. We have to constantly be working on keeping our mindset strong, positive, and winning. And besides that daily maintenance to stay strong, positive, and winning, we are constantly expanding our mindset. We have to be growing it. It’s like anything else. Once the growth ceases, then you stagnate. You’re constantly looking for people that you can talk to, to learn from. Reading new books, listening to seminars, like the one we’re in now, to gain new knowledge. You never stop learning and you never stop growing.

Ren Jones (04:49):
Awesome.

Carley Hathaway (04:50):
That’s great advice.

Ren Jones (04:52):
Well, the mindset combined with action. So there’s some action you’re taking every day, because you’re still selling a lot of real estate as well as speaking and teaching and whatnot as well.

Steven Futch (05:01):
Correct.

Ren Jones (05:02):
What does that look like? How do you start your day?

Steven Futch (05:05):
I start my day with my workout, that’s a long, ingrained habit. First thing in the morning, you get up and you do your physical workout. It cleanses the body, it refreshes the mind, and it also gets it off your mind. There’s nothing worse than missing your morning workout and then trying to figure out where you’re going to plug it in the rest of the day. And typically, you don’t get to it because you get overwhelmed with other things. So get up and get that done first. Get into a routine, get into a habit.

Ren Jones (05:39):
Okay.

Steven Futch (05:40):
Everything should become routine. Everything should become habit. You go right into your lead generation and your lead follow up.

Ren Jones (05:50):
Okay, perfect. Okay, so then-

Carley Hathaway (05:53):
After your morning workout, which cleanses you and makes you feel amazing, gets you ready for the day, what’s next on the agenda? What time do you get to the office? What’s the first step? Do you role play? Do you lead gen? Kind of walk us through a day.

Steven Futch (06:06):
I have role play every morning and I have different role play partners, and I change role play partners every 90 days. I think-

Carley Hathaway (06:14):
Oh, that’s smart.

Steven Futch (06:15):
You can tap out with anybody after 90 days. You’re going to learn anything that they can teach you and you will have passed on anything of value to them within 90 days.

Ren Jones (06:27):
He’s not telling the truth, Carley. He and I role-played for two weeks. After two weeks, he dumped me.

Carley Hathaway (06:35):
Aw, Ren.

Ren Jones (06:36):
True story.

Carley Hathaway (06:40):
I think that’s a great takeaway because it’s too easy to get comfortable with your role play partners and it almost gets to the point where it’s easy, and that’s not what we want to do.

Steven Futch (06:47):
And then your role play is your warmup to go right into your lead generation. And I’m going to hit the new expireds first, and then I’m going to shift right into the for sale by owners and then my 10 database calls that I’m going to make every day to people in my database to keep up with that. And then go right in after a short 15-minute mindset and refreshment break. Right after that, go right into your lead follow up. That’s where most people drop the ball. They don’t follow up.

Ren Jones (07:18):
Wait, what? Mindset and refreshment break. What does that look like? I get the refreshment part, but the mindset.

Carley Hathaway (07:26):
Are you meditating? What are you doing there?

Steven Futch (07:28):
Well, everybody needs to go to the bathroom. Everybody needs to make a personal call. Everybody needs to check their emails. Everybody needs to just relax for a moment and just calm yourself in order to refocus and then start over again. You can do all of that in 15 minutes or less.

Carley Hathaway (07:48):
I like it.

Steven Futch (07:48):
Make a huge difference in how you perform immediately after that.

Carley Hathaway (07:53):
Yeah. Okay. And so you’re starting with new expireds, then FSBOs, and then you go to your database. What do you like to talk to your database about? Because that’s an easy call, because you can even leave a voicemail. Are you passing on information?

Steven Futch (08:04):
Yeah. “Who do you know that needs to buy a home, sell a home, or invest in real estate?” It’s just keeping in touch because everybody knows somebody two to three times a year who needs to buy, sell, or invest. And unless you’re calling them and asking them, you’re not going to find out about it.

Carley Hathaway (08:27):
Agreed. Great advice.

Ren Jones (08:29):
Now, you watch a lot of agents and you’re always very helpful. You’re a big giveback guy for as long as I’ve known you. And so when you look at people that are… And they’re watching this show, they’re only taking two listings a month, three listings a month, four listings a month, five listings a month, and they want to add an extra three or four a month, they want to get to eight, 10, 12 a month. Where are they falling down? What are two or three things they could do that they could write down right now and then just go, “Yes, that’ll work,” and go for it? What are they missing?

