More agents are starting to not like the idea of using open houses to attract new clients, but some have found ways to make it work. We gathered information from different places and came up with 32 ways to make your open house more successful.
1. Live Stream Your Open House
The best way to generate interest in your open house is to live stream it while it’s already happening and people are present. This will give viewers the feeling of being there without actually having to be present. You want to show off the best features of the home, so walk around with your phone or tablet to show the flow of the house. Too many agents just focus on one room, and don’t show off the property. The best live streams are at least 10 minutes long, so you have plenty of time to walk around the yard, and show off the amenities. You want as many people as possible to feel like they can envision themselves in the home. With this method, potential clients can view your house remotely from the comfort of their homes.
When you are giving a virtual tour of a house to potential buyers, make sure to act like you are talking to them directly. This is an opportunity to reach a wide range of people at once, so make sure your appeal is broad. After your tour, post it on social media to increase traffic. Never underestimate the power of social media in the real estate industry.
2. Use Your Open House Marketing to Build Your Personal Brand
Your personal brand is reflected in your open house marketing, so you need to take it seriously. People will respect your work more if they trust and resonate with your brand.
If you want to market your real estate brand yourself, there are many tools you can use to create templates, flyers, and banners. Furthermore, it would be excellent to have a personal hand in marketing your brand because you better understand your values and objectives. No one knows you better than you, so who better to help tell your story?
3. Rearrange the Home Virtually and Send it to Your Open House Visitors
Most people have different perceptions of what their dream home should look like, so it is beneficial to use this to your advantage by helping to fuel their imagination. Using tools like Rooomy, Ikea Place, and others, you can virtually stage the houses you want to sell with different styles and décor to appeal to more buyers.
After completing this task, you can email the different spaces directly to your potential buyers. By doing this, they can quickly look at the choices before contacting you.
4. Drop the Alcohol
Although alcohol may attract people to an event, it is usually best for agents not to serve it. If the event is exclusive, it is acceptable to have alcoholic drinks, but if it is open to the public, it is best not to serve alcohol.
Having free booze at your open house can lead to problems because some people may show up just for the alcohol and not because they are interested in buying the property. This can create a party atmosphere that could be off-putting to people who are actually interested in making a purchase. Additionally, some states have laws that hold the property owner and anyone else who is supervising the premises responsible for any injuries that occur on the property. This means that if anyone is hurt at your open house, you could be sued.
Some clients may not drink alcohol for personal reasons and could be offended by its presence at an event. It might be best to not serve alcohol at the event at all.
5. Following Up is Everything
The simple power of following up with people after an open house is often overlooked. The problem is finding the right people to follow up with so you don’t waste your time. This can be tricky, so some people use specific analytical predictive apps to figure out who is worth following up with, like SmartZip, kvCORE, BoomTown, etc. These apps use billions of data points to give real estate agents leads.
Though there are many apps, the human element should not be forgotten. During an open house, take notice of those interested in the place and mingle with each of your guests. This will help you remember who is interested and answer any questions they may have. You should also chat with them to learn what they are looking for in a home and give them your business card. Assure them that you can take care of all of their buying and selling needs.
6. Focus on the Features That Makes Your Listing Stand Out
You should try to make your listing stand out by focusing on the essential features of the house so that it is more marketable. Talk about unique selling points like a large yard or the proximity to parks and social amenities. Be sure to sell the things that make the property stand out!
Give potential buyers a brief history of the house including when it was built and any unique features it has. Emphasize that these features make it a stand-out home and not just a generic property. Be creative in your language to make the description appealing and engaging.
7. Use the Neighbors to Your Advantage
It can be helpful to let your neighbors know before you have an open house. People are often more likely to recommend someone they know, and this can be valuable in connecting you with potential buyers. To do this, you can invite the neighbors to your open house by walking up to their houses. We suggest doing this for the 10 nearest houses on either side of the street.
It can be beneficial to have neighbors stop by when you are selling your home as it gives potential buyers a sense of community. Taking advantage of this can help you sell your home. Having more neighbors present will also help to make you the top choice when they are ready to buy or sell. Over time, you can become the go-to real estate agent for the neighborhood, which can lead to more business.
