When most real estate agents think open house, they think 2-4 on Sunday with lots of yawning and checking the time to see when they can finally leave. Ho-hum, another Sunday, another open house. Well, when I got into real estate I decided to shake things up a bit when it came to open houses and it helped me get the listings I needed to become No. 1 in Canada.
Sometimes you have to think outside the box, other times you need to think outside the open house.
One of the innovations I brought to my real estate career was introducing a neighbourhood open house. It’s just what it sounds like; an open house intended for the neighbourhood where the house was listed. I would hold one on each property I listed and instead of competing with all the Sunday shoppers, I held them in the evenings throughout the week from 7 to 9 pm. People in the area knew I’d listed a house because they’d received my Just Listed flyer, which I distributed in the surrounding area of any house I listed. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to introduce yourself to the area. After the home was staged and ready for showing, I’d send out another round of flyers – this time an invitation announcing the time and date for the exclusive neighbourhood open house. I’d use Canada Post to mail out most invitations except for the street the house was on. Those I delivered myself.
In the flyer I had the usual stats about the home, but I also included an offer for a free home evaluation for anyone who showed up.
There were a couple of reasons why I held a neighbourhood open house. One was I knew that a lot of homes are bought by family and friends of people who already live in the neighbourhood. This makes perfect sense as it allows those people to live closer to each other and their kids can play together, or they can see the grandchildren easier.
By holding an exclusive open house for the people living there, they could come see the place and pass on the info to their family and friends who might be looking for a new home. Then, if they were interested they’d show up at my regular Sunday open house. Yes, I got a lot of listings from people like that who bought the house I was selling and then had to sell their own.
The second reason I held them was, as with everything I did in real estate, I wasn’t just selling a house – I was selling myself. The neighbourhood got my Just Listed flyer and a week later got an exclusive invitation to an open house. That made me look busy and it made me look like I was trying different things from other agents. I stood out from the competition. Now, as a bonus, there was usually at least one other home for sale in the neighbourhood. The person selling it was no doubt wondering why their agent wasn’t doing all this for them. And yes, I got a lot of calls from people who wanted an agent who tried harder when their listing expired.
The neighbourhood open house is one of the easiest, least expensive ways to sell yourself to a group of potential clients. With the templates I have done up, a picture of the house was on each piece I sent and, of course, a picture of me – the agent who was thinking outside the traditional open house. Give it a try on your current or next listings. You’ll be amazed how easy it is to generate a positive buzz about the new agent in the neighbourhood.
Debbie Hanlon is the founder of Hanlon Realty and CEO of All Knight Inc. She is a three-time top 50 CEO winner and was named one of the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Canada. She is currently an elected city official in St. John’s, Nfld. and is available for motivational and training seminars. Email [email protected].
Debbie Hanlon wears many hats (and sometimes a cape)! She is the award-winning Realtor, owner, broker and creative driving force at Debbie Hanlon Real Estate, based in St. John’s, NL. Debbie is also a very active city councillor, keynote speaker, published author and children’s entertainer. In her spare time she is completing an MBA and enjoying an active, happy life with family and friends at home in historic St. John’s. Contact her by email.
