That's why we do this, right?  To get THE APPOINTMENT?  I recently took 4 listings in a single week, by Saturday, from people I had never spoken to before Tuesday.   You can do the same. Strategy, In a nutshell:  Once in the door you make a friend, explain buyer behavior, then make a case for how real estate works best.  I call it REAL BUYERS, REAL MARKETING, REAL POWER, and REAL RESULTS.  That's The 4 "R"'s of REAL ESTATE tm, or The 4 REAL's of REAL ESTATE! tm  You heard it here first!  If you are a RE/MAX Agent, Use It !!!  If you are a publisher or trainer then please give credit where due and link to this site if you quote me!  Our QUALIFIED or REAL BUYERS will pay more for a house than a FSBO Buyer. (NAR STATISTIC says 25% more).  Our #1 BRAND and REAL MARKETING gives them more visibility and brings better prices.  OUR MLS brings REAL POWER.  When you put it all together you get REAL RESULTS!  And it's all FREE !  Sheesh.  Here's the nugget....  Get them talking about the power of branding.  Talk about the way people pay $10,000 more for Cadillac Trucks than Chevy Trucks.  Tell them it works the same with Real Estate.  RE/MAX is the best name in the business.  This commands a higher price.  Get agreement by asking questions like - DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?  Every time they nod yes to something, ask the question DOES THAT MAKE SENSE.  You are training them to say yes when asked that question.  Then at the end of the night you can say... So the best thing for use to do is get started....  DOES THAT MAKE SENSE and they will say.... YES!  (OPERANT CONDITIONING)  Simply get agreement with the obvious and you get the listing. OF course, it takes about a half hour to prep them for this story, and about ten minutes to tell it right...  and not the 5 lines I just gave you : ) Details below. REMEMBER - If we get THEM more money for the house, than we charge in commission, then our services are free. Right? The script is FREE, AND IT WILL GET YOU IN THE DOOR.  But then what?  How will you get full seller permission to give a 30 minute to 60 minute presentation?  How will you get agreement that FSBO myths just don't stack up against reality?  How will you get the listing and all the buyer calls that placing another sign could bring you?   You need more to make it all work!  More practice runs, more calls, more "learning curve" appointments...  BUT FIRST - YOU HAVE TO GET IN THE DOOR!  JUST PRACTICE GETTING IN THE DOOR and GETTING A TOUR.  TAKE NOTES and ASK QUESTIONS.  Not about the house, silly - ASK about the seller, their pets, their children, their sports trophies, why they liked this house in the first place, where they are moving to, where they work, etc...  This RAPPORT BUILDING increases your odds of getting the listing by about 100% compared to doing nothing : )   Practice makes perfect.  If they invite you to leave after the tour, or if you don't want the listing because they are NOT FUN PEOPLE or the house is a DISASTER then politely leave your card, promise to bring a buyer if you meet one who wants that kind of house, and leave!  IF THE APPOINTMENT GOES WELL: NEXT - and this is the HARDEST PART - COMES THE TRANSITION:  Use Questions to get permission to give a regular presentation.  NOT ALL AT ONCE.... You have to break it down into 10 minute pieces.  I use an outline like this:  REAL BUYERS, REAL MARKETING, REAL POWER, REAL RESULTS. REAL BUYERS Offer to share a little about what you know about buyers.  BUT USE QUESTIONS....  Have you done this before? (IF they say yes, ask, in this price range?) Have you had a lot of calls so far?  Set Many Appointments?  Received Many Offers?  I know something about buyers.  If I gave you some tips, in about 10 minutes, regarding buyers, would that be helpful?  BINGO! Explain:  Most Buyers are lookey lous, who won't buy a house for 3 - 6 months.  Industry averages say It takes a Realtor about 25 buyer calls to find one real buyer.  Some are not buyers at all but are just looking for decorating ideas, or maybe for something they can steal?  Real buyers use Realtors, because we know what is out there, and we work for free.  90% of all houses in our area are bought by buyers using Realtors.  So - Mr. homeowner, which "buyers" do you want looking at your home?  Researchers, Decorators, Thieves, Low Ballers?  Investors?  or REAL BUYERS?  Of course they want REAL BUYERS. REAL MARKETING Get permission to share the marketing portion of your presentation.  Here is how I do it.  I thank them for the tour, repeat my willingness to bring a buyer for a small buyer agent fee, get agreement, and then I say something like this....  You know, if you pull this off, selling on your own, I will be the first to congratulate you.  On the other hand, I know how hard it is to sell houses because I do it full time and I would not even dream of doing it without the power of the BRAND NAME of RE/MAX and the marketing money I spend.  I was wondering, If I could actually help you put more money in your pocket, even after paying a fair commission, using a program we have not discussed so far.... Doing some things that would make people pay more for your house,  would you want to know more about it?    