Do open houses still work? The COVID pandemic forced buyers to view properties via virtual tours or attend “live” open houses on Zoom. Now, open houses seem passe to many.
While it makes sense for buyers to preview a property online before investing the time to see it in person, many agents are missing out on the full power of an open house event.
Mark Seiden of the Seiden Team created an “Open House on Steroids” program. The team’s open houses include an outside tent with coolers full of beverages, banners and giveaways to attract prospective buyers to the property…and yes, to impress the seller with a strong differentiation in marketing.
But what if, with all that extra effort, no one showed up for the open house? No problem! The real secret to open-house success is in the prospecting opportunity: Ask the owners of the 40 homes around the listed property to participate in finding their newest neighbor.
If your next open house is in a residential area, follow these four steps to connect and convert prospecting to profits:
- The first touch is a private “sneak peek” invite to the neighbors. Invite them to view the property before you hold the public open house. Make the invitation exclusive to the MVPs and add a bit of fun by saying, “Guess what your neighbors did last night?” instead of the tired and often boring “Just Listed” card. Include the date and time in the invitation, and close it out by asking for their help in “finding a new neighbor.”
- The second touch lets them know you appreciated their attending this neighbors-only event. Send a “thank you for coming” to validate their attending the event, and for those who couldn’t make it, a “sorry we missed you” note offering to set up a separate time to view the property.
- The third touch occurs when the property goes under contract. The tone of this message is to tell neighbors that you have other buyers who want to live in their area. This allows you to ask them again to “help us find a new neighbor” by inquiring whether they know of anyone who has been thinking of selling in the immediate area.
- The fourth touch is done to announce the new neighbor. Get permission from the new buyer to send out a notice that the Smiths are now your new neighbors, and to encourage them to stop by and say hello. When appropriate, you can also offer to host a housewarming party to help them meet the new neighbors.
These actions show the neighbors that you provide service and not solicitation.
Make every open house an opportunity to prospect the neighbors with this four-touch system, and become the neighborhood celebrity agent.
For more information, visit https://workmansuccess.com/.
