Marketing tips for killer open houses that will drive buyer engagement and keep your listings moving.
1. Prepare ahead of time
Make sure you’ve completed your Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) before arriving at the property. This is your opportunity to establish yourself as the local authority to potential buyers and neighbors in attendance. It’s important that you brush up on other properties in the area for any recent equivalent sales.
2. Shine online
The days leading up to your open are prime opportunities to be posting about the property and the open times. Use Facebook to boost your post to anyone in your target zip codes and consider other avenues like local groups, Craigslist or similar, to get the word out.
3. Get your signage out early
Drop by the property in the early hours and set up your open home signage, don’t wait for the open home time to start. Be sure to use custom branded open home signs to establish your presence in the local area, people will notice your consistency and it will draw attention to future properties.
4. Use a flag or balloon to draw attention
When you arrive at the property to conduct your open home, attach something physical to your signage that will draw people’s attention from the street. A branded flag or helium balloons in your brand color will stand out and drive traffic through the front door.
5. Gather open home attendee information professionally
If you’re conducting an open home, make sure you use a tablet or laptop to collect attendee information as they arrive. By utilizing a real estate specific solution you can automate the post-visit process by correctly tagging each person for every property they visit and sending them follow up communications, as well as set reminders for yourself, to remain front and center.
6. Livestream your open
Set up your laptop with a camera to livestream your open home on Facebook. Buyers unable to attend in person can still share the experience and it gives them an opportunity to ask questions in real time. If there are lots of attendees, live streaming can drive buyers to take action in a seller’s market.
7. Invite a Lender to attend
In particular for a property’s first open, many attendees will be curious locals. If you have a Lender or Loan Officer attending, it might be an opportunity to move an individual from curiosity to potential buyer if they’re better educated about their options.
8. Thank your attendees immediately afterwards
Make sure all attendees are receiving a text or email thanking them for attending and offering additional information about your property. It’s a good opportunity to ask for feedback to guide future open homes. By completing this task immediately, you’ll portray yourself as diligent and organized, traits that they would be looking for in a Realtor when it comes time to sell their own property.
9. Door knock
Yes, introduce yourself to the neighboring houses on the street. They may be considering selling and providing an in-person update about the success of your open home could be a trigger for them to move from passive to active sellers.
10. Update your sales pipeline
Once you’re back in your car, use your cell phone to enter all the relevant information into your Sales Pipeline about the open home including number of attendees, any repeat attendees and comments about the property or its price.