Hello! Hello? Hello@#$!! Hello :)

Hello!

Are you happy that they called? You’d better let them know before they call someone else!

Your phone is often your first connection with a potential home purchaser or seller. I know some agents who will dive across the room, put their body through contortions and stop conversations mid-sentence to answer their phone. After all, the ring of the phone can lead to the ring of the commission cash register. Or perhaps these Olympic phone grabbing REALTORS realize that their voice-mail messages are so bad that they better catch the caller live.

It’s time to change your outgoing voice message. “Hello. Please leave a message,” just doesn’t cut it in this business. Yet call most agents and this is what you get.

Same Old. Same Old.

I’ll never forget attending a live Jeffrey Gitomer sales seminar in D.C. when Jeff lambasted the 100s in the crowd pointing out that 90% of American workers have the same lame message on their voice-mail. Okay, repeat after me and say the mantra:

“Hello. I am either on the phone or away from my desk. Please leave a message.”

During the break, I noticed scores of people scurrying about and calling their voicemail and changing it!

Hundreds of thousands of real estate professionals are missing a multitude of opportunities with their voicemail messages. You might even be losing business. You’ll never know who failed to leave a message, visit your website or inquire further solely because of your monotone “Hello.”

Call me on the line.

Call me call me any anytime

Need some help? Go ahead and give me a call.

Really.

703-626-0715 (sorry, no toll-free number). If I pick up, we might have a nice chat, but call back and listen to my voicemail. Or, you can save your minutes and just keep reading.

“Hello and Thank You for calling Brian Block with RE/MAX Allegiance. The Building Block of Your Real Estate Goals. I am sorry I cannot take your call right now but leave a message and I’ll call you back as soon as possible. Also, please take a look at my website at www.BrianBlock.com for the latest listings and to search all Virginia and D.C. real estate. Thank you for calling and have a great day!”

This may seem basic, but my experience with calling other agents all the time (and for that matter, most other businesses) shows me that very few people use voicemail properly.

Voice-mail 101

Let’s dissect.

Identify yourself. Most people do do this. However, from time to time I’ve reached a number and never hear the person’s name or company in the outgoing message. Clearly state your name and company at the beginning of your voicemail.

Thank people for calling. They called you. Unless it’s the IRS or possibly your mother-in-law, you’re gonna wanna thank them. People like to be appreciated. That caller on the other end of the line could be a buyer or seller who’ll put tens of thousands of dollars into your pocket this year. It may be an agent who wants to show your listing. Thank them. And do it with a smile and enthusiasm. You want them to know that you’re excited that they called.

Be memorable. “The Building Block of Your Real Estate Goals!” A simple slogan. Many people and companies have them, but do they use them and promote them? It’s something small but it can mean a lot, especially when others hear it repeatedly. The receptionist at my RE/MAX office has heard my voicemail enough times that, literally, every time I walk into the office, she says “Here comes Brian Block, the Building Block of My Real Estate Goals!” It’s kinda cute. I can only hope that my clients recite this phrase out loud or at least to themselves as they go about their day. You want your clients (and even your competition) to be going around town repeating your slogan.

Tell them what you’ll do. “I’ll call you back soon.” And then do it. More business is lost because agents don’t call people back, or don’t call them back soon enough. And please, please, please, if another agent is calling you, return the phone call. Ugh. This is a pet peeve of just about every agent out there.

Give them something to do. A call to action. While they’re waiting for you to call back and the opportunity to talk to your highness, send them to your website. You’ve paid for it. That 24/7 marketing tool — your website. Now, drive them there. And tell them what to do when they get there — look for listings and search for homes. Simple, easy instructions.

Thank them again. Callers are the lifeblood of your business. Make them feel that way.

What not to do

Now, for a few things not to do on your voicemail:

Don’t change the message every day to say, “Hi it’s Tuesday, February 17th…” People know what day it is.

Don’t tell them what you’re doing. “Hi, I’m in a meeting from 10 to 12. Having lunch with Steve until 1 p.m. and showing property this afternoon. I’ll call you back at 4:30.” First of all, nobody really cares about your detailed schedule. And secondly, you’ll never call them back right when you told them you would. Finally, what happens when you forget to change your voice message the next day?

Never Never Never Leave the standard factory voicemail. Your voicemail needs to be in your voice… not some computerized lady. Also, having your British accented friend Charley record your message or having an outgoing message from your wife is not a good idea. People called to talk to you. Give them you.

Now, go. Go change your voicemail. Stop reading and do it. It just takes a minute.