Video showings, are you showing 50 properties?

I can not tell you how many gallons of gas agents are burning showing properties. I decided to see if we could reduce the number of showings with a video.

We looked at a way to reduce the number of showings and this is not happening to all agents...but a larger percentage than ever are showing a huge number of homes. Large to me is over 15 and when the number approaches 50 I can hardly believe an agent would do that!

So here is one of our new practices that is working and might work for you too. I have produced a PowerPoint CD that takes the buyer through the buying process of searching for a home.

We define the clients needs and wants, very important to the process. If buyers are defining what they want while they search you are going to show them half the town! So make sure you have their wants and needs defined before you start the search, before you get in the car!

Then once the needs and wants list is established either from the office or from the buyers home using the agents laptop with an AIR Card or the clients Internet connection...start your virtual tours and review.

Make sure to use your wants and needs list to drill down the list to best suited listings to meet the client needs. Here is something that I use that helps define the list even more...style. Age groups tend to have more or less diverse wants and needs. For example young families will have less concerns over a two story than more mature buyers who tend to look at ranches and walkouts. You'll work through this...but the key is to do your homework in front of the computer and reduce the list to the best 10 or 15 (max). If you list is higher than this...work on getting it down to 10.

Now that you have done this your next task is to create a route map so you are not driving all over creation and zig zagging around town. Pick a day when you can both see all the homes and make a buy decision. I know they are already pre-qualified and you have the lender letter in your file so I didn't mention that issue.

Your time is valuable and so is your clients. Why go through 50 homes? An additional option is to preview homes without the buyer that are high maybes on their list. Plan your routes and make calls for a quick appointment to preview. Tell the other agent the owner does not have to have the home in "show" condition you are previewing for your client and if it is what your client wants you will set another appointment to bring your client through. This helps you both and the seller does not have to go through all the cleaning and picking up process or even disrupt their lives in anyway. As agents we see home and we are looking at the home, the condition, layout, features not the sellers belongings. If you see it may be a possibility snap a few digital photos of the key features they would like and email it to them.

I have been in homes where the photo that were taken by an agent didn't represent the home at all and we were surprised at how nice the property was when I did a preview.

I hope this help you reduce the number of miles and homes you have to show before you get a sale!