Let’s talk about open house secrets.
Open houses have been discussed a lot. But here’s one thing that hasn’t been talked about when it comes to open houses: the follow-up.
The follow-up is key. We’ve automated the process, so we don’t have to worry about having to manually do everything. What we’ve learned over the years is that, because of it, we’ve been able to lock in some of the best clients through open houses.
So, I wanted to share with you a few things: (1) some stats, and (2) some drips that we do that actually work (which I’ll hand over to you).
Here are some stats on open houses from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2022 Generational Trends Report.
Open houses still play a major role in driving sales and business in real estate.
Now let’s talk about the follow-up.
A lot of people go through the open house and go through the work of putting up the signs, then go through all the work that goes into the open house, being at the open house, and talking to everybody, making sure everything and everyone stays safe, then bringing down the signs, and all of that... for what? If you’re not going to follow up with anybody, why go through all that hassle?
We’ve always been trying to figure out how to do a better job of following up with people. So, what we did is come up with a way to automate it. That’s why we created our drips. You can download them or print them here.
We use a company called Agent Legend to place all of our drips in to automate the process. They get texts, voicemail drops, video emails, videos, etc., and you can use similar companies like Follow Up Boss, Chime, and Command to some extent. But the one that we found that works best for us is Agent Legend. You can look them up.
Our Open House drips are designed not to shut off until the consumer responds, and they go on for 15 days.
The idea is to give them value and kind of prompt them back to you so that they can start communicating with you.
You have the option to wait until the following day to send your first follow-up, but it is optimal to do it on the day the open house was hosted.
What we do is, as soon as we’re finished with the open house, we take a photo with everybody and send it over to our tech person (you can send it to your admin or do this on your own). Then, as soon as you add the person in Agent Legend, the drip starts.
We sent a voicemail and followed up with a text, telling them that we have some homes to share with them. “But Tristan, what if I don’t have any houses to share with them?” Well, we are in the business of real estate. Find at least two homes to share with people.
The idea is to get these people to come back because you are giving value. The only thing they want is real estate. So, show them real estate. Show them that you know the area and show them what they want to see.
If you or the brokerage you work with have homes for sale that are off market or for sale by owner, you can also share those houses with the people you met at the open house. Those homes are not on the MLS, so their only source of that information is you.
You can also send them useful resources that might answer their questions before they can even ask them. With the current market changes, you probably know some of the most common concerns when it comes to real estate, and you have probably found some articles online that answer those questions. Again, give value.
We also send an email on Day 3, with links to information about who I am and some of my online reviews. That way, they can get to know more about who I am and my credibility, and it is about establishing trust.
Another way you can give value is by texting them that you have information about other open houses that might be happening in the area soon and whether they want you to text or email it to them.
On the last day of our drip, day 15, we send out an email followed up by a text with links to schools in the area and other important information. It's been half a month since we met them at the open house, and we are still giving them value.
The thing you have to remember is that you want to attract people. By automating this follow-up process, you can do it while you are focusing on other stuff that you are doing for your business. The mistake we make is thinking that we’re the ones that are going to follow up with everybody, but as we start growing our business, we start needing a little more help doing other things.
You have to have systems in place to be able to do all the heavy lifting for you. But do it in a way that is authentic so you can connect with people, and people will want to connect with you.
Remember: It’s all about attracting and giving value and establishing some trust in the process.
