When you want to generate new prospects, open houses are often a very productive way to connect with people who are in the process of looking right now. This technique has been used successfully for years. When top producing RE/MAX agent Bob Wolff moved from Colorado, where he had a successful business with lots of past clients, to California, where he knew practically no one, open houses were his fundamental block for building contact with new clients. He built his business beyond where it had been in a very short time from scratch using open houses.

The basics of holding an open house

1. Who is your ideal buyer?

   By giving adequate forethought to what you want to produce, you can attract the kind of buyer you want to work with. While open houses may be part of your marketing plan for the seller, in this article, the focus is on ways to build new business. Just holding open the listings in your inventory may not be the answer. List the criteria that identify your “ideal buyer” profile. Here are some questions that can help you narrow it down:

   • What price range do you want to work?
   • What location or neighborhoods do you want to work?
   • What type of property or home do you want to work?
   • What kind of needs are you uniquely qualified to solve?
   • What is hot right now?

   Ask yourself these questions along with any others that help you define more clearly your perfect buyer. Remember when these buyers turn into clients, they are the future of your referrals and business, so don’t let it be accidental…..be purposeful.

   Borrowing a house to hold open is a perfectly good idea. Other agents will probably welcome your help. You could even offer to do this for a FSBO.

2. Plan your promotion

   Just putting the signs out and hoping the lookey loos that are out driving around will produce some results, but thoughtful promotion exponentially increases the results. Think of this a multi-opportunity event and leverage it in as many ways as possible.

   • Advertising in the weekend papers is often useful, but it varies depending on the local situation and is sometimes too costly. Ask others what response they have bee getting. Homes magazines may let you put a banner on your ad, giving the open house information. Advertising it online is a must these days. Websites, such as Yahoo include open houses.

   • Creative thinking will expand your reach. When you think about who that perfect buyer is, consider what they read, where they hang out and how to get the message to them. It may be targeted flyers or invitations sent by email or snail mail. For a horse property, you could leave flyers at the feed store! Where do your perfect buyers hang out? What activities to they take part in? Who else might know these people (an accountant, lawyer, window washer)?

   • Invite the neighbors. Do this is in person a day before or the hour before. Just knock on their door and introduce yourself and invite them to come by or ask if they know of any of their friend that want to live in the neighborhood. The open house is an excuse to do some targeted warm-calling!

   • Invite a loan officer to hang out with you and qualify people as they arrive. This is a win-win and the loan officer might help you cover some promotional costs.

     There is unlimited potential, if you’ll think creatively. The hubbub you create will generate exposure and possibly listing opportunities from others impressed with your methods! You don’t want to be just like everybody else. Make yourself memorable.

3. Followup is important

   Some of your guests will probably already be working with an agent. Determine this early in your conversation with them. You neither want to waste time and energy or get in a sticky situation with another’s client. If you determine, however, they do need the services of an agent, building their trust starts here. Ask them questions to build rapport and to give you the information about their needs. Ask permission to get them more information and call them back. Many people at first are hesitant to give out their phone numbers but are more wiling to give you their email address. Make sure your sign in sheet includes email as one of your fields.

Then follow up -- don’t drop the ball here. E-mail a thank you note immediately and then determine the urgency of their needs. Are they going to buy in the next 30 days? The next 3 months? The next year? When they find the perfect home? Now that you have them categorized, put them into your system (you do have systems set up for your leads, don’t you?) that fits. Add them to your monthly newsletter list (What?-you don’t have one yet? It’s as simple as signing up for the Realty Times' Real Estate Update). Then stay in touch.

The traditional method of holding open houses is now being supplemented with such things as open house tours and virtual open houses.