Show houses
If agency work in an area where opposition do Open Houses, we recommend the following:
It is important to work in team format if Open Houses is available during week-ends.
The idea is to keep potential buyers away from opposition agents.
We recommend that agents do not include Open House activities in Sole Mandate contracts if such a property is not positioned according to a business plan.
Planning of show houses
It is recommended that the principal and agents always do their best to arrange Open houses with homeowners where the property is situated as close as possible to the main entrance of the marketing area.
Most agents think that it is to their benefit to arrange a beautiful home for this activity. These properties are often far away from the main entrance and people from outside the geographical area will often not reach these agents before the end of the afternoon.
The only focus point should be to negotiate with a property owner where the property is partially attracted rom outside. Remember, the person who drives into the area do not know how much the property is in the market for… The inside of the property also do not play a role.
The only objective is to make contact with as many people as possible, and specifically with people who resides in other areas than your marketing area. The property on show can therefore be overpriced…
Team for the weekend
We recommend that the principal task one agent to be the “Support Agent” for the weekend.
The role of the Support Agent is to drive through the area to view what other properties is on show by opposition agents. The agent should then inform the rest of the team so that they know exactly against what properties and which agents they are working this weekend.
The agent will also identify properties that opposition try to keep away from agents.
The Support agent will thereafter go to support the agent in the Open House nearest to the main entrance.
When people arrive, the Support agent will do interviews and try to establish which clients should be protected from opposition agents.
The Support agent can then invite guests to drive with him/her to view properties in the area. It is always a great idea to have keys of properties that are vacated so that the agent has a reason to tell guests why they want to show them these properties. The team will furthermore know if the opposition is sitting in Open Mandate show houses or in Sole Mandate properties they showcase for their clients.
If it is an Open Mandate, the agent can then phone the homeowner (who will not be at home) and ask permit ion to bring clients. The homeowner will obviously agree and inform agent that the opposition agent should be at the property.
The agent can then phone the opposition agent and inform that the homeowner agreed. The agent can tell the opposition agent that he/she is busy with clients and just want to stop quickly to view this property.
The idea is to keep motivated clients away from opposition. There are often people who drive from other towns to view properties (They might need to relocate for work).