Steven Futch (09:01):
Well, typically you need to get your skill level up. The level of skills across the board in the real estate industry is dismal. Most people don’t know what to do and they don’t know what to say. And that’s why I’m so passionate about the speaking and the coaching, because it allows me to teach agents what to do and what to say on a daily basis in order to become productive.

(09:30):
The first thing I would say, is to become well scripted. If you’re just winging it and you’re not using good scripts, then you’re not going to be competitive with those of us who are. We know from study, after study, after study that the well-scripted salesperson is far more effective and far more productive than someone who’s just winging it. And that’s unfortunately what most untrained agents tend to do. They tend to, “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” Rather than asking a structured list of questions. And that’s what a script is. It’s a series of questions in a specific order that’s designed to pre-qualify that prospect and get you to the predictable end that you want to get to, which is setting that appointment.

Carley Hathaway (10:21):
Yeah, agree.

Ren Jones (10:22):
Such a resistance to scripts, which is so funny, the camp presentation. But my dentist follows a script, the pilot follows a script. It’d be scary not to follow a script.

Carley Hathaway (10:34):
So when they first start using scripts and they’re first starting to call, how long do you think they should practice the scripts daily in the beginning, like an hour, two hours, five hours?

Steven Futch (10:46):
Well, I’m going to say the absolute minimum for daily practice is 30 minutes. An hour is obviously twice as good.

Carley Hathaway (10:54):
Okay.

Steven Futch (10:56):
Absolute minimum’s going to be 30 minutes.

Carley Hathaway (10:57):
Okay.

Steven Futch (10:59):
If you’re not willing to spend 30 minutes a day to raise your level of skill… Let’s take the entire real estate industry and boil it down to its lowest common denominator. Talking to people about real estate in a question-based format all day, every day, or for a minimum of two hours. We’ve found also in the industry that a full-time agent who’s not willing to lead generate a minimum of two hours a day, is probably not going to be competitive in their market. So if you’re not willing to learn some scripts or use some scripts and do it for two hours a day, you might think about doing something else.

Ren Jones (11:44):
It’s a minimum of two hours a day. And there are a lot of people watching right now that are sporadic. They don’t do two hours a day every day. Maybe that’s on their best day. What do you say to them? You said it, “They should find something else to do.” How do you wrap your head around the discipline on the days you don’t feel like it? Because you talk about mindset. How do you it on the days you don’t feel like it? There are a lot of people watching that want to know the answer to that.

Steven Futch (12:11):
It’s called structure. You have plan, you have purpose, you have commitment. Those three things are the definition of structure. When you get up in the morning, there shouldn’t be any doubt in your mind about what your day holds. If you have that plan, and you have that purpose, and you have that discipline to do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it, then you’ll do that two hours of lead generation. Look at the eight to five factory line worker. You think that worker’s excited about getting up and going and standing on the assembly line for another eight hours? No, but they do it anyway because they know that the reward at the end of the week is a huge union scale paycheck.

Ren Jones (12:57):
And in our business, it’s a really big check.

Steven Futch (13:00):
Exactly. No one gets paid the hourly rate or the weekly rate that we get paid when we actually show up and do what we’re supposed to do.

Ren Jones (13:09):
What about accountability? With 28 years in the Marines, that’s probably not anything you need as much as a lot of people do. What about the accountability factor? Accountability partners, meeting people, calling before and after your prospecting session. What are your thoughts on that?

Steven Futch (13:27):
Well, that’s the biggest challenge in our industry. As you know, there is no accountability in real estate. When’s the last time you heard of a broker firing an agent because they didn’t show up by nine in the morning, or because they went all week without setting an appointment, or because they went all month without doing the single transaction? Never happens.

Ren Jones (13:50):
No, not as a broker. No.

Steven Futch (13:54):
However, you’re never going to grow and mature and build the level of skill that you need without some accountability. And the best way to get that accountability, as both of you know, is to have a coach because the coach will provide that accountability that you cannot and will not get at your brokerage or from your fellow agents.

Carley Hathaway (14:15):
Agreed. So you have your plan every morning, you go to the gym, you start calling. What’s your purpose?

Steven Futch (14:24):
My purpose is to continue to hone my skills and to set appointments. The only reason that you’re doing lead generation and lead follow up, is to set appointments because that’s the only thing that gets us paid. So if you’re doing it for any other reason, just to socialize or just to kill time, you’re probably not doing it at a high level. You constantly keep in mind that your purpose is to set an appointment.

