Open Houses, Day 5
DAY 5
Friday’s Objective: Ensure that you are prepared to host your first Open House and know how to properly follow up with leads!
Conducting a successful open house is all about the details. The experience you offer visitors during the open house is an audition of your skills and professionalism.
Please be mindful of the following as sellers are entrusting you with the safety and securing of their home.
Safety Precautions:
- Before an open house, tell sellers to lock up and hide all:
- Prescription drugs
- Valuables (jewelry, cash, etc)
- Personal information (mail, bank statements, anything with sensitive information)
- Anything that can be used as a weapon (guns, kitchen knives, etc)
- Unlock all doors before an open house. If there is a dangerous situation, you and others can quickly exit using any door.
- Remember to lock up afterwards and check the rooms AND crawl space! People target for sale homes – they use side doors, garage door openers in unlocked cars, or hide during an open house to access a house.
- Ideally have 2 agents work the open house – good for safety and can help if potential buyers connect more with one agent than the other.
- *This has mixed reviews*: Put a sign at the front door saying the open house is being recorded for security purposes (whether it is or isn’t because it will deter theft). Though some agents argue that it deters people from feeling comfortable while at the open house.
Before the Open House:
Print:
- Copies of any data or features to hand out at the Open House
- Sign up sheets (and remember to bring a few pens)
Setting up Signs:
- Set up signs on way to open house (20-30 min prior to start)
- Put signs on every major road leading into the subdivision/street
- Add a rider to your signs to say the open house hours (optional)
- Attach balloons or flags to get attention
After the Open House:
- Turn off the lights
- Lock ALL doors and windows
- Take down open house signs
Action Items for After the Open House:
- Leave a Thank-You note for the seller in their house.
- Give listing agent or sellers feedback (an open house report) that evening.
- If you used a sign-up sheet (these are general guidelines and ideas, remember to check their preferred method of communication):
- Email the customers that night with info about the house AND other similar listings. Sometimes people will be interested in seeing other homes on Sunday and you could get a client out of it.
- Follow up with a phone call a couple days later.
- Follow up again right before the weekend to see if they want to view homes that weekend.
- If they have an agent – forward those names to the listing agent, so they can follow up.
Download the attached “Open House Super Packet” of letters for ideas and verbiage on how to follow up.
Read the Guide to Open Houses – for ideas from our own top producers about how to host a successful open house.
