Create a FSBO Marketing Plan

Assemble FSBO Marketing Materials

Good news: the best FSBO marketing tools for selling a home FSBO are not complicated or expensive. In fact, the best lead generators are often the simplest. Here are the three FSBO tools you'll need:

For Sale Sign
Widely recognized as the number one marketing tool, a simple FSBO sign is a must for any home seller. It should be big enough for passersby to read easily, and it should always include your phone number.

Advertising
Running ads is key to generate interest in your FSBO home:

• Internet advertising is a good choice for FSBO ads. 
• Newspaper classified ads can also be very beneficial for FSBO. But sometimes too expensive.
• Signs leading to your FSBO home are the best advertising in the world.  Just leave a trail of signs to your front door and the FSBO exposure will magnify.

FSBO Flyer
This is a FSBO bio for your home. The purpose of this flyer is to provide quick facts and help buyers remember your property, so it should be clear and brief. Provide all the FSBO facts, things that set your home apart from other homes, your contact information and a picture. Use the old clear plastic tube to insert your FSBO flyer which attaches directly to your FSBO For Sale sign..

Advertise

If you market your FSBO home well it's like attracting bees to honey...thee potential FSBO buyers come in droves.

Your FSBO marketing plan should include:

• Online Advertising.
  Be sure to add pictures so that buyers can see your home easily.
• Newspaper Advertising.
  Advertise in the large regional newspaper and any smaller local papers that carry real estate ads and have wide readership. Include information about your online listing so that buyers can get additional information and financing tools. We even offer a service that will let you place your classified newspaper ad right now. Click here for more information.
• Network Online and in Your Neighborhood.
  Let people in your town and neighborhood know that your home is for sale. A yard sign with property flyers is a non-invasive way to find buyers in town.
• Build your Sales Team.
  Email your online listing information to friends and family so that they can keep their eyes out for a buyer.
• Hold an Open House.
  Optional: It is rare for a buyer to actually purchase at an open house, but you may want to try. If you are home on the weekends anyway, it can’t hurt.
• Offer Agent Incentives.
  Optional: Consider offering a commission to a real estate agent who can bring a buyer. If you decide to offer this, distribute your flyers to local real estate offices letting them know that you will cooperate with agents.

Don’t discriminate! Treat every prospective buyer the same, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status, or national origin. Discrimination is against the law!

Work with FSBO Buyers

Talking to Potential Buyers

Make sure you initiate and continue a successful chain of communication with interested buyers.

Handling the phone:

• Put an answering machine on the phone.
  Leave an outgoing message announcing that the house is for sale and you would love to show it to the buyer. You don't want to miss a prospective buyer's call.
• Prepare the kids.
  If you have children - and they are home alone or with a sitter - have them say that a parent is busy right now but will call back within a specific timeframe. They shouldn’t answer questions about the house. Remind your kids to never indicate that they are alone or open the door to drop-ins.
• Get the caller's information.
  Always ask for the buyer’s name, phone number at home - and at work - so that you can confirm the appointment. Double check the phone numbers in the phone book for security reasons. If a caller refuses to give you this information, they probably are not a serious buyer anyway.
• Don’t discuss price over the phone.
  Don't get into a discussion over price with someone who hasn’t even seen the house. If a caller says your price is high for the area, respond that you priced it according to the comparables and that you’d be happy to show them the comparable report when they come to see the house.
• Don’t negotiate over the phone.
  Many buyers will ask you if your price is negotiable. Again, indicate that you priced the house according to the comparables and that you expect your price is in the correct range. Say that you will consider offers made in writing from qualified buyers, and that you’d like to have them see the house.
• Agent Calls.
  You will get calls and drop-ins from real estate agents who will want to list your home or show it to a potential buyer. When agents call, always ask them what they think about your price - keeping in mind that they want your business. Use their information with your other research - the more information you have, the more successful you will be.

