Lisa is an accomplished marketer with years of expertise in direct response marketing, digital marketing, data analytics and business development working with both B2C and B2B.
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use ourmailing list toolto create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
Even though it’s not their first way of locating a house, eventually 45 percent of buyers, on average, visit open houses. Interestingly, repeat buyers are more likely to show up than first-timers. And, every one of those visitors represents the possibility for two transactions, a listing, and a sale (don’t you just love that thought)?
Read on for some ideas on how to make your open houses pay off BIG TIME.
Time is on your side
One of the aspects of the modern open house that differs from the old-school type is agents aren’t feeling locked into a particular day or time.
While the after-work open house may not fly in a commuter-centric region, in other areas agents are having amazing results with it. Downtown condos and lofts being held open during the lunch hour are also becoming more common.
Any home with a view will sell itself if it’s held open at the appropriate time of day. Why hold a downtown penthouse open on a Sunday afternoon when the city lights are best viewed in the evening?
It’s easy to mention in your listing that the patio of the lakefront property faces west. Holding it open at sunset, however, drives home the fact far better.
Have Open House brochures available for valuable take ways (available in the brochure section)
Market the heck out of it
Gone are the days that agents bought a display ad in the paper to advertise an open house. Today it’s all about leveraging the power of social media and advertising online at Craigslist, Backpage.com, Zillow, Yahoo, Twitter, etc.
Why not run a Facebook Live stream and create a video recording walking through the house during the event. There’s no better time than when the home is buzzing with people (talk about creating a feeling of demand). After the event, turn your live stream into a story on Instagram.
Don’t scrimp on the photos and the adjectives when you write the descriptions. You want people to feel that if they miss this open house they’ll regret it forever. And don’t forget to invite the neighbors. It’s a perfect opportunity to get face-to-face with more homeowners in the neighborhood.
Digital sign in
Many agents tell us that one of the most awkward parts of open houses is getting visitors to sign the guestbook. An old trick is to keep it by the door and tell visitors that the owner has requested that, for security purposes, they sign in before touring the home.
A quick and easy way to sign people up is to use the Open Home Pro iPad or Android app or the less-pricey AM Open House. Agents who use it say open house visitors more readily sign in on an iPad than the old-school pen-and-paper.
Order a stack for last minute Open House invites (available in the Door Hanger section)
Open house extras
From a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies to a full-on burger bar featuring a platter of sliders, food is becoming a mainstay for the real estate open house.
Whether you serve food depends on regional customs. A lot of agents shy away from the practice. However, if you want to offer your guests something, how about bottles of water with custom labels with your brand or a CD of your virtual tour of the home or neighborhood?
If you’re the agent that has lots of promotional items, such as pens, calendars, and pads of paper with your contact info engraved on them. Or make goody bags up — like the ones you got at birthday parties when you were a kid — and fill them with promotional items.
Mike Blaney of Limelight Marketing in Vancouver Canada suggests that you should create a package of property information for your open house guests including:
Photographs (or a tour CD)
A list of all personal property included in the sale
Descriptions and photos of the home’s unique features
List of repairs and improvements, with dates
A list of average monthly utility costs
The copy of the property survey
Neighborhood information (including proximity to schools, if it’s a family-type home)
The bottom line
If you crossed open houses off as not worth your time, with two potential transactions riding on it and some new ideas to test, it’s time to reconsider.
Getting ready for an open house? Send 100 Open House Postcards to the surrounding neighborhood ten days prior to your open house!
Send out postcards to advertise your Open House for a BIG turn out (available in the postcards section under Open House postcards)
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list toolto create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!
1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar
“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. – Click Here
3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
5. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
You’ve cleared the first hurdle by generating a response to your marketing. Now, it’s up to how you handle the first phone call out to that lead that will result in you winning the business.
That’s intimidating for many of us.
Intimidation gets us stuck. So, back away from the phone and take a deep breath. Then, learn the tried-and-true techniques successful agents use when following up on real estate leads.
Change your perspective
Remember, this first follow-up call isn’t a cold one. You’re returning a call (or email, etc.). This person reached out to you and expects a response. You’ve actually been given permission to contact her.
She may not be ready to pull the trigger on a real estate transaction right now, and you should be prepared for that, but she was motivated enough to take the first step and that’s a cause to celebrate, not back away.
Besides, who has too many leads in their pipeline? There’s always room for one more.
