When you place a call to the owner of a home with an expired listing, you have one objective: to secure an appointment for a face-to-face meeting. Remember, the owners will likely be contacted by dozens (if not hundreds) of other agents, so you need to move quickly and skillfully, following this advice:

Address their situation. Quickly convince them that, if they choose to work with you, the outcome will be different than the last time. Explain why working with you provides them a higher probability of sales success than they would receive with any other agent.

Be proactive. The most serious owners will re-list their home within a couple of days of listing expiration. To land the listing, you can't be low-key with your dialogue and delivery. These owners are ready-for-action. You must convey power, conviction, and belief in your ability to achieve success.

Leave yourself wiggle room. There are a few factors you don't know at this stage. You don't know the condition of the home, the neighborhood layout, the level of access the owners are granting to buyers, what exactly they are trying to achieve in terms of price and time frame, the probability that their expectations can be met, or what the previous agent really did over the course of the listing term.

Turn the most frequently asked questions to your advantage. Be ready to answer the questions, "What will you do differently?" and "Why did my home not sell?," by saying that you don't have enough information to give an accurate answer. You can say something like: "Are you asking me to guess, or do you really want to know for sure?" When they say, "I want to know for sure," you book an appointment to see the house and have a friendly discussion. With that helpful move, you're through the door.

Gain information. The owners need to understand clearly that, without firsthand knowledge of their situation, it is impossible for you to determine specific approaches that you would employ to achieve their desired outcome. You need to see their home in order to review the features and benefits of the property, the home's condition, and its curb appeal. You also need to review the previous agent's marketing strategy. Plus, you need to gain an understanding of the owners' expectations regarding time frame, listing price, sales price, and access for showings, as well as their interest in your evaluation of the competition they face in the current marketplace.

Differentiate yourself. Use your track record (or your firm's track record if you are new in the business) to gain credibility with the owners. As you present your success story, do so with the caveat that your success is based on your outcome with clients who sought your counsel, accepted your recommendations, and implemented your advice to achieve successful conclusions. Tell them you would like to contribute to a similarly successful outcome on their behalf.

Provide the option of an easy exit. The seller with an expired listing usually wanted to fire the agent long before the listing term was up but, in most cases, was bound by the contract terms to wait the agreement out. Acknowledge that you know the owners are apt to feel cautious about "tying their home up" for another long period of time. For that reason, offer them an easy-exit listing agreement or include a 100 percent satisfaction-guaranteed clause. Either approach allows the owner to sever the agreement before it expires, greatly reducing the perception of risk they may feel about committing to another agent.

Winning expired listings is the result of superb sales skills, including:

• Daily prospecting

• Focused dialogue

• Strong delivery

• Solid ability to handle objections

• Compelling description of the unique benefits you offer

• Ability to win appointments that end in listing agreements

As you initiate contact after the owners' previous listing has expired, your first objective is not to convince the owners to re-list with you. Your initial aim is to pique their interest and to make a compelling argument regarding why they should invest their time to see your presentation.