What to Do After Holding an Open House: 4 Must-Have Strategies

• Upload Your Guests’ Contacts to Your CRM
• Send Out A Thank You Email
• Follow Up With A Phone Call
• Send Info About Future Open Houses
• Frequently Asked Questions About What to Do After Holding An Open House

Open houses are one of the timeless real estate marketing ideas. They offer a convenient, low cost way to introduce a listing to several prospective buyers at once. They’re a great alternative to a private showing, which takes up significant time if you take that approach for each listing.

After guests have returned home and it’s just you (possibly the seller), you need a way to leverage all the interactions you had. Some agents simply wait for people to call them back from the business cards they handed out during the open house.

But not you–you’re a passionate agent equipped with relationship selling techniques. You landed on this blog post because you want to maximize your sales opportunities from every open house. 

So, what steps should you take after holding an open house? Here are four essential strategies that leverage your inputs for valuable outcomes.

Upload Your Guests’ Contacts to Your CRM

Open houses are a perfect opportunity to collect several leads at a time. As such, you should always have a handheld sign-in device that guests can enter their contact information to. 

Make sure your sign-in form includes a checkbox where guests consent to be added to your email list. Otherwise, you’ll end up with disgruntled prospects. If you’re not tech savvy or don’t have the time to set up an online form, a paper sign-in sheet with an email column suffices. 

Upload your newly generated contacts to your customer relationship management tool, or CRM. Now you can group those contacts into a segment about the open house and send them relevant follow-ups. 

Send Out A Thank You Email

One of the best email marketing tips is sending out a thank you email the day after holding an open house. This is when the property is freshest in your prospects’ minds and when they’re most open to talking more about it. If you’re thinking, “When is the best time to send an email?” in regards to time of day, check out our blog post that offers the answer.

The best thank you emails are brief and friendly. Remember to use email subject line best practices to grab their attention as soon as they see it.

All you need to do is thank them for coming, include a link to the listing, and let them know you’re available for any questions. If the property is generating strong interest, you can write something like:

“This property already has high demand among [DATE’S] open house guests! If you’d like to put in an offer or book a follow-up call, please do so here: [LINK TO YOUR CALENDAR].”

This is an honest way of showing prospects that if they’re interested, they need to act now. As a best practice, you should go with the first buyer who’s ready to make an offer. 

If you want more email templates for real estate agents to get you started, we wrote a blog post full of recommendations. Check out our ideas in the link above.

Though it’s not illegal to represent multiple buyers for one property, it makes the process harder for all parties involved. Nearly all buyers want exclusive representation through their realtor because it means the agent isn’t distracted by who can make the largest offer. 

Once your thank you email is sent, sit back and relax. You’ve done your part as a professional to keep the conversation going. Those who have high interest will respond soon, and you can use the next step for those who are on the fence.

You’ll also discover why a smaller number of strong leads is good for business. Most of your prospects aren’t going to respond, but the few who do lead you to multiple new sales opportunities.

Follow Up With A Phone Call

If any of your guests haven’t responded to your thank you email, plan to give them a quick call. Allow at least 48 hours for your recipients to respond so they don’t feel like you’re putting the pressure on. 

Aim to place phone calls within one week after the open house. The best times to call are between 8AM and 10AM, or 4PM and 6PM. This is when most people are least busy and will have 10 to 15 minutes for a conversation. 

The simpler the conversation, the better. First, remind them who you are and why you’re calling so they don’t need to jog their memory (even with the open house being recent). Second, ask them if they’ve had time to think about the property and if they have any questions. 

Many prospects will be polite, saying they were happy to attend but aren’t ready to make a decision yet. Some may thank you for calling but express that they aren’t interested anymore. Still, a few may be excited about the property and will start asking questions. 

That’s exactly why calls work so well. It narrows down your list of prospects from fence sitters to action takers. People are always welcome to visit an open house at any time, but as an agent or broker you’re looking for your next buyer. You’re also learning how to market yourself as a realtor, and this is part of gaining respect from prospects.

Send Info About Future Open Houses

After thank you emails and phone calls, you still want to maximize the lifetime value (LTV) of your new leads. Once they’re in your email service provider (ESP) or CRM, you can add them to an email list specifically for future open houses. 

People who enjoy open houses are likely to be open house attendees in the future. A buyer that isn’t interested in your first open house property may want to see your second or third. By keeping your pool of prospects fairly large, you’ll always have new people to contact.

While there’s nothing wrong with growing a large email list, remember not to abuse your subscribers’ trust. Send one email every time you’re holding an open house, otherwise you risk annoying readers and prompting them to unsubscribe. Over time, your subscribers will see you’re a trustworthy source for information about new homes and they’ll naturally reach out more. 

