BY MIKE PALLIN, FLOYD WICKMAN TEAM PRESIDENT 

One of our students has been sending weekly prospecting letters to approximately 100 expired listings and for-sale-by-owners in her market area, and following them up with a phone call. This past week she received three phone calls from three separate owners asking her to stop sending letters, stop calling, and take me off your list. 

Three calls in one day. “And one of them was kind of angry!” She was understandably upset, and asked, “Is this normal? Should I be concerned? Should I just stop calling?” 

Here’s a summary of the advice she received from her team.

The Do Not Call registry was created as a protection from abusive telemarketers, not because of real estate agents calling expired listings or for-sale-by-owners. But if you’re really concerned, ask them up front if they are on the Do Not Call registry. Wouldn’t that be ironic? Trying to sell your house but not wanting to get any phone calls. LOL. 

Only three calls? That’s completely normal. In fact, if you're not getting calls like that, it just means you're not sending out enough letters and making enough calls.  

Angry calls like that are an overreaction. Expireds are full of negative emotions. They feel abandoned, confused and embarrassed. They feel like promises made were broken. Do not take what they say personally. 

When someone goes off on you like that, ask them, “Are you mad at me personally?” Then ask your WOPEN questions and do your active listening with a lot of empathy. That almost always takes the sails out of their wind. 

Whatever you do, don’t let a tiny minority make you give up prospecting. Maybe they were having a bad day. Maybe their cat is sick. Maybe it’s a divorce. Prospecting is a numbers game, and on any given day you are bound to run into someone who is unhappy about something. Don’t give up. There are too many people who need you. 

I have a four-letter word for people who are unpleasant to me. Next! And I have a pillow embroidered with a saying that always gives me comfort: Life’s Too Short To Work With *******s. 

Every no gets you closer to yes. I love hearing no, because I don’t think of it as rejection. I think of it as one less no I have to hear until I get to a yes. And I only need one yes to have a great day. 

“Thanks, everybody,” she said. “I feel a whole lot better now.”