Enhancing an Open House: A Realtor's Guide

Important Note* Check your local forms to discuss prospects visiting a buyer's agency. Follow local MLS and brokerage rules and regulations and learn how to talk to prospects about their options.

Open doors are still a mainstay of business. 53% of homebuyers report visiting open houses. So more than half of buyers who shop there will visit open houses at some point in their search.

Here are some reasons why open houses are valuable:

• This gives you a chance to meet the neighbors and turn each listing into another great listing. I would suggest that you knock on at least 50 doors by throwing out an invitation to an open house. If you want, you can look around, search, call and invite neighbors. If you have some runway before you start, you can of course send out invitations. A good portion of the neighbors will not come unless invited. It feels awkward when they go to their neighbor's house when they don't want to buy. Be easy, invite them.
• Potentially sell the home to a visiting buyer.
• Select prospects who are not tied to an agent. Open houses are an opportunity to not only meet a great buyer, but 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're there to meet, meet, greet, gather that information, and then follow up on the open house.

The goal of an open house is to schedule 1-2 meetings with the hottest prospects during the open day.

You might be wondering if weekdays would 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 will not always be great, but there are no prospects on your desk. You can take your work with you. It's like your mobile office, and you never know when you'll run into a prospect. Moderate open house traffic can give you more time to engage with each prospect.

Your open house is heated: As you prepare for the open house, warm up by looking at homes in the area. Find out the latest sold information. Learn any important details about the schools or community. Study and practice your scripts and questions. Remember, with all of our new rules, you can only provide information that is relevant 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 by door knocking, direct mail or calling neighbors inviting a minimum of 100 people. Set at least 25 minimum standards.
• Contact hosts and spheres you may be interested in visiting.
• When applicable, send direct mail to business owners within 1 mile.

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

Open door kit

• Signs and marking strategy
• Entry form/electronic process
• Brochures/e-brochures should be sent
• Local market information and other promotional items on display
• Water / snacks if desired
• Boots
• Measuring tape
• Scratch pads
• Basic cleaning supplies

Now it's time to go. Dress a little more professionally than your prospects. Remember, you will be judged in the first few seconds of the open house. Show up with energy and always arrive early as the seller is anxious. Make sure valuables are put away. Turn on the lights and adjust as needed. Set up your materials and entry area. Stay in business mode, even if you're not dealing with prospects. Eliminate distractions – you have a chance to make a great impression.

As you meet and engage with each prospect, you'll want to decide where you stand. Treat each guest politely and as if they could be a potential buyer. Pay attention to what they say and do, there may be cameras or a friend of the seller. Be friendly and engaging and give them some space. Not everyone wants to shake hands, so let them lead. Tell them, “Make yourself at home.” Ask them to log in and explain why this is necessary. You should have a menu of questions to practice to engage the customer.

• “I wonder how you found the open door today?”
• “Have you seen many houses in the area?”
• “I find that most visitors come to an open house because they live in the area and want to check the value of their home or want to buy. May I ask which one is yours?”
  • If they say they have an agent and are not registered on the entry form, ask them if they have a signed contract and who their agent is.
• “I'm curious, how long have you been looking for a house?”
• “Have you ever seen anything interesting or made any suggestions?”
• “What is your ideal time frame for moving into your next home?”
• “What is important about this time frame?”
• “Where do you live now?”
• “Will you have to sell that house to buy it?”
• “Can you describe what your ideal home would look like? “Maybe I know something I can share outside the market.”

Start with gentle research. As you build rapport, you can ask more specific questions. If there are several people in the house, you can determine who will get a little more attention based on their responses.

Engage, back off when they're ready to quit, thank them for participating. If you haven't grabbed their data yet, here's your last chance! Ask them if they are interested in making an offer on this home.

Hook:

“You know, I search every day and find sellers who aren't willing to list on the open market. Every once in a while I come across a seller who is ungrateful or anxious to sell. If something red hot comes up, would you like me to send you the address and info?

“Great, what's the best number to text you?”

“By the way, can I ask you a few questions about your requirements to send only the best matches?”

Important: The priority is to make sure you have all their information. Then you can spend more time chatting. You never know when you'll be interrupted!

“I have an idea, how about we get together this week and show you some examples to educate you on what's available. And then can I learn more about what you're looking for? “

“This information will help me find great options for you. How about 4pm on Tuesday?

“At that time, in order to show you the houses, we have to sign a contract for me to represent you and advise you about those houses. We can just sign a simple contract for Tuesday. This will allow you to test my services and if we want to see more properties together in the future we can talk about the next steps on Tuesday.”

Closing Your Open House. Be sure to close all windows and doors when preparing to leave. Wipe down any surfaces and pick up trash. Collect your materials and open the house signs. You can then call/text the seller or listing agent with your results and feedback.

Many agents will hold a big open house and then never follow up with their prospects. Don't do that. You should have an open house follow-up plan for those on your list. Call your open house visitors that evening to let them know you'll be working hard to find new off-market opportunities and ask if they'd like to make an appointment. Consider making a video thanking them for visiting and sending them the evening after the open house. Let them know you can hunt for them out-of-market opportunities. This is a nice personal touch! At least text/email them and call them first thing the next morning! Make sure you enter all chat records into your CRM and add them to your auto-nurture campaigns. Even those who aren't interested in doing anything anytime soon should be added to your nurturing campaigns. MIT research on leads found that 50% of leads never follow up. Most salespeople take 1-2 tries and give up, and most leads take 6-12 tries.

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 or its owners.

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