1. Objective

This SOP defines how a Virtual Assistant (VA) coordinates a fully promoted, logistically prepared open house — from the moment the agent confirms the date through the post-event lead entry into the CRM.

An open house generates two things: buyer interest and lead data. The promotion drives foot traffic. The sign-in sheet captures it. The CRM follow-up converts it. An open house that is not promoted generates no foot traffic. A promoted open house where no one captures the sign-in list generates no leads. The VA's job is to make sure both sides of the equation happen without the agent having to manage either logistics from scratch.

Where this SOP starts: Agent confirms open house date, time, and address.
Where this SOP ends: All open house attendees are entered into the CRM and enrolled in the follow-up sequence.

Success looks like: The agent arrives at the open house with a sign-in sheet ready, directional signs confirmed, and an audience that already knew it was happening — because the VA promoted it across every channel 5 days out.

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2. Your Role & Boundaries

2a. What you handle independently

• Creating the MLS open house entry
• Manually entering the open house on Zillow and Realtor.com
• Building all promotional assets (social graphic, email, flyer)
• Executing the promotion timeline (announcement, reminder, day-of post)
• Preparing the day-of logistics package for the agent (sign-in sheet, access info, directional sign confirmation)
• Entering all open house attendees into the CRM after the event
• Preparing the post-open-house report for the agent

2b. What requires agent approval before acting

• All marketing copy and graphics before they are published
• Any open house detail that differs from what was originally confirmed (date/time change, cancellation)
• Confirmation of the sign placement plan — the agent or a sign company installs; the VA confirms logistics
• Any lead follow-up message that goes beyond standard CRM enrollment (agent manages direct outreach)
• Budget for any paid social promotion of the open house — see Paid Social Media Ad Management

2c. What you never do

• You never negotiate on the agent's behalf under any circumstances.
• You never provide pricing, legal, or strategic opinions to any party.
• You never sign or initial any document on behalf of the agent, client, or any party.
• You never communicate directly with the other party's client.
• You never assume the MLS open house syndicates to Zillow or Realtor.com — always enter separately.
• You never mark an open house as cancelled or rescheduled without the agent's explicit instruction.
• You never contact open house attendees directly on the agent's behalf without the agent's instruction.

When in doubt: Prepare and promote. Confirm with agent before any cancellation or significant change.

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3. Schedule & Trigger

Trigger: Agent confirms open house date, time, and whether it is a public open house or a broker caravan (or both).

Minimum lead time required: 5–7 days before the open house for full promotion. If less than 5 days, compress the timeline but still execute all steps — truncated promotion is better than none.

Sequence context: This SOP runs during an active listing. It draws from Social Media Content Calendar for social posting access, Open House Promotion Campaign for the full promotion detail, and feeds into Open House Lead Follow-Up Sequence for post-event lead enrollment.

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4. MLS Open House Entry

Create the open house event in the MLS immediately after the agent confirms.

Required fields (confirm per MLS board):

Field	Input
Listing	Link to the active listing
Date	Confirmed open house date
Start time	Confirmed start time
End time	Confirmed end time
Type	Public Open House or Broker Open / Caravan (create separate entries if both)
Comments	Any access notes or special instructions (e.g., "Seller in residence — leave all lights on")

After entry, confirm the open house shows correctly on the live listing. Screenshot and file.

Important: MLS open house entries do not always automatically syndicate to Zillow, Realtor.com, or other portals. Do not assume. Manually enter on each platform — see Section 5.

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5. Manual Open House Entry — Zillow & Realtor.com

The MLS does not reliably push open house events to major portals. Enter separately on each platform.

Zillow

1. Log in to Zillow Premier Agent or the agent's Zillow profile (confirm access during onboarding)
2. Navigate to the listing → "Open Houses" tab
3. Add open house event: date, start time, end time
4. Save and confirm event shows on the listing page

Realtor.com

1. Log in to the agent's Realtor.com account
2. Navigate to the listing → "Open Houses" section
3. Add open house event: date, start time, end time
4. Save and confirm event shows on the listing page

Allow up to 24 hours for updates to appear on the public-facing listing. Check both listings the day before the open house to confirm the event is visible.

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6. Promotion Timeline

5–7 Days Before: Announcement Wave

Social media announcement post: Build the open house graphic using the Canva Brand Kit. Include:
- Property address
- Date and time
- One strong exterior or interior photo
- Agent contact and branding

Submit to agent for approval, then publish to all active platforms.

Caption template (adapt to brand voice):

Open House this [Day], [Date] from [Time] to [Time].

[Address] — [1–2 sentences about the property's standout feature]

Come see it in person. No appointment needed.

[Agent Name] will be there to answer any questions.

[Hashtags]

3 Days Before: Email to Buyer Database

Send a dedicated open house email to the agent's buyer list. Subject line: Open House [Day, Date]: [Address]

Content: property photo, date/time/address, brief description, "no appointment needed," RSVP or reply option (if the agent wants to track RSVPs).

Confirm the send list with the agent — typically the active buyer database.

Day Before: Reminder Post

A shorter reminder post on social media. No need for a new graphic — a story-format image or a simple text-over-image reminder is appropriate. "Tomorrow from [Time] to [Time] — [Address]. See you there."

Day of: Morning Story/Post

A brief morning post confirming "It's Open House day" with time and address. Stories on Instagram and Facebook are appropriate for this — feels timely and low-production.

