I just finished hosting my open house in beautiful Hamilton. The weather was great and so was the reception. I have hosted well over 200 open houses and I have a dirty little secret… I never make guests register their names! I can hear the real estate Gods bellowing down in disbelief, but here is something you should know, guest registration forms at open houses aren’t even worth the paper they are written on.
As a seller, you are essentially a providing a “product” and looking to sell that product to a consumer. Your goal should be to create the most ideal environment in your open house so that the consumer feels welcome and free to browse around. Could you imagine walking into a furniture store and having them make you fill out a form before looking at their product? You would be pretty offended and likely not in the mood to be making a purchase.
So what is all the guff about and why do agents pushing guest registration at open houses? Like most things real estate, they think it will help them generate more business BUT it is hurting your chances of selling. Here are a few things to consider:
People are far more approachable when you provide a friendly environment. Making them sign a form is basically saying “I don’t really trust you”
If someone is interested they will gladly give you their personal information and ask a bunch of questions
Making people sign forms always slows down the open house and instead of showing people the features, your agent is busy explaining the long winded form
There is no way of really verifying the information they are writing is correct (unless you ask for identification or a blood sample)
I still do have guest registration forms that are OPTIONAL to sign at my open houses. I like to make things fun and unique so when people voluntarily sign I give them a gift as a sign of appreciation. Some things I have used before are $5 Tim Horton/Starbucks gift cards and reusable shopping bags. I even throw in a quarterly draw for $150.00, this keeps people engaged but not in an invasive way.
I have sold several listings to buyers at my open houses and I always get a new buyer from my open houses and it is because of the atmosphere I provide. It is essential that you always think of things from a buyer’s perspective, even at open houses. When the time comes to think of selling you should strongly consider the friendlier approach! Have a great weekend.
Russell Smith says:
I agree that paper registration forms leave plenty to be desired and I agree that there has to be some benefit to the open house guest to providing their personal details. I like to use Open House Register Plus. This is a Windows application that emails guests when they sign in. I can email the full colour glossy brochure as a pdf, floor plans, links to virtual tours and the MLS listing…anything you want really. If an offer is registered or there is a price change I can easily notify everyone that has signed in to Open House Register Plus with the click of a button. My experience is that it is well received by guests when you tell them what they will receive when signing in. If you are interested take a look at http://www.openhouseregisterplus.com.