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Should new agents do open houses?

By John Kreiss,REALTOR®,CBR®,SRES®,e-PRO®

Real Estate Agent with Prudential Prime Properties 009526424

February 16, 2013 09:58 PM

I see a lot of mixed messages from realtors regarding open houses. Many experienced agents highly recommend that new agents cover open houses. According to this school of thought, new agents looking for clients, might be able to find some buyer clients. selling the house would be a plus, but the real benefit is finding buyer clients.

Much has been written, however, about why open houses are not very effective. The arguments are very persuasive:

It's one thing to have an agent bring a qualified prospect, but it's another to open the doors to everybody.

Buyers prefer the Internet today, and this is where they now start their searches. When they find something of interest, they contact the broker to schedule an appointment

Open houses present security risks including thefts.

Few homes close using open houses.

Personally, I get the impression that many experienced agents got their start by doing open houses and finding "buyer clients" and it's some sort of passage that new agents should do open houses part of paying their dues, even though open houses probably generated more buyer prospects ten or fifteen years ago than they do today. I get the impression that open houses, and cold calling are like the "sweat shop" hours that medical interns must do as a way to pay their dues.

Instead of open houses, would it make more sense to invest in technology? Develop a contact management system, build a great web site that is optimized for the search engines, write client-centered blog posts consistently, be active in the social media channels, start a newsletter, and do a lot networking by participating in community activities like the Lions Club, the school booster club, Chamber of Commerce, etc.?

Perhaps these things are easier than the things that most of the old-timers had to do when they started, but why do things simply because that is the way ithey've always been done in the past?

I don't see a lot of experienced agents cold calling. I also get the impression that some sellers think that open houses are needed to get results, but some agents are afraid to confront their clients about this issue. Instead, they hold open houses to keep these clients happy, even though that's not the best way to sell a home in today's technologically driven market.

I encourage experienced agents to share their thoughts on the open house issue. Do you feel new agents should do them? Is this the best way to identify leads, or are their better ways for new agents to use their time?

I look forward to hearing your opinions.

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Rob D. Shepherd

Windermere/lane county - Florence, OR

Principal Broker GRI, SRES

Open houses don't work in our area. IF you get anybody, its usually neighbors a block away that wanted to know what your stuff looks like. Maybe a few meth heads with the same idea.

Feb 16, 2013 10:24 PM

John Kreiss,REALTOR®,CBR®,SRES®,e-PRO®

Prudential Prime Properties - Marlborough, MA

Reaching the Lifestyles of Your Dreams

Thanks for sharing. A lot of people on LinkedIn took a different approach. They said that open houses are opportunities to get in front of people, and nosy neighbors could be good referral sources.

That stuff might be true, but the virtual tour is certainly an option for the nosy neighbors, and isn't it possible to get in front of just as many (if not more) people at the local gym or supermarket. These people could also make good futured referral prospects to begin the relationship process by adding them to the database and newsletter list, and even calling them somewhere down the road.

Feb 18, 2013 12:50 AM

Anonymous

William J. McBurney, Jr.

New agents should definitely do Open Houses; so should old agents.

In New York City, I have found that Buyers who are looking for a broker

to take them around, often start off by going to Open Houses on their own

and then they ask me to find something else for them and to represent

them on other properties.

Prospective sellers often go to Open Houses to scout in advance what

the competition is and also to possibly meet a good agent to handle their

own sale. I acquired a number of good listings from this opportunity.

Besides, although most buyers and sellers do start off by searching on the

Internet or using some technology, some people still do not do so which

means that the only way to reach them is to meet them at Open Houses.

Feb 18, 2013 12:59 AM

John Kreiss,REALTOR®,CBR®,SRES®,e-PRO®

Prudential Prime Properties - Marlborough, MA

Reaching the Lifestyles of Your Dreams

New York City is a different animal in my opinion. Foot traffic is likely to be significantly higher than with open houses held in suburban communities.

Although there are still a few people fighting off technology, this group is dwindling. Many people in their fifties and sixties now use the Internet, social media, and even text on occassion. This trend is likely to continue. As more people become comfortable with these tools, fewer will be resistant to using them.

Open houses can get new agents in front of potential buyers for sure, but I personally think a good goal for any new agent would be to build a referral pipeline to the point where he/she is getting so many leads that they don't have time to do open houses.

Don't have enough leads in the pipeline? Consider the open house option.

Referral leads, however, are always the best leads in my opinion, and growing this base is the most important thing any agent can do. Networking, via attending in-person events like the kid's soccer games and participating in community groups, are great tools that can be used to identify contacts to keep in touch with using newsletters, social media, occasional phone calls, lunches, etc.,

An online and social media presence can also identify leads, and these leads might be even better than open house leads, but probably not as good as referrals in many cases. In addition to creating leads and sales, clients developed online, can eventually become good testimonial and referral sources themselves

Feb 18, 2013 01:35 AM

Anonymous

Maureen Coughlan

I think new agents should shadow an experienced agent 1 or 2 times and then go off on their own. It is the art of talking to people that is important. I learned questions I am allowed to ask and ones I can't ask for fair housing purposes. When I was new, I gained many buyer clients from open houses and still do. I think it should be one of the many ways a new agents builds their client list. It clearly works for me!

Feb 19, 2013 12:33 AM

Wayne Johnson

Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper REALTORS® - San Antonio, TX

San Antonio REALTOR, San Antonio Homes For Sale

John-Open House-whatever an individual agent believes is good or bad about open houses is probably correct. They are beneficial in some geographies for some agents, and other places and agents, not so hot. If the intended purpose is to see the house being held open, it's not worked for me. If it's to get buyer leads, it's worked for me.

Mar 12, 2013 12:26 AM

John Kreiss,REALTOR®,CBR®,SRES®,e-PRO®

Prudential Prime Properties - Marlborough, MA

Reaching the Lifestyles of Your Dreams

Thanks Wayne. That seems to be the overwhelming consensus. Open houses can be an effectvie way for realtors,who need to generate leads, to get it done.

Mar 12, 2013 11:42 AM

Anonymous

Kate Broddick

I thought your post was interesting. When I first started real estate I found that it was "an old boys club." Agents were advertising in newspapers, hanging out in coffee shops and working from the office. I was advised to do open houses for agents who basically had more listings then they could handle. In doing so, I've made a tonne of contacts, closed several deals and got listings of my own. I was VERY surprised at the amount of prospects and leads I generated.

However. I believe that the social media world has also played into my success. I'm an avid blogger, update my twitter, facebook and linkedin accounts often. My website was the first thing that I worked on that allowed me to tie in my home staging element.

I think the combination of old and new ideas works well. Although the internet is where most buyers start, many people like to go through homes without an agent giving them a "high pressure sales pitch."

Apr 05, 2013 10:37 AM

John Kreiss,REALTOR®,CBR®,SRES®,e-PRO®

Prudential Prime Properties - Marlborough, MA

Reaching the Lifestyles of Your Dreams

Kate - Thanks for sharing. I think you're right. There is no silver bullet, and it's good to have a mix of old proven marketing strategies with the new marketing. I'm taking your advice, and doing an open house tomorrow. Looking forward to identifying some new clients.

Apr 06, 2013 02:44 AM

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