The traditional method of holding open houses is now being supplemented with such things as open house tours and virtual open houses. You have choices in what fits your situation and needs best. Do some strategic thinking about who your ideal client is. This is important in any business building activity you do. The days of the real estate generalists you want to be all things to all people are numbered. Your clarity in knowing the characteristics of who you want to work with who you work best with and who you will naturally connect and attract easily will enable you to build business more easily. Don’t buy the line that real estate is only a numbers game, if you want to have time to have a life too!

Here are a couple alternatives to the traditional method of holding open houses:

The Open House Tour

A more time effective way to make a splash and create interest among prospects is an open house tour. Canadian RE/MAX Agent Craig Proctor created and uses this method with much success.

Instead of sitting at one house, you select 4-6 homes that are similar in price range. Then create a tour of these homes, holding each open for 15-20 minutes. Advertise the tour, inviting prospects to meet at your office and go on the tour with you or at the home(s) they are interested in. Your ad would include the entire tour with the location and time information in the ads.

This method creates an urgency and competition amongst the buyers that you’ll find helps them make up their minds more quickly. Your time is well spent as you aren’t sitting for hours in one house.

The Virtual Open House

Instead of actually holding an open house, determine the best advertising vehicle for publicizing open houses and then list your virtual tour.

Where do the buyers look? The Sunday paper open houses section may be the best place for this idea. Or any other listing of open houses that is available in your area.

You’d give all the normal information and then a link to your website or the website of the virtual tour for the home. Software like VisualTours allows you to be very creative in panoramic shots, 360 shots and single photos. After you have purchased the software, your cost per tour is only $25 and just think what that saves you vs. spending three hours of your time at the home.

For out of town buyers, the creation of an open house tour can be a very educational and time-saving activity. You can create a CD that would also have neighborhood information. You’d only have to create this once, if you farm an area and then you could put it on all the future listings from this area.

You probably can think of some other creative ways to leverage open houses as a business building technique. Let your ideas be the basis for trying new ways to approach this. Have fun with it! Get others involved. And, remember, the focus on the fundamental of taking action is foundational. You are stirring up the cosmic dust and may find you attract other business that has nothing directly to do with the open houses, but seems to be a return on the investment of energy to grow your business! Plan an open house this week.

Published: October 17, 2001

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Joeann Fossland GRI, LTG, MCC is a dynamic speaker and business coach. Creator of THE REAL ESTATE GAMETM, she provides coaching solutions enhance your effectiveness and life balance. You can subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, attend free monthly telephone seminars, and find out about classes delivered by email and personal coaching by visiting JoeAnn.com or e-mail her at .