Hosting a truly memorable and effective open house requires more than slapping up some signs and throwing open the front door. According to coach Darryl Davis, it starts well before the open house when you set your intentions and prepare the home.
September is Marketing and Branding Month at Inman. Tips for better branding and in-depth features on how to take advantage of marketing tools provided by Zillow, Redfin and other platforms are all in the works in addition to insights from experts. You’ll find it all at Inman, as well as our two-day virtual, flagship event, Your Playbook for the Fall Market, in October.
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We love a good open house. So much so that we think every agent working hard to generate listings and buyer leads who are not quite where they want to be production-wise should do them every weekend. We’re not kidding. Or maybe even throw in a weeknight while you’re at it. It’s been that much of a tree-shaker for agents this year.
Here’s how I want you to think about your open houses. They are your auditions. When you host an open house, think about all the people that are watching what you do. Buyers, sellers, neighbors and even fellow agents use the open house opportunity to assess your skills, trustability and efficiency. Show them what you’ve got!
Savvy agents don’t “wing” their open house events; they put specific strategies in place to help ensure they are successful.
With that being said, we have some smart pre-open house strategies that you should consider.
1. Have sellers hire professional cleaners
Now’s the time to bring the “beauty pageant” sparkle to the home you want to show. It’s extraordinary what a difference a professional cleaner can make to the bottom-line sales price of a home. It also saves you and the seller stress and energy — which are no small things in this market!
2. Arrange for sellers and pets to be absent