Open houses can be a fruitful strategy for acquiring new business, so it’s important to understand the best practices to hosting them. Here, we’ll go over a few of the biggest do’s and don’ts so you can confidently host an open house for your clients, or for other agents.

Before we go any further, let’s talk about THE NUMBER ONE thing you need to know before holding a home open. SAFETY.

Real estate can be a dangerous position, and it’s important to understand how to best protect yourself when you’re alone at an open house.

When I held open houses, I was hypervigilant about safety (who are we kidding – we are always hypervigilant). Here are some of things I was told to do and did while I was hosting open homes:

• Take someone with me, or have a family member or friend waiting close by in a car.
• Keep all doors locked before the open began, and locked them back up at closing time.
• Check all areas of escape and entrance – doors, windows, fence gates (always had an out!).
• Stay close to the front door, and don’t go walking around the house with people perusing.
• Have all who enter sign in with their name, phone number, address, and email address.
• Keep my purse hidden away and keep my phone on me AT ALL TIMES.
• I brought mace (I had it on a certain keychain for when I would show homes/hold opens).
• Be aware of who is coming and going and never let anyone linger around after closing.
• Stand tall, confident, and ready to make any necessary moves.

It’s always great to talk to a local self-defense company or instructor to get ideas for how to protect yourself should you ever get in a bad situation. Unicorn agents is all about safety, and we would love to hold a class about all things keeping yourself safe on the job. Is that something you’d be interested in? Let us know in the comments, or send us a message!

What To Do Before You Host the Open

When you get to the open house, you want to know as much about the home as possible so that you can be a knowledgable and helpful resource to potential buyer clients. To become that great resource if it is not your listing, make sure that you are reading up on the MLS sheet, reading through the Seller Property Condition Disclosure, and asking the listing agent for any pertinent information. Get comfortable with the facts so that you can be confident speaking about the home to the people coming through.

Besides prepping your brain, you’ll also need to do a few administrative things:

• Print off copies of branded flyers, the SPCD, and any other listing marketing paperwork you have
• Create a branded sign-in sheet to bring to the open house (you can grab a free template here!)
• Share the news of what you’ll be doing! Show your audience that you’re out there working it!

What To Do When You Host the Open

When you’re at the open house, it’s best to remember that you are in charge and you are running the show. Show up, stand tall, be confident, do the safety things, and help everyone there feel comfortable and excited! The energy of the open starts and ends with you. Check it – do these things:

• Bring a wireless speaker and play music in the room you’re in greeting people (good vibes and helps with any awkwardness people bring with them as they come in the open house!)
• Greet all guests by saying your hellos and handing them a clipboard and pen to sign in
• Set up an area with flyers, SPCD materials, business cards, marketing materials and TREATS
• Tell them about the house and tease a cool area for them to see
• Invite them to look around and let them know you’ll be at the door if they have questions (safety!)
• Answer any and all questions to the best of your ability, and tell them you’ll get answers and follow up if there’s anything you need to find out
• Take the opportunity to create social media content to show everyone you’re out there doing real estate
• Have kind conversations with people after they’ve seen the house – find out who is attached to a real estate agent, who isn’t, and who isn’t interested in anything but looking at people’s houses
• Smile, have fun, bring the good energy!!

What To Do After You Host the Open

There’s magic in the follow up, so make sure you are finishing up strong and doing all the good things once the open house has ended. Here’s a quick list of the good things:

• LOCK UP, LOCK UP, LOCK UP (make sure all doors and windows are locked!)
• Add emails of any unattached people to your marketing/newsletter campaigns
• Follow up with anyone who had a question you couldn’t answer – this is huge for building trust
• If applicable, follow up with the listing agent and let them know how many people came through the open and any and all valuable feedback that they can pass on to their sellers
• Send a thank you email to everyone who came to the open house
• Reflect on how it went and change anything you want to change for next time you hold one!

There ya go! The do’s and don’ts (but mostly do’s) for a successful open. Open houses are a great opportunity to show your brand and style off. Make them unique and exciting for people and you will stick in their minds for a long time!

Have you held an open house and found success with anything in particular? Or, are you wanting to hold one but have more questions on best practices? Let us know in the comments, or send us a message at hello@unicornagents.com!

XOXO,

Sarah