The 4 most important things to look for when choosing a showing service.
At the forefront of every real estate transaction is the showing appointment. Although a seemingly simple task, we all know how time consuming it can be to sort through listings, their availability, and coordinate showings around multiple schedules.
Fortunately, technology has helped make this process much easier for agents. Whether you are a new agent looking to schedule your first showing, or you are an experienced agent looking to improve upon your process, here are 5 things to look for when choosing a showing service for your business.
1. The Essentials
At their core, showing management solutions are designed to save you time when scheduling showings, keep your appointments organized, and make sure you have all the information you need to access the property at the time of your appointment. To even be considered for your business, here are the must haves to look for when researching your options.
Listing agents must be able to:
- Configure listing availability, showing instructions, and lock box information.
- Approve or deny appointment requests.
- Collect feedback on your listings.
- Organize upcoming and past appointments on your listings.
Buyer agents must be able to:
- Request showings.
- Leave feedback.
- Receive access information.
- View instructions for viewing the property.
- Organize upcoming and past appointments.
2. MLS Integration
It may seem like a no-brainer that your showing service should integrate with the place that you find homes for your clients, set up their searches, and view listing details and broker remarks, however very few providers actually integrate with the MLS. You can imagine how hard this would make it to schedule showings if you have to log into another system or download another app just to schedule on a single listing. It is important to make sure that your provider integrates with your MLS to make it quick and easy to schedule appointments.
3. Route Optimization
More likely than not, your clients are going to want to see multiple homes on any given day. Aside from being able to schedule multiple showings, advanced providers offer the ability to organize your showing schedule based on the most optimized route for you.
Some agents will create a list of homes, find the availability for each, and then use a third party map site to organize the route they should take. This works, but it takes time and effort to plan.
4. Client Functionality
It’s no secret that clients love convenience when it comes to finding the home of their dreams. According to the NAR, roughly 75% of buyers reported finding their homes using their phones. With this in mind, it is absolutely crucial that your showing service allows your clients to search for properties and schedule showings directly with you and are NOT sold as a lead. Showingly offers the first showing service to connect you directly with your clients, maintaining the most convenient way to search for homes, schedule showings, and close deals.
Learn more about how Showingly can help you schedule showings like a pro and schedule a demo today!
