RING….RING……..Remember that sound?
To think that we talk about web2.0 here on a daily basis and make fun (sometimes) of going back to the very basics to improve or make our business grow and we can’t answer the phone?
This past week alone we picked up 3 buyers and 2 listings because we answer our telephone. The customers were so happy to get a live human being that they hired us on the spot. Is that INSANE or what?
When making appointments to see listings, we only get machines and don’t get return phone calls for hours. If it is frustrating for us, imagine paying customers?
We talk about blogging and how important it is to nurture relationships. We talk of how blogging’s purpose is to encourage conversation and dialogue. Our goal is for customers to know us before they even make a move. So please make sure that when that customer is ready to make THE move, you will be available to actually talk to them. Answering the telephone and returning messages and e-mails promptly should be the single most important business practice for any Realtor.
Or……you could just leave those calls unanswered and give more business to us! 🙂
JB
February 24, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Ines — I wish I’d a thought of that. 🙂
No doubt much of your success is based upon your keen grasp of the fundamentals of giving your clients not only what they want, but what they can’t find.
Isn’t it surreal in today’s techno world folks are genuinely grateful when you so something as human as answer your own phone?
Ines
February 24, 2008 at 10:55 pm
JB – It is absolutely surreal – to think of how our world has changed…..but we can’t forget that we are in the people business and we still need human interaction.
Chris Shouse
February 24, 2008 at 11:13 pm
So very true that we don’t answer our phones anymore send me an email is the cry. Glad you brought this up.
Larry Yatkowsky
February 25, 2008 at 12:52 am
Ines,
Geez me and my buddies talk about this all the time.
It’s so terribly important that you have made note of this.
I got to rant on this one……..
I can’t count the hours wasted listening to some bs on a machine or some silky voiced woman at an answering service ask me if I’d like to leave a message. I’m not lonesome. I didn’t call to leave a message! I called because I need to talk to you.
While I appreciate that responding to the ubiquitous cell phone when in a meeting is considerd rude by many, by the same token, most people realize that if it were they who were calling they too would get through to me. I take the call and deal with the issue and move on. So far not a problem.
Most annoying is that many self important agents use their office answering service to take the call and then have the service call them on their cell. Then some 3 hours later they call back.
What is that about?
Thanks for listening. I feel better now .>)
Matthew Rathbun
February 25, 2008 at 6:09 am
This is a fantastic point! The internet and social media is a invitation to come to our door… It’s an introduction, but you don’t answer the door and invite the client in, they’ll go to someone else’s house. Just because your internet presence intrigues consumers, it doesn’t mean that they are loyal to you, because you wrote a good post, or they found your information all over the place. Truth be known, if you’re too active in your blog and too busy to answer the phone, they’ll think you’re too busy to work for them.
Well stated, Ines!
Ines
February 25, 2008 at 8:19 am
Hi Chris! – I am the first one to admit that I love e-mail, but you better believe we do everything in our power to be accessible by phone as well. Funny how something so trivial is put on the back burner for many.
Larry – rant away, I like to listen…..I showed Luxury properties last week and only 1 of 6 mega producers in Miami actually had someone answer the phone. That can’t be good!
Matthew – my point exactly! if you are too busy to return a call, you are too busy to handle their business.
Ginger Wilcox
February 25, 2008 at 9:01 am
Are you kidding? We still have to answer the phone in the 2.0 world??? This is dead on. It drives me crazy when I can’t reach an agent to show a property for hours on end. Customers have choices and they will choose to move on to choice #2 if they can’t reach us.
Ines
February 25, 2008 at 9:42 am
Ginger – LOL! ….and that’s exactly what we need to remember – they will move on if they can’t talk to us…….I would.
Teresa Boardman
February 25, 2008 at 10:57 am
I just answered the phone, and I am so sorry that I did. I always answer my phone. Bad habit.
Kim Wood
February 25, 2008 at 11:08 am
Thanks for kicking me in the butt.
It looks like I lost a listing because my client called my Work phone # (she had my cell), and left message there Sunday @4pm. Monday @10am I picked up messages and called her back. “Oh. I gave you until 9am, so I called someone else”. She doesn’t even want to talk. Unless this person screws up royally she’ll get a listing I was gonna have.
My bad! I know! Like SC said, I should have forwarded the calls, so I’m completely chained to all calls!
Ines
February 25, 2008 at 11:12 am
Teresa – you always manage to crack me up!! …..and then there ARE those calls that you wish you had never answered! 😉
Jeremy Hart
February 25, 2008 at 11:28 am
nice job, Ines. The one exception I might take, however, is in the belief that you answer the phone when it rings. I disagree with Larry that you answer the phone when with a client – if you’re with a client, I’m of the belief that THAT client is the most important one you’ve got. Putting the person in front of you on hold while “you just take this one call” is rude, IMO. I realize there are e ceptions, perhaps you just make it known up front that you’re waiting on a call and you’ll have to take it. Other than that, I can see no good reason to make sure you’re always there. Maybe a daily change of your voicemail to give callers an approximate idea of when you’re in meetings vs. when you’re available?
Ines
February 25, 2008 at 11:39 am
Jeremy – I agree with you. When we are with a client we don’t answer the telephone but make sure to return that call ASAP after we are done. When I meet with someone, I want them to give me their attention and I do find it rude when they answer the phone and constantly interrupt. (do unto others……?)
Everyone has their own methods – but it’s about quick response and returning those calls as quickly as possible.
Jeremy Hart
February 25, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Different methods – agreed. It’s a sore subject for me when agents pick up the phone while they’re showing clients. It does not help our credibility. By the same token, neither does returning voicemails. You’re obviously doing something right, if you return voicemails as quickly as you return comments on this post!
Ines
February 25, 2008 at 12:59 pm
🙂 at Jeremy
Mark Harrison
February 26, 2008 at 7:41 am
Well said.
At several companies I have REMOVED the voicemail system, because it’s forced staff to interact directly with (potential) customers rather than let “the machine” deal with it.
There’s one Estate Agent (as we call them here in the UK) that I’ve bought nigh on all my investment property through – ln 12 years, I’ve never failed to get through to a human being on the first call with his office.
Kelley Koehler
February 26, 2008 at 8:52 am
Just curious how others deal with the phone while out showing homes, for example. That can kill 4-6 hours of a day, easily. The absolute top guy in my area, not only for production but in reputation, will tell you he always answers his phone even with clients. I think his only exception is during a listing presentation. He tells his clients from the start that he always answers his phone, pointing out the benefit that if they call while he’s with someone else, they’ll get a quick answer too.
So I’ve seen people do that very successfully, but a part of me still finds that rude. So I don’t. But I do tell clients that a quick text or email might be answered more quickly if I don’t answer the phone, because I can almost always sneak in a quick response to those things even out showing homes for hours on end. But then of course, that only remediates potential issues with clients, and not with prospective people making calls…
Hrm…
Ines
March 18, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Kelley – my e-mail notification is not working (sorry I never got to your comment) – I never answer the phone during a listing presentation – the rest depends on the situation. I may answer the phone at a showing if the client is walking through a property and doesn’t need me – I may answer the phone in the car knowing I can quickly say “I’m with customers right now, I will call you back when I’m done or call Rick”.
I recently picked up a call while at a TV interview and it was a lady from Canada calling about a rental. I told her to please call me back or e-mail me with her contact information and I would call her back when I was done. That call turned into a sale a week later.