When I went the Mike Ferry Superstar he said not to do Open Houses and do not do Floor Time. So what do the MF followers on here have to say about this??

Is it true what NAR said "Open Houses are the lowest producing activity a Realtor can do"?

I would really rather spend my time prospecting then sitting on my arse waiting for my next client. Also I don't have deep pockets for a massive mailer campaign.

Floor time and sitting open houses are methods of prospecting, although a bit more passive than your average Mike Ferry program prefers. Do what you feel is best to run your business.

Personally, I don't mind sitting floor time. If I get a potential client that way, fantastic, but I choose to use that time to do productive tasks like researching comps for clients and working on my online presence.

I myself have done quite a bit of business w/ floor time generated leads. Depends on your office/brokerage. I'm at a top brokerage in the area so we get a fair share of calls and walk ins.

I don't sit on my butt waiting for clients though. I generate most of my own business with my website. Much more productive for me than making phone calls or door knocking, which is extremely distasteful to me.

I wouldn't pass up floor time. Had my fair share of walk-ins who purchased; plus you can do any other number of activities (that require a computer and/or phone) while you're waiting - just use the time productively.

For open houses, if it's in the right location, right neighborhood and the home shows very well, it's worth a couple hours - again, take work with you should there be slow time.

I say don't ignore floor time either. You could either be productive during it, but I always found it sometimes was a good time to relax and read a book or something. But be ready and logged into the MLS when a call comes in.

Floor time is a great time to catch up on leads, write a blog, hunt down expireds, etc. Floor time is only a waste if you make it a waste!

Thank you all for your input. Your right about making it a waste or not a waste of time. Goes back to having the right mindset right. In my area I get 90% lease calls from floor time. Which is fine if a few hours of floor time turn into a small commission.

Floor time is a waste of time if you can be productive somewhere else. Is it not predictable or duplicatable. However if you are having a bummer day anyways you may have someone stumble in!

I don't like doing floor time too often as it 'ties up' my schedule but I find the time to be incredibly productive. If not actively engaged with a walk-in, it's a perfect opportunity to catch up on follow up, content generation, etc. And well, the possibility of a $2M walk-in waltzing through the door makes it all more enjoyable.

I agree with the others that floor time can generate some leads if your in the right office.

But you need look at it from the view that your in the office to do something else (paper work, blog etc) and your enhancing it with the ability to generate a new lead at the same time.

Like I said it's a waste of time if you waste your time while there.

I don't do floor time in place of other more productive activities - like, if a buyer calls and wants to go out tomorrow I don't say "I'm sorry I can't, I have floor time. Let's do it another day." I find someone to cover the floor time for me.

For the summer I went off the floor time schedule because I wanted to be home with my kids more when I didn't have appointments. I will probably take September off as well. However, in October I'll go back on the schedule. When I'm on floor time I sometimes do stupid stuff like play on Facebook but most of the time, if I am not talking to clients on the phone I am watching a training video, reading articles/blogs about how to improve my business, working on my own blog / listings, etc.

It's only a waste of time if you waste the time you have.

I just remembered back in my beginning days with my real estate license - I was doing floor duty. It was either my 3 or 4th transaction that miraculously called the office that day.

He said he wanted to buy a house and that he had called several different agents and left messages but NO ONE had called him back. He said he stated in his message that he had his DD-214 eligibilty certificate and that no one has called him back. I said, "DD-214 and no one's called you back?!!!" I'm thinking a VA buyer who wanted to buy NOW! Sold that cute fella and his bride of one year a home! Course, I did have to tolerate them kissing and giggling in the back seat while I drove!

There are times floor duty does pay.

There are so many things you can do at an open house or on floor time so that they are not wasted activities.

Another broker I was good friends with used to call opens doing penance for an overpriced listing, but I used to end up with a deal down the road for each open I did on average. Maybe nothing on one but two or three on another.

Currently it appears that each specific market place has it own rules, I would just look at it as Sunday office duty for an open because if no one shows I still got a lot done that needed to be done, and of course the seller can't cry it's not selling you need to hold and open house. Instead I get to bring up the current market and situation with them, are changes needed?

here it is..
they both work..
however they are the 2 least productive sources of business
here is why..both are what we call waiting on business..
nar takes a survey..that is great for listing appointments..
less than 1 % of homes are sold at an open house...
most agents dont track..top producers track where every deal is coming from...
most brokers use you on floortime as unpaid receptionist..
i interveiw top agents all the time..through my mentor and masterminds..
I have never heard one refer to either as there great source of business..not even one...
here is another eye opening fact
nar says 75% of agents will not celebrate a second year
nar says 90% of agents do 4-6 deals per year..
from my mls out of 17,000 agents,..40% did NOT do one single DEAL..this year ..not 1.. OUCH!
Most if not all of the above agents main business consist of floor time and open houses and social media(playing on facebook
lets be real if open houses and floor time worked so well..
then fsbo's wouldnt need us..they would just do open houses
and put a sign in the yard..
how many deals this year did you do from open houses and floortime? especially in this market shift...

and this is why you should attend events..wether its your company, or a training or mastermind..
so you can network with other top agents...
ask them..they will share..
what is your top 3 listing generators
what is your top 3 buyer generators
what is your sources of business breakdown..
it usually looks something like this for the top 1-5%
doing 50-100 deals..
50% fsbo and expireds,cancelled withdrawns...
25% marketing and advertising..like internet lead generation
25% sphere of influence past clients-referrals

trust me those guys doing 50-100 transactions track like crazy people..
they know thier numbers..

nobody ever mentions floortime or open houses..not even as a small percentage...

the top 10 agents in my market..none do open houses or floor time

again im not saying they dont work..
but there is a such thing as agents highest and best use of thier time..
you cant make 100k a year..doing 8.00 an hour activities..like floor time..
only 3 things are high paying jobs in real estate
1. booking appointments..
2. listing appointments
3. showing properties..to qualified buyers

the numbers dont lie..
according to the labor board..
90% of agents will never earn 100k..period..
97.5% of agents will NEVER earn 200k..period..
99% of agents will never earn 500k or more..period.


why? highest and best use of time..
yet oddly nobody talks about the time correlation ..to how well you do as an agent..

in fact im willing to bet..i can generate more leads..
in 5 minutes on craigslist with a great lead capture site..
than you can in 8 hours of floor time
or 8 hours of open houses..