When Realtors use an appointment center service to help them manage appointments on their listings, they can choose among several options for the “Appointment Type.” One of the fastest options is called “Courtesy Call.”

Here’s how it works:

Let’s say that among the five listings you’re carrying as a listing agent, you’ve got one very flexible seller who will not refuse any showings. And you’ve signed up with an appointment center service to handle the phone calls, scheduling, confirmations, feedback and reporting.*

With this type of seller, there is no need for the appointment center staff to call to ask if an appointment time is OK. All appointment times are OK, and the more the better!Instead, the request is documented and the showing agent is immediately confirmed. Then, the staff gives the seller a “Courtesy Call” to alert them about the appointment details. In addition, feedback requests are automatically sent after the showing occurs.

So in this case, if you set up the listing as “Courtesy Call,” agents are immediately confirmed, all appointments are documented and there’s a good chance more showings will take place.

Typical appointment types include: 1) appointment required, 2) “Courtesy Call,” 3) “Go and Show,” or 4) refer to the listing agent.

When your goal is to sell listings as efficiently and as quickly as possible, it’s worth having a discussion with your sellers about setting the appointment type to “Courtesy Call.” The seller’s goal is also to sell as fast as possible.

*Why use an appointment center service? If each of your five listings gets one showing request per week, it takes, on average, 30 calls (six per request) to homeowners and showing agents to get the requests scheduled, if all the listings are “Appointment Required” listings.


Do you spend too much of your day scheduling and confirming showing appointments? Learn how the ShowingTime Appointment Center helps free up your time to focus on other tasks to grow your business.