Open Houses For Dummies
Marketing
Open Houses...from experienced Realtors, you often get an "ugh" and from newly licensed agents, it is an adventure until it becomes an "ugh" after they hang around the experienced agents too long! Open houses are truly an excellent way to get yourself noticed in the market. There is a caveat though...they have to be done well.
Newly Licensed Agents
What a great time to be in Real Estate. There is time to learn the business, get the training you need and have time to breathe. For new agents, they don't know any other market...only what they have heard from others. Open Houses are an essential part of getting your name out there for customers and the Real Estate Community. Agents need to have this exposure for the name and face recognition to take place. As many know, it is all about that recognition that will get you listings and sales.
One nice thing about being a new agent is that an open house can be for any agent. It does not have to be your listing. It can be for any agent and the good news is that you get all of the leads that come in during the time you are sitting at the open house. If the customers are not working with an agent, they are yours! You can even have flyers made up with your picture on them during that open house.
Experienced Agents
For experienced agents, open houses have to be looked at as a continued source of income as buyers and even sellers could result from a successful open house. For your listings, if you are stretched too thin, having a new agent hold the house open for you will still give it that extra exposure that you need while helping to build a bond with your fellow agent.
A How To
Open houses are plentiful...especially in a buyers market. The trick with open houses are to set yourself apart from the competition. How you do that is only curbed by your creativity and enthusiasm. If you do it well, you will be recognized as an agent who always goes the extra mile and much like a blog, people will flock to your opens based on your reputation alone. Imagine having more people walk through than you know what to do with because of your reputation alone? Here are a few ideas for a successful open house...
- Come up with a new way to draw people in to a home. Signs are great but everyone has signs. Look for alternative ways, such as a hot air balloon, sky writing, flood lights at night, etc. There are many companies out there that provide rentals for parties or gatherings that would be applicable in Real Estate.
- Tie in another event with the open house. Garage sales, carnivals, fund raisers, block parties and events that would draw the media to your open house.
- The food you serve as well as the presentation make a huge difference. Store bought cookies are a far cry from fresh baked ones that make the house smell great. I went to an open house where the theme was italian and the agent had a pot of boiling water going on the stove to be able to heat the pasta as needed for his guests.
- Create a theme for your open house. A Cartoon, TV Show, Monopoly, etc. all will add to the creativity of your event. Imagine having a "Desperate Housewives" themed event. It could be great fun.
Many will read this post and say, sure, great ideas but what about the cost and all of the work that is involved? You have to be willing to spend some money to make money. If you are watching every dollar to the point where you can't do any advertising and you can't do anything, then this may not be the business for you. As with anything you do, it only takes one transaction to pay for it. The amount of credibility you will add to your reputation is priceless.
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Date: Wednesday, November, 21st 2007 @ 10:20:36 AMViews: 402
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