Talking to Interested Buyers

Congratulations! You’ve gotten that call from buyers you showed your home to last week, and they are interested in talking further about buying the house. They want to come back and see the house one more time and then sit down and discuss the possible purchase. At this point, there are several steps to get to an actual written real estate sales contract.

First, invite the buyers back immediately and put the FSBO house in absolutely great condition. This visit is when the buyer will make the decision to make an offer to you or move on to another house. Make sure everything is spotless, clear the walks of snow or ice if necessary and turn on lights. Do everything and more that you would do for an open house. Be sure you have created a calm and relaxed atmosphere in the house.

When the FSBO buyers arrive, greet them warmly and offer soft drinks, coffee or tea. Then let them take another look at the house. Offer to answer any questions they may have about the house, but stay out of their way. Hopefully, when they are finished looking they will have several questions. Remember that questions are buying signs. If they aren’t interested enough to ask questions, they probably aren’t interested enough to buy. Answer the questions truthfully. You are setting the stage for future negotiations, so be calm and friendly.  You never know when it may be time to pull out the real estate sales contract. And always be honest especially on your disclosure statement.

It is possible that the buyers will indicate that they are interested in the house and will ask what the next step is. You should always be prepared for this question. The next step is always for the buyers to put their offer in writing. If you have hired a contract attorney to negotiate the real estate sales contract for you, the attorney can provide you with real estate sales contract forms to give to the buyer. If you have not hired an attorney, consider using real estate sales contract and other forms such as the disclosure statement on this site to document the sale. If the buyer says that s/he would just like to talk about the sale and be sure you are on the same page, use common sense. Obviously you and the buyer have to come to terms and there is nothing wrong with friendly discussion, but nothing is binding until it is in writing. The best advice is to not negotiate price verbally. If the buyer asks you how low you will go, indicate that you need to see their entire offer and evidence that they can qualify for the mortgage before you can negotiate price. Indicate that you have priced your home to sell and, while everything is possibly negotiable, price is only one part of the equation, and you will have to see their offer in writing.

Remember to remain FSBO calm and FSBO friendly. Don’t take negative comments about the house or your price personally. This is critical to your success. Even if the buyer seems to be difficult (and some will be, it’s a fact of life) REMAIN CALM AND FRIENDLY. By owner transactions require a win-win. Do not allow the discussion to become confrontational.

Showing Your FSBO Home

Open houses are a traditional way of showing a house to prospective purchasers. Basically, you put up a FSBO sign and/or run an advertisement and invite people into your house to look around. They are usually held in the afternoon on Saturday or Sunday.Either advertise the open house in the weekend real estate section of your local paper or, if there are several homes for sale in your neighborhood, you could simply put up directional signs to your FSBO house and expect to pick up some traffic from other open houses in the area.

• Have house FSBO flyers and financing sheets ready.
• When buyers come through, let them look around without you. Introduce yourself at the door, shake hands and tell them you’re available to answer questions. Then, let them look.
• Before they leave, ask if you can answer any questions. Also, ask if you can tell them anything about the neighborhood or schools.
• Always have the house ready to show when you have made an appointment. Turn on lights, build a fire, and send the pets and kids out for walk if you can. The smell of hot tea, a new pot of coffee, or other pleasant aroma will make a buyer feel like they are already home.
• When buyers arrive, greet them warmly, tell them you’d like to answer any questions, give them a flyer and then LEAVE THEM ALONE TO LOOK AT THE HOUSE.
• Keep a written log with name and phone number for each potential buyer who sees your house. Follow up a day or two after each appointment to see if they were interested. Remember that even if buyers are interested, they might not understand what the next step is.
• Don’t negotiate verbally with a buyer. For instance, if your home is priced at $240,000, the buyer may ask if you would take $235,000. If you say yes, you’ve just given away $5,000 and you don’t know any of the terms of the contract! Respond nicely that you will consider written offers by qualified buyers.

You will get drop-ins even if you say "by appointment only." Remember the real estate sales contract and the disclosure statement.  You will have to gauge each drop-in individually. Don’t let a drop-in into the house if you are alone and NEVER let a drop-in in after dark.