When I first started in real estate, I was one of four newly licensed agents in my brokerage. We’d meet weekly with our broker to talk about lead generation strategy. Every week, he’d mention his favorite lead source: FSBO homes and effective FSBO scripts.
“FSBO homes are perfect leads. They’ve already told you they want to sell and want to sell now. All you have to do is convince them you’re the right person for the job.”
Winning over FSBO leads felt easier said than done in those days—mostly because I didn’t have great FSBO scripts to work with.
The Close removes that pain point for you with these seven effective FSBO scripts that include the Tom Ferry FSBO script I used to land my very first listing.
1. Tom Ferry’s ‘Appointment Setter’ FSBO Script
Rock star real estate agents who are converting FSBOs like crazy will tell you that getting in the door is the most important step to getting a listing. If you can manage to set an appointment and get yourself across the threshold of an FSBO seller’s home, you’ve got a fish on the line. All you’ve got to do is reel them in.
Of course, getting in the door is no easy task. That’s why we love this FSBO script from Tom Ferry. Here’s his approach for turning a cold call into a listing appointment:
Why Tom Ferry’s ‘Appointment Setter’ FSBO Script Is Effective
First of all, the entire conversation is seller-focused. Every question is about the seller’s property, the seller’s needs, the seller’s desires. People love talking about themselves. Why not give them that opportunity?
Secondly, the conversation starts off with an earnest desire to be more informed about the market and its offerings. This is highly valuable information that you could leverage with a buyer down the road, even if the listing doesn’t work out.
Pro Tip: Find FSBO Leads With REDX
Need help finding FSBO leads fast? REDX scours the web for all the places that FSBO sellers advertise their properties for sale. They even put all the listings in one place with contact info, listing price, and other publicly available data to help make your first conversation with an FSBO much easier.
Right now, REDX is offering The Close readers $149 off the setup price, automatically deducted when you click over to their site from this article. Check out REDX to harness the power of your own information-rich FSBO dashboard.
2. David Hill’s ‘We’re Trying to Save Some Money’ FSBO Script
Most FSBO sellers are using the do-it-yourself approach for one reason: saving money.
For many homeowners, this is a legitimate concern. For example, a homeowner who purchased their property two years ago may not have enough equity combined with the maturation of the market to break even on a sale—especially when they factor in your commission. Or at least, that’s what they think.
Check out what David Hill does to help quell these concerns. We’ve inserted some hypothetical responses here so you can see how Hill deals with answers that aren’t always affirmative.
Why David Hill’s ‘We’re Trying to Save Some Money’ FSBO Script Is Effective
Hill does a couple of things that really make this one of his most effective FSBO scripts. First, he creates a level of camaraderie with the seller, identifying with their needs and commiserating with their pain points.
Also, we love how Hill seals the deal by admitting he may not even be able to help them. That sort of openness goes a long way to building trust and landing a listing.
3. Kyle Handy’s ‘Reverse Selling’ FSBO Script
Kyle Handy is a real estate agent, team leader with eXp Realty, and from what we can tell, an absolute tactician when it comes to FSBO scripts. He takes a no-nonsense approach to steering the conversation with FSBO sellers to productive and thoughtful places. If you’re in a competitive market where lots of agents are pursuing FSBOs, this would be a great script to try.
Why Kyle Handy’s ‘Reverse Selling’ FSBO Script Is Effective
This script uses a bit of reverse psychology to let your FSBO seller know that you’re not on the phone with them to try and change their mind, but rather, to understand what’s motivating them and build rapport.
Close contributor Jeff Lyons noted in Social Media Mistakes that the worst approach an agent can take is to over-aggressively sell their services. Instead, you should be offering to help because your offer identifies you as an ally—and that association in their mind is far more likely to turn you into their agent down the road.
4. Mike Ferry’s ‘Describe Your Perfect Agent’ FSBO Script
We all know that Tom Ferry is a powerhouse in the real estate coaching field, but did you know he isn’t actually the OG of the Ferry family when it comes to this line of work? His father Mike Ferry has run a very successful real estate coaching and mentoring business for over 40 years. He has some fantastic information to share on the topic of FSBO scripts.
Check out Mike’s strategy on getting your prospect to describe what they’re looking for in the agent they didn’t even know they wanted.
Why Mike Ferry’s ‘Describe Your Perfect Agent’ FSBO Script Is Effective
There is a reason Mike Ferry has been successful for so long. This script is an ingenious way to get your prospect to give you a roadmap of what it takes to get hired. We love how he gets the FSBO to drill down and reveal what is going to be important to them in an agent.
Also, even if it doesn’t result in a listing appointment immediately, it gets a date on the calendar—one that you can follow up on later, and keep communication going in the interim.
5. Fit Small Business’ ‘Older FSBO’ Script
Did you know that The Close has a sister publication called Fit Small Business? Their focus is all things small business, including some real estate topics like the successful approach of FSBO sellers.
Check out their FSBO script designed specifically for properties that have languished on the market as an FSBO for a long time:
Why Fit Small Business’ ‘Older FSBO’ Script Is Effective
This script focuses on a pain point that many FSBO sellers feel. They lack knowledge about a realistic timeline for selling their home. Many FSBO sellers have no idea how long it should take to sell a property, or when it’s appropriate to consider a price adjustment, or when they should begin to consider other options.
With this script, you can start conversations around these topics and get the ball rolling toward converting the FSBO listing into your own listing.
