Open house power up: A realtor’s guide

Important Note* Check your local forms for options around discussing buyer agency with visiting prospects. Follow your local MLS and broker rules and regulations and master how to speak to the prospects about their options.

Open houses are still a fundamental pillar of the business. NAR reports that 53% of home buyers visit open houses. So more than half of the buyers out there shopping, at some point in their search, will be visiting open houses.

Here are some reasons open houses are valuable:

• It gives you a chance to meet neighbors and to turn each listing into another great listing. I would suggest that you door knock at least 50 doors around the open house, dropping off an open house invitation. If you prefer, you can circle, prospect, call and invite the neighbors. If you have a little runway of time before the launch, you could certainly mail an invitation. A good portion of the neighbors won’t come unless they’re invited. It feels awkward that they’re going into their neighbor’s home when they’re not actually looking to buy. Make it easy, invite them.
• Potentially sell the house to a buyer who visits.
• Pick up prospects who are not committed to an agent. Open houses are an opportunity to not just meet a great buyer, but to hopefully find another great seller.

Your goal should be to leave the open house with as many quality names and as much contact information as possible. You are there to, to meet, to greet, to gather that information, and then to follow up post open house. 

Your open house objective is to set 1-2 appointments with the hottest prospects during the open house.

You may wonder, can weekdays be a good time to hold an open house? The answer is yes, weekdays can be good too. You want to be strategic about your hours. The traffic is not always going to be great, however there are no prospects at your desk. You can take your work along. It’s like your mobile office and you never know when you’ll meet a prospect. Moderate open house traffic can allow you more time to engage with each prospect.

Your open house warm up: As you are getting ready for open house, warm up by previewing homes in the area. Study recent sold data. Learn any important details about the schools or community. Study and practice your scripts and your questions. Remember, with all our new rules around real estate, you can only give the information that’s appropriate based on the relationship with that prospect.

Pre marketing game plan: Below are some ways to market before the open house.

• Digital platforms: Facebook, Instagram, etc.
• Marketing via door knocking, direct mail, or calling the neighbors to invite a minimum of 100 people. Set a minimum standard of at least 25.
• Contacting leads and sphere who might have an interest in visiting .
• Direct mail to business owners within 1 mile, if appropriate.

There is a saying in business, a predictable process creates a predictable result. Use the list below to create your open house go-kit. 

Open house go-kit

• Signs and signage strategy 
• Sign-in sheet/electronic process
• Brochures/electronic brochure to offer to send them
• Local market information and other promotional items on display
• Water/snacks, if desired
• Booties
• Measuring tape
• Scratch pads
• Basic cleaning supplies

Now it is go-time. Dress a little more professional than your prospects. Remember, they are going to judge you in those first few seconds of the open house.  Show up with energy and always arrive early because the seller is anxious. Make sure valuables are put away. Turn on the lights and straighten up in needed. Get your materials and sign-in area set up. Stay in work-mode even when you are not engaging with prospects. Eliminate distractions—you have one chance to make a great impression.

You will want to decide where you will stand as you greet and engage with each prospect. Treat every guest with courtesy and as if they could be a potential buyer. Be mindful of what you say and do, there may be cameras, or they may be a friend of the seller. Be friendly and engaging and give them a little space. Not everyone wants to shake your hand, so let them lead. Tell them to, “Make yourselves at home.” Ask them to sign in and explain why it’s necessary. You should have your menu of questions to practice to engage the customer. 

• “I’m curious, how did you find the open house today?”
• “Have you seen many homes in the area?”
• “I find that most visitors are coming to the open house because they live in the area and want to check the value of their own home, or they are looking to purchase. May I ask which one applies to you?”
  • If they say they have an agent and don’t register on the sign-in sheet, ask them if they have a signed agreement and who their agent is. 
• “I’m curious, how long have you been looking for a home?”
• “Have you seen anything exciting or made offers on anything so far?”
• “What is your ideal time frame to be moving into your next home?”
• “What’s important about that time frame?”
• “Where do you live now?”
• “Will you need to sell that home to purchase?”
• “Can you describe what your ideal home would look like? Maybe I know of something off-market I can share.”

Start with gentle probing. As you build rapport, you can ask more pointed questions. If you have multiple people in the home, you can determine who will receive a bit more of your attention based on their answers.

Engage, retreat as they are ready to exit, thank them for attending. If you have not yet captured their information, this is your last chance to do so! Ask them if they have any interest in making an offer on this home.

The hook: 

“You know, I prospect daily and find sellers who are not ready to list on the open market. Occasionally, I come across a seller who is in default or anxious to sell. If something red hot comes up, would you like me to text you the address and information?”

“Excellent, what is the best number to text you at?”

“By the way, so that I only send the best matches to you, may I ask just a few more questions about your requirements?”

Important: The priority is to be sure you have all of their information. Then, you can spend more time chatting. You never know when you will get interrupted!

“I have an idea, what if we get together this week and I show you a few examples to help educate you on what is available. And then, I can learn more about what you are looking for?”

“This information will help me hunt for some great options for you. How would Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. be?”

“In order to show you homes at that time, we do need to sign an agreement to allow me to represent you and advise you on those homes. We can sign a simple agreement just for Tuesday. This will allow you to test drive my services, and if we want to see more properties together in the future, we can talk about next steps on Tuesday.”

Shutting Down Your Open House. As you prepare to leave make sure to lock all windows and doors. Wipe down any surfaces and pick up trash.  Gather your materials and open house signs. Then you can call/text the seller or listing agent with results and feedback.

A lot of agents will hold a great open house and then never follow up on their prospects. Don’t do that. You should have an open house follow-up plan for those on your list. Call them that evening to let them know you will be working hard to find new off- market opportunities for your visitors from the open house and ask if they would like to set an appointment. Consider making a video thanking them for visiting and send it to them the evening after the open house. Let them know you can hunt off-market opportunities for them. It’s a nice personal touch! At a minimum, text/email them, and call them first thing the following morning! Be sure to enter all conversation notes into your CRM and add them to auto-nurture campaigns. Even those who are not interested in doing anything soon should be added to your nurture campaigns. An MIT Study on leads showed that 50% of leads are never followed-up on. Most salespeople make 1-2 attempts and give up and that most leads convert between 6-12 attempts.

Be relentless in your follow-up throughout the week: call, email, text, and repeat.

Debbie De Grote is the CEO and Founder of Forward Coaching.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.

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