When holding an open house, you have the opportunity to build excitement, meet multiple prospects, and please the seller, but what if the house du jour doesn't meet attendees' requirements? Is your open house automatically a failure? Absolutely not.
You won't always sell the property at an open house, but you still have the chance to sell yourself to the foot traffic that walks in the door. Follow these open house tips to convert "lookers" into your future clients.
Greet People at the Door
The fastest way to build rapport with new prospects is to offer a friendly welcome when they enter the open house. People are often intimidated when walking into a stranger's home, so a warm welcome will put them at ease. Offer prospects a brief information sheet about the home, verbally express a couple of highlights and then let them tour it at their own pace.
Be the Area Expert
One important open house tip that will showcase your knowledge of the community is to leave area information packets somewhere that prospects will see them. These should highlight the local school system, surrounding attractions, community events, and even average weather temperatures. This information will be extremely helpful for out-of-town buyers and may be enlightening for locals, as well. Support your packets by researching how many homes have sold nearby and the average selling price, and don't be afraid to offer up these tidbits when you're talking with prospects. If you approach visitors with insider knowledge, they are more likely to trust you.
Ask Leading Questions
Once visitors tour the home, take a few minutes to gauge where they are in the buying process. Realtor magazine suggests asking a few basic questions:
- Are they interested in this particular house? What do they like or dislike about it?
- Have they seen other properties they're interested in?
- Do they want to set up an appointment to talk further? Feel free to suggest additional properties that may be a better fit. It's impossible to follow up with visitors without their contact information. After you have established a friendly rapport, ask visitors to provide basic information so you can send them the latest real estate news. Serious buyers will be curious to know what is selling and where.
- If you haven't had success converting visitors in a few days, set the prospects up on a "drip campaign" where occasional emails with real estate information are automatically sent. Your prospects may not be ready to pick an agent right now, but when you maintain constant contact, you will be on the front burner when the time does come.
Gather Information
These types of questions will help prospects realize that they could use an expert's help if they want to avoid wasting valuable time and maximize their house-hunting resources.
Often, attendees don't know if they're ready to work with an agent, so Buyer Scripts suggests posing questions such as, "Have you seen the recently listed properties in the neighborhood?" or "Have you attended an open house without realizing the property was out of your price range?"
Follow Up
The Ready Agent states that 80 percent of sales are made between the fifth and 12th contact, so don't get discouraged if you're unable to convert prospects into clients at the open house. Follow-up emails and phone calls are vital to maintaining the relationships you start when hosting. You'll want to immediately follow up with an unobtrusive email, which is great for continuing the momentum.
If you haven't had success converting visitors in a few days, set the prospects up on a "drip campaign" where occasional emails with real estate information are automatically sent. Your prospects may not be ready to pick an agent right now, but when you maintain constant contact, you will be on the front burner when the time does come.
These open house tips to convert prospects into clients are simple, yet effective. Once you establish rapport, exercise your knowledge, and follow up, visitors will have no reason not to use your services for their real estate needs.
