What are your thoughts on showing up at open houses as a means of fishing for potential clients?
is it acceptable? or does it seem overbearing or tacky
If by potential clients as the realtor at the open house, yes I consider that acceptable.
If you are talking about buyers looking at open houses, NFW!
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You just have to refine your technique 
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To meet REAs to introduce yourself, make small talk and take them a box lunch or something, sure.
But to meet potential buyers/new clients? Only if you want to totally PO the LA that’s got the open house, followed by him/her telling you to get TF out that they’re trying to sell a house, then at the next office meeting they make you the topic of discussion of who to BOLO for. No way José.
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If you are buying a car, do you want mechanics, lenders, car wash owners, tire salesman, & insurance agents hanging out and hassling you at the car lot?
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May have worked 25 years ago but you’re about the millionth inspector to try it. You likely will barely get in the door and if they’re nice they’ll just stop listening… if not, you’ll be asked to leave. The only exception is if I see an open in my neighborhood I’ll sometimes stop in. I may or many not even tell them I’m an inspector. I’m more just a nosey neighbor at that point. REAs dislike that too but are typically at least nice to you.
According to Facebook inspector groups, appearing at open houses is a favorite strategy for some. For me, I think it is kinda rude to pin down an agent not only when they are trying to work, but also when they can’t leave. If I put myself in their shoes, I would not like hearing a sales pitch at that time.
The only exception I can think of, is if you already have a relationship with the agent. Then popping in with a little treat for them and just to say hi would probably be welcome, as long as you keep it short and do it when no one else is there. And also do it with no company identifiers as it is a social call more than a business call. Just my opinion.
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I tend to agree, it seems a bit much. But, as was said earlier, the FB cowboys seem to prescribe to the practice and i thought id get a more reasoned second opinion
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Agents, yes.
Buyers, no.
Be respectable.
I used to do a lot of open house marketing when I was still new in the business.
I have found that going to open houses is just not very productive. Most real estate agents are not going to switch to recommending you to their clients simply based upon a brief conversation and many are just as likely be turned off by your intrusion into their activities. Pestering their potential clients would likely be an even bigger sin. If you do go ahead, be brief, courteous, and bring goodies / give aways.
If your local chapter allows it, become an associate member of the Board of Realtors and regularly attend their meetings. Introduce yourself, learn, listen, do some presentations on topics of interest to them, talk shop at the breaks, contribute when they have a question about home inspections, and so forth. Even then, most established (serious, full-time) realtors (the ones that routinely show up) focus mostly on getting listings and for the few buyers they represent they already have a home inspector they have used for years and will be reluctant to switch. It is a long haul…
For impressing realtors, your best advertisement is your report and your behavior with THEIR clients. Be patient, answer questions, and put yourself in the buyer’s (or seller’s) shoes. Make sure your report is thorough, mistake-free as possible, easy-to-read, and understand.
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^^^^^ This being a key point inspectors tend to ignore when they market to agents… the fact that most agents are after the Listing, and Listing Agents generally DO NOT use Home Inspectors!
So… WHY waste your time, money and energy on most marketing to agents… especially at Open Houses which are operated by Listing Agents?
Some of ya’ll need to focus more on “working smart, not hard”!!
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Right! Just move in next to them. There is a nearby Keller-Williams office, which occupies most of the 5th floor of a low-rise building. A multi-inspector firm leases an office on the same floor. Super cozy 
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No need. I don’t market to agents. I like to target my potential clients directly!
How? With your scenario above…
I would park one of my (multiple) logo’ed, company vehicles at their front door… every day… rotating them every day for a different view… so EVERY potential client see’s my info every time they step through their door!
You want exposure… that’s how you get it… FOR FREE… and directly targeted to the people that need to see it!!
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^^This is great advice and pretty much all I’ve done to grow my business here since my move to Maui. For a variety of reasons I really haven’t been in too much of a hurry but I am getting some reasonably steady work just off some email marketing and introducing myself.
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I’ve connected with several agents during open houses. I became the go-to inspector for one of them and have done quite a few inspections for them.
I’m still building my business so I obviously have time on my hands so why not go to open houses that aren’t too far away? It only costs me a little bit of time. And if I’m not scheduled to be at an inspection, what else am I doing with my time to help my business if all my other marketing is already in place?