Generate Leads With a Free Report Offer (Available in Free Reports)
It’s all in the timing
While our industry is known for its “location, location, location” mantra, what outsiders don’t know is that “time is of the essence” is more than just a contract term to real estate agents.
When faced with an initial contact from a real estate lead, time can either be your enemy or your best friend. In this case, it’s critical that you place that follow-up call within minutes of receiving the lead.
If you don’t, another agent most certainly will.
Whether it’s call reluctance or that you’re insanely busy, we get it. But studies show that the chances of reaching the lead are the highest if you return the call within five minutes.
Years ago, two guys from InsideSales.com teamed up with James B. Oldroyd, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to conduct a survey of more than 600 businesses.
Their aim was to study “lead response rates, timing and effort, and their influence on the outcome of a lead,” they told Steve Olenski at Forbes.com.
What they found should be etched into the minds of every real estate agent:
Call back within five minutes and you’re most likely to connect with the lead.
If you wait a half hour and you are 100 times less likely to reach the lead.
Wait five hours and your odds of ever connecting with that lead drop by 3,000 times.
An immediate call-back is not only most likely to result in a conversation with your lead, but it’s impressive as well.
“We call it the ‘wow effect’ as in wow, that was fast! You are impressive,” InsideSales.com’s CEO Dave Elkington tells Olenski.
And, how could they not be impressed, especially if they’ve placed calls to other agents? The odds are pretty low that they got a return call this quickly from anyone else.
But this isn’t all we can take away from the survey; conversion rates – “the rate at which the lead contact is willing to set an appointment and enter the sales cycle,” according to Olenski — increases with a quicker return call.
Obviously, getting an appointment is the goal with real estate lead gen follow-up, so ignore time being of the essence at your peril.
Compel Your Target Market With Free Reports (Available in Free Reports)
What not to say after “hello”
Before making the call-back, take a minute to familiarize yourself with everything you learned from his or her message. If it was a call about a specific property, get the MLS listing in front of you. Then look it over to determine the neighborhood, size, and anything of interest that may not be included in the public-facing listing information.
Focus solely on the lead and his or reasons for reaching out to you, no matter how tempted you are to toot your own horn. Naturally, if you’re asked, you’ll want to answer questions about yourself, but unsolicited remarks about your sales stats, designations, etc. make you appear overly “salesy.”
Don’t push for an appointment until you understand where in the pipeline this lead falls. At this point, you’re a counselor, not a real estate salesperson.
Identify yourself and the name of your brokerage, and quickly add that you’re returning his or her call.
At this point, the lead may launch into the reason for the original call. Listen carefully to what’s being said and answer all questions.
When the call is for information about a particular listing, describe it and then, again, listen.
If you feel that the lead is open to remaining on the phone with you, begin a gentle probe, asking if he has spoken with a lender, if he has a home to sell before buying another and, naturally, if he’s interested in touring the home he called about.
Before disengaging the caller, let him know that you have no intention of hounding him like some of the other agents he’s spoken with but that you’re available if he has additional questions.
Ask for permission to email alerts about new listings similar to the one he called about.
The wrap-up
If you offer free reports or an e-book, offer it toward the end of the call. “I just created a market report for the Pleasant Skies neighborhood that will give you an idea of what the different models are selling for, can I email you a copy?”
Be sure to include your free report offer with your emails direct mail, social media and website to drive those inbound phone calls.
No freebies? Hey, a list of new listings matching his criteria is a freebie, so offer that. “I’ll tell you what, Joe, give me your email address and I’ll be happy to email you alerts of new listings that match what you’re looking for.”
End the call with something along the lines of: “Terrific. Now, if you see any other listings you’re interested in touring, don’t hesitate to give me a call, or text me. I’m happy to set appointments for you and show you around the neighborhood,”
The key to success with a lead who leaves you a message is lightning-quick response time. Then, remember not to come on too strong. Counsel the lead, don’t sell to her.
Add Free Report Offers to all of Your Marketing (Available in Free Reports)
Order the 5 Sure-Fire Tips For a Quick Sale Free Report and share in person, through direct mail, email and add to your website as a free download in exchange for an email.
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list toolto create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!
1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar
“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. – Click Here
3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
5. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
And, find out what trait helps guinea pigs make money (under creativity)
Success in any endeavor is in the eye and mind of the beholder. My idea of personal success may mean something completely different than yours.
Some folks use money as a benchmark while others don’t feel successful unless they are fulfilled in what they do for a living.
