6 Free Open House Sign-in Sheets to Get More Leads
Open houses are essential to a coming up with a successful lead generation strategy. They create the perfect opportunity to engage with active buyers. You’ll be able to meet guests who are open to selling their current home while also shopping for a new one. That’s a win-win if you can represent them on both sides of the deal. There’s no better feeling than seeing your open house sign-in sheet completely filled with new names, phone numbers, and email addresses at the end of a weekend afternoon. If you keep your sign-in sheets short and sweet, you also won’t find many attendees complaining about filling them out. You can then load that contact information straight into your CRM (if you don’t have one, check out our list of the best real estate CRMs) to begin the nurturing process. Hopefully you’ll be able to convert those leads into clients with little lift.
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. Here are six free PDF templates that you can download, print, and use right away to use at your next event.
6 Open House Sign-in Sheet Templates
1. Basic Open House Sign-in Sheet
When to use: Agents who are great at reaching out with little information. Use this if you have an established CRM and don’t need customization or info beyond a name, email, and phone number.
It’s best to have some extras of this open house sign-in sheet in your bag to put out at all times for impromptu events. Keep them handy as a back-up in just case you’re unexpectedly missing your branded materials or need to capture someone’s info. If you strike up a conversation with anyone, feel free to mark notes at the end with any other details you may remember about them (a nickname, what area of town they are interested in, their kids names or ages, etc.). This will help you to come up with a personalized script when reaching out later.
2. The Customizable Open House Sign-in Sheet
When to use: Agents who want to customize their open house sign-in sheet with their own branding and a “conversation starter” question. You can easily add your logo, or a headshot to the top of this sign-in sheet to customize it further. Make sure to keep it fairly simple so you don’t have a line of prospects waiting to fill it out.
We suggest “Are you currently working with a Realtor?” but you can choose whatever you like. It’s also great to add in “How can I help you?” so that you know whether to put them in the buyer lead or seller lead funnel. You’ll also know that if they check the “Just Looking” box that they will need nurturing before they are ready to pull the trigger. This sign-in sheet has a few more questions so that you know what you’re dealing with upfront. This will allow you to come up with a more targeted pitch.
3. Detailed Open House Sign-in Sheet Questionnaire
When to use: Realtors or agents who want to capture more information about their open house attendees.
Be sure to use this template strategically. Some open house guests stay clear of sharing too much information on a publicly visible form and they may want to save the time it takes to fill out a lot of fields.
If you’ve got open house prospects with any kind of privacy concerns, consider using a digital open house sign-in sheet. Guests can put in their information quickly and confidentially, and you’ll never have to worry about illegible handwriting again.
This sign-in sheet can be customized to include the field that best help you. However, we suggest asking them about the type of home or features they are looking for, when they are looking to buy or sell, and a helpful prompt about contacting them in the future if you come across something that fits their needs. This will help you establish whether someone is a hot lead, or just a warm lead that needs some nurturing.
4. ‘Enter to Win’ Open House Sign-in Sheet Template
When to use: Agents hosting an open house and also doing a promotional giveaway. The fields on this sign-in sheet are pretty similar to the basic template, but you’ll want to include the details of the give away at the top.
The strategy on this approach is to print out a handful of these pages and cut them into individual sign-in sheets that you can pass around. When attendees show up, have them sign in and drop their form into a bowl. 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 take part in the fun.
After your open house or event is over, call everyone that filled out a slip. Let the winner know that they won (and ask how you can help them with their real estate goals). Let every guest know about your next event and ask how you can help them in the future. This prize can be anything from merch, to a gift card to a local restaurant, a coupon flip-book, etc. People get excited to participate no matter how big or little the prize.
5. Free Home Valuation Sign-in Sheet
When to use: Agents hosting an open house and also plan on giving away a free home valuation for anyone who is looking to sell their current home and move to a new one. The fields on this sign-in sheet are pretty similar to the customizable template, but you’ll want to include the details of the offer at the top.
The strategy on this approach is similar to the one above. Print out a handful of these pages and cut them into individual sign-in sheets that you can pass around, have them sign in and drop their form into a bowl.
After your open house or event is over, call everyone that filled out a slip. Let the winner know that they won, suggesting specific times to do the free home valuation. Let every guest know about your next event and ask how you can help them in the future. This approach helps ensure you get another listing.
6. Open House Sign-in Sheet With Feedback
When to use: Agents who would like to strike up a conversation about this specific property with visitors or, more importantly, with your seller client later.
If you’ve got a seller who is pushing for a particular price point (against your recommendation), sometimes an open house with feedback from guests can be a great way to start a conversation about lowering the price. Or, if you’ve made suggestions about staging a home in a particular way and they’ve fought back, you can use this feedback from attendees to re-open the conversation. Sellers are often emotionally attached to their homes, and it may be hard for them to show the house as a blank canvas. Encourage guests to leave honest feedback and show it to your seller client to reiterate important points that may result in the sell.
Common Open House Sign-in Mistakes & How to Fix Them
There are common issues and mistakes that may arise when you leave an open house sign-in sheet out at your event. We want to help you avoid that pit-in-your-stomach feeling at the end of the day when you look down at your list of guests and realize there isn’t much there for you to work with. Here are some common issues we’ve come across with open house sign-in sheets and a list of solutions to help you address them.
1. Illegible Handwriting
Not everyone is going to have beautiful penmanship. That’s only becoming more and more popular as the world turns digital.
The rise of the personal computer and mobile phone has caused our need to write longhand to diminish sharply. Chances are, a standard form will turn up at least a couple of illegible names or email addresses.
Fix: Become an active part of the sign-in process
The simple act of starting a conversation with someone while asking them to sign in to your open house will solve many of your problems. Your guests will be able to slow down and write a little more legibly since they are also busy 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. You’ll want to get more details in person anyway, so be sure to make a note about their name and you can go back and correct it in your own handwriting after they leave. That will ensure that you have the correct contact info before following up.
2. You Put Your Sign-in Sheet in the Wrong Place
You want your sign-in sheet to be front and center. Put it in a place where no one will be able to miss it. When you go to the dentist’s office, the sign-in sheet is usually sitting on a desk with a human being behind it, waiting to greet you and reminding you to sign it. If you place your open house sign-in sheet out of your line of sight and you’re passive about it, the majority of guests aren’t going to fill it out. Out of sight, out of mind.
Fix: Place your sign-in sheet where everyone gathers
It’s common knowledge that you shouldn’t set the sign-in sheet in the crowded entryway when everyone is camped out in the kitchen near the refreshments. Whether they help themselves to food or drink, just about everyone is going to at least walk by the refreshments to see what you’ve laid out. And the kitchen is a common area guests tend to spend the most time looking at, this creates the perfect opportunity to invite your attendees to sign in.
3. You Skip Out on Conversations With Your Guests
Your open house sign-in sheet will create a natural opening to start a conversation with every single person who comes through the door—but only if you actively choose to engage with them during the event or in a follow-up communication (ideally it’s both).
Fix: Jot down one unique piece of information
Every sign-in sheet is going to ask for the basics like a name, phone number, and email address. All of those fields are essential bits of information, but they only get you so far—whether it’s during the open house or in your follow-up.
Gather one small detail that is going to spark a conversation. Some of our favorites: “What is a must-have feature of your next home?”, “How long have you been searching for your dream home?”, or “Do you know what school district you’d like to be in?” Later on, when you’re following up, you’ll be equipped to have a meaningful conversation right out of the gate.
