It’s not uncommon for new real estate agents to go broke waiting for those first few deals to come through. Recent Real Estate Rockstars guest Kaisen Mitchell watched his savings dwindle down to nothing as a new agent, but he didn’t give up; it paid off.
Kaisen Mitchell
Now, just two years into his real estate career, Mitchell is closing over 30 deals annually — often making more in a single month than he did in a year at his previous job.
One of the practices that helped Mitchell find fast success as a new agent was regularly hosting open houses. But instead of simply showing up and hoping to land a buyer for each property, he took a more active approach.
Read on for details on the open-house system Mitchell used to consistently convert prospects into buyer clients. For a rundown on all the strategies that helped him win clients as a new agent, listen to the podcast interview below.
Why you should host open houses
A lot of agents hate hosting open houses, claiming they don’t work or just aren’t worth the effort.
But there are also plenty of agents who got their careers off the ground by consistently hosting open houses — Mitchell is one of them.
As a new agent, there are several benefits to hosting open houses. For one, hosting an open house costs you nothing but time. Plus, open houses put you in front of both buyers and sellers, giving you experience and face-to-face interactions with potential clients.
What you need to win clients at open houses
According to Mitchell, “99 percent of prospective clients that visit an open house don’t end up purchasing that specific home. In the event that the client doesn’t like that home and you don’t have anything to show them as an alternative, the chances of you getting a sale from that encounter drop significantly.”
In order to ensure that you’re able to make buyers eager to work with you regardless of whether or not they’re impressed with the open house property, you need to be ready. And to be ready, you only need three things: a laptop, a phone and availability.
With those three things, you can show buyers that you’re the agent for them in minutes. This is perfect since you likely won’t have much time to sell yourself to open house attendees, and you don’t want to be stuck playing the follow-up game with brand-new prospects if at all possible.
Sell prospects on you, not the property
Don’t try to oversell buyers on the house you’re hosting. Instead, ask open-ended questions to get a feel for their situation and needs. When striking up conversations with buyers, Mitchell starts by asking what brought them in.
When listening to their response, he tries to identify specific keywords and statements. Responses like “Oh, I just sold my house,” or “I’m looking for a larger place,” are what he’s hoping for as these are indicators he’s talking to a serious buyer.
After that brief conversation, Mitchell lets the buyer look around to get a feel for the property. It’s only when the prospective buyers finish looking at the property that he really tries to win them over.
Here’s how:
Mitchell has another conversation with the buyer after their walk-through to identify their likes and dislikes, to get a better feel for what they’re after. As they’re responding, he’s narrowing down listings in the MLS to meet their specific criteria.
He then shows the buyer these listings, trying to put the newest ones in front of them first. Often enough, Mitchell shows them something they haven’t seen yet that catches their attention. After it’s clear they’re interested, he offers to show them the property when his open house is over.
Believe it or not, that’s often all it takes to win a new buyer client.
It’s all about offering value
Any agent can host an open house. If you really want to impress buyers, you have to offer value.
With Mitchell’s strategy, not only are you piquing buyers’ interest with additional properties, you’re showing them that you’re motivated and able to find them the type of home they really want — that’s value.
To learn more about winning buyer clients at open houses, listen to Kaisen Mitchell’s podcast interview.
Pat Hiban sold more than 7,000 homes over the course of his 25-year career in real estate. Now, he dedicates his time to helping others succeed as agents and investors. As host of the Real Estate Rockstars Podcast, Pat interviews real estate experts to explore what works in today’s markets. He also founded Rebus University, an online training platform for real estate agents and sales professionals.
Are you ready for what the industry holds in 2020? Inman Connect New York is your key to unlocking opportunity in a changing market. At Connect you will gain insight into the future, discover new strategies and network with real estate’s best and brightest to accelerate your business. Create your 2020 success story at Inman Connect New York, January 28-31, 2019.
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