$50 Gift Card for Buyers’ Agents
“If your Buyers visit my open house and mention your name, I’ll give you a $50 gift card to your favorite restaurant.”
–email from listing agent promoting a Thursday night Summer open house.
OK, so I don’t see it happening for more modestly-priced homes — say, those listed under $300k (too expensive for the listing agent).
And, I’m pretty sure that the agent who sent that offer earlier this week chose a small, pre-screened group of local agents, vs. all +10,000(!) Twin Cities Realtors (WAY too expensive).
Finally, it’s worth noting that the open house in question was on a Thursday night (tonight, in fact), an off-beat time when traffic can be harder to generate (vs. a run-of-the-mill Sunday open house).
But, still.
Upping the Ante
Of course, listing agents offer incentives to Buyers’ agents all the time.
Once upon a time, when there was such a thing as a Buyer’s market, listing agents dangled sales bonuses (typically in the “Agent Remarks” field on MLS; amount, depending the list price: anywhere from $500 to $10,000).
At the other extreme, agents hosting an open house on Broker Tour (Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Twin Cities) routinely offer up a free lunch, and occasionally raffle off a $50 or even $100 gift card.
But, that’s just one $50 or $100 gift card.
Offering $50 per referring agent is a much bigger marketing commitment.
Sincerest Form of Flattery
So, how effective is that $50 gift card likely to be increasing traffic?
Hard to tell.
It’s difficult to imagine Buyers’ agents who had a suitable prospect for the home in question not already showing it — incentive or not.
However, I suppose it could prompt at least a few agents to take a second look.
Ultimately, you’ll know if the incentive was effective or not . . . if the listing agent does it again, and it catches on with other agents. 🙂
See also, “Realtor Sales Incentives: Best (& Worst) Uses“; “Realtor Sales Incentives: Too Much of a Good Thing?“; and “The Case for Catering Broker Opens (or not).”
