I spend a lot of time coaching real estate professionals and one of the things I hear often is, "Rory, I have no success at open houses! They're a pointless waste of time." To this I respond the only way I know how: "Then you're not doing it right!"

Many agents today will claim that the concept of open houses are dead, they do not attract attention, and marketing dollars can be better spent elsewhere. Again I say, if this is how you feel about open houses, you're doing something wrong. Spending a Saturday or Sunday afternoon visiting open houses is like baseball -- a great American pastime. And that trend is not likely to end anytime soon.

The trouble that most agents run into with open houses is that they don't understand the purpose of an open house, and they don't realize that they need think outside the box when planning, advertising and holding the open house. Be creative! Be different! But most importantly, be remembered!

The sole purpose of an open house is lead generation. The odds of selling the home to someone coming to your open house are slim to none. The open house is intended for you to meet people who will have a real estate need in the near future (immediate to 2 years) so that you can make a lasting impression, stay in touch with them regularly and become the trusted expert they turn to for real estate advice.

Most of the agents complaining about open houses are the ones who just sit around during the whole thing, waiting for people to arrive and just saying "Hello" when they walk in and "Goodbye" when they walk out. They don't make an effort to truly interact and build rapport with their visitors. These are the same agents who complain that business is bad. Not true!

By doing open houses regularly, and taking full advantage of the opportunities to talk to new prospects, you will get more buyers and listings. I've often signed buyer agency agreements with people at an open house and then went to listing appointments right after it was over. (So make sure you always have plenty of contracts on hand!)

Here's a list of "must do's" for every open house:

• Run an ad for your open house in advance.

• Always do an open house from 12:00 to 4:00 or 1:00 to 4:00, don't short change yourself by doing it in less time.

• Make sure you have as many directional open house signs in as wide a radius from the home as possible.

• Add balloons to every single open house sign (including the yard sign).

• Arrive at least an hour early to set up -- bring along cookie dough and bake cookies to give the home an inviting smell (and of course to offer to your guests).

• Always have your loan officer present at every open house to provide payment options and pre-approvals.

• Have a guest registration that has room for: their name, phone number, address, email address, what they are looking to do (buy or sell) and whether they are under contract with another agent and that agent's name and office.

• Make sure the guest registration is by the front door (on a podium) and, if you're really determined to get leads, require that all visitors sign in full or will not be able to enter the home. I have often turned people away that wouldn't sign the registration.

• Make sure you shake everyone's hand when they come, introduce yourself, find out their specific needs, then shake hands again when they leave.

• Come Monday: Call and mail everyone on that guest registration to thank them for coming to the open house and then place them in your pipeline for proper follow up.

Some great ideas to make yourself memorable:

• Have a barbecue with hot dogs, chips and refreshments (very inexpensive) and have visitors help themselves (even nosy neighbors).

• Have balloons printed with your contact information and hand some out to every kid.

• Have someone famous (locally or nationally) there to sign autographs during the open house.

• Have someone handing out flyers announcing your open house the morning of at the local mall or stores.

• Do a free car wash during your open house to attract more people and have them stay longer.

• Provide guest with inexpensive complimentary gifts for coming to the open house -- make sure your contact information is one it somewhere!

Many agents complain they need more business -- well, open houses are a great source! Every time you hold an open house, you should pick up between 1-10 news clients. If you don't have any listings, hold open houses for another agents, since they see them as a waste of time.

Open houses aren't dying -- they're just being reinvented, and it's up to real estate agents to stay on top of trends and do what it takes to be memorable. Ideally, if you want to keep new business coming in, every 3 out of 4 Sundays should be dedicated to open houses to constantly troll for new leads. The most important thing, however, is do the open house right -- so you will always be remembered.