Open House Tips For New Agents!
As a brand new agent, one of the best ways to get buyer leads is to sit open houses of other agents, or host an open house for your own sellers if you get a listing. Think about it, the buyers have advanced to the stage of going to visit homes in person instead of only browsing online, and you get to have face time with that potential buyer which gives you a better chance of closing than an online only interaction. Research has shown that 75% of first time buyers will work with the first agent they meet and like. We here at Dalton Wade want to give you all the tips on how to convert those open house leads into closings!
Pre-Advertising
First and foremost, you will want to advertise the open house date and time on the MLS. Common days for open houses are Saturday or Sunday, and common hours are between 10a-6p with most between 11a and 4p (but usually only 1.5 to 3 hours at a time, no more or less). You will want to make sure that it is also advertised on third party external sites like Zillow, Trulia,Realtor.com, Homes.com, etc. You can also create craiglist adsand pay for a sponsored Facebook adfrom your Facebook business page (if you do not have one – we recommend you create one). It is also a great idea to canvas the neighborhood the property is in with professional printed flyers the day prior as well (word has great templates you can use or you can create flyers or door hangers on Vistaprint.com).
Getting Ready The Day Of
Make sure that you dress professionally! A lot of agents get comfortable and lax with their dress code as time goes on, but we recommend you do not make this mistake. A buyer is entrusting you to assist them with the biggest or one of the biggest, most expensive purchases of their lives – so it is important to look the part. This will ensure the buyer sees you as a trustworthy professional who stands out above the rest.
Arrive approximately 30 minutes early to place open house signs around the neighborhood to direct traffic to your open house. It is helpful for people on their way already trying to locate the home, but it can also draw in those that just so happen to be driving by at the time. Make sure to place signs from a busy road on in at street corners to get the most traffic.
Make sure you bring a few things with you to set up prior to any guests arriving. Light snacks like cookies and small water bottles are common to provide at an open house. Some agents put on light music and even light a scented candle. You will want to have a stack of your business cards on hand to give out, along with copies of the customer synopsis MLS sheet for property details (to hand out to customers) and a broker synopsis MLS sheet for yourself (to view for any questions that may arise so you can answer competently). Make sure to study the property details prior to though, and find out ages of the roof, A/C and water heater as those are common questions. Having a pen and sign in sheet is vital so you can obtain the contact information of the leads, but it is even better if you have a computer and simply log the leads directly into your company CRM (customer relation management system) as they arrive instead of a physical paper sign in sheet. Common information to obtain is name, phone number, email address, and ask if they already have an agent or not. Our CRM is the very popular Boomtown(We have training and access to it is free if you are an agent with us)!
During The Open House
When your guests begin to arrive, always greet them at the front door. Ask that they sign in and let them know you are available to answer any questions about the home. Let them tour the home on their own so as not to crowd them, but keep an eye out and be mindful of customer activity inside the property so as to stay safe and keep your seller’s belongings safe. Make sure to also catch them on their way out and ask if they had any questions and bid them goodbye. If you are able to strike up conversation, get an idea of their property criteria and buying time line, then ask if you can set them up on a property search as well. This lets you stay in touch with them and provide them useful information all at once.
After The Open House
Make sure to follow up with your leads! Follow up is key for the best agents, without it you will never close a deal. Send a quick text and email thanking the lead for their time today and let them know you are available to assist with any questions they may have about the home or any other homes they are interested in. If you obtained their search criteria, let them know you are setting them up on a property search in the MLS (or your CRM) to be sent out to them promptly. Tell them if they see anything they like to contact you for a showing. Set another follow up to check back in with them by phone call perhaps in a few days from there.
We hope these open house tips have been helpful to you! If you would like to learn even more, stay tuned for future blog posts! We would also love it if you considered being an agent with us as well so we can help even further. Request a meeting with our recruiter today on our siteor call our broker Phil Wade directly at 727-888-4175!
