While I’d love to boast about the millions of people that stopped by our first open house, I cannot tell a lie. I can tell you that the number was greater than zero and less than one. Considering it was our first open house, I was quite elated to have at least one knock at the door. Personally, I think the upside down Christmas tree should have been enough incentive to come get a sneak peek at this fabulous home. Ack, I should have included the unusual tree into our marketing plan. “Come see the famous, Grinch, upside down Christmas tree!”
It’s all about marketing, right?
For newbies, I think we did a swell job marketing our open house. I made sure to stop by Party Time on the way over to pick up some black and yellow balloons. I know what you’re thinking, Who Dat?
Well, a little but these are, Prime Locations of Denham Springs (our company) colors. I must admit it was hard passing up the pink balloons because black and pink were just made for one another. While I strolled down the balloon aisle, Pat was across town searching for the best spot for our “open house” signs. She began putting signs out in hopes that it would pull more traffic in and help potential buyers find the home. Pulling into the neighborhood, I was on “sign” alert to see if the signs were placed in good spots. They were so small that I could barely make out what they said.
I had this image of our first “Prime Locations of Denham Springs” open house. I envisioned huge billboards, large balloons, and arrows pointing straight to the gold and well, pulling through the neighborhood…it was kind of a letdown. Since our signs were so small, it’s as if they weren’t even there. Of course, I wasn’t expecting a marching bad but…wow, teeny tiny…little bitty signs. I guess we should have invested in some “Hey, Look at Me…I’m Holding A “Prime Locations” Open House” signs. I think next time we will go with bigger signs and red and white balloons. I don’t want people to assume it’s a Saints party rather than an open house. Scratch that, we shall lure them in with black and gold!! Did I mention there was an upside down tree?
Before our open house started, we were so excited about our “Open House” flag. Our company, Prime Locations, had actually allowed us to use it for the weekend. We were so excited…until we couldn’t find the pole. We both looked at one another funny and you could see both gerbils running, trying to figure out how in the world we were going to get this flag up. We were somewhat banking on this ‘mother of all flags’ to draw in a crowd but with no pole, no luck. Next time, I think we’ll purchase our own flag that reads, “Free Cookies”.
So, the open house wasn’t exactly a success but I considered it to be a great opportunity to get our feet wet. It was actually a beautiful home so I certainly didn’t mind nosing around and checking out the fabulous interior. While I was admiring the upside down tree, a sweet lady walked through the door inquiring about the home. HALLELUJAH! There is a God! This, without a doubt, made my Sunday. She was so kind and outgoing and easy to talk to. We had good conversation coupled with milk and cookies.
This is why I love real estate. I love getting the chance to meet new people. The itty bitty signs and the technical difficulties with the flag were easily forgotten when our numero uno special prospect entered the home. Next time? We’ll be sure to have BIGGER signs, a pole for the flag, even more cookies and I’ll definitely market the funky, upside down tree.
