How to get the most out of an open house

home for sale

The absolute number one rule of getting new leads from an open house is: You must follow up. Which of course means that rule zero is: You must get their information.

Sometimes it can feel like there’s no point in bothering to get everyone’s info. After all, so many of them are essentially just tire-kickers, right? Not exactly. They may not be interested in buying this house, and they may not even be interested in buying a house. Yet.

But they are willing to take time out of their weekend to wander around an open house… check out the neighborhood… daydream about what if. When they do get to the point where they’re ready to take the plunge, you want to be there.

Most agents set up their open house with everything potential buyers need to get in touch: stacks of their real estate business cards, info sheets about the house, maybe packets of comps or local area information. Unfortunately, that leaves everything in the buyer’s hands. All you’re left with is whatever little bit of information people elected to leave on the contact form or sign-in sheet.

Sometimes, it’s better to play a little bit hard-to-get. Don’t have all the information printed out and lying around on the kitchen counter. Instead, work to engage the open house attendees in conversation. Try to get a sense of what they’re in the market for, what their needs are, and how interested they are in this particular house. This should give you enough information to offer to email them something of value: information on local schools, listings of other houses that might fit their needs, etc.

Once you’ve gotten their information, be sure to follow up! An open house is a great chance to make a first impression, but it’s your choice whether that impression is of a helpful real estate agent who offered valuable information when it was needed, or a real estate agent who made a lot of promises but never followed through.

A couple of other tips for getting the most out of your next open house:

  1. Consider serving snacks, or having a tray of cookies available. It helps visitors feel more like guests, and makes them more likely to reciprocate by giving you something (like their contact information).
  2. Don’t just offer facts about the house. Tell a story. Help people to imagine what it would be like to live in the home.
  3. Make sure you have big, easy-to-read real estate signs out front! You want it to be very clear where the open house is, and who’s selling the house.

When done right, following up is never a waste of time. If you’ve done an excellent job with the open house, those people who weren’t ready to buy may become a great source of business and referrals for you down the road.