8. Work with Other Agents
You may also request to attend other agents’ open houses as a way to improve your brand. This can also be useful when attempting to expand your reach to new neighborhoods or zip codes. For example, if an agent from your office is unavailable and someone is needed to man the open house, you can volunteer. By doing so, you would then be able to negotiate a percentage of any referral fees for new clients that come from the event.
Building trust in a community and developing your brand are both great ways to grow your business.
9. Turn it Into a Garage Sale
It would be beneficial for the sellers to declutter their home before putting it on the market. This way they can kill two birds with one stone by holding a garage sale. You can help the seller by making homemade signs or posters to put around the neighborhood to advertise the garage sale. This will help draw in more potential buyers to see the home. Even if the people at the garage sale are not interested in buying the home, they may know someone who is or be able to give you a referral.
10. Use Facebook and Instagram Stories to Promote Your Open House
We came up with the idea to use a live stream to show people your open house. You can use the stories feature to tell people about the live stream in advance. This approach is very interactive because people can quickly reply with questions or comments. They can also contact you to find out where the open house is and share it with their friends and family on social media.
This is a way to keep your content in front of people who are active on social media. To make these stories more engaging, always remember to add some personal details. The more people know about you and your life, the more they feel like they know you and want to work with you. Include those touches in your content frequently. You could hire a social media manager to help you with this or do it yourself.
11. Get the Follow- Up Timing Right
It is important to consistently follow up with potential clients, as this is key to creating a base. However, there is only a small window of time in which following up is effective. If you wait too long after an open house to reach out to interested buyers, you will likely miss your opportunity. It is best to follow up within 24 hours.
There are specific CRMs, like Pipedrive, Follow Up Boss, and Zoho, that can make communication easier by helping you schedule calls and emails, organizing and synchronizing them across multiple devices. This takes the burden of having to remember to do follow-ups yourself off of you.
12. Have Contests, Giveaways, and Raffles
To increase brand awareness and get your customers involved in your business, try doing giveaways and raffles at your open house. Prizes offered could include things like gift cards, coupons, gadgets, etc. You could also do raffles for discounts to local providers or services. This would give potential clients an immediate value, help build rapport, and also let them know what they could win by showing up to your open house.
Kenneth Er, a Senior Sales Associate, said that one way to sell houses and bring in new clients is to host two open houses, one for the public and one for the neighbors. This way, you cater to both audiences equally.
13. Have a Photographer Take Pictures of Your Open House
Although most agents simply take pictures of the listing and move on, it is beneficial to also have photographers take pictures of the open house. This allows potential customers to see the property in action and gives them a better idea of what the business is all about. Having good photos is also beneficial when presenting future listings.
Don’t forget to ask your sellers for permission before sharing any photos of their home online. By doing this, you’ll build rapport and show that you’re working hard to sell their home. Plus, it’s a great opportunity to show off your skills!
14. Give Your Prospective Buyers all the Info
Make sure that your guests have plenty to eat and drink, but don’t let that be the main focus. Use the time to give them important information about your house and the neighbourhood. You can answer some of the most basic questions in advance with a prepared FAQ sheet. This should include the square footage, number of rooms and bathrooms, any updates to the home, and any unique features it has. You can also help newcomers to the area learn more with a list of fun facts or nearby amenities.
encouraging them to walk around the house and explore each room. You can point out what each room is typically used for and remind them that any cosmetic changes (paint colors, hardware, etc.) are easy and inexpensive to change. By the end of their visit, you want them to have more information about the house than when they came in.
15. Provide an Automatic Shoe Cover Dispenser
If you’re hosting an open house and want to keep the floors clean, you may want to consider requiring guests to wear shoe covers. This way, everyone can enjoy the tour without having to worry about dirtying the floors. For people who have difficulty putting on shoe covers, you can use an automatic shoe dispenser to make things easier.
If you’re holding an open house, it’s a good idea to have a basket of hand sanitizer and wipes available for visitors to use. This shows that you’re considerate and that you care about the homes you’re showing.
