Open Houses are a great way to promote yourself and get new clients. Check out these ideas to help make them more successful!

Open houses: In a few hours, we market both a home and ourselves.  How can we make the most of this opportunity? Here are a few creative tips from successful professionals in the field:

Neighborhood Open House

 Before launching public open houses, host an open house for neighbors only.

• Send out a postcard a week prior to the event that acts as invitation, announcement, and advertisement for you
• Offer a free comparative market analysis for neighbors
• Create a local market overview flyer to hand out to neighbors as they come through the door (for another great flyer idea, read our previous post regarding partnering with vendors)

 Ice Breaker Questions

Ask questions that break the ice and establish meaningful connections.

•  Survey: Ask visitors to give you feedback about the house that you can pass the information back to sellers– ask them what their favorite/least favorite thing is about the home
• Education:  Ask visitors if they know how to read a CMA, a pest report, disclosures, or CC &Rs. Offer to walk them through these documents
• Wish lists: Ask prospective buyers what they most want in a home and offer to provide a customized list of available properties based on these specific needs. If you bring a tablet or smart phone to the open house, you can even pull up RMLS search data right there and email it to your new client

Alternative to the Old Sign-in Sheet

•  Hold a drawing that ensures you get “real” contact information. You can give away:
• Movie tickets
• Gift cards
• Coupons for savings on home inspection (perhaps partner with a trusted home inspector willing to give a discount to your future clients)

Be Prepared to Impress

 This is your chance to establish yourself as an expert, so it’s a good idea to know your facts about the market both in general and specific to this home:

• Offer a local market snapshot flyer branded with your contact information
• Know the number of homes listed/sold/price points/multiple offer situations in your listing’s area.

Open Houses can be a great way of finding new clients.  And, if a prospect doesn’t fit your preferred price point, property type, or target area — or needs to sell a property in another location —  input their name and contact information into ReferralExchange.  We’ll match them with 3 great agents from our network, and pay you 25% of the referred-side commission when the deal closes.