In real estate, money has a lot to do with success. Without it, you won’t stay in business for long. The keys to making money – financial success — in the industry involves a combination of certain personality and character traits and ingrained habits.
Let’s take a look at some of the traits that the most ‘Rock Star’ agents exhibit.
1. Tenacity
Successful real estate agents don’t let go. They treat every contact from a potential client with a ferocious tenacity, returning calls and emails immediately and following up relentlessly.
This doesn’t mean they become the fatal attraction of the local real estate industry, it means that the agents make their leads feel attended to and that they are ready and able to assist.
The same treatment is given to former clients, with consistent follow-up to ensure they remain top-of-mind when the topic of real estate comes up. Sending a Customer Appreciation Thank You postcard is a great way to stay connected and let your clients know you appreciate them.
Show your clients you appreciate them (available in the postcards section under Customer Appreciation)
2. Creativity
“Best practices.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve been seeing that phrase a lot lately. Applied to the real estate industry, the term should make you wary.
Sure, it sounds quite professional. The problem is, what old-school real estate agents call “best practices” are often nothing more than old, worn-out tactics.
It means doing the same stuff all the other agents are doing and have done for decades.
Best practices? Wipe that from your memory chip as the established go-to resource.
Sure, there are some conventional real estate marketing tactics that still work but to rely on them exclusively in lieu of trying something new is just plain stupid.
The flip side is that following the herd to every new tactic that comes along is equally silly.
Once upon a time, there was a real estate agent who decided to do her video blogs from her car on her way to the office in the morning. I’m not absolutely sure who that was, but I have a good idea.
I often wonder if she resents the fact that thousands of other agents decided to allow her to be the guinea pig with this new technique. And then when they saw it worked, generated revenue, and created new clients, they brazenly stole her idea. It’s to the point now that those agent dashboard video blogs are as trite as some agent taglines and just as ridiculed by the public.
Help them choose YOU (available in the postcard section under Market Quote postcards)
Don’t be afraid to be different and to stand out from the rest of the agents in town. Do something new, novel and fun and forget about “best practices.” Don’t rely on any one technique to remain unique for long. Keep on your toes.
3. Communication
Successful real estate agents know when to hold em’ and know when to fold ‘em. They walk their clients through every last thing that can possibly be expected to occur in the transaction and then they shut up and listen.
They gain an understanding of and pay attention to what the client expects out of the relationship. They listen to what the client wants and needs. Then, they act on that, not some supposition of the client’s desires.
Both sellers and buyers that are dissatisfied with their real estate agents typically claim that their agents didn’t communicate enough. Rich, fulfilled agents keep in contact with their clients at all points during the process, even when there’s nothing new to communicate.
Clients also expect you to communicate in the manner they prefer. So, text the texters, email the emailers and phone the phoners. And send direct mail when you are after a lasting impact. Even if there is nothing new to talk about, reach out and touch.
4. Congeniality
Successful real estate agents are, for the most part, easy to be around. They are network- builders and relationship retainers.
If the Rolodex were still a staple on every agent’s desk, theirs would be the biggest. Since they understand the value of being pleasant, they have vast networks. They can set a client up with the best trash-out guy in town, the best contractor, plumber, lender, and title company.
5. Notafraid to spend
A couple of years ago, real estate social network Active Rain site conducted a survey of 1,758 real estate agents to determine what separates rich real estate agents from poor ones.
Successful agents understand that they need to spend money to make money. In fact, according to the study, agents earning more than $100,000 a year spend 10 times more money on marketing than their less successful counterparts.
They also spend six times more money on technology. Whether spending the money made them a rich agent or it took being rich to be able to spend it, is another question.
Agents that succeed approach their real estate career as a business. They begin each year with a plan which is updated and tweaked throughout the year.
Most of all, they are somewhat fearless, willing to take risks and tenaciously devoted to their success.
Start building good habits today by sending at least 100 Please Allow Me postcards from the Agent Introduction Series to an area where you would like more business.
Let them know who the neighborhood expert is (available in the postcard section under Agent Introduction)
Need help targeting the perfect niche of buyers or sellers? Use our mailing list toolto create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!
PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!
1. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook
Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here
2. “Get More Listings” Free Online Webinar
“Get MORE Listings & Begin to Dominate Your Market!” Free online webinar. Learn the 3-7-27 strategy for explosive growth, why 95% of agents have less than 20% market share, and how to become the agent everyone competes against. – Click Here
3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here
4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here
5. The Free Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here
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