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7. Marketing Assets to Create

Asset	Platform	Timeline
Open house social graphic	Facebook + Instagram	5–7 days before — agent approved before use
Open house email template	Email platform	3 days before — agent approved before send
Open house flyer (if agent doorknocks)	Print / PDF	Confirm with agent — typically 5 days before
Directional sign plan	Physical — agent or sign company installs	Confirm logistics 2–3 days before

Doorknocking flyer: Some agents doorknock the surrounding neighborhood with an open house flyer before a significant listing. Confirm with the agent whether they do this. If yes, have the flyer ready 5 days before — the agent needs lead time to canvass.

File all assets to Marketing / Open Houses / [Address] — [Date].

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8. Day-of Logistics Package

Send the agent a day-of logistics summary the morning of the open house:

Hi [Agent Name] — open house logistics for today:

Address: [Full address]
Time: [Start] to [End]
Access: [Lockbox code and location / key with agent / door left unlocked per seller]
Sign-in sheet: Attached (also printed and in your email)

Directional signs: [Confirmed with sign company — [X] signs at [intersections] / To be placed by you before start time]

Zillow: Open house confirmed visible — YES
Realtor.com: Open house confirmed visible — YES

[VA Name]

Sign-in sheet: Prepare a simple sheet collecting: Name | Phone | Email | Currently working with an agent? (Yes / No) | Notes. Print it yourself or email as a PDF for the agent to print. A physical sheet on a clipboard is standard. A digital check-in (a Google Form QR code on a sign) is an option if the agent prefers — confirm preference during onboarding.

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9. After the Open House

Sign-in Sheet Processing

After the open house, the agent sends the VA the sign-in sheet (photo, scan, or the physical sheet). Process within 24 hours:

1. Enter every attendee into the CRM with source = "Open House — [Address] — [Date]"
2. Log: name, phone, email, working-with-agent status
3. Enroll in the open house follow-up sequence per Open House Lead Follow-Up Sequence

No sign-in sheet: If the agent reports no sign-ins, note it and confirm with the agent whether any names were gathered verbally. If truly no sign-ins, log the event with attendance = 0 and note it in the campaign file.

Post-Open-House Report

Send the agent a brief summary within 24 hours:

Hi [Agent Name] — open house summary for [Address] on [Date]:

Attendees logged: [X]
Pre-existing agent representation: [X] reported working with an agent
New leads entered into CRM: [X]
Follow-up sequence enrolled: [X] contacts

Notes: [Any standout conversations, buyer interest comments, feedback you received]

[VA Name]

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10. Checklist

Setup (immediately after agent confirms)
- ☐ MLS open house entry created — date, time, type confirmed
- ☐ Zillow open house entry added manually
- ☐ Realtor.com open house entry added manually

Promotion (5–7 days before)
- ☐ Open house social graphic built and agent-approved
- ☐ Social media announcement post published
- ☐ Open house email drafted and agent-approved
- ☐ Buyer database email sent (3 days before)
- ☐ Doorknocking flyer created (if agent uses this — confirm)
- ☐ Reminder social post published (day before)
- ☐ Day-of morning story/post published

Day-of Logistics
- ☐ Zillow and Realtor.com open house entries confirmed visible
- ☐ Day-of logistics summary sent to agent
- ☐ Sign-in sheet prepared and sent to agent
- ☐ Directional sign logistics confirmed

After the Open House
- ☐ Sign-in sheet received from agent
- ☐ All attendees entered into CRM within 24 hours
- ☐ Source tagged: Open House — [Address] — [Date]
- ☐ Leads enrolled in open house follow-up sequence (Open House Lead Follow-Up Sequence)
- ☐ Post-open-house report sent to agent

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11. Escalation Protocol

Escalate to the agent immediately in any of these situations:
- The open house is confirmed but fewer than 48 hours remain and marketing assets have not yet been agent-approved
- The agent cancels or reschedules the open house after promotion has already begun — all scheduled posts and platform entries need to be updated or removed
- Zillow or Realtor.com open house entry is not showing as visible within 24 hours of entry, and the open house is within 72 hours
- The sign-in sheet is not received from the agent within 48 hours after the open house and leads cannot be entered into the CRM
- A scheduled email to the buyer database has not yet sent but the open house has been cancelled or rescheduled

Hi [Agent Name] — open house issue for [Address] on [Date] needs your input.

Issue: [Description — approval delay / cancellation / platform not showing / sign-in not received]
Status: [What has been done / what is pending]
Needed: [Approve asset / confirm cancellation / resend sign-in sheet / other]

[VA Name]

If the agent is unreachable: Do not publish unapproved marketing assets. If the open house is cancelled and promotion is already live, pause all scheduled posts and update MLS, Zillow, and Realtor.com entries. Log all changes with timestamps.

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12. Tools & Access

Item	Details
MLS platform	[For open house entry — confirm access during onboarding]
Zillow Premier Agent	[For manual open house entry — confirm access during onboarding]
Realtor.com agent account	[For manual open house entry — confirm access during onboarding]
Canva Brand Kit	[For open house social graphic — per Brand Style Guide Creation & Maintenance]
Email marketing platform	[For buyer database email — confirm platform and list during onboarding]
CRM	[For post-event lead entry — confirm access and open house follow-up sequence (Open House Lead Follow-Up Sequence)]
Sign company contact	[Confirm agent's sign vendor during onboarding]