Carley Hathaway (14:51):
Okay.

Ren Jones (14:53):
I wanted to chat, shift just slightly to for sale by owners because it’s always been one of your strengths. And every once in a while, I meet somebody that’s taking six, eight, 10 or more listings a month from for sale by owners as a category. Not many of you out there, and you are one of them that is just incredible with for sale by owners. When you’re asking them questions, what are you looking for that helps you focus in on that particular for sale by owner that you know you got a hot one? What are the criteria? Because a lot of people talk to for sale by owners that are not that motivated and don’t get anywhere.

Steven Futch (15:28):
Well, that could be a misconception.

Ren Jones (15:31):
Okay.

Steven Futch (15:32):
All of them are motivated to some degree, otherwise they would not have that sign in the yard. People don’t put signs in the yard to say, “Hey, I want to sell this home,” unless they really want to sell that house. So there’s a lot of smoke screen going on with a lot of for sale by owners. They try to be vague. They try to be ambiguous. They will attempt to hide or camouflage their true motivation. That’s normal. You just don’t buy into it. Keep going through your script questions and keep closing for the appointment. Their motivation over time is going to incrementally increase so finally, that scale tips your way and they’re ready to list with an agent. The National Association of Realtors last year said that, “94% of for sale by owners listed with a broker within 90 days.” So what does that tell us?

Ren Jones (16:32):
94%. Really?

Steven Futch (16:34):
That’s nationally. It might be different in different markets, but-

Ren Jones (16:36):
Yeah.

Steven Futch (16:38):
What do we know from that? That means that we know them better than they know themselves. They’re never going to list with an agent, they really mean it. But you and I know that that’s going to change over a period of days, weeks, or months.

Carley Hathaway (16:54):
Well, can we do a little role play with you?

Steven Futch (16:57):
Absolutely.

Carley Hathaway (17:00):
Okay.

Ren Jones (17:00):
Great.

Steven Futch (17:00):
Let’s do a FSBO role play.

Ren Jones (17:01):
Yes.

Carley Hathaway (17:01):
Okay.

Ren Jones (17:01):
Absolutely.

Carley Hathaway (17:01):
Do you want to call me? Yeah, give me a call.

Steven Futch (17:04):
Yeah. Ring, ring.

Carley Hathaway (17:05):
Hello?

Steven Futch (17:06):
Hi, this is Steve with Keller Williams calling about the home for sale. Is this the owner?

Carley Hathaway (17:11):
It is. Do you have a buyer for me?

Steven Futch (17:13):
Actually, I work with a number of buyers at all times and I’m really excited about getting your home sold. So let me ask you, when I sell your home, where are you moving to next?

Carley Hathaway (17:26):
We’re okay staying here, but we would like to move to New York.

Steven Futch (17:29):
New York? That’s exciting. And how soon would you like to be there?

Carley Hathaway (17:33):
Sorry, can you say that again?

Steven Futch (17:35):
I said that’s exciting. How soon would you like to be there?

Carley Hathaway (17:38):
We’re not in a rush. I just want to get the right price for my home. So again, if you have a buyer, feel free to bring them, but I really have to get going now.

Steven Futch (17:46):
Yeah. Well, that’s exactly what I intend to do, is bring you a continuous stream of qualified buyers seeking to buy in the immediate future. That’s what you want, right?

Carley Hathaway (18:00):
Yeah, yeah. At the price that I want, yeah.

Steven Futch (18:03):
Fantastic. I’d like to come by and preview your home this afternoon three to five minutes, so you can show me the features and benefits. I’m available at three or again at five, which is better for you?

Carley Hathaway (18:15):
Are you going to be bringing one of your buyers?

Steven Futch (18:17):
No, I can’t show anything to a buyer until I know what I’m showing.

Carley Hathaway (18:22):
Oh.

Steven Futch (18:22):
Have you ever bought a pair of shoes without trying them on?

Carley Hathaway (18:25):
No. Especially the shoes I wear, they’re big girl shoes.

Steven Futch (18:28):
Yeah. And I don’t get married without going on at least one date and I’ve never sold a home unless I’ve actually seen it.

Carley Hathaway (18:34):
Oh, okay.

Steven Futch (18:34):
Would it be okay if I’m able to articulate the features and benefits of your home to a number of buyers?

