What to say to realtors at an open house

Part II: You recently talked about following up on prospects from open houses. My manager has told me that I need to visit open houses to meet real estate agents. What do I say to them? Max from South Carolina

Last week we talked about "selecting the opening house" and "developing a plan." This week we will discuss what to say at an open house. I have always been an advocate of the delivery of value. Value is defined in terms of what your target is interested in--not what is of interest to you. Thus, while you really want to ask them for a deal, that is not at all appropriate.

What is of interest to the agent? They want to sell the house. Therefore, you should be talking about the house and how many clients you have pre-approved that might want to look at the house or even how you might help the agent market the house. A conversation like that is going to get you further because you are interested in helping them with their objectives.  If the open is not busy ­­– take a tour. Observe how professional the agent is.

Of course, if the open is very busy, you will take a different approach. If you are not invited to help, then leave some information and do not hang around as an uninvited pest. If you were invited and thus are a guest, it will be a different story. You should think about your strategy in terms of different scenarios. For example, a busy agent with no time to talk vs. a dead open with a talkative agent. For the talkative agent, you should be asking open ended questions ­­– again of interest to them. Not, do you have a loan officer? But, what is your greatest challenge today? If you get them in deep conversation, you will learn more about who they use as opposed to asking them straight out.

Dave Hershman has been the leading author and a top speaker for the industry for decades with six books authored and hundreds of articles published. His website is www.originationpro.com. If you have a reaction to this commentary or another question you would like answered in this column? Email directly at [email protected].