Social Media
Converting Open House Visitors into Leads
October 6th, 2015 | by: Erwann Hickel | Posted in : Marketing, Real Estate News, Real Estate Tips
In our digital era, the value of open houses tends to divide the real estate community. While holding an open house won’t necessarily sell the house being showed that day, it should still be a key aspect of an agent’s business strategy for the opportunity to collect leads and build relationships.
Giving yourself exposure.
According to the National Association of Realtors, a mere 9% of buyers found their new home following an open house. However, many agents claim that open houses still account for over 20% of their sales, directly or indirectly. Nearly every visitor will be a home buyer at some point in the future. As buyers usually become serious over time, it is a good idea to meet those that are still indecisive in a no-pressure environment so that they remember the agent that impressed them at an open house when they finally find the right home.
Developing and converting leads.
- Send out invitations to your local sphere of influence, advertise your open house on social media, send e-blasts to your current list of leads. Do this with plenty of time before the Open House.
- Invite the neighbors! Reach out to as many of them in the same area or tract, use your Escrow or Title Company to give you a list of names and addresses from public records. They might be looking to sell, know of a potential buyer, or just interested in what the market is doing. Have them look at you as the local area expert.
- Have signs in the adjacent streets and neighborhood. Make it obvious outside the Open House that you will be Open. It will drive visitors to the open house and give your brand exposure within the local community.
- Greet visitors and thank them for coming. First impression is always important and making people feel welcome is a good way to initiate contact as buyers want to work with an agent they feel comfortable with. Tell them the features and answer any questions.
- Push an option to fill out an open house register, here begins your list building. It’s a good way to have their contact information without being pushy for future communications.
- Provide visitors with a brochure. A simple yet professional report about the current state of the market or information about the neighborhood or listing they are visiting for them to take home with your contact information on it. You can also display signs around the house that highlight certain features. Strong visual communication does make a difference. These resources help build your credibility.
- Approach visitors. After you have given them a few minutes to wander around by themselves, take advantage of face-to-face time to gather information about them, what they are looking for, and their impressions so far. It is easier to develop a good relationship in person than it is on the phone or via email.
- The next day, send a “thank you” email to visitors who signed up for your mailing list. Keep it short and nice. Leave sales talk aside, however you can invite them to fill out a satisfaction survey and ask how the house was showed, priced… It’s a great way to get feedback and engage conversation.
- Follow up with a personal phone call. 80% of sales are made after the 5th to the 12th contact. Ask them how the visit went, if they had time to discuss it, and if they would like to schedule more visits.
- Follow up with an e-mail campaign. Custom email campaigns targeting your latest open house visitors are a good way to direct them to your website. If you offer quality content, chances are they will make it their go-to Real Estate resource, and eventually become clients.
Remember that most of your open house visitors won’t buy right away. If you can’t sell the house to them, you should still use the above tips to sell them the fact that you are the right agent for them. Real Estate is a Relationship Business so Start Building Those Relationships.
