Safety Starts Before the Showing: Tips for Building a Smarter Safety Routine 

Safety Begins Before the Appointment 

September's REALTOR® Safety Month is an opportunity for real estate professionals to examine the habits and precautions they rely on throughout the year. While attention often focuses on what happens during a showing or open house, many important safety decisions happen well before an agent unlocks the front door. 

A strong safety routine begins with preparation. Knowing who you are meeting, sharing your schedule, reviewing the property, and becoming familiar with available technology can help you approach each appointment with greater awareness and confidence. 

No single precaution can prevent every possible situation. However, small, repeatable steps can work together to create a smarter and more consistent approach to personal safety. 

Tip 1: Know Who You're Meeting 

Meeting new people is a routine part of real estate, but an initial appointment does not always need to take place alone at a vacant property. 

Whenever possible, gather relevant information about a new prospect before meeting privately. Follow your brokerage's established procedures for documenting new customers and appointments, and maintain appropriate contact information. 

Consider scheduling the first meeting at your office or another populated public location. This gives you an opportunity to learn more about the customer's needs, discuss the home-buying process, and establish a professional relationship before entering private properties together. 

If someone is unwilling to follow reasonable procedures or pressures you to meet under circumstances that make you uncomfortable, take that concern seriously and set your boundaries. 

Tip 2: Make Sure Someone Knows Where You Are 

A busy day can quickly fill with showings, listing appointments, inspections, and open houses. Even when your schedule changes, someone you trust should have a general idea of where you will be. 

Share your appointments with your office or broker, a colleague, a family member, or another trusted person. Include the property address, the name of the person you are meeting, and the expected start and end times.  

Watson's recent partnership with Bond personal security makes it easy to ensure someone is with you at all times. With services such as Track Me on the Go or Ready an Agent, real estate professionals have a trusted person with them to maximize their safety.  

Establish a check-in routine for appointments involving unfamiliar customers or locations. Decide in advance when you will check in and what the other person should do if they do not hear from you. Avoid allowing an entire day of appointments to pass without anyone knowing your schedule. 

A check-in plan does not need to be complicated. It simply needs to be clear, consistent, and used often enough to become a habit. 

Tip 3: Prepare Before Entering the Property 

Take a few moments before each appointment to assess where you are going and what you may encounter. Before arriving: 

• Make sure your phone is adequately charged and easily accessible. 

• Review the property's location and surrounding area. 

• Consider whether cellular coverage may be limited. 

• Identify likely entrances and exits. 

• Park in a location that allows you to leave easily. 

• Avoid parking where another vehicle could block you in. 

• Pay attention to nearby activity and anything that appears unusual. 

When you arrive, look at the property before going inside. Notice whether doors, gates, or pathways could affect your ability to leave. At an open house, become familiar with the layout before visitors arrive and confirm that you know how to access each exit. 

These steps may take only a few minutes, but they can help you enter the property with a clearer understanding of your surroundings. 

Tip 4: Maintain Situational Awareness During the Showing 

Once a showing begins, stay aware of your position in relation to the customer and the nearest exit. When appropriate, allow customers to enter rooms ahead of you, so you are less likely to become blocked inside a room or confined area. 

Use additional caution around basements, garages, attics, outbuildings, and other spaces with limited visibility or fewer exits. Keep your phone accessible instead of leaving it in your vehicle, handbag, or another location you cannot reach quickly. 

Pay attention to unusual behavior, unexpected changes to the appointment, or anything that makes you uncomfortable. You do not need to wait for a situation to become clearly dangerous before deciding to leave. 

Completing a showing is never more important than your personal safety. If you believe you are in immediate danger, leave the area when possible and contact 911. 

Tip 5: Build Technology into Your Routine 

Personal security technology can provide another layer of support, particularly for agents who regularly work alone or travel between unfamiliar locations. 

With Bond, Watson agents, at no cost, have access to preventative personal security services. Bond offers peace of mind through tools such as security check-ins, location-based monitoring while on the go, and access to trained personal security professionals.  

Bond does not replace good judgment, established safety procedures, or emergency services. It gives Watson agents an additional high-tech resource they can incorporate into their routines. 

You can learn more about the technology and Watson's decision to make it available in HousingWire's article, "Tech-Driven Protection Gains Steam Ahead of REALTOR® Safety Month." 

Whatever safety tools you choose to use, become familiar with them before you need them. Review their features, set up your account, and practice activating the services, so you are not trying to learn them for the first time during an uncomfortable situation. 

Tip 6: Trust Your Judgment 

Preparation matters, but so does trusting your instincts. If something does not feel right, give yourself permission to change, postpone, or end an appointment. 

You can move a meeting to a public location, ask a colleague to accompany you, or reschedule for a different time. You do not need to ignore discomfort simply because an appointment is already on your calendar. 

Safety procedures are most effective when they become everyday habits rather than reactions reserved for situations that already appear dangerous. Develop a routine you can follow consistently, whether you are meeting a new prospect, hosting an open house, or working with a longtime customer. 

Tip 7: Make Safety Part of the Way You Do Business 

REALTOR® Safety Month happens once a year, but its purpose is to encourage habits that last year-round. Charging your phone, communicating your schedule, evaluating your surroundings, and planning your exit can become second nature when you practice them consistently. 

Watson's partnership with Bond gives agents another resource to incorporate into their personal safety strategies. Read the full announcement about the Watson Realty Corp. and Bond partnership. 

Agents can also find additional tips, training, and planning resources through the National Association of REALTORS® Safety Program. 

Exploring a new brokerage? Discover how Watson Realty Corp. supports its agents with the tools, resources, and services they need to build their businesses. Contact us today to learn more.