From scrambling to systematic: a better open house plan

You know that feeling when you’re packing for a trip, but haven’t allowed enough time for your flight? You’re wandering around the house trying to remember what you need, and yet somehow you end up in a strange city with only pajama bottoms to wear?

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If you had a list of what to bring, you would spend much less energy preparing for your trip. You would move faster and panic less. Proper planning helps you achieve great results with minimal stress.

You may be wondering what holidays have to do with open houses. I promise there is a connection, other than the infamous “move out of town and you get a contract.” If open houses are part of your 2026 plan to grow your database, why not make it easy on yourself with a great plan that can also predict how much you’ll make per hour?

Define success

First you need to define what success means to you. This will keep you motivated and help you track results and refine your goals for the next year.

When we set goals, we often have no control over the outcomes. Rising interest rates or pandemics are outside forces that can affect the bottom line, no matter how hard you work. Setting sales goals that leave you vulnerable to market forces is demoralizing, so don’t set them. I never did that.

Instead, set goals for activities that you have control over and that will positively impact your business. Here are some examples of measurable goals that you can have complete control over:

• Meet 10 new people per week
• Delay 30 open houses per year
• Meet There are 5 people present at each open house
• Host 4 homebuyer seminars per year

Calculate your hourly rate

Before you start an open house program, you need to build a process around it. Know your goal so you can refine your program as you go.

If you can answer these questions, you can calculate how much you make per hour or open house (of course we have a spreadsheet for this):

• How many people do you expect to meet at an open house?
• How many open houses will you organize?
• How many hours for an open house? (Don’t forget to count travel time and preparation time.)
• How many people do you need to meet this year to complete a transaction?
• What is the average price level you can expect?
• What is your estimated earned professional fee?

Will this immediately change your outcomes? Probably not. Does it motivate you and make you feel in control of your results? 100 percent. And motivation is what will help you stick to the plan.

Select the correct properties

Choose new listings that are well presented in the areas you target. Look for an estate agent who presents homes well: good photos, staged and an environment where you can organize a meeting for the neighborhood.

It’s also helpful to always work with the same listing agents. You learn from them, get good ideas and get into a rhythm so that it doesn’t feel like you’re starting over with a new group every time.

Get organized

Think of an open house as if you were throwing a party. By creating an “open house kit,” keep it in a large plastic container with napkins, a stack of business cards, registration sheets, pens, paper towels, a roll of toilet paper, Windex, and even a vacuum cleaner, which makes getting ready a lot easier. (And don’t forget the music.)

Leave a Post-it note in the trash with your checklist of items to ensure nothing is missed. This ensures you have the same experience every time, making the process less stressful and more time efficient.

Your buyer presentation

You should also download your buyer presentation onto an iPad so you can access it easily. You stand out and show people how you think, that you have a process. Most agents are not organized or well prepared, and consumers feel it.

Share your data

Your added value is how you see the data and what you can teach the consumer about the market. Talk about your thoughts on the inventory in that neighborhood, or talk about how the general market might look different across the city. Tell them what stands out about the house you are keeping open compared to other houses that may have sold in the area.

Serve your customer: the listing agent

When you hold an open house, your client is the listing agent. Consistently well-presented listings are rare. When you find an agent who maintains this high standard and you help them serve their seller, the relationship can be symbiotic and long-lasting.

The listing agent will also want to share feedback with the seller. We request that our hosting agents send us screenshots of the login form along with visitor numbers and feedback before leaving the property.

The listing agent should also be able to contact represented buyer agents as this is in the seller’s best interest. Sometimes you may feel like it’s difficult to get that information, but most of the time this script is the solution.

“Thank you very much for coming. The sellers have asked the listing agent to request the agent’s name for anyone already represented so they can get feedback from your agent. The listing agent wants to respect the seller’s wishes, so if you don’t mind, could you sign up and also leave your agent’s name so the listing agent can contact them for feedback?”

Anyone who walks in unrepresented is your new best friend.

What now?

Now that you have their contact information, our job is to serve people first, and the business will follow.

Here are some examples of how you can serve your potential new customers:

• Add them to your postcard, newsletter and annual review lists
• Negotiate with a vendor for maintenance services for all your customers and add these open house friends to the list of people receiving the offer
• Invite them to your next open house in the neighborhood (people love to come see houses)
• Start a monthly market search for them in their region

The larger your database, the more business you will do over time. Motivating yourself to actively grow your database by setting measurable goals will help you get ahead in the years to come.

Jen Berbas is the team leader of the Berbas Group in Austin, Texas. Connect with her Instagram And Linkedin.