We are all different. Why shouldn’t our Expired Listing Plan be different? In the past, I have taken some time to talk about how to adjust a generic Expired Prospecting Plan to make it fit for your area in my article A Tale of Three Agents. I reference them in this article so click here to read that article first. The next way I encourage you to adjust an Expired Plan after you have adapted it to fit your Market Area is by customizing it to fit your STYLE. When I say style, I mean Behavioral Styles. All of the clients I work with are given a DiSC Profile. This helps me as a coach to understand who they are and for the Realtor to understand and build off their strengths. I am sure many of you are familiar with DiSC, but if you are not or would like more information, log on to www.DiSCForRealEstate.com and click on the “What is DiSC” tab. I am going to give a very brief overview before going on to explain how my clients have adapted their Expired Programs to fit their styles. The DiSC® model provides nonjudgmental language for exploring behavioral issues across four primary dimensions: Dominance: Direct and Decisive. D’s are strong-willed, strong-minded people who like accepting challenges, taking action, and getting immediate results.

I’s are “people people” who like participating on teams, sharing ideas, and energizing and entertaining others.

Steadiness: Sympathetic and Cooperative.

S’s are helpful people who like working behind the scenes, performing in consistent and predictable ways, and being good listeners.

Conscientiousness: Concerned and Correct. C’s are sticklers for quality and like planning ahead, employing systematic approaches, and checking and re-checking for accuracy. Most agents I work with usually come up with a primary and secondary style. Many agents come up with High “Ds” as one of their two highest styles. Although being a High D is great when it comes to running a team, or closing a buyer, it can be intimidating to prospects early on and can be perceived as being pushy. In this case I encourage them to turn down their”D” and concentrate on the other highest style.

Remember the three agents I told you about in A Tale of Three Agents? They were the City Agent, the Suburb Agent and the Rural Agent? They all have different styles. Based on what I told you about the City Agent’s Expired Plan, can you guess what style he is?

Remember: He is on the phone calling Expired Listings every day from 9:30 am to 10 am without fail. His intention with the phone calls is to see if the homeowner is still interested in selling their home and to make an appointment to come out, that day if possible. After making phone calls, setting appointments and talking to those that are home; this City Agent then spends 30 minutes making up packets to drop off at the homes that he was not able to talk to. City Agent is a High C.

Conscientiousness: Concerned and Correct.

C’s are sticklers for quality and like planning ahead, employing systematic approaches. He does the same thing at the same time everyday without fail. He is very accurate, very precious and a very good agent. ----- How about Suburban Agent? What style do you think she is based on the way she adapted her Expired Plan to fit her style as well as her market area. Remember she is the one that: Uploads the picture, creates the card that then is printed in her handwriting and sent that day. She then sends out a post card through the same system 3 days later and another card 3 days after that. She continues with cards weekly for four more weeks and then puts them on a monthly card and postcard campaign which is automated through this system. Suburban Agent is a High “S”

Steadiness: Sympathetic and Cooperative.

S’s are helpful people, performing in consistent and predictable ways, and are good listeners. She created a system that she can put in motion that seems to be very personal, but is totally automated. ----- So how the marketing person for Rural Agent? Remember the marketing person: She has a number of different scripts to use when she calls, but she never uses them. She was born and raised in the small rural community and knows most of the people (or some mutual acquaintance anyway!) in the tri-county area. She just calls them starts to chat with them, builds report and sets the appointment for the lead agent. She chats with the neighbors when dropping off packets and even gets listing appointment through the neighbors who she builds report with. She is probably the biggest “I” I have ever met

Influence: Optimistic and Outgoing.

I’s are “people people” who like energizing and entertaining others. She has really put her natural gift of gab to work! ----- Which of the four styles do you think best describes you? How can you customize your Expired Plan so that it will really play off your strengths? I run come across so many agents that are trying to fit into molds and read scripts and send letters that is not who they are. Trying to do this business like someone you are not is not going to allow you to reach your full potential. Who are you and how can you create your business around THAT style. ----- I also want to touch on just briefly is how to customize your Expired Plan to fit the style of your prospects. I just outlined for you the four DiSC Styles and encouraged you to draw from your strengths. I also encourage you to adapt your style to better relate to your prospect’s style. Now I don’t want to confuse anyone so let me clarify that a person’s style is not influenced by if they live in the city, the suburbs or a rural area. You cannot assume that because your prospect lives in a certain neighborhood and that your accountant lives in that neighborhood, therefore all people in that neighborhood must be High “Cs” You must not generalize like this. If, however, you call someone on the phone or meet them when you drop off a packet, pay attention to what people say and how they say it. Do they talk fast and vibrantly? Are they more systematic in their responses? Are they very precise in their answers? If you are a High “I” and talking loud and fast and the prospect on the other side of the door or telephone is slower speaking, more exact in their word choice, how much rapport are you building. While I encourage you to be yourself, I also encourage you to tone down extremes if you don’t seem to be connecting with people. People Reading can be one of the most effective sales tools I work on with my clients. Using the DiSC Styles in People Reading is beneficial whether you are working with Expired Listings, FSBOs, sellers, buyers, everyone. To build rapport, it is import to listen, observe and adjust your presentation in order to build rapport. Remember, it is about them, not all about you.

1. Strategies for Creating a Positive Relationship: This report describes how to establish a relationship with the respondent that is based upon trust and mutual respect.
2. Relating to People and the Environment: This report explains how the respondent int