Carley Hathaway (18:41):
Yeah, that makes sense.

Steven Futch (18:43):
Fantastic. Which is better for you? Three or five?

Carley Hathaway (18:45):
Five would work.

Steven Futch (18:48):
Five. Great. Now before I come out, there are a number of questions I need to ask you.

Carley Hathaway (18:51):
Okay.

Steven Futch (18:51):
And I go right with my pre-qualifying script.

Carley Hathaway (18:54):
Okay, great. I think that was great. I like that you just kept moving it along, like you wouldn’t stop.

Steven Futch (19:00):
Yeah, I don’t want to let it bog down at all.

Carley Hathaway (19:03):
And what are some really big red flags when you pre-qualify? Like, what are some really big things you’re looking for that would stop you from going on that appointment?

Steven Futch (19:11):
Pricing, primarily pricing. I can get any home sold if it’s competitively priced. What they need to understand and what I hopefully will cause them to understand, is that no buyer is going to pay more than market value for anything. And that goes for homes also. So I want you for one moment, to step out of your shoes and step into the shoes of the buyer. Would you pay what you want to price this home at if you were buying a home today? Or would you pay less for one down the street that’s very similar?

Carley Hathaway (19:46):
I would pay less for one down the street.

Steven Futch (19:49):
And so would all the other buyers. So do you see that we have a choice here? We can price competitively and get showings and offers or we can price above the market, get very few showings, no offers and you know what we’ll be doing when we do that?

Carley Hathaway (20:06):
What?

Steven Futch (20:07):
We’ll just be helping everyone else get their home shown and get them sold. Now, do you want to get yours sold or you want to help everyone else get their sold?

Carley Hathaway (20:14):
I want to sell mine.

Steven Futch (20:15):
Fantastic. Sign the contract.

Carley Hathaway (20:18):
Sign the contract.

Ren Jones (20:22):
Good deal.

Carley Hathaway (20:23):
Good. I like it.

Steven Futch (20:26):
I think what most people get wound around the axle with for sale by owners, is handling objections. They have a deep fear of getting objections that they can’t handle. They don’t have the confidence because they haven’t been practicing objection handlers, and they get bogged down and get taken off script.

Carley Hathaway (20:43):
Yeah.

Steven Futch (20:44):
Once you’re off script, then the FSBO’s in charge.

Carley Hathaway (20:46):
Yes, I agree. Because you start flustering and you don’t know what you’re saying. Yeah, I agree. So I feel like the biggest objection with FSBOs, is I’m not paying a commission. I am not paying a commission. I’m not paying a commission.

Steven Futch (20:58):
Yeah. Well, I can appreciate that you don’t want to pay a commission. If you could get more money at closing by hiring a professional and paying the commission, then you’ll get by selling it yourself without a commission. Would you want that additional money at closing?

Carley Hathaway (21:15):
Yes.

Steven Futch (21:17):
I think you deserve that money and that’s why you and I need to meet immediately. You see, I specialize in getting homes shown and getting them sold for the most a buyer’s willing to pay. And moreover, I’m going to protect your equity through the negotiations and maximize your net proceeds at closing. Now, if I can’t bring you an offer that nets you more after the commission than you’ll get on your own, I’m not going to expect you to accept it. Therefore, you’re in a win-win, no lose situation. I’m going to spend my time, my money, commit the resources of my entire company to find you the highest and best offer in this market. Isn’t that what you really want?

Carley Hathaway (22:04):
Definitely.

Steven Futch (22:06):
We still want to be in New York as soon as possible, right?

Carley Hathaway (22:08):
Honestly, I do. Yes.

Steven Futch (22:10):
That’s exactly why people like you hire me. I’ll see you at three o’clock.

Carley Hathaway (22:16):
Sounds good.

Ren Jones (22:17):
There we go.

Carley Hathaway (22:18):
That was great.

Ren Jones (22:21):
Yeah, this is wonderful. And I could see, especially someone newer in the business or newer to for sale by owners, taking this video because they’re going to get a copy of this and they can watch it… Playing over and over again, this section of it, that role play 10, 15, 20, 25 times. Because a lot of things that you used in there are very disarming for that seller.

Steven Futch (22:48):
Well, I use a lot of neurolinguistics programming, commonly known as NLP, and it totally goes right through to their subconscious mind without any resistance. Their subconscious mind is where all sales decisions are made. So you’re not really talking just to a person, you’re talking to that person and their subconscious mind and you’re intentionally programming it to agree with you.

