The Case for Realtor Preview Tours

My company recently started sponsoring a local Realtor preview tour. We gather up to 10 agents to meet at at a local coffee cafe, we board our bus, and Realtors preview each others listings, giving feedback, and leave cards so the sellers know that agents came through and saw the home.

Sponsors (real estate service providers) pay for the executive van, organize the submission/order of homes on tour, provide the treats, the feedback forms for the other agents to fill out and return to the listing agent, AND give the listing agent a front yard sign for the listing voted 'Best Value' on tour. Sounds good, right?  The agents on the tour are super appreciative and a really fun group of people. Those who don't attend or sign their listings up....why not?

If you've never been on one of these tours, but are lucky enough to have one in your area, here are some benefits of attending:

• FREE exposure for your listing. People who sell real estate will be touring the home - makes sense to me!
• Buyers Agents get excited about homes they've already seen and previewed. If a buyer were to inquire about that listing with their agent, the agent would be very excited to answer questions, because they've seen it. Enthusiasm is contagious!
• Feedback. Feedback. Yes, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. Some Realtors are very opinionated; but for the most part, the feedback is a great asset to your seller. Example: We took a professional stager on our last tour, and she commented that the grill on the back patio was blocking the view of the $60,000 pool! And she was right. No one had ever thought about that before!
  
• Market education. If you are also a buyers agent, you have a duty to familiarize yourself with the market. There is no better way to educate yourself about the inventory than to go and preview it. 

How can you use these events to gain a Referral: Catch your seller on a positive - if they say anything positive about the tour or show excitement, that is your window to say "I'm glad you think it's a great idea! The reason I'm able to take the time to attend these tours and showcase listings is because my clients share my great service with everyone they know. I don't have to spend a lot of time looking for new listings, my sellers tell everyone who is looking to buy or sell real estate about me. If you're satisified with my service, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't keep my services a secret!"

Wha - la! Now you have a fan ready to give you a referral! A FREE tour and a REFERRED client, does it get any better?