What to Include in Your Open House Sign-in Sheet

An open house sign-in sheet is quite an important tool for listing agents. For one, it's proof to your seller that there's interest in their home. This is important, of course, because impressing your seller is a must in order to keep them feeling positive about the work you're doing for them.

Secondly, but technically most important, is that it's a list of mostly warm leads. Some of them are active in their home-buying journey, while others may be local homeowners viewing comparable properties as they consider whether to sell.

The more foot traffic you can get to your open house, the more leads you'll accrue. But you need to be prepared to have a productive conversation with these leads when you reach out later. That's where the information you collect on your open house sign-in sheet becomes important.

Creating an Open House Sign-in Sheet Template

While you may be tempted to collect a laundry list of details on your open house sign-in sheet, it's important to remember marketing basics. The less you require of a lead, the more likely they are to convert (i.e., give you the information you're requesting). That's why online lead capture forms typically limit required fields to a name and email address.

You can certainly request more information in your open house sign-in sheet, but you risk guests leaving fields blank unless a colleague is actively collecting information from each person.

Another consideration is whether to offer a paper or digital sign-in sheet. Guests may be reluctant to give their contact information or write questions or comments on a public sheet. A digital form keeps their information private, making them more inclined to offer additional details.

A Basic Open House Sign-in Sheet

It's recommended to keep your open house sign-in sheet short and simple, requesting just the basics: name, phone number and email address. If you're advertising the open house on a few channels and want to track the ROI, you should also ask how guests learned about the open house. Offer suggestions in parentheses or as checkboxes that include the channels you're advertising on.

Detailed Open House Sign-in Sheets

Guests shouldn't feel like they're filling out a new patient form at a doctor's office. So while you can ask for additional information, keep it as simple as possible. Here are additional fields you may consider adding, but only if you think it will be helpful when you reach out later:

• Address
• Ask a question
• Leave a comment or provide feedback to the agent and/or seller
• What do you like most and least about this home?
• Real estate needs:
  • Want to buy ASAP
  • Want to buy within the next 12 months
  • Want to sell
  • Just looking
• Are you working with a real estate agent?
• What type of property are you interested in?
  • __ beds
  • __ bathrooms
  • Single-family home
  • Condo/Townhouse
  • Specific features: ___
• Have you been pre-approved for a loan?
• Would you like me to send you a free home evaluation for your home?
  • If yes, home address: ____
• Do you want to receive a free market report to learn about homes in this area?
  • If yes, zip codes of interest: ____

If you read through this list and thought, "This is all great information! How do I choose?" then you might consider using a basic sign-in sheet along with an optional, longer form for active buyers and sellers who want to move fast. This will also help you identify the hottest leads to follow up with first.

Get More Foot Traffic at Your Open House

There are plenty of advertising opportunities you can take advantage of leading up to the day of your open house. Those include digital ads, newspaper ads, postcards, flyers and emails to your contact list, among other tactics.

Your options are more limited if you want to generate additional foot traffic on the day of your open house. Yard and sidewalk signs are tried-and-true options that attract the attention of locals walking around the neighborhood. Another tactic that has proven to be effective in this digital age is advertising on Waze.

Drivers who use this navigation app don't need to be in the immediate area to see your open house ad. They could be a few blocks away, on the main road or in an adjacent neighborhood. Since they are already driving in the area, it's an easy way to nudge them to stop in.

Learn more about using Waze to drive foot traffic to your open house or get started now and promote your open house on Waze.

To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.