How to Turn Your Next Open House into a Conversion Machine

More than half of homebuyers who purchased approximately 5.5 million existing homes in 2016 attended an open house at some point during their search, according to a recent report from the National Association of Realtors. It's a surprising statistic considering the majority of homebuyers rely on internet listing photos and information as a way to rule out as many homes as possible without having to visit.

If you work by the numbers as most REALTORS® do, you'll want to capture a piece of that open house pie. Here's how.

What do buyers want?

As much info as they can get their hands on, said Realtor Nicole Nicolay. At each open house, she displays a variety of helpful handouts, such as the Mini Property, Market, and Neighborhood reports from Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®). The reports are an essential component of Nicole's marketing strategy. First, they give buyers a takeaway that they can later use to reinforce the property's features, what other homes in the neighborhood are worth and who lives there. Then, after the open house, Nicole follows-up to see if they would like more information or to tour other homes for sale.

Nicole advises REALTORS® to display only one of each RPR report. The strategy serves as the cornerstone of her follow-up approach. "I'm glad you found one of my reports," she tells a visitor. "That's my last copy. I'd love to offer you one, but let me send you a more detailed report, maybe even information on other properties in the area."

Her approach pays off. Nine out of ten respond positively by giving their contact info to Nicole. Let the follow-up begin.

Your drip campaign

Nicole makes it easy to capture contact information at open houses by asking visitors to use her online form. "I point them to my iPad which is usually displayed in an open area," said Nicole, who earned 50 percent of her business from open houses in 2016, "and ask them to include a home address in case they are thinking of selling. I then offer to send them a property report for their home as well as a preliminary comp analysis."

For buyers, Nicole points to the form's "Homes by email" option which gives her the opportunity to integrate her new client into her listings drip campaign.

Pro Tip: Read all about it. RPR's Guide to a Successful Open House introduces insightful tools and techniques that will engage, capture and retain clients at your next Open House, including how to easily create the reports mentioned here. Download the eBook or text openhouse to 555888 for a link.

To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.