Ren Jones (23:18):
That’s fantastic. And you teach that in your coaching and training and seminars, is that right?

Steven Futch (23:22):
Yes, I’m a certified NLP instructor. Yes.

Ren Jones (23:25):
And I forgot to do this at the beginning, and I always do, is you’re in Shreveport, so if anybody wants to send you a referral or get in touch with you for anything you’re doing, how’s the best way for them to get in touch with you?

Steven Futch (23:37):
I currently have a new website being built, but my current website is simply stevenfutch.com and you could contact me very easily through that simple contact.

Ren Jones (23:48):
S-T-E-V as in Victor, E-N-F-U-T-C-H.com, right?

Steven Futch (23:53):
Correct, yes.

Ren Jones (23:54):
Okay, perfect. We got a few questions here. Well, Deb, she wanted to provide your FSBO script. He just did it. So play it over and over, Deb. “Everyone calls for sale by owners and expireds. When is the best time to call?” I think that’s morning, right? Or do you do anything outside of first thing in the morning? Or do you-

Steven Futch (24:17):
Oh yeah, I do a lot of door knocking. Especially now that the time has changed between 5:30 and 6:00 PM right on up to around 8:00 or 8:30 before it gets dark, is premium door knocking time because most people A, are at home from work or B, they’re far more relaxed and apt to get in conversation with you.

Carley Hathaway (24:39):
And when you’re- Sorry, when you’re door knocking, are you saying pretty much the same stuff that you would say over the phone?

Steven Futch (24:45):
Actually, I have a little bit different introduction. “Hi, I’m Steve with Keller Williams. I’d like to apply for the job of getting this home sold. Are you the owner?” And then the script from there. It’s a little bit different introduction. I want them to know immediately that I am who I am, I am what I am. I’m here for a purpose. I want to apply for a job. And that’s what that is.

Carley Hathaway (25:07):
Yeah. And do you bring anything with you when you door knock, flyers or-

Steven Futch (25:11):
Good question. Yes. I have a little packet that has four things in it every single time. Number one, the market statistics. They have no idea what’s going on in the market. They have no idea what the challenge is. And when I start giving them the market statistics, you can see them getting sober. You can see them realizing that, “Oh my gosh, I had no idea what I was up against.” The second thing I want, is to give them my plan of action. I want them to know that I have a specific, proven, effective plan of action that’s going to get their home sold if it’s priced competitively. The third thing that I give them, is a list of references. “The people on this list, like you, were total strangers and like you, they had their homes for sale by owner. They opted to list with me. I would invite you to call any or all of them to check on my sales performance and my customer service.” That third party validation is invaluable.

Ren Jones (26:15):
Yeah.

Steven Futch (26:15):
You’re not going to convince them of very many things because they see you as an ‘X’. When they get it from an independent third party, it’s you. And then last but not least, I want to present them with a copy of my daily schedule. “Mr. And Mrs. FSBO, if you were to consider hiring an agent, wouldn’t you want to hire someone who’s engaged in productive activities all day long to get your home sold?” “Well, yeah, we wouldn’t hire anybody unless they were going to do that.” “Fantastic. This is my daily schedule. What time do you have right now?” “Well, it’s 3:30 on Thursday afternoon.” “And let’s take a quick look at my schedule. It says here at 3:30 on Thursday afternoon, that I am prospecting for sale by owners and expireds, or on a scheduled appointment.” Then, I look up, I give them strong eye contact. I’m smiling, I’m nodding affirmatively. “Mr. And Mrs. FSBO, can you see that I’m doing exactly what my schedule says I’m supposed to be doing when I’m supposed to be doing it?” “Well, yeah, that’s pretty impressive.”

Ren Jones (27:25):
Woo.

Steven Futch (27:26):
“If you can find another agent in this market who even has a schedule, much less who’s on schedule, I’m going to recommend that you interview them. Until then, I’d like to earn your business.”

Ren Jones (27:38):
These are great dialogues. This is fantastic.

Carley Hathaway (27:41):
Yeah, this will be great for people to re-watch a couple times.

Ren Jones (27:45):
Yeah. Ray wants to know what the follow-up is. If you don’t get the appointment when you call them the first time, are you emailing, mailing, calling? What’s follow-up look like?

