Successful Agent Open House in Shreveport!
I have never been a big proponent of the consumer open house. I prefer a more direct approach to attracting buyers and statistically open houses just don’t have enough of a return on investment to make them worth the time and effort (for me!) If I do hold a house open, it’s because a seller has specifically requested it (I’m happy to oblige) however I usually have a team member or another agent actually attend.
However, I am beginning to see the value of the Agent Open House more and more. We recently held an Agent Preview Open House before the home was actually put on the market. The theory was that this might pique the interest of agents who were already working with clients looking in the area and would appreciate the opportunity to share news about a brand new property before it hit the MLS. This is a higher end home for our area and it has amenities that I felt would impress both buyers and agents. Rather than the standard luncheon, we decided on a late afternoon wine and cheese event. As usual, we enlisted a vendor to help with costs. Unfortunately in our market getting much cross company traffic is nearly impossible so instead of just emailing an invite we decided to make some personal calls to agents who frequently work in this price range and area. We ended up getting more cross company traffic than we’ve ever had and the agents were genuinely delighted with the personal attention.
Another common tactic in our area is to offer some kind of incentive in an attempt to encourage more agents to attend. It’s usually a drawing for a gift card but we decided to try something different. On the invitation we stated “Thank You gift for those who attend”. We didn’t say what the gift was or the value. Since it was early fall, we purchased some caramel apples and dressed them up in pretty bags with ribbon and thank you tags. They were simple but elegant and they were a huge hit because everyone got to walk away with a little something. The really cool thing: they cost us less than $20!
So how did it turn out? Terrific! We had about 25 agents come through which is pretty amazing for our market. No, it wasn’t one of these agents who eventually brought the buyer however at least 3 of the attendees did end up showing it. The added value in my opinion was the opportunity to meet and mingle with agents from other companies. We have a very divisive market and brokerages tend to be very competitive. I feel like this is a disservice to the consumer since the objective is to work cooperatively to bring buyers and sellers together. Getting face to face and learning more about other agents breaks down some of those competitive barriers and hopefully begins to dispel any negative rumors or impressions that we may have been exposed to. I plan to hold at least one similar type Agent Open House every month in 2013.
Do you need to buy or sell a home in Shreveport or Bossier? If you ARE considering buying or selling a home in Shreveport or Bossier in the near future, would you please keep us in mind? You can reach us directly at 318-564-5295. Thanks!
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