I feel like I'm getting away with something. I just got back from a trip across the county line to set out my signs early, which I never did before. It feels like sneaking around, doing this in the dark. I am pouring a lot more effort into this open house, compared to most of the ones I've done. I got myself wrapped around the axle over the first two or three of them, and ever since, I've treated them as casually as a second child. No sterilizing, no elaborate diaper bags. Just grab and go. Wipe a dropped binky on your jeans and back in the mouth. Show up at open house with a stack of business cards and MLS printouts. No feedback forms, no sign-in logs, no cookies and water to hand out. It worked well for me to hone my banter, but it didn't filter down to hot leads or many clients that made it all the way to closing. In fact, until the most recent one, none of the offers I'd written from open houses even won the contract. It was a steep and unprofitable learning curve, but I had to go through it my own way and make my own mistakes.
The next open house is a big, gorgeous showplace of a house. It's on two and a half acres in horse country. It's definitely a step up from the bulk of the price ranges I've been working in lately. And it's on Kentucky Derby day, when I had been throwing frilly, girly parties to celebrate the day for the last several years. I felt like I had to do something extra to make this event different. I am back to setting out water, but rather than cookies (since, you know, I can't), I went for a Derby-themed approach. I can't provide mint juleps for anyone who comes by the house, but I can give out mint chocolates. I bought a dozen red roses (dark rose pink, really). And on the seller's orders, I am putting out a guest book and asking for written feedback. Because of the rural location, I advertised this event on both the Boulder and Fort Collins Craigslist, hoping that in the overlap I will have good turnout. But I don't know what to expect for numbers. I saw 90 people at the last one in the city limits of Fort Collins. But this is out in the country. Will people come by? And do people who can afford nearly double what the last house called for actually peruse Craigslist for open houses? (At least those without realtors... they're really my target audience.) After looking for an acreage in Weld County for a year with my first clients, I feel like this could become my niche. I just need to figure out the right way to capture people who want to live this way, and can afford to do so.
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