How to Host Open Houses When You Have No Listings
As a new REALTOR®, you’re probably looking to meet prospective buyers, grow your contact list, and build your confidence talking to people about the real estate market. Did you know that sitting an open house helps you accomplish all three of these goals and then some?
Ask to help
Although you may not have any listings of your own to host open houses yet, experienced, and busy REALTORS® are usually happy to let someone else work their open houses for them because it frees up their time to be with family or focus on other aspects of their business. Ask your broker if your office has an open house roster or schedule, or if they can recommend anyone who would be interested in letting you host an open house for their seller.
Preparation is key
Be sure to talk to your broker and the listing agent about any rules or office policies to be aware of and ensure the listing agent has sought approval from their seller for you to host the open house in their place. It’s not typical to be compensated for hosting an open house for another agent, but usually the leads generated from the event are yours to keep, unless a buyer specifically asks to be contacted by the listing agent. Talk to the listing agent about their expectations for the open house to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Marketing the open house
Now here’s the fun part. You can market an open house even though it’s not you’re listing. Share the open house details on your social media, website, and with contacts in your database that may be interested. Neighbours are always curious about comparable homes on their street, so consider where you will put up open house signs and if you want to door knock or deliver flyers in the neighbourhood too.
Be sure to consult with the listing agent and your broker about any marketing requirements they have, like including the listing agent’s information too. You should also find out as much about the neighbourhood as you can.
Game time – at the open house
Open houses can be very slow or incredibly busy depending on the market or neighbourhood. This is ok! Regardless of the traffic, you are in a perfect position to practice your skills. Resist the urge to watch Netflix or TikTok. Put down your phone and use this time to work on your business. Update your contact list, work on your marketing plan, or draft your first newsletter, use your time wisely to focus on important tasks.
When someone does come into the home, it’s your time to shine. Greet them at the entry way, hand them the listing sheet and encourage them to fill in the registration form. Be friendly, conversational and find out as much as you can about the buyers and what they are looking for in a home. When they leave, take notes about what you’ve learned about them to use in your follow up conversations. If other REALTORS® come in with their clients be sure to introduce yourself to them, too! Who knows? You could be closing a deal together someday.
If you haven’t done a lot of showings, this is a great time to:
- Study prospective buyers.
- Find out what types of things are they looking for as they tour the home
- Do they have questions you don’t know the answers to?
Consider the open house your practice run for when you’re working with your own clients.
After the open house
After the open house, have a debrief with the listing agent and your broker. Let the listing agent know that you’d be happy to sit more open houses for them in the future. A busy REALTOR® will have many listings and they may be grateful to form a partnership that benefits you both.
Make open houses a part of your business strategy. Here are links to more tools to help you master open houses:
