Inspiration

How to increase your viewings

RAT 63 (Rawlings Agency Tip)

Simple maths dictates that the more properties you show to the more people, the more sales you will conclude. We also know that most people need to view a certain number of properties before they feel ready to offer. On average their “quota” is typically about nine. So in theory, in order to secure a sale, you simply need to be involved in the 9th viewing. In theory!

In reality you may not have nine suitable properties to show the buyer, especially if you have been careful enough to thoroughly assess their requirements in advance. So we leave it to other agents to show them unsuitable property, hoping the buyer will eventually buy one of ours!

However, I recently came across an idea that is proving really effective for a number of my estate agency clients – the mystery tour! Essentially, the mystery tour is a way of speeding up the “route to quota”. You simply issue an invitation for quick-fire viewings whereby you arrange to show a prospective buyer as many houses in their price range within say an hour or ninety minutes. You don’t give the buyers details in advance but tell them that they can probably afford every property you show them.

As most people can discount an unsuitable property within a few seconds, the time saving is enormous as you quickly secure the right number of viewings for that particular buyer. You’ll quickly get a good idea of the buyer’s preferences and areas of potential compromise and they will in turn appreciate that you are making the most of their time with you.

Of course, you tell the vendor what you are doing so they don’t accuse you of not being thorough enough. The flipside is that you get more people round their property more frequently!

Whilst this method could be regarded as putting quantity over quality, this is not always a bad thing when it comes to understanding the ratios involved in estate agency! You do of course have to be reasonable and this is probably not the right approach for the more discerning or high-end buyer. But in a market where every viewing counts, you might just want to try it.

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© Richard Rawlings 2012
Richard Rawlings is the founding director of Estate Agency Insight, which specialises in helping estate agencies harness opportunity through innovative method, marketing, publicity, and training. He can be contacted at or on 0845 838 1354.

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