Steven Futch (27:55):
That’s a great, great question. Hot leads have to be followed up with immediately on a daily basis. Now, for sale by owners typically are not hot leads, they’re long-term leads. My average is six weeks to get one listed. That means six weekly visits or six weekly phone calls. So what it boils down to, is that successfully pursuing and listing for sale by owners is being the last agent standing. How many agents do you know that are going to follow up six consecutive weeks once a week in order to get a listing? Very few. So if you’re willing to do long-term consistent systematic week follow up, you can definitely get them listed.

Ren Jones (28:44):
Perfect. That’s a good recipe for success. Deb Reagan wants to know, “What are your thoughts on FRBOs, for rent by owners?”

Steven Futch (28:54):
For rent by owners?

Ren Jones (28:56):
Yeah. Do you call them?

Steven Futch (28:58):
When I call or knock on rentals, I ask them if they would consider selling it rather than renting it.

Ren Jones (29:03):
Okay.

Steven Futch (29:05):
If the answer is “yes”, then I go right into the script. If the answer is “no”, then I thank them and move on.

Ren Jones (29:13):
“What if they’re not home? Do you leave a package of information at the door?” Heath wants to know that.

Steven Futch (29:20):
Typically, the only thing I’ll leave is the market stats with a handwritten note on the back so that they know that I came by and they know that I wanted them to know what’s going on in the market.

Ren Jones (29:30):
Nice. Good. “You pre-qualify always before meeting them at the property. Is that correct?” Jay wants to know that. “Do you always pre-qualify before you go over there?”

Steven Futch (29:46):
I always pre-qualify before I go on an appointment, unless it’s strictly a preview appointment. Sometimes you have to kick the door, you have to get your foot in the door before you can set the appointment. I had one just the other day. The guy was giving me a really hard time about coming by and just looking at the home. And I finally asked him, I said, “Do you give all prospective buyers the same challenge just to look at your home? How many people are going to buy your home without looking at it?” He said, “Well, you’re not a buyer. You’re a real estate agent.” I said, “Well, I actually own 63 properties right now. I’m constantly buying and selling properties. Who knows that I might be the next buyer for your home?”

Ren Jones (30:27):
Nice.

Steven Futch (30:27):
“So again, may I come by at three this afternoon, five minutes or less so you can show me the outstanding features and benefits of your home?”

Ren Jones (30:38):
I love it. I love it.

Steven Futch (30:40):
It’s a good way to get your foot in the door.

Ren Jones (30:41):
You have some great dialogues with those for sale by owners. It’s just logic. I know it took you a few years to really get all of that down smooth, but you’ve been doing it very well for a long time. This has been a real treat. I really appreciate it. And so if any of you want to, I’ve got to read a couple things, but reach out to Steven Futch on his website, Steven Futch. That’s S-T-E-V-E-N-F-U-T-C-H.com to ask a question or learn more about where he is going to be speaking next, or whatever that might be, whatever it may be. I have to do a little thank you to the Facebook group. Lead Gen, 49,000 members. If you’re watching, you want to get involved with them, go to facebook.com/groups/gotobjections. And I want to thank Aaron Wittenstein, he’s a real giver. He runs that group and he runs expiredmasteryelite.com.

(31:42):
And finally, if you’re watching on Facebook and you’re not involved with Vulcan7 to get great for sale by owner leads and expired and everything else, go to vulcan7.com/leadgen for a special price. And then of course, like Steve, if you’ve done your job, you’ve made a lot of calls and you set appointments and you’ve really had a powerful day, you got your exercise in first thing, the most important thing you’re going to want to do is go to the refrigerator, actually go to the freezer and get some delicious Graeter’s Mint Chocolate Chip and spoil yourself.

(32:20):
You need to treat, you need to reward yourself so you have a purpose for the next day. And we all need a purpose. Maybe yours isn’t Graeter’s, but mine is. Appreciate everybody for being here, and we’ll see you guys next week when we have another exciting guest. I want to thank you again, Steven. This has been a treat. This has really been valuable information. People are going to play this over and over and over. And I’m sorry, a lot of people are going to be reaching out to you, and I hope that’s a good thing, but I just have a funny feeling.

Carley Hathaway (32:51):
Yeah. Thank you so much, Steven. It’s been a real pleasure. We really appreciate it.

Steven Futch (32:58):
I won’t forget it. Thank you.

Ren Jones (33:00):
Thank you so much, Steven.

Steven Futch (33:01):
Okay. Bye-bye.

Ren Jones (33:03):
Bye, everybody.