I was inspired, its that simple. So I followed my gut on this one.
On January 23rd I was surfing the net, as I often do on weekends. I found Ustream.tv....and the rest....well, you get the drift.
So here is this guy from Vancouver B.C. doing this 72 Hour Open House. Interesting idea. Mostly alone, Kye Grace, performed his open house for 72 continuous hours. He ate, slept and greeted visitors who stopped by his open. This was different because he had visitors walk through the house, as ordinary open house visitors often do.....and he greeted them LIVE on the Internet at Ustream.tv as well.
It was cool. Refreshing actually. For the next few nights I lay awake in bed thinking about this approach....and what I might do differently to improve on the event. I wrote my ideas on paper, often jumping out of bed in the middle of the night or pulling over on the side of the road when driving. The thought of doing something that had never ever been done in the United States became an obsession. So, I set a date. I knew I had to set a date and go with it.
I decided my event would run for 56 continuous hours. I would start at 10:00 a.m. on Friday and run continuously until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. As I considered the direction of the first ever LIVE Ustream.tv 56 Hour Open House (56HOH) I came to the conclusion that this event would have little to do with selling the home. Instead my #1 goal would first be a TEAM BUILDING exercise.
My EXIT Realty Bend office is a small office of 17 agents. I have worked to build an office with people I want to share my days with....so I have kept it small for a reason. And I decided I wanted to make this first ever event something every agent in my office would never forget. I think we were able to provide the 12 agents who decided to be part of this event exactly that!
I asked each participant to present LIVE on the Internet show. I suggested that each present at least three 15 minute presentations. 10 did it. Viewers to our 56 hour Ustream.tv show heard them talk about first time home buyer programs, tax incentives, bank owned opportunities and more.
I also asked for EVENT SPONSORS to participate. A local cable company, Bend Broadband, provided DSL Internet, three lenders joined us along with one home inspector and a contractor. A local golf course provided tables and golf passes to give out and most importantly I needed...well.....a bed. Yep. This open house required that I stay at this open house for 56 continuous hours. So, I enlisted the assistance of a local bed manufacturer. The Mattress Factory agreed...and the center piece and focal point of our open was...a bed! If you saw our event you could see the bed right in the center of the living room!
EXIT Realty Northwest Franchise Owners, Bruce and Joanne Caruth arranged for LIVE phone interviews with EXIT Corporation Senior Vice President, Alex Szinegh, and EXIT Corporation Technology Trainer, Jeff Lobb.
Viewers were able to ask questions using their keyboards and we were able to field questions...and we did!
Questions came from all over the United States and as far away as Australia. It was fantastic! More than 2000 viewers entered through our virtual doorstep. Almost 200 came in person to witness the first ever event including KOHD, the local ABC affiliate...and we were rocking! Wow...2000 plus! When was the last time any of us had more than 20 people, let alone 2000, come to our open?
I saw my agents come together like never before. They started out not knowing exactly what to do...and ended up wanting more time on camera to present their mini-seninars. Their confidence grew by the minute and our team grew like never before. I learned more about each of my agents in this 56 hours than most principal brokers learn after spending years with their associates.
My second goal was to demonstrate that LIVE Internet webcasts have a place in our business...and without a dollar of paid advertising or one word printed in our local newspaper, The Bulletin (they didn't feel that this first ever event was worth even a mention in their newspaper)....we did it! The viewers comments were fantastic and best of all....but never the goal....we received three offers on the property with one offer accepted by the seller just today!
Wil we do it again? Stay tuned folks. And....to read more about our event go to www.exitrealtybend.wordpress.com or to our website at www.Exit56HourOpenHouse.com.
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