Earlier this week, I started this little series on Why You Should Do at least One Open House (on your own listings) even if you think they're a "waste of time."
Why? Because...
It will make your seller happy
You'll gather feedback from the public
And... today's topic:
You'll Become More Familiar with Your Listing
How much do you really know about your listing? Chances are that you took a little tour with your seller on the day of your listing presentation and probably another one when you took your photos and measured the rooms. But you've probably never spent much quality time in the home by yourself, just absorbing the features or even the challenges the property offers.
When I do an open house, I tend to check everything out - admittedly, often out of boredom. Yeah, I open doors & drawers, wander in and out of bathrooms, flip switches to see what they do. And in the process, I discover things I hadn't noticed before, especially if I've always been accompanied by my seller on previous visits.
Okay, so this probably isn't a gi-normous deal, but I do find that by spending some quality time in my listing without the distraction of rapport-building or just chattering with my seller, I'm a better listing agent.
One more reason to open house... tomorrow!
Jennifer, Good reasons to do an open house. It is a good way to get people to look at the house and I offer it as a convenience to other agentswho can send their buyers to the open house.
Jennifer-
Open houses do work if properties are well priced and staged. I have had some open house "duds" and wasted time and money
Mike - exactly! Just being in the house opens my mind to new ideas on marketing it.
Lori - sometimes they're good, sometimes not, but never a true waste! IMO
Gita - great idea!!! I hadn't 'thought of that!
I totally agree with your comments on open houses. I don't think 4 hours for one listing is too much to ask.
I'm holding one this Sat. for another agent and I went to the home yesterday and meet with the owner to have him show me everything about his home and explained what I will do at his open house. I took my own photographs of his home and will be placing them on my web site, I left him a "Things to Do" note pad with my business card and ensured him that I will try my best this weekend to sell his home. It was very apparent that he appreciated someone taking interest in his home and trying to help him. When I gave him the .50 pad I asked him to keep it handy so if he thought of something that he forgot to tell me about he could write it down as a reminder. You would of thought I gave him $100.00 bill!
"Some times it's the little things we do that makes the difference in how we are perceived"
Thanks for your articles, keep it up...
I really like Ron's approach, above; that's service of which to be proud.
You are so right about becoming familiar with a property...unless I am really paying close attention, it takes me 2-3 visits to really notice the finer details of a house. Good advice!
Jennifer: This is a great series and posts on the open house
I, too do open houses often and while I understand that the odds of selling that specific home is slim and I explain this point to the seller's; I agree that it's a great way to pick up potential buyer's and seller's.
I actually average 4 open house sales per year over my 10 year career.
Keep up the great posts and work.
Hi Jennifer,
Good points! Open houses do work. Maybe we don't get a flock of lQQkers every time, but those we do get are potential buyers for the house that is open or for another one in inventory. I use lul time to catch up on my paperwork. No phones, agent interruptions, etc.
Hal
Thanks for the comments and ideas. I agree, I have had times when I did open houses and either found or remembered USP"s (Unique Selling Points) that I missed or forgot from earlier visits.
Another great thing about open houses is the people connection. Weather on the street while setting up, neighbors stopping in, tire kickers, or live prospects, the time with people is good. If we concentrate on people and not on all the peripheral stuff very often the sales will be there.