6. Agent Mastermind’s ‘I’ve Got a Buyer’ FSBO Script
If you’re an agent with a lot of buyers, having a solid script to work with FSBO sellers is a must. A proven dialogue that gets you in the door of FSBO homes gives you access to near-exclusive listings unknown to the rest of the market. It also provides another way to market yourself to potential buyers as an agent with “insider info.”
Check out how the collective Agent Mastermind approaches getting buyers in the door of FSBO homes.
Why Agent Mastermind’s ‘I’ve Got a Buyer’ Script Is Effective
This short-and-sweet buyer’s agent script should be in your back pocket at all times. This script does a great job of both communicating in a non-threatening way while sounding serious and professional.
Remember, your FSBO prospects may not be hip to a lot of real estate agent lingo, so when you use a term like “cooperating,” make sure you are prepared to explain it in layperson’s terms!
Pro Tip: Keep Track of Your FSBO Outreach With a Proven CRM
The secret to being successful with FSBO leads? Follow-up.
Your customer relationship manager (CRM) is your best friend when it comes to jogging your memory for which FSBO leads you’ve reached out to, what your conversation was like, and which leads have the greatest potential of working with you.
Even better, a proven CRM like Top Producer makes follow-up easy with tested email templates that boast industry-leading open and click-through rates. A personal “follow-up coach” prompts you with daily actions to take and time-saving integrations with your local MLS data, email client, and more. Request a demo to learn more.
7. Breakthrough Broker’s ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ FSBO Script
Sometimes having a plan of attack to field different responses to your prompts is helpful. We love how Breakthrough Broker took the FSBO script and turned it into a flowchart so you can help alter your approach midstream if necessary.
Why Breakthrough Broker’s ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Flowchart Is Effective
If you can feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up when you start to hear “no,” it’s great to have a plan for that. By creating a flowchart, you have an answer to get yourself past the first no, which is often the toughest roadblock for real estate agents to overcome.
Tips for Using Your FSBO Scripts Effectively
Now that you’ve got your FSBO scripts, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page as to the best way to use them. Here are some helpful hints to ensure you’re getting the most out of each of these FSBO scripts.
- Rehearse your FSBO scripts: Find another real estate agent with whom you can role play and practice. Why another real estate agent and not a friend or your spouse? You want to practice with someone familiar with the sorts of objections you’ll encounter so you can get comfortable with moving the conversation forward, even in the face of objections.
- Choose the best time to call: A study by Lead Response Management suggests that the best time to reach people at home for sales calls is between 4 and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. However, keep in mind that the FSBO sellers are expecting frequent calls about their home, so don’t feel like this is set in stone. The best time to prospect FSBO homes is when you feel prepared, confident, and can regularly set aside time for it.
- Use an auto-dialer: When you are dialing one or two numbers, your fingers work perfectly fine for connecting your call. But, when you have a list of 50 phone numbers you are working, it’s incredible how much time you spend physically dialing and waiting. Using an auto-dialer (like REDX’s Power Dialer) can up your calls per hour by more than 400% by dialing multiple numbers at once, only connecting you to those who actually pick up.
- Get a dedicated business phone number: Carrying multiple phones seems unrealistic and a recipe for mix-ups. But, thanks to great voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) service providers like RingCentral, your phone problems are solved. You get a dedicated business phone number for your business cards, and you can make and receive professional calls directly from your existing smartphone. Best of all, you can keep your personal contacts separate from your prospects.
FAQs: FSBO Scripts & Success
You’ve got your FSBO scripts and some tips to use them effectively, but before you get started making calls, here are some answers to the most common questions about capturing For Sale By Owner sellers.
What is the best FSBO service?
There are lots of places where you can pay for FSBO leads. REDX is our favorite because of how they organize the leads, provide property information via tax records, and even have a built-in dialer called Power Dialer that can power up your attack on a long call list.
Where can I get free FSBO leads?
Anyone looking for free FSBO leads should start on Craigslist. Designed for owner-generated listings, Craigslist is a great spot to source new FSBO opportunities.
If you’re not finding what you’re looking for on Craigslist, hit the streets! Walk, ride, or drive through the areas you want to find listings to scope out FSBO signs on front lawns and in street-facing windows.
[Related Article: How to Get Listings: 18 Luxury Listing Agents Spill Their Secrets]
What is the typical FSBO lead conversion rate?
According to the National Association of Realtors, close to 90% of homes initially listed FSBO end up in a Realtor-managed transaction, whether they’re working with a buyer’s agent or listing with an agent for their sale.
Of course, the conversion rates in your market will vary, and just because 9 out of 10 FSBO sellers get involved with a real estate agent doesn’t mean they’re going to get involved with you.
That being said, it’s safe to say that the vast majority of home sales wind up involving a real estate agent in one way, shape, or form.
Are FSBO leads harder to convert during a seller’s market?
Yes, but not at the levels you’d think. Remember, the problem most FSBO sellers face isn’t a lack of demand in the market at large; it’s a lack of exposure and sales strategy.
Listing agents who can demonstrate their value to sellers in terms of how they’d position a home to get the highest and best offer and in the shortest amount of time are going to win listings, regardless of whether they’re operating in a buyer or seller’s market.
Bringing It All Together
Cold calling can be intimidating and frustrating if you are flying blind without an FSBO script to help. Take these FSBO scripts, tweak them a little to make them your own, and get out there and start converting FSBOs into bona fide listings.
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