There are two main reasons why prospecting letters work so well in 2023. First, demographics. The median age of homesellers in 2022 was 60 years old. Data show this age group is the most likely to respond to traditional mail and the least likely to use social media regularly. The second reason is the lack of competition. Chances are the other agents in your office are hunched over their laptops trying to master Facebook advertising instead of writing letters. That gives you an edge.
1. Older Expired Listing Letter
Contrary to what many agents think, older expired listings can be a better source of seller leads than recently expired listings. That’s the case for one simple reason: The other listing agents in your farm area are ignoring them. Instead of getting 10 cold calls and five flyers a week, chances are they aren’t getting any. Here is a prospecting letter you can use to get their attention and schedule a call.
2. Recently Expired Listing Letter
Recently expired listings can also be an excellent source of leads. After all, you know they wanted to sell, and unlike older expireds, chances are better than average that some of them actually still need to sell.
Like older expireds, price is usually the main reason their homes didn’t sell. The owners might not have listened to their listing agent when they recommended a lower price, or—even better for you—maybe their listing agent wasn’t confident enough to ask them to lower the price in the first place!
The trick to writing a letter that persuades these owners to relist their home is simple. Empathize with their problem and offer a novel solution to fix it. In this letter, we shift the blame from the seller or agent to the buyer’s lack of imagination and offer a simple, tech-savvy solution.