Having the right information is essential to ensuring success in the real estate business. However, collecting the right information is much easier said than done, not least because most consumers have an understandable reluctance to hand out their contact information.
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Although the open house sign-in sheet is meant to protect the interests of the homeowner, it is also a simple but nonetheless effective method for overcoming that reluctance to secure exactly the sort of contact information that would interest real estate agents the most.
Open-House Apps
Since more and more people are using smartphones and other mobile devices, it should come as no surprise to learn that there are open house sign-in apps available to real estate agents interested in making full use of the potential of modern technologies.
Open Home Pro
Available for both Android and the iPhone, Open Home Pro is an excellent example of the apps that real estate agents can expect. It lets people sign in with their mobile devices rather than their pens.
However, it also provides other useful features such as automatic follow-up, lead prioritization, and increased reach as a result of the ease of sharing.
If you are constantly running short on time, you will find Open Home Pro extremely useful because of how it streamlines some of the most tedious parts of the open house process.
AM Open House
AM Open House provides some of the same features as Open Home Pro while also including other features such as a mortgage calculator, the provision of information about the real estate agent, and the provision of information about the neighborhood.
AM Open House is particularly well-suited to you if you are interested in tinkering with the settings for the apps that you use so that you can exactly the results that you want.
For example, it lets you customize your follow-up emails as needed while also providing you with the templates needed to make sending them as painless as possible.
BrightOpen App
The National Association of REALTORS® is perhaps the best example, seeing as how their BrightOpen app is purpose-made for collecting contact information at open houses.
The best part about it is that it is an online service. As a result, you can use it whenever and wherever so long as you have a connection to the Internet by simply logging into your Realtor.com account.
The Open House Sign-In Sheet
Here are some examples of how you can put the contact information on your open house sign-in sheet to excellent use:
For starters, you can use the contact information to follow up on the people who participated in the open house.
This is important because real estate agents can increase their chances of making a successful sale by providing interested individuals with superior service, which is one of the most fundamental principles in marketing.
Better still, even if you fail to sell the house, you can use it as a chance to build a rapport that will prove useful in future interactions.
You can use the contact information for future marketing. For example, if you are representing someone selling a similar house, you can use the contact information to contact the participants of the open house to see if they are interested in the other property.
Similarly, if you can impress said individuals with your real estate expertise and experience, you have a step up in convincing them to come to you when they need someone to represent them in real estate-related matters.
By filling in the blanks on an open house sign-in sheet, the participants of an open house reveal a great deal about themselves. For example, just their names, their phone numbers, and their email addresses can reveal a great deal about the demographics interested in the house.
Furthermore, the more that you interact with the participants of the open house by using their contact information, the more of this sort of information that you can expect to pick up.
By collecting, compiling, and interpreting said information, you can learn a great deal about exactly what sort of people are interested in exactly what sort of properties, which you can use to tailor your future marketing efforts for maximum appeal with the targeted demographics.
Motivating People to Sign In
Convincing people to sign in at an open house is much easier said than done. Sure, you could force the issue by mandating sign-in, but that will probably be counter-productive because a significant percentage of people are willing to use fake names along with fake contact information.
This is particularly problematic because fake names and fake contact information that seem real enough are not just useless but actively detrimental to you because they can make you waste your limited time and effort.
As a result, be sure to use these tips to convince people to sign in while minimizing the use of fake names and fake contact information at the same time.
Be open and honest about your intentions for the contact information listed on your open house sign-in sheet. As a general guideline, you can do this by putting yourself in the participants’ position.
If there is anything that you would want to know if you were in their position, you should disclose that information rather than keep it concealed because even the smallest hint of deception can destroy their trust in an instant.
This is particularly important because the sheer amount of exposure to marketing means that consumers can be remarkably perceptive when it comes to attempts to mislead them.
Some agents put it back on the seller and use the ‘It’s not me it’s them approach’ by saying: “My sellers have asked that everyone sign in”. Use the approach that’s right for you. So that you are not stretching the truth, I’d present this to the sellers and get their buy-in to agree that it should be asked.
One simple way to soothe the participants’ fear that their contact information will be misused is to show them what said the information will be used for.
For example, if you are planning to send newsletters to the people on your email list, bring print-outs of your past newsletters to show the participants of the open house. Knowing exactly what they can expect can do a great deal to make people that much more comfortable with the situation.
Similarly, you should make sure to include an opt-out option on your open house sign-in sheet. It says that you are a reliable person who will not harass them at every possible opportunity, which is an easy way to build credibility without actually sacrificing anything.
This is because if they choose to opt-out, chances are good that you would not have been able to get their contact information without including the opt-out option in the first place. This way, you can make yourself seem like the real estate professional that you are while still creating further opportunities for future interactions.
After all, opt-out options tend to restrict contact rather than eliminate them entirely.
You should not hesitate to ask participants of the open house for their contact information on your open house sign-in sheet. This is because not all people who fail to do so refuse to do so. Instead, some of them will have forgotten to do so, while others might not have been aware of the need.
As always, you should not pressure said individuals into giving their contact information because that leads to an increased chance of fake names and fake contact information. Instead, be polite, be professional, and be prepared to give up if they refuse.
Small incentives are also a useful way for convincing other reluctant people to give away their contact information, particularly because said incentives do not have to be expensive. Effective examples include but are not limited to small coupons, contest entries, and even exclusive content.
Please note that it can be particularly effective to tie the receipt of the incentives to the provision of accurate contact information. For example, if you are offering exclusive content, you should send it directly to their email addresses.
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