Another REALTOR, Kirk, and I were discussing the benefits of internet exposure via blogs, posts, etc. as opposed to doing open houses. Mind you, we're located in Alameda, CA, and we have very active open houses. It helps that Alameda is a small island, and it's easy for people to go from one open house to another.
Open houses open doors to new clients
Kirk is very high-tech oriented and likes working with income property investors. He had his own blogs for two years, and he writes beautifully. So I was prodding him to start blogging on Active Rain. I was surprised when he told me that even though he has spent an inordinate amount of time writing and blogging, his best sources of clients have been open houses!
Open house for Fixers draw the biggest crowds
He told me that a fixer upper duplex he held open was literally a gold mine for leads. Even when he didn't have a listing of his own, he offered to hold open houses for other agents in the office. For the first half of the year, Kirk was among the top producers (and so was I, by the way). And this month, he has a number of pending sales and other clients in the line-up. His primary source of clients? Open house!
Open house or blogging? Do both!
I must admit that I love doing open houses as well. However, my position is that we should supplement that with internet exposure ---- for example, I've had really good luck posting my listings and open houses on craigslist. And lately, I've started posting my listings on ActiveRain's MLS. Recently, I benefited by getting a new listing as a result of my ActiveRain exposure (Yeeha!).
What do other agents propose as the best way to develop a client base?
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