An Open House sign-in sheet can earn MASSIVE returns.
Welcome to Open House season! This is your opportunity to heat up with the weather and break big with Open Houses to attract a ton of interested people to your database. And it all starts with your Open House sign-in sheet.
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Think of an Open House like a fishing trip. Your job is to catch leads. This makes your Open House sign-in sheet your net. A good one will catch a ton of quality leads and even float the best ones to the top. A bad one will let too many slip through the gaps and pick up a bunch of garbage – fake names and phone numbers.
In this blog, we’re going mend that net to filter out the garbage and catch the big game. We’ll explore some strategies and options for you to customize your open house sign-in sheet in a way that works best for you.
Let’s not waste any time!
What is an open house sign-in sheet strategy?
An open house sign-in sheet strategy involves designing a user-friendly form, both in print and digital formats, to collect attendees' contact details and preferences. It should capture essential information like name, phone number, email, and specific interests or questions about the property. Additionally, the strategy includes a follow-up plan to engage with attendees post-event, respecting privacy regulations, and possibly offering incentives to encourage sign-ins.
Open House Sign in Sheet Tips
Open House Sign-In Sheet Tip No. 1: Ask the Right Questions
Quality information is the name of the game. That means the questions you ask are crucial. But you can’t make people feel like they’re filling out forms in a doctor’s office or they’ll likely blow off the sheet altogether.
All the entries should be able to fit comfortably on a single line on the paper or device. No matter what you’re asking, make sure you have the big three on there:
- Address
- Phone number
Beyond that, here are some other awesome questions that will help you to qualify and prioritize the leads you gather:
- Are you working with a realtor?
- Realtor’s name
- Do you own your home?
- How long have you lived in your home?
- Interested in a free home valuation?
Open House Sign-In Sheet Tip No. 2: Don’t Discount Old-School Paper
Everything is digital now, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the right move for you. Coaching member Stephanie Younger and her team held 480 Open Houses in 2021, and Stephanie swears by the traditional piece of paper.
She says that people are less likely to fill out an electronic form because they feel like they’ll be automatically put into a database to have their information shared and spammed. But with a physical piece of paper, their defenses go down. You can get Stephanie’s entire playbook here.
Again, I’m not saying this is the right strategy for you, because a lot of great agents use digital Open House sign-in sheet services like Curb Hero to gather their leads and automate the process.
If you don’t have the time to manually input every piece of information from paper, digital is the way to go. But if you’re concerned about getting fake information or having people skip the form completely, don’t discount the old-school method.
Open House Sign-In Sheet Tip No. 3: Professional Branding
If your open house sign in sheet goes straight from Microsoft Excel to the printer, there’s a problem. No one wants their leads to feel like they’re signing into a prison at an Open House, so your form should not only be beautiful but done in your own branding.
You do have professional brand standards, right?
- Colors
- Font
- Wording
- Headshot
- Logo
If you don’t, be sure to check out this blog on creating a professional brand bible. And I’m not saying your sheet needs to have all of the things listed above, but if you want people to trust you with their information, at least make an effort to seem like a trustworthy brand.
Open House Sign-In Sheet Tip No. 4: Integrate Social Media
Sticking with the idea of branding and trust, let’s consider what a QR code could do for you.
Your goal is to know who these people are, and that requires interaction beyond the Open House. Social media is where people get to know each other before they know each other. It’s we feel each other out and create familiarity.
All it takes is a QR code leading to your Linktree. Put the QR code on the corner of the sign-in sheet or on the same table with a sign that says “Connect with me on social!” From there, they’ll find links to all your social platforms as well as your website and Google Business Profile.
If you’re not one for the QR codes, consider simply asking for their social handles on the sign-in sheet itself. Just remember to respect privacy preferences.
Open House Sign-In Sheet Tip No. 5: Incentivize the Sign-In
How fun are giveaways? Everyone loves the idea of winning stuff, even if it’s not that expensive. If people are willing to spend money on raffle tickets, they’d more than likely be willing to enter for free by filling in some simple information.
This is where your Open House sign-in sheet actually becomes a part of your Open House advertising! Mention that one name will randomly be selected from the sign-in sheet to win whatever it is that you’re offering.
Open House Sign-In Sheet Tip No. 6: Make It Conversational
We’ve already established the questions you “need to” or “should be” asking, but what if you added a few extra (but not required) questions to help get a sense of what people are thinking?
A great idea is to make these questions less formal and more conversational.
- What brought you out today?
- What are you looking for in a home?
- What’s stopping you from buying or selling?
- What do you think about the market right now?
Some of these questions will help you get a sense of where their heads are at when it comes to making a move.
Open House Sign-In Sheet Tip No. 7: Sign the First Line Yourself
And lastly, I’ll leave you with a very simple and often forgotten little piece of advice…
If you’re using a piece of paper, fill out the first line yourself.
It’s so easy and no one wants to be the first one to sign in. The more names they see on that paper, the more likely they’ll be to join in. It’s a basic law of human nature.
The Bottom Line
Here’s the bottom line… Open Houses aren’t just about selling a home. They’re about leveraging an event to gain as many new leads as possible and expand your database. But if you want to establish a relationship and eventually close those leads, you need to know a little bit about them, and that’s why these tips are so helpful.
For more help with your Open House strategy, check out how one of the most successful agents in the industry, Andy Tse, runs his Open Houses which produce millions of dollars in GCI every year.
Let me know in the comments what you’re doing with your Open House sign-in sheet and how you plan to improve it for this summer.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
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