512-743-5434
Kris Colquette
REALTOR®
Smart Source Realty
Kris Colquette's Guide To: FOR SALE BY OWNER
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Marketing Your Open House -Cont...
Knock on all the doors in your neighborhood days in advance and invite them to come to the open house (even if only to give you feedback on staging, to say goodbye, etc- every visitor could be a buyer. Perhaps invite them to come 30 minutes before the real open house starts so they can view your home or speak with you more privately. This kind of thing makes them feel as though you’re treating them special and increases the odds they’ll show up. Use this time you spend inviting neighbors to also ask permission from a few to put a directional sign in their yard if needed so car traffic can find your home. I’ve never received much traffic from newspaper ads but use any outlet you can think of which the pocket book allows. Ensure your home is staged, clean, and perfect the day before. You’ll have enough things to keep you more than busy the day of. Put a sign in your yard a week in advance advertising the open house including the date, time, ph #, etc.
Utilize directional signs the day of (this is your last task b/f the open house) and start away from the home first focusing on high traffic streets and use the signs at every turn focusing on traffic from all different difffrections. Get the open house started around 11 or 12:00 and keep it going until there’s no more traffic. Sundays you might want to give thought to utilizing signs near church’s, etc. If there’s a local festival then use signs near those too. Sometimes you may need to write your address or ph# on open house signs that are further from the house to ensure more people can find and show up to your event.
I must also remind you to check local ordinances before hammering a sign into the ground. Typically if you (ordinances allowing) just put signs up in the morning and remove them immediately afterwards you’ll get no complaints.
Sometimes signs are hard to see when you’re driving. I attach one or two balloons (all same color) to each sign so that drivers see them from further away and can prepare for turns. Don’t be afraid to use more than one sign at some of the turns especially on roads with faster speed limits or more traffic.
Phone numbers & addresses on all signs is not a bad idea. Perhaps your audience just does not have the time to stop. Wouldn’t it be nice if they called instead of no action at all so you can inform them of your home, website, etc- perhaps allowing you to follow up with them for a personal view of the home when time allows!
Get visitors information!!! Have you ever gone shopping for something but weren’t quite ready to commit? I’ve been in that position. When a sales person follows up with me effectively and timely I can’t help but be persuaded to keep thinking about THEIR product and appreciate the personal attention. This closes sales. I promise that following up with visitors, obtaining their objections so you may adapt or overcome them, continue to solicit your home using different strategies all will greatly increase your chance of getting the home sold. Perhaps one visitor asks a few questions and you get the idea he or she is a numbers person (looking for a deal, needs it to make financial sense, wants your bottom line up front, asks about the costs of utilities, wants rental rates for the area, etc). Make a note of this so when it’s time to thank them for their visit or continue your solicitations you can customize what your going to say so that it is exactly the info their looking for. Maybe they are more of an emotional or humanitarian individual. Your follow up could include how wonderful, caring, friendly your neighbors are- how that home always felt homey and comfortable b/c of the open and airy feel mixed with it’s warm inviting architecture. Maybe when you speak with this kind of person you shouldn’t talk about the house at first. Upon the phone call get to know them, ask open ended questions that get them talking, enjoy a nice and non sales oriented conversation and this kind of individual (once asked and agreed) will nearly always follow up with you again or re-visit the home, etc. Attack different personalities in different and customized ways. BUT ALWAYS get feedback from everyone or you won’t be able to overcome their objections!
I find it better not to use a sign in sheet. Nobody ever puts their contact info on it any way. I simply start a conversation with people. I talk about the beautiful day, find out what their doing that weekend, explore what kind of person they are and why their standing inside the open house. When it’s comfortable I use the knowledge I gained from the conversation to explore a reason why obtaining their contact information is beneficial for them. Using a more subtle and personal method of obtaining contact info will probably quadruple your visitors contact information received. If they are just visiting because they live in the subdivision offer to send them an email each time you reduce the price, etc so they (as a close neighbor) can better understand how houses near them are selling. Most people want to know what’s going on in their own neighborhood and now you have their email for follow up, obtaining objections, inviting them back, getting the true reason they were in the open house (perhaps they really are looking for more or less space, etc). Without following up you will typically lose that lead. Keep cards or something on you so you can give them your information quickly and ensure your always ready with pen and paper in pocket to write their info down- Be Efficient!
Have fliers, COPIES OF SELLERS DISCLOSURE, contracts to purchase, etc ready and available for visitors to take with them. Email or call me to get blank copies of contracts for free.
Still Have Questions Regarding:
How do I obtain the addresses of my target audience I came up with earlier so I can send postcards and other info to them?
How can I send postcards incredibly inexpensively, in a very short amount of time, without learning anything difficult, efficiently, etc?
Where do I get Open House signs and stakes without over spending? What else should I obtain for the event and how?
How can I learn a lot more about giving a successful open house?
Where can I get templates for the home fliers I’ll be using so I make sure not to miss anything and so I’m done faster and easier? How can I get templates for all kinds of other marketing materials?
How do I obtain the Sellers Disclosure, contracts, etc? Actually- what all do I need when it comes to paperwork? Give it to me free!
What safety precautions should you take during open houses?
IV. MLS (multiple listing system)
What is it, how can it help you, and how do you get listed without full representation for a REALTOR.
Obtaining an agent to put your home into MLS is more complicated then it first seems. Many can do this for you but most of the time you will find yourself caught off guard by unforeseen additional expenses, lack of help, and so many other things which I want you to be aware of.
The vast majority who offer this service limit the time your home is listed on MLS until you pay another full fee to re-list it and this repeats until it sells. Something that seemed inexpensive can become very expensive with companies like these.
Most agents who perform this service are rarely or never there for questions you’ll have nor do they expect to assist with anything else because that’s not what you hired them to do. You hired them to put your property into MLS and that’s it.
