Open houses are critical to most real estate agents’ lead generation strategy. They create the ideal opportunity to meet active buyers; people who are potentially selling their current homes while shopping for a new one. A win-win! There’s no better feeling than seeing your open house sign-in sheet chock-full of names, phone numbers, and email addresses at the end of a weekend afternoon.
If you want to walk away from your next open house with more leads than you can handle, you’re going to need the right open house sign-in sheet. We’ve got five free PDF templates that you can download, print, and use right away, as well as the option to customize each Close-exclusive template on Canva.
Download 5 Free Open House Sign-in Sheet Templates
5 Open House Sign-in Sheet Templates
1. Basic Open House Sign-in Sheet
Great for: Agents who don’t need customization or info beyond a name, email, and phone number.
Have some extras of this open house sign-in sheet in your bag at all times for impromptu events. Keep them as a back-up in case you’re unexpectedly missing your branded material.
2. The Customizable Open House Sign-in Sheet
Great for: Agents who want to customize their open house sign-in sheet with their own branding and a “conversation starter” question.
We suggest “Are you currently working with a Realtor?” but you can choose whatever you like.
3. Detailed Open House Sign-in Sheet Questionnaire
Great for: Realtors who want to capture more information about their attendees.
Remember to use this template strategically. Some open house guests are wary of sharing so much information on a publicly visible form and they may want to save the time it takes to complete a lot of fields.
If you’ve got open house guests with privacy concerns, consider using a digital open house sign-in sheet like the one offered from Spacio. Guests can input their information quickly and confidentially, and you’ll never have to worry about illegible handwriting again.
4. Open House Sign-in Sheet With Feedback
Great for: Agents who want to start a conversation about the property with visitors or, more importantly, with your seller client.
If you’ve got a seller who’s insisting on a particular price point (against your recommendation), sometimes an open house with feedback from attendees can be a great way to start a conversation about making a price improvement.
5. ‘Enter to Win’ Open House Sign-in Sheet Template
Great for: Anyone hosting an open house and also doing a promotional giveaway.
The strategy on this approach is pretty simple: Print up a handful of these pages and cut them into individual sign-in sheets. When your guests arrive, have them sign in and drop their sign-in into a fishbowl. This step is important; studies show guests are more likely to excitedly participate in drawing or contests if they can literally place their information somewhere physical. Also, seeing other slips of paper in the fishbowl encourages people to be a part of the fun.
After your event is over, call everyone! Let the winner know the happy news (and ask how you can help them with real estate). Let every attendee know about your next event and ask how you can help them in the future.
The Case for Digital Open House Sign-in Sheets
We know you like the ol’ paper and pen system, but hear us out. A digital open house sign-in sheet makes a whole lot of sense, and here’s why:
- People are comfortable with the format: There are practically no sign-ups nowadays in a retail environment that are anything but digital, so your attendees are already in their comfort zone.
- People type a lot more accurately than they write: We are a lot nimbler with our thumbs than we used to be. When you ask someone to sign in digitally, their accuracy is going to go through the roof, and your chances of a missed opportunity because someone misspelled an email address drops to near zero.
- Your contacts are easily transferable to a CRM: Following up with your open house leads is crucial. A digital open house sign-in sheet enables you to link your sign-in directly with your customer relationship manager (CRM), allowing you to automate the follow-up process. If you need a suggestion on a solid CRM, check out LionDesk. They’re our #1 CRM pick of 2022.
LionDesk syncs with all the major digital open house sign-in platforms, including Block Party. This app offers a ton of functionality, easy sign-in for your guests from just about any device, and best of all, it’s FREE for realtors.
Common Open House Sign-in Mistakes & How to Fix Them
We want to help you avoid the pit-in-your-stomach feeling at the end of an open house when you look at your list of attendees and realize there isn’t much there to work with. Here are some common issues agents encounter with open house sign-in sheets and some solutions to help you address them.
1. Your Guests Have Illegible Handwriting
Let’s face it, not all of us have beautiful penmanship. Nowadays, most of us don’t.
The rise of the personal computer and mobile phone has caused our need to write longhand to diminish sharply. There are even medical diagnoses for consistently bad handwriting (dysgraphia and cacography). So, chances are, a standard form will turn up at least a couple of illegible names.
Solution: Be an active part of the process
The simple act of asking someone to sign in to your open house and then engaging them in conversation while they do so will solve many problems. Your guests will slow down and write a little more legibly since they are also talking to you at the same time. If you get someone with a doctor’s handwriting, you can immediately follow up with them to clarify their details.
2. You Put Your Sign-in Sheet in the Wrong Place
When you go to the doctor’s office, is the sign-in sheet hanging on a nail on the door on a clipboard? Nope. It’s sitting on a desk with a human being behind it, waiting to greet you. If you place your open house sign-in sheet out of your line of sight and you’re passive about it, the majority of home shoppers aren’t going to use it.
Solution: Position your sign-in sheet next to the refreshments
Don’t set the sign-in sheet in the entryway when you are camped out in the kitchen. Whether they help themselves to food or drink, just about EVERYONE is going to at least cruise by the offerings and see what you have for them, creating a perfect opportunity to invite guests to sign in.
Pro tip: Rather than bake the cookies yourself, buy some from a favorite local bakery. While you are there, buy a gift certificate too. When you see your guests enjoying the cookies, remind them about your draw for a gift certificate to the very bakery that made those delicious cookies. How do they enter the drawing? All they have to do is sign in.
3. You’re Not Starting Conversations With Your Attendees
Your open house sign-in sheet creates an opening to start a conversation with every person who comes through the door at your next event—but only if you actively engage with them during the event or in a follow-up communication (or both!).
Solution: Capture one piece of information beyond the basics
Every sign-in sheet is going to ask for a name, phone number, and email address. All these are essential bits of information, but they only get you to the doorstep of your first conversation about real estate with that prospect—whether it’s during the open house or in your follow-up.
Gather one small fact that is going to spark a conversation. Our favorites: “What is a must-have feature of your next home?” or “How long have you been looking for a new home?” Later on, when you’re following up, you’ll be equipped to have a meaningful conversation right out of the gate.
Bringing It All Together
Open houses are an essential marketing tool for your business, giving you awesome opportunities to showcase your listings, show off your salesmanship skills for the neighbors and potential new listers, and, of course, meet and greet buyers. Now that you’re armed with some solid Open House Sign-in Sheet strategies and some templates you can use this weekend—get out there and get to work!
Tell us about your most successful open house ever in the comment! What made it stand out above the rest?
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