Increasing Open House Traffic

Open Houses

One of my goals this year is to continue to host open houses in Frisco Texas. In fact, I will be hosting an open house at least 18 times from today till July 1. That is my schedule. Now I do not usually host my own open houses but I will when necessary. Regardless of whether the house is owned by my client  or another agent's client I have two groups to satisfy: the sellers and the potential buyers.

Efficiency

I like open houses because they are very efficient. There is a set time that is advertised and during this time frame sellers, buyers and agents benefit.  

The sellers benefit because their house is now available to be seen by many more buyers. Buyers benefit because they can get into these homes without any appointment or pretense to visit. Agents benefit because they get to meet potential clients and perhaps even sell the home they are hosting. These are all good things.

Leverage

When I find something that benefits all concerned I want to leverage it more and more. To do this for an open house is simple: increase traffic. You can increase traffic by extending the hours, advertising, giveaways, contests, etc.. The limit is really up to you and your imagination. Since I like efficiency and leverage I am going to try and combine them when I increase traffic.

Come Stump Jeff

That's right the dare is on for anyone that comes to one of my open houses, you can compete first hand. You get to try and stump Jeff and if you do you get a gift card. The rules are simple:

1. Fill out a registration card for the open house. (typical contact information which will be used to send you your gift card if you stump Jeff)
2. Select the type of gift card from a selection of Amazon or Starbucks
3. Write down your question and hand me the card. The question has to be real estate related to this particular house. Asking a particular RE question regarding contracts or other forms are not appropriate. However, asking what the county taxes are for this home, or the day of the week for trash pickup, these two questions are a good start (obviously I will have the answers to those.)  
4. If I cannot answer it without getting to the internet to find the answer then you will win a gift card. 

I once showed up hosting an open house to a home built in 1994 and was asked a simple question regarding if this was the original owner of the home. I had forgotten to ask the listing agent. Not a tough question to ask or answer but I was not prepared.

Win-Win

This is where the efficiency comes in to play. While I may pay out some money in gift cards,  I will gather a tremendous amount of information regarding what is important to my potential buyers.  I will also learn how to be the best prepared agent holding open houses. 

Now when I ask other agent's to hold their listings open (I am selective,) they know I will help drive traffic and represent their client's house better than most agents.

For my clients who list with me, they know that whether it is me or someone who works with me, their home will be hosted by someone who is very well prepared. After all if you are a client of mine:

Your Success is My Focus