Episode 61: Are Self-Showings the Way of the Future?

In Episode 61 of the Toe-2-Toe Podcast, hosts Jenn Murtland and Monica Weakley are not fighting, but discussing this question: are self-showings the way of the future? Well, they’ll always be around, but listen in to hear why Monica and Jenn say no way!

Episode Highlights: 

• Monica believes that there will always be value in being led through the most important purchase of their lives.
• Some people are going to be impatient and always choose the self-showings.
• Jenn is for self-showings for immediate responses and treats them like an open house.
• According to Jenn, there is value in a buyer rep but the buyer, not the seller, should pay for that rep.
• Many buyers will not shell out money to be represented and that may turn them away from using an agent.
• If an agent doesn’t have experience with a lot of clients, they just get in the way.
• Once buyers have seen the house on Zillow, they are allowed to go outside and bring their own buyer rep.
• Builders will honor agents who represent a client, even if the agent was not present at the initial meeting.
• The best buyers are ones that have taken the time to go through the process and examine all the details.
• Monica always wants to be a present-tense agent who takes care of her clients after they’ve bought or sold their house.
• Self-showing programs won’t ruin your business as long as you take care of your clients.
• Neither Monica nor Jenn thinks that self-showings will negatively impact their business.
• While you need to be there to serve your clients, don’t be a concierge agent.
• This week’s tiebreaker, Leonard Cradit, is a Franchise Development Manager for Exit Realty and has a real estate team in Michigan.
• With over 30 years of experience in real estate and property management, Leonard has seen greater success when agents are present.
• An agent’s presence allows real estate teams and properties to pivot rather than lose a client if they don’t like what they see.
• While it could be done over the phone, Leonard thinks clients appreciate the in-person service.
• Sales and success ratios reflect that people appreciate agent-led showings.
• Self-showings could give some relief to scheduling conflicts with clients, but that may make them question your validity.
• Leonard thinks that the industry is damaged more and more the further it gets from hands-on service.

3 Key Points:

1. People are better off doing a self-showing than using a terrible agent that is only going to mess up the deal.
2. Self-showings are really just ways of showing houses to unmotivated buyers.
3. Agents need to be agents to their clients every single day rather than being a paste-tense agent.

Resources Mentioned:

• Jenn Murtland (website, LinkedIn, Facebook)
• Call Jenn at (513) 400-1691 to discuss transitioning to eXp Realty
• Monica Weakley (website, LinkedIn, Facebook)
• Leonard Cradit (Website, Facebook, 616-213-2051)