Covering a one off open house for another agent

[Benny]

What does this entail? I've seen brokers asking their agents if anyone wants to cover a one off open house on a Sunday or Saturday.

Does this mean you're on the deal, or is it truly a one off event?

What are the benefits of helping another agent out by covering their open house one time?

[aslan]

I think it's important to not read too much into this. If the request was for a one off open house, then it really was a one off request. Meaning one time. You should definitely not misconstrue this to mean that you are somehow now full time on the deal!

Typically an agent will ask his or her team to help cover an open house if they are out of town, but the seller wants to hold an open house anyway. If someone from the team isn't available, an agent might ask a mortgage banker or even an agent from another brokerage to help cover the open house.

In any event, your responsibilities end at the conclusion of the open house, after you have courteously circulated by email a clear photo of the sign in sheet.

Why would anyone do this? Well, besides being a great experience to be in the field with live customers, it's also a great networking opportunity. Not only will you be able to meet and network with other agents, you'll also get to meet walk-in direct buyers. Remember that only one person will ultimately buy the property, if it sells at all. That means any direct buyer that walks in the door who doesn't end up buying the property can be a buy side client on something else!

So make sure you bring plenty of business cards, and try to connect with as many people as possible. If you make a great impression and have similar listings ready to show a buyer who isn't interested in the property you're helping to cover the open house for, they may end up making an offer through you on something else! What a great opportunity.

[Guest]

Thanks for sharing the informative post.