When it comes to writing great open house follow-up emails, most new agents don’t have a clue. They either try way too hard, or worse, dump them into a drip campaign. The secret to writing open house follow-up emails that convert is to give leads something they want and make it easy for them to get it from you. Simple!

To show you how simple it can be, we put together this checklist of what to do with your open house leads and compiled a list of the best follow-up emails to send after open house in 2024. After the emails, we’ll give you 10 expert tips for writing better emails to boost your open and response rates.

Each visitor to your open house is a potential client. Using these four rules, you’ll be able to categorize them, put them into your customer relationship manager (CRM) and start your lead nurturing process.

  • Immediate follow-up: Contact each lead within 24 hours of hosting your open house—if not that same day. This quick response will be your demonstration of the level of attentiveness, commitment, and service you provide to your clients. Try to use a personal touch here. 
  • Qualify your leads: Understand that some people are just coming by to take a look at a listing in the neighborhood and have no intention of buying or selling anytime soon. Others might be seeking a listing in that neighborhood, ready to pull the trigger. Knowing which leads are hot and which are not enables you to focus your attention on the ones that matter most. 
  • Provide valuable information: Share relevant market info—stats, listings, and other resources—to position yourself as a knowledgeable professional. Think neighborhood guides, market trend reports, or customized property listing presentations. 
  • Regular follow-up: To build your relationships, establish a regular schedule for check-ins with your leads. Mix up your follow-ups in terms of emails, phone calls, and personalized mailings. Invite them to a client appreciation event! Keep the conversation going: Building a relationship over time can convert a lead to a client when they’re ready to make a decision.

1. The Coffee Meet Email

2. The Honest Feedback Email

3. The Recent Sales Report Email

  Pro Tip

Set an alert for yourself in the MLS for recently sold and active listings in the same neighborhood as your open house. That way, you’ll have your finger on the pulse.

4. The Comparable Listings Email

5. The Open House Opinion Email

6. The Off-market Listings Invitation Email

7. The Market Analysis Report Email

  Pro Tip

Make sure you have a CRM that can track email opens and set up automated nurturing—that will make your follow-up process as easy as possible. Wise Agent has these capabilities and offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Check Out Wise Agent

8. The Personal Connection Follow-up Email

9. The Hot Lead Email

10. The Buyer’s Seminar Email

11. The Community Update Email

12. The Buyer’s Seminar Email

13. The Price Drop Email

10 Tips for Boosting Open & Response Rates for Open House Follow-up Emails

Now that you have some templates to work with for your open house emails, here are 10 tips for customizing them and improving your engagement.

1. Keep Your Follow-up Emails Short & Sweet

One common mistake I see agents make with open house follow-up emails is writing long, detailed messages chock-full of information. When I point this out, they always say the same thing: “But I want to give them as much information as possible!”

While this may be a noble gesture, it’s the kiss of death in the email marketing world for a straightforward reason. People are busy. Very few will have the time to open, let alone read, your 800-word email. Instead, try to stick to 100 to 200 words. This length is ideal because it only takes your lead a minute or two to read and act upon your message.

2. Personalize Your Follow-up 

It may take more time than sending a mass thank-you email, but if you had a great conversation with an open house visitor or know that you had a hot lead come by who expressed a lot of interest, drop them a personal email that references your conversation. Try to reference something they may have mentioned about an event coming up, or what their plans were that weekend. 

Personalized follow-up helps your leads feel valued and heard. They won’t feel like they’re talking to a salesy real estate agent, but forging a relationship beyond the commission. Showing you care is much more powerful in relationship building than a simple mass email. 

3. Avoid Asking Questions That Can Be Answered With a Simple ‘No’

This is an old negotiating trick. All you need to do is replace any yes-or-no questions with more open-ended ones.

Here’s a quick example: Instead of asking your lead if they have time to meet this weekend, ask them which day works better to meet, Saturday or Sunday.

