Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS use a different approach.... this is the year of separating yourself from the "gang".... put the seller on your team....here's a quick version to use for FSBO's:

I noticed you're selling your home...to me, that means we do the same thing for a living.... would you be offended if I stopped by to preview your home.... I make a habit of previewing all homes that are on the market... other listing agents are always happy to show their listings to me....you and I have the same job.... we list homes.... would this afternoon at 1:00pm be a good time or would 2:00pm be better? 

I never did either expireds or FSBOs and right now, all we have are FSBOs and I feel like I'm one of the 'rare' agents in my area who will work with them. But, when there's a gem out there for your buyers, you will work double-time to sell a FSBO!

And, yes, they are rude and less-than engaged, Paul! 

As to the bridges comment - I honestly feel that is why I win many bidding wars. My peers who are any good at what they do, are my friends and we enjoy working together; I don't burn bridges!

I wish I had expireds to contact, Paul! The ones that seem to expire are not necessarily where or what I want to sell. And you did know, didn't you, that FSBO's eat their young? 

Expireds get inundated with calls... when there were enough expireds to "work" in the old days, I only contacted them by mail... but very regularly. Most would respond back to me between contact #5 and #7. 

Be kind.  Do good.  Stay well.

No doubt many are getting besieged with calls and solicitations. Not really a good excuse, though.

Yeah but there's a reason they are FSBOs . . . they don't like or respect or 'get' agents . . . so bad behavior doesn't surprise me and I don't want them . . . you will have to do big volume to get those 'nuggets' you really want to work with. 
And it's funny . . . there are those who burn those bridges . . . and then they can't understand why NO ONE wants to work with them again. My town is small and we're all well conected . . . I had this one b who was so demanding and disrespectful in the first call, I said no and sent her 3 great people (who I knew would also decline, to teach her a lesson)  . . . none of them would take her and now the entire town knows she's an ass. So she's a FSBO for life! LOL

I'll assume that you mean the sellers are rude. They have it in the minds that they can do your job dammit. 

In AR Peeps I just uploaded FSBO scripts that I've never seen before. Might pop over there for a look-see.

There's no new crop of Sellers Paul but there are 73 other agents who've already spoiled this harvest for you. I know going in it'll be 95% rejection and sometimes yes, rudeness. I usually don't recommend it for everyone but my skin is 3' thick.

What you are experiencing is normal for that business strategy.

Good luck!

Paul, As others have mentioned, I think our peers have created the environment.  Reading some of the conversations in some of the Facebook groups, some agents feel they can say/promise/DO anything in the attempt to get the listing.  And that poisons the field for every agent with a legit buyer that comes after.

Lack of common courtesy has become the norm, unfortunately, in some parts of the country.

I agree with John Juarez. 

People are blasted daily with all kinds of solicitations.  

That's why I do not go after expired or FSBOs 

If contacting expireds and FSBOs were easy... everyone would be doing it. 

Unsold expireds and FSBOs are frustrated, and often angry... and you're likely not the first Realtor to have contacted them.  It's no wonder they're "less than receptive".

Thanks for sharing your experience. I would never spend time contacting FSBOs.

Hmmm...Sounds like people being people.

I will call them or if they are outside, stop in, introduce myself and ask if I can see their home as I need to know what's on the active and inactive market. 

Do Fisbos really want to sell, same thing for Expireds? Sometimes I wonder, maybe they are just testing the market? The ONE question to ask is, what's their MOTIVATION.

Fsbo's have already heard from many agents with their sometimes lame sales pitches, and expireds were bombarded with calls as soon as listing expired. I don't  blame them for the frustration in their voices. Many of them already have an agent lined up for when their listing expired. Despite what agents think, many fsbo's know just as much about selling their house as a lot of the agents that call them.

Those groups are heavily marketed to out here.  I'm surprised how many wrong number calls I got from a home my mom co-owns in LA when we took it off for some work.

That one was especially frustrating because you'd get the agents who just wouldn't take no for an answer.  Some I wanted to report.  All I told I was a Broker.  I can truly see why these sellers are upset and/or rude.  Some of these agents really gave the rest of us a bad name.

No surprise, FSBO's have been A-hole-demeaner towards agents predominately for all 21 years of my career. I'd say 10% of the ones I called gave me an appointment. I used to work FSBO's when I first moved to San Diego because they made up 9% of our 2003 market, thank God these days they are less than 3% and virtually 0% in my hood.

Paul,

I think that Barbara Todaro gave you a great answer. Personally, we never bothered.  A

Be patient with them, know that they may be suffering from distrust of agents and overwhelm.

Expired and FSBO. These are the 'shiny' things every marketing company and broker is promoting as the 'low hanging fruit."

As a result these owners are literally under siege by real estate agents. We agents ARE treating them horribly. If you ask them, they will identify KW agents as the worst in the pack of mad dogs.

So, invest some thought and ask yourself how you can be seen apart from the pack.

It is the behavior of real estate agent that has created this hate and animosity.  

There are effective things you can do, but first, create the safe space to talk with an Expired. When they share with your what the 'mad dogs' are doing, you will see the other ways.

You can't care about the people who aren't receptive. I politely exit those conversations promptly and seek out those who are looking to speak.

They are a different crop. The market is so much better they know they can sell their home without an agent thus saving the commission.  Barb has a great approach that may get you in the door.

Not sure what the question is Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS but I feel your pain.

Yes, I found people now to be rude, more than in the past.  I think in today's society, we just have too many solicitors in any form.  People are sick and tired of it and some of the solicitors are rude as well and some are scammers.  In my opinion, marketing in real estate has changed. 

I do the same and find much of the same behavior. It is insane at times, often rude and many which still are not sold and i know exactly why

Most FSBO’s are trying to Save Money . Make you presentation reflect that

I agree with all your points. Especially the last one, I treat all agents best as possible regardless of the outcome. 

I don't want solicitation calls and I assume others don't either so unless I have a buyer wanting to see an experied and/or FSBO I don't call them.  I wouldn't want the calls if I had my house on the market myself.

Have worked on the buying side of a FSBO, it does require more work. Thankfully, there is not a shortage ofinventory here yet, I do not call on Expireds or FSBO's. The best to you Paul as you navigate towards success!

Barbara Todaro may be on to something! And even then, you may not get your message across. A game of numbers.

In my little experience with approaching expireds and FSBOs, the houses were overpriced for the condition they were in. Furthermore, we have a large brokerage here that peppers the heck out of these sellers, so they are typically spicy when cold called.

Never did FSBO's but I am working expireds for the past month. Picked up 2 listings. I use snail mail. We have so many expireds in CT that I hit them once with a letter and move on. Still working on my program but good so far. The ones that do contact me have been very nice. 

For a VERY short time, I thought I would try to contact expireds and FSBOs, and gave up.   They are rude, and a reason why they didn't sell.

We need to understand that to most people we are just another one of those nagging calls intruding on our TV show or dinner.

I have so many people that would say, I had 25 phone calls today, how did you get my number

These days you can get that attitude and response from people that contacted you, Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS ... sadly, it's the way of the world.   

Good luck moving forward ...

Gene

Well said Paul!

I have FSBO'ed and have talked with FSBO'ers and they as a rule don't like agents & have disdain for the price of doing business with them. Of course they overlook the positives, results & guarantees plus reduced risks that come with a licensed professional at the helm. I have had your expereince i.e. I can help you & me in that order & some remain bothered. I submit

I agree with  Paul, we must do the things that will spark interest in selling real estate. 

Work towards a face to face meeting.  don't blow smoke, everyone else is doing that.