10 Ways to Maximize Your Open House

An open house is a huge opportunity to capitalize on not only selling the home you’re representing, but to make countless contacts and potentially sell hundreds more homes down the line. It’s all about how you market yourself and making the most of the contacts that walk in the door. In real estate, it is so rare for people to seek you out rather than the other way around. When you have an environment where potential home buyers and sellers are gathered in one place, you must do everything you can to take advantage of every opportunity provided.

1. HAVE A PARTY – Play music at a reasonable volume, set up a game of bean bag toss in the bag yard, and have guests draw ice breaker questions as they enter so they can feel at ease. You should know what type of customers will be shopping the neighborhood so plan the entertainment accordingly.
2. FOOD AND FUN – Have something attention grabbing like a food truck or a prize raffle. The more you can entice people to wander in off the street, the better.
3. SEND INVITES– Invite your social network, send invitations to the people in the neighborhood, expand out to the school district; make sure to spread the word.
4. MEET THE NEIGHBORS – Knock on doors and introduce yourself. Make connections in the neighborhood and let them know that you are here to help in any way you can.
5. TARGETED FACEBOOK EVENTS– Make a fun video, create an event, and boost it through Facebook by targeting geographic areas.
6. PROMOTE PRIZES – Make your event a “must see” because you have an awesome prize! Remind people by email the day before the open house about your featured giveaway with a great video or compelling photo.
7. CALL THE STAGNANT CONTACTS – The buyers and sellers who “aren’t ready yet” need a personal invite. Give them a ring and show them how dedicated you are. Your personal approach will go a long way.
8. PUT OUT GREAT SIGNS – On the day of, put out as many as you can with super clear directional.
9. USE PRIZES TO CAPTURE INFO – If you have a prize drawing, the collection of contacts should be simple. Just make sure to get full names, numbers, and emails on each entry form and make sure to promote that every person there needs to complete a card for a chance to win
10. TURN THE NOISY NEIGHBORS INTO A LISTING – If they came just to ask about the price, tell them you have lots of interested buyers but only one will be able to get this listing. That means a lot of other people will still be interested in the neighborhood and looking shortly. Have they given any thought to selling?

There is nothing more valuable than a person that is willing to share with you that they are in the market for a home and their contact information. At an open house, you already know that people walking in the door have some sort of interest in the market, whether they are selling and want to see the comps or they are interested in buying. Once you have their contact information, you can be an important resource for them when they are ready to buy or sell a home. Make sure your open house leaves a lasting impression because even those that aren’t currently looking can pass your name along for a referral.