Massive Open Houses with Michael Hellickson
Key Points
- Most FSBO’s list within 21 days!
- 72% of FSBO’s only interview one agent before listing!
- Offer to hold open houses for FSBO’s and NOT charge them! (explain the marketing strategy and reasoning, you can find this in the download)
- If the house sells before the Open, STILL hold the open! Take backup offers, and/or sell visitors a different home.
- Run a contest drawing for a $100 gift card! (this can be donated by vendors!)
- Post on your business and personal Facebook, new listings, just solds, and sale pending.
- This is your chance to stand out from other agents, so make it BIG!
2 Weeks Before – PRE-Open Checklist
Always remember that 66% of buyers and 72% of sellers work with the first agent they come in contact with! AND 80% of open house attendees have NO AGENT! This is your chance to shine and show people what it’s like to do business with you!
Picking your target home is key to your success with an open house. Pick a home in a large neighborhood, within a half mile of a busy intersection or grocery store. The ideal home will be in a neighborhood near others, or one that has connecting neighborhoods. If there are more than 3 dominant agents in that area, pick another neighborhood. This is all about YOU and your brand. If you are in the market to sell $500,000 homes, then hold an open house in a $500,000 home. You can even borrow another agent’s listing if needed. (Etiquette tips on this situation go to www.ClubWealth.com/OpenHouse and opt in for the FREE download.)
Post on social media religiously! Video the home and post it on Facebook and YouTube. Tell everyone the who, what, when, where and why of the open house to grab their attention.
Calling the neighbors 1-2 weeks in advance and letting them know about the open house can give them a chance to tell friends and family about the house for sale near them!
1 Week Before
Daily, before the open house, you will want to syndicate on Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, the MLS, and Craigslist. Omit details like bedrooms, bathrooms, price or square footage. This leaves the beautiful home a mystery and gets people interested! Focus instead on things like the beautiful backyard and gourmet kitchen.
Have your buyer’s agents door knock the 500 closest neighbors. This is a good way to advertise as well as let people know what is going on in their area. Let them know they are welcome to attend and check out the home, as well as to invite friends and family looking for homes in the area!
Day of the Massive Real Estate Open House
Dress for success! This is a job interview, own it! The setup of the open house will be the eye catcher. You will want to set up your table in the entry way, NOT the kitchen. Have your flags, balloons, and signs up making it very clear where the open is being held. Make it look like a circus!
Be prepared. You will need to set out 60-80 signs around the open house location. This is too much for one agent to put out and pick up alone, so bring your lender! 50% of the signs you will want at local intersections and stores, pointing their way to you. Your sign spinners (or mannequins) will need to be on the nearest large intersection in order to attract lots of attention!
Always come early and prepared to set up before the open house starts. You may need extra time to prepare the home itself!
Open House Safety
AFTER the Open House
When finished, the house needs to look the way it did BEFORE you came in. Take down all signs, balloons and flags. Before you leave the house, you will want to take a video of yourself in the house, thanking all the attendees for coming out and participating! Don’t forget to turn off the lights and lock up the house as well.
As for the attendees, send them the video via text. You will want to set up an MLS/IDX search for them and send off. Make sure to follow up with all the attendees within 24 hours of sending the MLS campaign!
SIGNS RULE!
You are going to need various signs, large (2’x4′ if possible), arrows, balloons and flags. You will need 60-80 signs per open house that you host, we have a few references of companies you can order signs from in the download!
An alternative to having sign spinners at your MASSIVE open house, for under $800 you too can have life-like, robot mannequins!
For more information and a detailed video on how you can ROCK a massive open house, go to www.ClubWealth.com/openhouse. And don’t forget to opt in for the FREE download, including a ready-to-go sign-in sheet and a step-by-step guide to making your open house as successful as possible and will help you get maximum return on minimum investment.
This checklist has been used by many top producers and has been modified and perfected, based on firsthand experience of things that did and did not work.
Want more from Michael? View his coaching profile for content exclusive to LCA members!
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