Open houses can be spectacular tools for realtors to market their listings. When done right they will consistently attract a stream of highly qualified leads. But when small details are overlooked, you can end up wasting time and spinning your wheels for not much benefit. Follow these steps to get the most efficient use out of your open houses. 

Market it Properly Beforehand

    In order to attract qualified leads to your open house, you will have to properly market your event beforehand. Many realtors make the mistake of advertising superficial things like snacks or hors d'oeuvres. While this type of approach is popular, it’s not effective. If you market your open house for a four-bedroom Greek Revival on the west side of town by saying you will have free cheesecake, you will attract people looking for free cheesecake, not a four-bedroom Greek Revival on the west side of town. 
Signage, targeted social media ads, mailers, email, and good old-fashioned door knocking are much more effective. Schedule your open house so you have time to get the word out to prospective buyers. In addition, make sure to document what works and doesn’t work. A large part of open house success is getting a little better at it each time you host one. 

Have a Process

    The purpose of your open house is to both sell the house you are listing and also to compile a list of qualified leads for future listings. When people show up, make sure you have a way to collect names, phone numbers, and email addresses at a minimum. 
Sign-in sheets work just fine, but some realtors use an iPad or laptop so the information can be entered directly into a CRM. It will take a bit of experimenting to figure out what works best for you, but experiment with a method that allows you to accurately keep track of who shows up to your open houses. 

Follow Up

    Deals are not closed at open houses, in the days following your event, make sure you follow up with everyone who came by email and perhaps phone as well. Make sure to personalize your emails, people respond much better if they feel they have been heard. 
When you meet people at the open house, try to find out specifically what they are looking for and document that in your CRM as well. Then you can follow up with an email template, but add something personal such as recommending another house with an open gourmet kitchen that they said they are in the market for. 

Be Consistent

    The most successful realtors use open houses to build their network of potential buyers as much as to sell their listings. By regularly hosting open houses and collecting names and contact information, you will slowly but surely build a solid database of highly qualified potential clients. Try to host an open house on a regular basis, develop systems to properly market your events, make sure you are collecting contact information, and most importantly, follow up and build those relationships. 

Lastly, keep in mind that hosting the open has two purposes, you are marketing yourself and building your networks as much as you are marketing that one listing, so having key information to share about the house and the neighbourhood will be a way to distinguish yourself. Check out the Community Feature Sheet® to order unique marketing materials for your next listing.