In case of doubt, ask....  I know you have doubts, but - WHAT IF IT WORKED? WHAT IF IT REALLY PUT MORE MONEY IN YOUR POCKET?  (their answer to this sets the stage for a regular listing presentation.)  I wonder...  do you think people pay more for BRAND NAME goods?  Do they pay more for a chevy truck when it says CADILAC on it?  It works the same way in Real Estate.  ROLEX CLOSE:  Let me ask you a question.  If I gave you a ROLEX watch, and I gave another one to a BIG NAME jewelry store, who do you think could sell that watch for the most money in the next 30 days?  Why?   (seller says - they spend more on advertising, have a nice location, already have the right clientelle)   BINGO.  I don't know if ROLEX watches are really worth 10 times what other watches cost or not, but I know My Red White and Blue sign turns your house into a Rolex house.  RE/MAX is BIG, It's the number one name in Real Estate.  Show market share graph.  People will pay more for a ROLEX house... Once they Agree that marketing is important, and that RE/MAX is #1 - which might be a good choice, if they wanted to list, then I use what TOM HOPKINS calls a TIE DOWN...  Others call it "Isolating the objection".  Get them to agree with you that there is only one thing standing in the way..  commission or price or ??? If you agree that REAL Buyers are better than Lookey Lous, and that REAL BRANDING POWER is available in the RE/MAX Name, and that these two things could produce more money in any sale, then would you want to know more about how I actually get more money for a house than the average agent?  (permission for marketing presentation). REAL POWER: I know you were thinking of selling without a Realtor, but as we discussed, if I could actually help you put more money in your pocket, even after paying a fair commission then you might want to know how that works? (GET A YES)  I know you may not believe, yet, but WHAT IF IT REALY WORKED? WHAT IF IT REALLY PUT MORE MONEY IN YOUR POCKET?   Their answer to this sets the stage for a regular listing presentation.  RE/MAX is BIG, and I am a GREAT AGENT, with a GREAT PLAN.  At this point I SHOW them MY MARKETING PLAN.  ( I like the Brag Book approach, show examples instead of a sheet of bullet points - show don't tell - they cannot get Realtor.com or Homes Magazines as FSBOs)  In addition to that marketing plan, I share how I can put the MLS to work for them.  The MLS puts 1500 area Realtors to work for you, each wanting only a small buyer agent fee like we already agreed to - instead of just one, like me. If there were 1500 realtors working for you would that be more powerful than just one?  (GET A YES) That's REAL POWER WRAP UP so...  WHAT IS YOUR TRUE BOTTOM LINE DOLLAR REQUIREMENT?  If I can get that for you, or more, by putting the power of the RE/MAX brand to work for you, and by putting 1500 agents to work for you through the MLS, so that you get the money you want, even after charging a full commission, then what's to stop us from doing it? (TRIAL CLOSE) Do you think that your house would sell faster and for more money if if somebody applied over $1,000,000 in marketing power, and BRANDED IT with the number one BRAND in Real Estate?   IF YOU GET A YES, DRAG OUT THE LISTING SHEET AND START FILLING IT OUT.  If they still doubt, recap as follows...  REAL RESULTS: (THE CLOSE - RECAP and ASK) I know you were thinking of selling without a Realtor, but as we discussed, that could end up costing money instead of making money.  Is there anything standing between us except the commission?  (TIE DOWN).  OK.  If I could solve that problem would you want to do business with me? LAS VEGAS CLOSE: Many people get on the plane every day, all over America, to go to Las Vegas and gamble.  EVERY ONE of them thinks they might come home a winner.  Do you know how many actually do come home winners? Some Do !  But not many.  Those casinos don't put up all that snazzy decor by losing!!!  They make billions of dollars of profit every year!  So, if selling on your own is a game that costs money and has only about a 10 % chance of winning, then maybe you want to stop before you lose any more on this gamble?  RE/MAX is BIG, we sell more real estate than anybody in the world, or in your city.  You know that, right? (GET YES) My marketing plan looks pretty good, and pretty expensive, right? (YES)  1500 Realtors is better than one, right?  (GET YES)  So if I charge 6% and get you 8% more money for your house, then how much did I really cost you? (NOTHING) ASK:  Ready to get Started? (I get most listings right here) (IF NOT READY)  YOU WANT OBJECTIONS NOW...  Solve the SPECIFIC OBJECTION by isolating it and dealing with it, then recap the close as below.      If I can get what you really want out of the house, or more, by putting the power of the RE/MAX brand to work for you, and by putting 1500 agents to work for you through the MLS, so that you get the money you want, even after charging a full commission, then there's nothing left to stop us from doing that?  Right?  Drag out the listing form and start filling it out! (There are lots of places you can get dialog for handling objections - maybe I will add an objections page soon?)