Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 46 seconds

Ask The Expert: Adding Value to Open Houses

By Dave Hershman, Senior Vice President, Sales of Weichert Financial

Part II of my response to the question: I have been advised by my branch manager to start visiting open houses on the weekends. However, I have no idea what to say to the Realtor holding the house open. Any ideas in this regard? — Bob from Virginia

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[caption id="attachment_9654" align="alignright" width="268"] Dave Hershman[/caption]

In Part I, we discussed the types of open houses and what to say when you're there. Now, let's talk about adding two points of value. We will call these "before and after."

Before

What can you do of value before the open house? In this case we are speaking about an open house that you plan with the agent. While most agents will ask for open house flyers with rates, ask them "would you rather have a flyer that visitors may look at when they get there, or would you rather have me trying to help you bring more people to the open house--through social media and more?" I almost guarantee the answer would be to get more people to come to the open house. That's the ultimate value.

Once you have such a flyer, you can share it on social media, emails to your contacts and even distribute to local real estate officers. That would be more productive than delivering rate sheets!

After

When you are cold calling the open or planning it, you should always volunteer to follow up with the visitors-- either in addition to the agent or in conjunction with the agent. Some visitors may respond to a loan officer instead of an agent.

This extra effort may produce another lead for the agent and that is real value. Your ability to convert prospects may be the value that helps the agent increase their business. If they are not comfortable with you calling, perhaps you can give them some value-added information to offer.

Regardless of your approach, the delivery of value is the most important element. Remember--rates, programs and service are not value. They are what every loan officer offers–even if they rarely deliver. Bringing more business to the table represents real added value.

Dave Hershman is Senior VP of Sales of Weichert Financial and the top author in the mortgage industry. Dave has published seven books, as well as hundreds of articles and is the founder of the OriginationPro Marketing System and Mortgage School – the online choice for expert mortgage learning and marketing content. His site is www.OriginationPro.com and he can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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