Training Tip #2: Open houses work!
Let's say you are an agent who doesn't have any listings and you don't have a lot of money to spend on advertising or mailouts. But you really need to make a couple nice sales in the next 30 - 60 days... hmmm... do you know anyone like that? What is the first thing that you can do? OPEN HOUSES!
If you don't have any good listings to do open houses with, don't worry... borrow one. Most busy agents no longer have time for doing open houses, and they have lots of good listings.
Maybe you've had bad luck with open houses in the past, or you have heard that they are a waste of time. That is absolutely not true. I'm sure A LOT of agents have done a couple open houses and haven't gotten any business from them. Maybe even a majority of agents. But, we are seeing that- they really work in today's market- if done properly. It seems that today's skittish "I want to look at houses by myself without an agent" buyers are easy to grab in an open house setting. They're out there driving around on a weekend afternoon, jumping from house to house with no agent, having a good old time. They're relaxed and an open house is a very relaxed setting... it's a perfect opportunity to chat and get to know each other!
Here is The Key to converting open house looky-loos into buyers... you need to realize that (at least subconsciously) they're not so much looking for a house, they are interviewing agents. They can search for houses on the computer. Treat your time with them as a chance to sell YOU, not the house. Seriously, what are the odds that Mr. and Mrs. Perfect Buyer are going to walk into the Perfect House for them between 1-4 PM on any given Sunday afternoon? Almost zero.
Now that we've established what an Open House is really all about, you need to find the perfect house to open house. The big questions are location and price range. Choose an open house by doing some research first.
Consider these factors, in order of importance...
1- Traffic: never do an open house that is more than 2 turns from a major road.
2- Curb appeal: if the house is hideous, or in a bad neighborhood you're wasting your time.
3- Market conditions: try to choose an area that is hot.
4- Pricing: If the house you're holding open is a GREAT deal, that's a plus. But, it's not really that important. You can make a lot of brownie points by memorizing info on a couple of similar (preferably vacant) homes nearby that ARE great deals.
5- Price range: you're going to find a lot more viable buyers at $150,000 to $250,000 homes than $750,000 homes.
The next step is to see who in your office has a listing that matches those criteria. Once you have found that listing, ask the listing agent if you can hold an open house for them. They are probably going to say yes for a couple of reasons: 1) they don't want to do it themselves and, 2) it will make them look good for their clients!
OK, now we've got a house to hold open, a game plan and a strategy. We now need to figure out how to make our investment of time (4 hours) and money (gas and refreshments) pay off as handsomely as we possibly can.
Let's go over the little extra things you need to do for the PERFECT open house. The key again is to always remember that you are selling yourself. You always want to present yourself as a Realtor® that is W-A-Y better than any agent they've ever met.
1- Put up as many directional signs as possible pointing to the home. We stock directional signs and open house signs here in the office. Put up your signs the afternoon or evening before!
2- Place open house flags outside the house by the driveway. You can make a pair for about $55.00 that should last for years.
3- Have a beautiful flyer for every person who walks through the door. Do not leave flyers out front in the box! Make sure that information about you (your resume) is on the back.
4- Have information about 2-3 comparable vacant homes nearby memorized. Preview the homes. When they say "this is a really nice house, I just wish it had a pool, or was bigger, or was $30k less", you will be ready. Just say, "Yes, I know what you mean, have you guys seen the house at 123 Apple Street? Wow, what a deal! It's been reduced to $xxx, and they are looking at all offers!" This is the moment when you will be glad that 123 Apple Street is vacant. Tell them you'll run them over there right now and show it to them.
5- Make sure the house is spotless. Get there early and vacuum and wipe down the counters. Sweep the porch and sidewalk. This is extra important in vacant homes!
6- Provide some food. Good food. Something that will be a treat for your guests. If you provide bottled water, splurge for Fiji Water, pick up some Cokes in the little old-fashioned glass bottles. How about some Starbucks canned drinks? Get some premium fresh orange juice from Publix. Grab some snacks from Petty's or treats from the Publix bakery. You get the idea.
Remember this. If you're going to spend 4-5 hours of your workweek preparing for an open house, doesn't it make sense to invest $20 to have treats that say "I'm an above the crowd Realtor®?"
Finally- always remember that sales is purely a numbers game. Just because you do everything right and throw an amazing open house next Sunday doesn’t guarantee success. You might even get skunked and have to eat all the treats by yourself.
It’s unpredictable. The only thing that is certain is that if you do great open houses every weekend, or almost every weekend, you WILL meet a lot of great buyers and you will sell them a lot of homes.