4 Key Tips To Running An Exceptional Open House

 

 

How many tools do you have in your home-selling kit? Do you have enough? If you don't you may run the risk of not using an open house to it's full potential.

 

Even with the majority of home buyers starting their search online, most real estate agents will agree that hosting an open house is still a big part of their marketing strategy and revenue generation.

 

"I treat Sunday as the most important day of the week," says Wendy Cutrufelli, a sales associate at Alain Pinel, REALTORS®, in Walnut Creek, California. "When else will you be in a room full of buyers and sellers? You spend a lot of marketing dollars to reach these people, and open houses put you right in front of them."

 

Here are some key tips on how you can run an effective open house and create some killer leads:

 

1. Take Advantage Of Online Marketing: Once you’ve planned out your timing, you need to get as many people as possible interested and aware of your event. What’s the best way to do that? Go to where 90% of people start their home searches - the internet. Let everyone in your online network know when and where your open house will be through blogs, tweets and posts. You’ll usually find that at least half of the people who show up heard about the event through social media or Google searches.

 

2. Signs Signs, Everywhere A Sign: Not everyone attends open houses based on online searches so it’s also important to use signs and posters to get your name, contact information and event details out to the public. These visitors may be motivated more by curiosity than serious inquiry, but that’s kind of the point. You want to attract different types of people to your open house not only to increase the chances of finding a buyer, but making the most of the opportunity to widen your network.

 

3. Set the Stage: First impressions are not only important for your brand, but also for your product. With that in mind, you want to blow people away as soon as they walk in the door. Some simple tricks to remember:

1. Turn on all the lights, open all of the blinds and curtains. It makes the home look bright, inviting and spacious.

2. Remove personal items (family photos etc.). This allows other potential buyers to envision themselves in the home a little bit easier.

3. Simple is usually better for open houses, so a good rule is usually about 3 main colors per room.

4. One more creative open house technique you can use is to engage all of the senses. Bake some cookies and play some background music. Show your guests how great it would feel to live there.

 

4. Be the Perfect Host: Once you have people showing up to your open house and it’s ready to show, it’s time to turn on the charm.

 

"Once you get them in the door, it’s the way that you conduct the open house that makes the difference,” says Rita Burke, e-PRO®, broker associate at Kenna Real Estate in Denver. “If you come right at them with ‘Are you qualified?’ they’ll run away."

 

Make sure you have all of the right information prepared. You should give your guests brochures with a mortgage loan breakdown, a glossary of the home ownership/mortgage terms and the important neighborhood information. Start networking while you have the guests’ attention. They might not work with you on the spot, but if you make a good first impression it might pay off further down the line.

 

You should also be prepared to close the deal. It’s unlikely that you’ll have a buyer on the spot, but if you’re prepared and the opportunity presents itself, it’ll show that you mean business.

 

Welcome Them In

When done right, an open house is not only an opportunity to give a small demonstration of the product you’re selling, but also a great way to widen your network and build relationships. Remember an open house is a great opportunity to make a positive lasting impression directly with potential clients, so make sure you get it right the first time.

Want even more tips on how to host an awesome open house? Check out Coach Tom Ferry’s keys to a killer open house.