The actions you take today affect your success tomorrow. You can stand out from your competition and capture more potential buyers with the help of these simple and effective tips.

The National Association of REALTORS® asserts that a typical conversion ratio among REALTORS is between 0.4 to 1.2%, meaning every 200 leads translates to roughly 1 or 2 actual sales. Maximizing consumer touchpoints is more critical than ever, and as one of your best lead-generating events, a well-run open house can optimize your chances of obtaining new business.

What’s your differentiating factor from every other broker and agent offering their services? How can you generate more excitement and stand out from the pack at your next open house event? Here are some tips and tricks for ways you can boost your lead generation and leave a lasting impression at your next open house.

Make Guests Feel Special

53% of Millennials and 37% of Gen Xers consider multiple agents before making a decision on representation. Both groups tend to be new to home-buying and are seeking help navigating the purchase process. In fact, first-time homebuyers make up about a third of all homebuyers.

Simply being the first agent they meet isn’t good enough. Instead, come prepared with informational buyer resources that show young or first-time homebuyers you’ve got the experience and the desire to give them personalized attention. You don’t have to leave informational sheets out, but you’ll never regret having them handy.

Another way to make those prospective clients feel special is to give them an initial short, but personalized, tour of the property. After a brief walkthrough, offer them the option to schedule an exclusive private tour at a later date and time.

Of course, you know that an open house will attract lookie-loos from around the neighborhood. Many of these will be homeowners who might be considering selling themselves and may be curious about the selling process and price considerations for their neighborhood. In a seller’s market, this is a great opportunity to get them off the fence about selling. Bring along a market snapshot to share with these potential clients.

Make Them Feel Comfortable

Additionally, as the pandemic has made people more hygiene-conscious, you can lean into the safety component of your event. Hang safety signs at the entrance that encourage sanitary conduct. Have extra masks handy. Invest in a shoe cover dispenser—they’re pretty affordable and a fun way to keep things clean.

Offer Up Some Free Swag

Brand awareness has become more crucial than ever. Since you are at the forefront of your company’s brand and reputation, your logo, name, and face have to stay top of mind with your prospects.

In addition to simply conversing with prospective clients about the benefits of working with you, leave an impression by offering complimentary, branded ‘thank-you’ gifts for attending your event. This year, branded hand sanitizers are a guaranteed hit. As always, a smart standby is a branded notepad with your face and contact info on it.

Go Virtual

With the advent of social distancing, an in-person event may be more lightly-attended than usual. Use this as an opportunity to get virtual followers to join the event. Consider live-streaming a walkthrough via Facebook (did you know you can schedule Facebook Live videos in advance?) once before and once after the in-person event. You can answer questions from viewers and even ask a couple of your friends or family members to drop in, which allows you to loosen up and have fun with it.

Alternatively, if you want to run a fully-virtual open house, you’ll want to create an event for it on Facebook, post invitations to your social channels, and consider running ads on social media for the event. Ads that link to a landing page with a sign-up form allow you to capture critical lead information and follow up with those leads later.

Get Your Apps Rollin’

If you really want to make an impression, here are some apps to up your game.

Capturing in-person leads is as important as virtual leads, so consider implementing a sign-in app. Some open house sign-in apps now allow your guests to scan a QR code and enter their own information on their phones (which doubles as a sanitary sign-in method). A great way to ensure they do it is with a giveaway: “Enter to win a Google Home!”

Then there’s HomeSnap, an innovative app that, among other things, fuses AR and GIS technology to help you map out property lines for any inquiring buyer. Let's say you have a guest who wants to know where exactly the home’s property line ends and the neighbor's begin. Just pull out your smartphone and walk them right over to the exact spot dividing the two lots.

Maybe you have a buyer that loves the layout of the home but hates the color choice. Have the ColorSnap Visualizer from Sherwin Williams on standby to instantly show them what a room would look like based on their personal color preference. Small tricks like this show that you’re a savvy agent and pique their interest with something they likely haven’t seen before. They may even ask you for the name of the app, to which you can reply, “Give me your number—I’ll shoot you a link!”

Ultimately, open house visitors will always ask questions and love getting them answered right away. Utilizing tools, apps, and resources that allow you to address questions right away will give you a leg up on your competition and certainly leave buyers with the impression that you are the expert to work with.