How to Avoid "No Shows"
One of the most frustrating things a Seller has to deal with is an
agent making an appointment and then not showing up. There
are several reasons this happens, most of them have to do with the
Buyer's decision.
- Buyers cancel the appointment
- Buyers change their mind about what they want
- Buyers drive by the house and make the decision not to come inside
- Agents schedule too many houses and some have to be deleted from the list
- Agents learn more from the buyer and elect not to show your house
- Buyer finds what they are looking for and decides not continue looking, etc.
Whatever the reason, sometimes showing appointments are made and not
kept.
You, as the Seller, can help reduce or eliminate the number of times this occurs by keeping a written record of the phone calls from showing agents. The simple act of writing down an agent's name, company, phone number and asking that agent to let you know if his/her plans change will stop many no shows. Add the request to your answering machine message:
"Hi, you've reached the ______ family. If you are a Realtor and will be showing our home, please leave your name, company, phone numbers and the time we can expect you. Please let us know if your plans change."Remember that if a no show does occur, you do have the name, company, and phone numbers of the agent and Sharon will be happy to call and ask what happened. That feedback is sometimes very helpful in charting the next marketing step.
5/1/09 update. The information above does not take into consideration the current market. There is so much inventory on the market that Sellers have to be extremely accomodating. Even the simple act of asking a Realtor to let you know if their plans change could result in your home not being shown (why work with a picky seller when there are 20 vacant homes in the subdivision?). If you choose to work with Sharon, she will take into consideration your personal routine and help you develop the most advantageous way to deal with Buyers Agents.