The longer the conversation goes via email, the more rapport and trust you build, and the more information both of you will exchange.  At some point it will be more efficient to discuss things over the phone, so if they don’t request doing this ask them after you’ve exchanged a few emails.

You may want to take a more automated approach to this process rather than trying to engage in lengthy email dialogues with all of the FSBOs you find.  The more automated approach is just mailing all of these people the same information every week or bi-weekly (no more than that).  You’ll find new FSBO listings regularly on Craig’s List and new listings every day for moderate size or larger cities.  When you’ve worked this system for getting FSBO email addresses for a few weeks you’ll find your database is getting quite large – you should have at least 100 people.  It won’t be long before you’ll have a 1000.

The key thing to remember with FSBOs is they don’t think real estate professionals are worth the commission they’re paid.  That’s why they want to sell on their own.  So what you must do with FSBOs is convey the value of your services.  When people understand the value of something they care less about the cost because they can see they’re getting tangible benefit for the money they’re spending.

So what your email blasts to your FSBO database must convey is your ability to market their home effectively, thereby justifying your commission.  So be sure to quantify the things you will do to market their home.  Tell them the size of your email prospect database, how many FSBO emails you have, and how many past clients you have email addresses for.  Imagine being able to tell a FSBO prospect that you have a database of several thousand people actively seeking to buy or sell their home.  That’s when it will start to dawn on these people that selling real estate isn’t as easy as they thought and that you are providing marketing power they couldn’t hope to have on their own.

An approach most FSBOs will likely find attractive is offering your services a la carte as many reps are doing nowadays.  This is a great way of getting your foot in the door and building the relationship.  Try offering your FSBO database a listing on the local MLS for a low flat fee.  You may find yourself making $500 a listing consistently every week from several FSBO owners.  If their home doesn’t sell with MLS then it opens the door for using more (if not all) your other services you can provide them.