What Happens When a Buyer Contacts a Premier Agent Partner?

Someone scrolls through Zillow, sees a home they love, and wants to find out more. How do they get in touch with a partner agent?

Given that 78% of buyers use Zillow as part of their home-buying journey, this series of events happens thousands of times every day. Our goal is to make this sequence seamless for buyers and agents alike. That means ensuring the buyer connects quickly with a local expert who can answer their questions and advocate for them throughout a stressful process. It also means working to match partner agents with a buyer serious about the home. 

When someone clicks “Contact agent” or “Requests a tour” on Zillow, here’s what goes into setting you up for a successful relationship.

What happens when a buyer clicks ‘Contact agent’ on a Zillow listing?

To start, the buyer sees a form where they’re prompted to enter their name, phone number, and email address. The buyer also has the option to add a short message – as a default, the message field is pre-populated with a note that they’re interested in the address from that particular home listing. They can also signal if they’re interested in financing information, in which case we’ll reach out separately about the pre-approval process.

Once they click “Contact agent,” they have the option to schedule a tour for the property, or they can click the “Not right now” button.

Whether they schedule a tour or not, the buyer has the option to fill in important info for you. They select when they’re looking to buy, with answer choices that range from 0-3 months to 12+ months. And they also reveal whether they’re available to talk to you right away or would like to schedule a time. 

Their urgency to buy is key since buyers get vetted differently if they indicate a longer timeline. Our AI model uses this data to help identify high-intent leads for you so you can manage your pipeline and tailor your approach to each buyer. 

If they’re immediately ready for a call, we send a text that confirms their request with a note that we’ll reach out shortly. That triggers a live transfer call when we conference in the buyer and connect you so you can introduce yourself and start helping them.  

The live call gives you a chance to speak with a motivated buyer, and if you can’t take the call, you still keep your place in line. Additionally, once you connect with the buyer, you’ll automatically have a My Agent relationship in the Premier Agent app, giving you a snapshot of the buyer’s key details. 

What happens when a buyer clicks ‘Request a tour’?

If a buyer wants to request a tour for a Zillow listing, they start by selecting up to three preferred times when they can see the home. The time slots typically show 30-minute increments.

Following this step, buyers go through a similar – but not identical – process to when they click “Contact agent,” where they’re asked to add in personal information. 

After clicking the “Request tour” button, buyers choose their timeline for buying, and tell us if they’re available to talk now to confirm the tour. If they select yes, that triggers the standard live transfer call process with you. If they’re not available immediately, they receive a text and can reply with a better date and time to speak with you.

Note: In select markets, buyers may see a variation of this experience through Zillow’s Real-Time Touring feature. 

What else happens after the buyer connects with you?

Once the intro call starts, the buyer receives three follow-up messages from Zillow that include your contact info and a link to your agent profile on Zillow. The first two are SMS texts that go out once the connection call starts, while the third is an email. 

This way, they can research while you’re top of mind, see reviews on your profile, and easily access your contact info if they want to reach out. By following up over SMS and email, we give buyers different options to familiarize themselves with you in case they’re more comfortable on a computer than a mobile device. 

Throughout the process, we want to keep buyers informed every step of the way and set expectations so you can seamlessly take over the relationship. We hope this gives you more insight into what buyers see, how they get in touch with you, and how the Premier Agent partner experience helps drive new clients your way.