I often meet agents that are just trying to push me out the door and I’ve met a couple that push hard to stay on narrative by trying to sell ME the house, but most of them are pretty receptive to my efforts. I don’t try to impress anyone with my knowledge, and I don’t focus on my services or prices. I simply want to start conversations with them, get them talking about themselves, get them to impress me with their knowledge of the market by asking them their opinions on things, and finding common ground with them. I ask them way more questions about things they deal with or the market, instead of things relating to home inspections.
Eventually, this leads to the agent asking me questions about things they saw at other homes or things that other inspectors point out that ‘killed a transaction’ due to the inspector ‘blowing it out of proportion’. I never throw another inspector under the bus since I wasn’t at that inspection, but I offer a general opinion based on how I communicate with my clients to make sure they understand the difference between normal conditions they should expect when owning a home vs serious conditions in need of attention.
I’m not there to impress anyone with my knowledge or to teach them anything. I’m simply there to build a relationship with an agent. That’s all they care about. Sometimes they’ll ask technical stuff to test me, but that’s the easy part. I don’t bring gifts or food because that’s stupid.
The important stuff to me when doing this is:
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I introduce myself right away, I let them know that I’m just cruising the neighborhood and looking to see who is out there working to sell houses in my area, my neighborhood, or near another inspection I just completed. I want them to know that this is where I live and work, especially since I’m in an outlying area compared with the rest of the valley. A lot of other inspectors charge trip fees to come out to my area.
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I never get in the way of them talking with prospective buyers, and never talk directly with anyone else present unless the agent brings me into the conversation (yes that’s happened)
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I ask them more questions to get them talking about themselves, the market, or whatever is on their mind. Make them more comfortable with me since I’m not there to try to impress them with my knowledge. I even had one agent take me out to the garage to show off his new AMG Mercedes - he even got into it and started revving the engine and telling me about all the modifications he had done to it, and about his car club and buddies.
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I follow up with an email or text within a day or two, and tell them that if they’re showing a house to someone and a question arises about anything about the house to just call me and ask and I’ll do my best to give a quick opinion or thought - basically that I’m their guy they can call as needed for anything.
Yes, I have a binder with all the important stuff with me like my business license, COI, sample report, and other stuff - but I leave it in the car unless they ask questions or want to see anything in there.
Another thing about these agents is that they’re often not the one actually bringing a buyer to a transaction, and a lot of them consider themselves ‘Listing Agents’ so they may not actually be the ones connecting me with a new client. But every now and then you come across one that works hard on both sides of the real estate game. It’s easy to separate the listing agents from the good ones through the simple conversation technique shown above and then you can spend your time onsite accordingly. Either cut it short with someone not likely to bring you a client, or spend good time with someone who is a better lead.
Over the course of 2023, with the business from meeting open house agents and any additional referrals that came from it, I made about an extra $2500 with minimal extra expense. You’ll definitely never hear from most of them, but stick to it and you’ll get something here and there. It actually takes me less time and money than to prepare mail marketing, get stamps, go to the post office, and cry when I get no results.
And oh yeah, when it comes to agents already having their go-to inspector - one open house I went to was with an agent looking for a new inspector because the open house was for their regular inspector who was selling to move across country. Ya never know…
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Disagree somewhat.
Agents aren’t hosting open houses to show off the house. Any buyers agent can use their supra to get into the house and show it. Photos, virtual tours, etc are everywhere.
Agents host open houses to find more clients. It’s a main reason why agents ask lookers if they are working with an agent, so they can pouce.
Also, roughly 50% of the time the agent at the open house is not the listing agent. It’s another agent offering to host hoping to get a client, or at least a percentage of the sale if they secure a buyer.
It is a numbers game. You have to hit a lot of open houses to get one agent who will likely use you.
That said, I have agents I originally met at an open house who still use my company 8-9 years later.
That’s your right… even if you are wrong! 
Your scenario may be true in Los Angeles, but is way off base elsewhere, such as in Minnesota!
With the way the market is here, LA’s are taking every opportunity possible to make that sale, and in the process try for the listing of the potential buyers home. “Dual Agency” is huge in Minnesota, and agents will do whatever it takes to get it!!
Dual Agency is huge here too.
But the proof is in the pudding.
I don’t think open houses have the greatest ROI, but it works if you do it enough.
Ahh… the Mike Dumone philosophy…
I bet it’s happened somewhere at some point, more inspectors showed up to the open house than prospective buyers, lol. 
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