Sometime back in the late 1980's, Jim Weichert bought Shannon & Luchs, the company where I began my real estate career, and I stayed on for about a year after the change. And I have to give Mr. Weichert a lot of credit for teaching me two important things. One was how to do a successful Open House. The second was the importance of good follow up after the Open House was over.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Weichert Realtors, they are known for yellow signs. And these signs are not just yellow. They are pretty gaudy. They sort of attract bugs at night. Same with the Open House arrows he issued to us all immediately.
For those of us who thought this particular shade of yellow to be, well, sort of Non-U, he explained that, when you are trying to sell a listing at an Open House, subtle isn't what you go for. Here's what we did if we wanted the company to pay for the Washington Post ad:
- The Wednesday before the Open House, a minimum of 50 gaudy bright yellow post cards inviting either the neighbors or some target market to the Open.
- We worked with the sellers to make sure they did a thorough clean up (this was the pre-staging era), mowed the lawn, and put all kid stuff and clutter out of sight.
- We contacted other agents who worked the neighborhood to let them know we would be Open and invite them to send their buyers.
- The morning of the Open, we dropped by the office and filled up a bunch of gaudy bright yellow balloons with helium
- We went from the Office to the neighborhood of the Open and put between 10 and 15 gaudy bright yellow Open House arrows in the ground from all roads leading to the Open.
- When we got to the house, we tied the gaudy bright yellow balloons to the For Sale sign.
- We learned the secrets of getting prospects (and neighbors) real names and contact information, and during our conversations we got their permission to call to follow up.
Oh, and did I mention that I learned to love yellow? I realized this worked when I held a Sunday Open two doors down from another broker's listing. The properties were almost identical, and our prices were within nickels of one another. The other agent had about a dozen people through. My head count was closer to 60. And it sold to one of them.
And follow up? Weichert once said that an agent who looked great, dressed well, drove an expensive late model car but who didn't follow up, would earn about a quarter of what an agent with halitosis, wearing the dog's bed, driving a dusty Yugo and following up systematically with hot calls to the prospects he or she met at Opens.
And I think he's right on the mark with that one - although think how much one could make by being presentable AND following up!
After I left Weichert for a firm with very tasteful everything, I continued to remember Jim Weichert's advice on successful opens, and when I follow it, I'm very successful at getting qualified feet through the front door. And I have to wonder about all of the agents who say that Opens are just a waste of time.
And Jim, if you ever read this, I still miss the effect of those bright yellow Open arrows!
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