Are Agent Tours A Waste Of Time?

Touring the Broker open is time well spent. Product knowledge, networking, sellers seeing Realtors in action, just to name a few of the benefits. Even if you look at houses you think your not going to show..there can always be that one time when you hear someone describing their dream home(and you been touring) and bang, off the top your head "I know the perfect home for you..." the agent who does not tour, probably has not seen or aware of the property. As a Broker, the one thing that drives me crazy is when I hear an Agent say to a Buyer, "lets see what comes up on the Computer" thats an agent who did not tour. The tour is just one more tool for agents to gain product knowledge.

I've always been of the mind that you can never see too many of the listings. We have a big weekly tour and we also have broker open houses on three other days.  I think seeing the inventory is critical.  You might not have a buyer today but tomorrow's another day. I often drag other agents with me (most agents go to the office tour) to broker open houses and I can't tell you how many times they end up selling one of the properties we see. Maybe it would be different in a part of the country where the housing is more uniform but in my area the majority of places are unique  - unlike houses in a development.  And besides - I LOVE touring properties - what could be more fun?!

Liz 

Justin networking is important (thats one of the reasons we're here).  You have to play the game in order to win (no you don't have to enjoy it).  What your doing IS advertising.

Justin - we constantly preview homes (+ show them) and know the inventory in and out (in our areas). This is without touring. This way we can make it practical, e.g. while in a neighborhood we can schedule to see other new homes on the market etc. Plus we still get the interaction with other agents, whether on the phone etc. We have to maximize our time the best we can. This works for us. ~Rita

Other than networking & the opportunity to view inventory (which are all valuable in their own right), I think it is more of a "feel good" for the seller than any edge in marketing.  That being said, I don't go on them unless extremely bored or have nothing else to do.

Hey Justin, I think that it's good to know what the inventory that is available in your market. However, if you have an appointment with a buyer or seller that day, I would definitely go on my appointment.

I woudl say YES! Agent tours smells like OPEN HOUSE! Sorry, man I have zero love for either concept.

Face-to-face interaction is important in an industry that is built upon personal relationships, but there's a big difference between what are called "Brokers Open House" and an "Open House" for buyers. It is highly unlikely that any individual broker will bring you a buyer whereas the possibility of any one person attention a regular Open House is far greater.

Know thy target market and dedicate your time to them. Brokers are not your target market since they most likely are not going to be buying your listing.

With the advent of virtual tours and high gas prices, I don't find much use in agent tours, and I advise my Clients of that.

I think they are a great way to keep up with the inventory in the area you work.  Also helps your fellow agent if you provide feed back which they can share with their sellers.

I do like agent tours, but I do choose to only go to the towns that I have buyers looking in or calling on.  Even with the price of gas low at the moment, it can get time consuming!

I just saw your mini gallery...It's great..have you posted a blog on how to set that up?  I would love to read it!

It seems like a big waste of time to me but maybe one day an agent will bring a buyer to us because she saw our house on tour.  But the odds of that happening seem as good as some half naked guy wearing mocassins and carrying a briefcase full of cash walking up and offering us full price on the spot.