Have you ever heard a Real Estate Agent say Open Houses are a waste of time? Well, we're going to be honest about it. Chances are that those real estate agents don't actually know how to effectively host one. Let's break down the top 5 mistakes real estate agents make when attempting to host an Open House.
#1 Not Promoting Your Open House On Multiple Platforms
Adding your Open House event to just your website and/or your MLS isn't enough - especially if your MLS doesn't syndicate in real-time with many of the major consumer-loved websites (i.e. Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, etc). Make sure you've checks (or manually added) your Open House details to at least the top 5-10 major consumer-loved websites. These websites actually e-mail their own subscribers to let them know about YOUR open house – FOR FREE. Take advantage of that service and exposure. Make sure this happens at least 5 days before your event.
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#2 Not Utilizing Open House Street Signs
There are 3 major advantages to utilizing Open House Street Signs. The key is using as many as you can possibly get your hands on (we're talking minimum 5 signs). Advantage number one is that everyone in the area will see your sign, name, brand, etc. This is great for exposure – especially if you're hosting open houses within the same area every single weekend. The second advantage is directly foot traffic. If your hosting an Open House at a location that's close to a major transportation area or shopping center then it pays to drive traffic that way. Don't just think about getting active buyers through the door, consider the benefits of getting EVERYONE through the door. The third advantage is that it helps active buyers find your open house – just because they got the address off of a site like Zillow doesn't mean they'll find the place.
#3 Not Utilizing a Sign-in Sheet & Confirming Contact Info
This is probably one of the biggest mistakes we've seen! There's really no point in driving all that traffic to your Open House if you aren't going to collect contact information. A great way to make sure contact info is accurate is to offer a giveaway/contest. Let everyone who stops in know that they'll be entered to win, but they HAVE TO add their info legibly so that you can contact them if they are the winner. People are more likely to provide accurate AND more legible contact info this way.
Hosting an Open House? Download our Open House Sign-in Sheet.
#4 Not Following Up With Everyone Who Stopped By
If you're calling through all your Open House visitors ONLY to ask if they'd like to place an offer, then you're doing it all wrong. Sure, you've got to ask for the benefit of your client (the seller), but you're running a business. In order to stay in business you need to drum up more business. This means inquiring about whether or not your Open House visitors are currently working with an agent, currently looking to buy or sell, and/or know anyone who is looking to buy or sell. Don't skip out on that question.
#5 Not Adding Contacts Into Your CRM Immediately
Follow Up is the name of the game in this business! Oddly enough, many real estate agents don't even use a CRM. Whether or not your new Open House contacts were immediately interested in buying or selling, add them. You'll want to keep them updated long-term and stay top of mind. This is only possible and scalable with a CRM.
Do you have some tips to add to this list? Drop them in the comments below and become part of the conversation!