Brief Summary
This video provides a comprehensive guide for real estate agents on how to conduct successful home tours, particularly when working with clients from Zillow. It emphasizes building relationships, preparing for tours, ensuring client safety, and providing excellent service. Key takeaways include the importance of having touring agreements, using technology to your advantage, understanding client needs, and maintaining a professional demeanor.
- Importance of touring agreements and agency agreements.
- Utilizing technology for preparation and client support.
- Building relationships and understanding client needs.
- Ensuring safety and maintaining a professional demeanor.
Introduction and Touring Agreements
The video begins with a reminder to have a touring agreement or agency in place before taking any client into a home to protect the agent's license. The instructor has attendees sign a touring agreement for practice. She uses a coach's clipboard from Walmart with a clear glass cover to protect documents from rain.
Orientation Feedback and Community Awareness
The speaker asks for feedback on the orientation process, which is designed to be streamlined and informative without being overwhelming. She encourages agents to familiarize themselves with the community by touring homes to better assist clients.
Zillow Flex Program and Agent Preparation
The session transitions into a discussion about the Zillow Flex program and the expectations for agents at Navigate. The speaker emphasizes that agents don't need to know all the answers but should be resourceful in finding them. She highlights Zillow's research indicating that most buyers don't purchase the first home they tour, emphasizing the importance of building relationships and understanding client preferences.
Scheduling and Using MLS Sheets
When receiving a call from Zillow, agents should aim for a two-hour window to research the property and prepare. The speaker recommends printing the two-page agent MLS sheet for essential information. She notes that Navigate allows agents to structure their business as they see fit, with some preferring in-depth research while she focuses on building client relationships.
Building Relationships and Showing Etiquette
The speaker emphasizes the importance of building personal relationships with clients, as people tend to buy from friends, experts, and friendly experts. She advises agents to avoid parking in the driveway to make clients feel like they are visiting their potential home, not the agent's office. Meeting clients with a handshake and engaging in social interaction from the start is crucial.
Essential Apps: ShowingTime and HomeSpotter
ShowingTime is essential for accessing homes, and the speaker recommends pinning appointments for easy access. She advises writing down the access code from ShowingTime in case of dead zones. She does not share the two-page MLS sheet with clients but may provide the one-page buyer sheet. The Home Spotter app provides additional information, including lot boundaries, which clients often ask about.
Agent Preview and Home Preparation
The speaker schedules a 30-minute agent preview before client appointments to ensure the home is ready, checking things like flushing toilets and turning on lights. She always looks for the crawl space, water heater, owner's suite, and attic access to appear knowledgeable to buyers.
HomeSpotter App and Location Awareness
The Home Spotter app provides MLS information and lot boundaries, which clients frequently ask about. It also helps locate amenities like pools. Before clients arrive, the speaker uses GPS to identify nearby restaurants and shopping areas to answer common questions.
Forwarn App and Navigate's Support System
The Forwarn app is used for background checks on potential clients. Navigate supports agents' gut feelings and will not force them to work with someone they feel uncomfortable with, offering support and reassignment if necessary. The company prioritizes agent safety and well-being.
Touring Preferences and Home Presentation
There is no set policy on hats or shoes during tours. Agents can create kits with supplies as they see fit. The speaker prefers wearing shoes that are easy to remove and walking behind clients to direct them and ensure everything is shut down as they leave.
Touring Styles and Client Safety
The speaker describes different touring styles, noting that she prefers to walk behind clients to give them a sense of control and to manage the property as they move through. She shares an anecdote about a valuable collection in a home, emphasizing the importance of staying with clients to prevent potential issues.
Client Interaction and Safety Tips
The speaker advises keeping clients together during tours to answer questions and monitor the situation. She and another experienced agent recommend being cautious about conversations inside the house due to potential recording devices and suggest keeping the client in front of you for safety.
Following Up and Finding a Second Home
The speaker emphasizes the importance of having a second home in mind to offer clients a comparison. She uses the ShowingTime app to find nearby homes and schedule appointments discreetly while touring the first property.
Client Opinions and Home Condition
The speaker stresses that it is the agent's job to support the client's needs, not to give personal opinions on the home. She shares stories where her initial impressions of a home differed greatly from the client's, reinforcing the importance of remaining neutral and letting clients express their views first.
Addressing Concerns and Building Relationships
Focus on the positive aspects of the home and note any negative comments to address later. The goal is to build a relationship and avoid contradicting the client's initial feelings. Any concerns should be reported to the listing agent.
Asking Questions and Avoiding Inspector Role
The speaker asks questions about the kitchen, owner's suite, and living room to encourage clients to envision themselves in the home. She emphasizes that agents should not act as inspectors but should point out obvious issues without diagnosing them.
Taking Notes and Preparing for the Next Steps
The speaker takes notes on client preferences, including pet and children's names, to personalize follow-up communication. As the tour ends, she summarizes the positives and negatives, then asks if anything would prevent them from making an offer.
Offering a Second Home and Zillow Pipeline
The speaker offers a second home to compare and contrast, and if the client declines, she offers to take a video walkthrough. She explains the importance of following Zillow's pipeline stages (spoke with client, met with client, showing homes) to maintain call volume and client support.
Creating Video Tours and Securing Future Appointments
The speaker creates video tours of homes, especially in areas outside Raleigh, to send to clients the next day. She tries to schedule a second tour before the client leaves and uses video tours to engage clients and showcase available homes.
Using Video Tours and Agent Responsibilities
Video tours require agency or a touring agreement. The speaker sends videos to clients, highlighting homes that might be a good fit, even if they weren't suitable for the original client. She emphasizes that agents are heads of their own real estate businesses and can customize their approach.
Thoroughness and Crawl Space/Attic Inspections
Some agents check everything in every home, while the speaker prefers a general overview unless the client is interested. She details the extent of crawl space and attic inspections required, emphasizing looking around rather than extensive exploration.
Safety and Client Control
It is not safe to walk around the attic or crawl space, but you can't control your clients. You can just let them know that I would just look I wouldn't walk around until we know that it's it's safe.
Final Steps and Recommendations
The speaker reiterates the importance of checking the attic and crawl space, asking about the owner's suite, and turning off lights. She recommends surveys, inspections, and well/septic inspections.
Group Picture and Addressing Additional Questions
The group takes a picture, and the speaker addresses questions about uninvited individuals showing up at showings, recommending agents to carry extra touring agreements and explain that it is not an open house.
Handling Listing Agent Materials and Walk-Throughs
The speaker discusses handling listing agent materials and the practice of doing a walk-through with Tally, emphasizing the importance of reviewing the working with real estate agreement and buyer's agency agreement.
