A Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow: It’s Called Open Houses
By Sarah Michelle Bliss Did you know that 60 percent of consumers who walk through an open house actually purchase—and many of those people are unrepresented by an agent? If you are looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you can find it at the end of a well-planned open house. I have a few success stories to share first before we dive into what an open house should look like. Denver, Colo. – Brand-new agent sat her first open house and a $700,000 buyer came in without an agent
Richmond, Va. – Luxury agent holds an open house on a $1.8 million listing and a cash buyer walks in; she double-ended her listing and listed the property he needed to sell for $850,000 Racine, Wis. – Rookie agent holds an open house where a mom and daughter walk through; both need to sell, and they want to buy together; three sales closed from one open house
If you are not doing open houses, you are leaving money on the table—but what does it mean to have a successful open house? Let’s explore this a little more:
- Plan ahead. Don’t throw a few signs out on Sunday morning and hope for the best. Start your research on Monday for a weekend open house. Identify a property in the sweet spot for price in your area that shows well whether vacant or occupied.
- Canvas the neighborhood with flyers to let at least 40 people know about the open house (10 houses on either side of the property and 20 on the other side of the street).
- Use Facebook Live to invite your online database. Run a Facebook targeted ad.
- Have your swag ready to hand out, including a professional, full-color flyer of the home.
- Put a sign on the door that lets people know they will be required to provide credentials before they can see the house.
- Ask for feedback by using a survey of the house instead of a sign-in sheet.
- Ask your lender to host the open house with you.
- Know the inventory around the open house (preview if you can). Have a printout available for similar homes on the market in the surrounding area. Don’t be afraid to put a BRB sign on the door to go show another property around the corner from your open house.
- Show up early!
- Put out the appropriate number of signs. Ask permission to place signs in the neighbor’s yard.
- Stage the house with a mild-scented candle, lights on, windows open and welcoming music. If its sports season, a game on without sound is appropriate. The longer someone stays in the house, the better your chances are at converting them.
- Be approachable, friendly, knowledgeable and professional.
Sarah Michelle Bliss is a real estate coach with Workman Success Systems. She has been in the real estate industry since 1995 and is an original founder at RE/MAX Professionals, where she has been a part of the Nate Martinez Team since 1997. Over the past 20 years, she has taught locally and nationally, and coached and influenced her peers through team management, agent development and training. Bliss is currently the director of Agent Development for RE/MAX Professionals in Glendale, Ariz. For more information, please visit www.WorkmanSuccess.com.
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