The only caveat here is that you need to be careful not to come across as aggressive or forceful. Both can turn off prospective clients, buyers especially.

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4. Always Include a Call to Action

When it comes to real estate marketing, one of the biggest mistakes I see Realtors make time and time again is forgetting to include a call to action (CTA). Open house follow-up emails are no different. If you don’t include a short, snappy, and actionable line asking your leads to take action, you’re leaving money on the table.

Even something small like “Visit my website” provides your leads a place to go after reading your email. This underlines why personal branding and a robust online presence is important. 

5. Avoid Spammy Words in Your Subject Line

Although Google doesn’t release the exact criteria that can land your emails into someone’s “promotional” folder—or heaven forbid, their spam folder—there are a few best practices you can follow to make sure.

The first and most crucial step is to avoid using spammy words in the subject line or even the body of your emails. Words and phrases like “free,” “limited time offer,” and “call now” can trip Google’s spam filters and ensure your message never gets read.

6. Follow Up Your Email With a Phone Call

If you’re not already doing it, you should make an effort to always reinforce your open house thank-you emails with a quick, personal phone call. Trevor James, coach and staff writer with Real Tactics Pro, explains how to pull this off:

“Even if they don’t answer, it’s a chance to connect with your potential client. A personal touch goes a long way. But be armed with the info on the open house listing and make sure you’re prepared to answer any questions they might have. This is another way to showcase your knowledge and preparation skills.”

Related Article
7 Proven Real Estate Cold Calling Scripts for Fearless Lead Gen

7. Try to Move the Conversation Past the Open House

This one is a bit trickier but worthwhile trying to master. While the open house gives you the excuse to email them in the first place, it’s often not a very interesting topic of conversation.

Instead, try to steer the conversation toward something else in your first email. If you’re looking for a hint, during your open house make a point to learn something about each guest: their favorite season, their name, and a favorite topic of conversation—this will empower you to personalize your outreach, leading to a much better chance at converting your leads. 

Learning some basic objection handlers will help once you transition your conversation to the phone.

Related Article
[Video] 6 Buyer Objection Handlers + Examples From Real Cold Calls

8. Use a Scheduling App Like Calendly

A scheduling app like Calendly can help improve the response rate on your emails dramatically because it makes it easy to set an appointment with you. Instead of going back and forth with their calendar app open, all they need to do is click on a button and choose a time. You can also integrate Calendly times to meet right into your email. 

9. Think Outside the Box by Using Video

I’ve already made the point that you should be adding value to your follow-up emails—not just saying, “Thanks for coming by!” With that value-add in mind, why not deliver your message to your clients in a special way? You can use YouTube to record your message or utilize software like BombBomb to embed your video right in your email. Some agents even use video texts for those hot leads. In real estate, it’s about relationships and branding. This is a great opportunity for you to showcase these skills for potential clients. 

Your video can provide info on recent listings, list out two or three important market stats, or invite your open house visitors to an upcoming event. Make an impact with your clients and they’ll remember you when they’re ready to buy or sell a home. 

10. Maintain Your Motivation

Open houses are great for generating leads, but you’re bound to have several visitors who are “just looking” and have no interest in engaging in a real estate transaction anytime soon. That’s all right—it’s part of sales, and we just brush it off! The name of the game is follow-up. After all, 71% of buyers interviewed only one real estate agent during their home search. If you’ve connected with them, that should be you!

And open house leads are much better than leads just browsing homes online. Certain agents and brokerages report open house conversion rates of 5 to 7%. If you’re hosting two open houses per month, you can expect to see at least one client walk through those doors. It’s hard work, but stick with it!

Related Article
What To Do When You Lose Your Motivation as a Realtor

Over to You

Have a great open house follow-up email template you think deserves to be in this article? Let us know in the comment section.

If you’re looking for more open house advice, check out our 29 Open House Ideas That Will Actually Get You Leads and our free open house sign-in sheets. Or take a peek at our top picks for open house apps to make your open house more effective and get more leads!

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