Instead of dealing with multiple tools that don’t communicate with each other, get the capabilities you need under one roof. Rechat is an end-to-end marketing and sales platform for real estate agents and brokerages.

We offer customizable workflows, enterprise contact tagging, and industry-leading integrations so you can focus on what you do best. Book a demo now to see Rechat in action. 

Frequently Asked Questions About What to Do After Holding An Open House

Open houses are one of the most effective ways to attract potential buyers. In order to maximize both your and your seller’s time–which is part of relationship selling–you should have the process mapped out from beginning to end.

If you aren’t sure where to start, we have you covered. Review these commonly asked questions about holding an open house: 

What to Do for A Successful Open House?

Holding an open house successfully is the result of the right preparations. If you have a roadmap before any guests show up on the date itself–including knowing how to get a home appraisal–you’re practically guaranteed to get results. No matter what kind of property you’re hosting at, follow these steps to ensure it’s fruitful: 

• Specify a time and date. Even though it’s a no-brainer, you still need to identify when you’ll hold the event. Work with your seller to figure out a time they’re comfortable with, and then put the open house day on the calendar. 
• Set up street signs. Open houses are meant to be casual, yet informative, which is exactly why some people will drop in at a moment’s notice. To maximize your guest count, place signs at the street corners near the house. This takes only a little time and money but can yield several more guests, especially if the property is near a high traffic area. 
• Declutter the home. The purpose of an open house is to help potential clients envision themselves living there. If there are personal items or general belongings lying about, this will be a distraction and also appear unprofessional. Spend however long you and your seller need to make the home look like a genuine showcase.
• Have guests sign in. Whether you love setting up digital sign-in forms or prefer the look and feel of paper, it’s essential to have some kind of sign-in. This is how you keep in touch with prospects after they leave the open house. Some people will come just to tour a house; others will show up with serious intent. By emailing everyone on your guest list after, you’ll move the conversation along and be closer to whoever your next buyer is. 

What Is The Best Time to Hold An Open House?

The best time to hold an open house depends on the seller’s goals and how much they can open up their schedule. Optimal times differ based on the time of week you’re hosting guests, too. 

Sundays between 1 PM and 3 PM is the best overall time to hold an open house. Most people have Sundays off work and are free to visit new places. Sunday afternoons mitigate a sudden influx of foot traffic, increase the odds of more people showing up, and maximize sunlight in the house.

If you or your seller can’t do weekends, weeknights between 7 PM and 9 PM are a great choice. People are usually done working by 5 or 6 PM and can get to the property within an hour. This also gives people time to show up and ask questions if they can’t get there right at 7 PM. Bear in mind that the house should be well-lit after dark to maximize guests’ first impressions of the home.

You’ll find optimal results with open houses if you’re holding them during the best time to sell a house. This timeframe changes a bit based on location, so make sure you know what it is based on your clients’ needs.

Do Serious Buyers Go to Open Houses?

At the outset of an open house, it’s nearly impossible to tell what the intentions of your guests are. People who have been researching the housing market forecast or doing a comparative market analysis may show up at the property. A few of your guests may have seen the listing on social media already and want to ask questions face-to-face. 

Still, others may just want to hang out at a new home because they have nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon. You won’t know this information at the beginning and you can’t really ask for it upfront, because that would be pushy. 

Instead, simply follow up one-on-one with each of your guests after the open house. Don’t try to pressure prospects into a sale, but be clear about your intent in following up.

Know which of the types of sales persons you’re closest to, so you can be at your best when utilizing the ABCs of relationship selling. You can say something like the following:

“Hey [name], thanks so much for coming to the open house last weekend! It was a pleasure to meet you. Do you have any questions about the property I can answer?”

A brief opening like this is genuine, clear, and outcome-driven. It doesn’t make the prospect feel awkward or as though they’re on the hook for anything. It simply opens the door to further conversation and positions you as the authority (which you are). From there, people should answer questions honestly and let you know that they aren’t interested or that they want to hear more.

Helping Buyers Find Their Next Home Sweet Home

By the time you’re done holding an open house, you’re probably tired. It takes a lot of energy to meet several new people at once, answer questions effectively, and be cheerful on top of it. 

With these methods, you won’t need to wonder if your efforts will generate results. You’ll have a proven follow-up plan that will get you closer to whoever your next buyer ends up being. You’ll also have great verbiage for follow up conversations, so your buyers feel like you truly care. 

Want even more follow up tips? Check out our complete guide to Following Up Through Email. Also look at our ultimate guide to email marketing for ongoing tips on excelling with the inbox.