Open House Plan Skill

A good open house is a marketing event, not an unlocked door: promoted to the right buyers, staged to show well, and run to capture leads you follow up. This skill plans the whole thing — before, during, and after — so the agent maximises qualified traffic and walks away with a pipeline, not just a sign-in sheet.

Working from a brief

Given "plan an open house for my listing this Saturday", produce the full plan anyway — infer sensible timing, channels, and prep for the property type, marking specifics (insert) (address, date/time, price). Never invent property facts. Always include lead capture and follow-up — that's the point.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided (else infer and label):

• The property — type, price, standout features, and the likely buyer.
• Timing — the date/time (or help choosing a high-traffic slot), and any constraints.
• Promotion reach — channels available (MLS, Zillow, social, email list, signage, neighbours) and budget.
• Goal — sell this home, generate buyer leads, or both.

Output Format

Open House Plan: property]

1. Timing — the recommended day/time (and why), plus any broker/neighbour preview.

2. Promotion plan — a channel-by-channel checklist with timing and the message:

| Channel | When | Action | |---|---|---| | MLS / portals | as listed | mark open house, strong photos | | Social | 3–5 days before + day-of | post/story/boost to local audience | | Email | to buyer list/agents | invite | | Signage | day-of | directional signs, route from main road | | Neighbours | days before | "tell a friend" invites |

3. Prep & staging checklist — clean, declutter, depersonalise, light, scent, fresh flowers, info sheets/flyers, secure valuables.

4. Day-of run sheet — arrival/setup time, greeting script, sign-in (lead capture), how to highlight features, handling questions, and safety.

5. Lead capture — how everyone signs in (digital form/QR), what to capture (name, contact, buying timeline, agent yes/no), and qualifying questions to ask.

6. Follow-up — a same-day/next-day plan: thank-you + feedback to every visitor, prioritise hot leads, and report to the seller (traffic, feedback, interest).

Quality Checks

• ] Promotion spans multiple channels with timing, not just "list it"
• ] A staging/prep checklist makes the home show its best
• ] Lead capture is built in (how people sign in + what's captured + qualifying questions)
• ] A same-day/next-day follow-up plan is included — the real value of the event
• ] A day-of run sheet covers greeting, flow, and safety
• ] A seller report-back (traffic + feedback) is included

Anti-Patterns

• ] Do not treat it as just unlocking the door — it's a promoted, lead-generating event
• ] Do not skip lead capture — foot traffic with no contacts is a wasted Saturday
• ] Do not forget follow-up — leads go cold within a day
• ] Do not under-promote — most attendance comes from the days-before push
• ] Do not ignore agent safety and securing valuables during the open house

Based On

Real-estate marketing practice — multi-channel open-house promotion, staging, structured lead capture, and disciplined follow-up.