Quick & Easy Open House Tips & Scripts for Realtors

Hosting open houses is part of the real estate agent gig. If you think they’re a waste of time, you’re doing them wrong. When I was an agent, open houses were my best lead gen source. Every weekend, you’d find me hosting as many opens as I could. And I loved it! If you do it right, you’ll start to look forward to hosting opens over any other part of your job.

These quick tips and scripts are small tweaks that help yield better results. If you are looking for a complete guide to hosting a successful open house, this open house bootcamp is exactly that. If you know the basics but aren’t getting results, read on for quick tips that can make a difference.

 1. Use the handshake trick.

The first thing I do when greeting a visitor is shake their hand. I look them in the eye and say: 

“Hi, I’m Aaron. Thank you so much for stopping by. What’s your name?”

Then, I would continue to hold the handshake and make eye contact until they respond with their name. Remember that most people are visiting multiple open houses and feeling hounded by agents. The last thing they want is to give you their contact information, which is why you’ll likely end up with so many fake numbers on your sign-in sheet. I’m not suggesting you skip out on the sign-in sheet (quite the contrary), but it’s important to connect and put a name to the face.

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2. Ask for contact preferences.

As mentioned, you certainly want to provide a sign-in sheet to gather visitor information. But when you ask visitors to fill out the form, always ask how they prefer to be contacted. This allows them to lead the way! Don’t assume everyone wants to be called or everyone wants to be texted. Ask the question. and take some quick notes on your phone whenever you have a quick moment to yourself.

3. Find out which visitors have agents.

What’s the best thing that could possibly come out of an open house? New clients of course! However, you always want to maintain the ethical code and consider which visitors already have agents. This will greatly impact your follow-up strategy. Always ask for the name of their agent if they are currently working with someone. Even though these questions can feel nosy or too forward, they will set you up for success in using your time wisely down the line. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, are you currently working with an agent? If so, I’d love to get their name so I can make sure we arrange a time for you to see the home again if you’re interested.”

4. Don’t follow them around.

One of the most awkward things I see agents do is follow around their guests. The goal of an open house is for your visitors to get comfortable enough to sense whether or not they could see themselves living in the home. If you follow them from room to room or attempt to give a tour, they’ll likely feel uneasy. Who wouldn’t? After greeting a visitor, I say something along the lines of this:

“Thanks so much for coming by. I know you want to get a feel for the home, so I’ll let you take a look around yourself. If you have any questions, I’ll be around the living room area to help. I hope you enjoy it.”

5. Follow up the same day.

The single biggest mistake you could make is not following up with your visitors the same day. As I mentioned before, most visitors are viewing multiple opens in a weekend. How can you expect a buyer to remember you later that day let alone a day or two later? As an agent, I would always bring my iPad to the open and send my thank you texts immediately after the last guest leaves. Something as simple as this will do the trick:

“Hi, this is Aaron Hodson from the 122 Main St open house. Thanks so much for stopping by! I just wanted to send my number over in case you have any questions about the property. I’ll give you a call tomorrow to check in. Have a great night!" 

Anyone can put some signs up, buy some bottled water, and sit in a living room for a few hours. If you want open houses to turn into opportunities, it will take more than that. These small tweaks will help you perfect your strategy and get more from every event. Don’t look now — you might just start loving open houses before you know it!

About the Author

Aaron Hodson is a keynote speaker, business strategist, and CEO of SellWell. He’s spent 25+ years in the real estate industry in various capacities — from selling homes, to becoming CEO of one of the fastest growing real estate companies in the world, to coaching high-level sales agents and executives. Fair warning: Aaron originally hails from New Zealand, so Kiwi-isms are to be expected.