There’s never a slow season for real estate professionals. Agents are constantly meeting new clients, showing off properties, and negotiating deals. There’s seemingly no end to what the can accomplish – their phones don’t stop ringing! While spinning plates, real estate agents must also juggle inbound calls. When letting a single call roll to voicemail means potentially losing out on a career-making deal, missing a conversation just isn’t an option. Constant availability can be incredibly draining, though. That’s why so many professionals are searching for help answering phone calls. Maintaining any kind of work/life balance often hinges on finding a solution to the tidal wave of inbound calls.
If you’re searching for real estate tips for handling your incoming calls, you’ve come to the right place. In our years of experience as a real estate answering service, we’ve learned a thing or two about the art of the phone conversation. Try these tips whenever you’re ready to reinvent your customer experience strategies:
Start with a Professional Greeting
It’s true what they say: you only get one shot at a first impression. A single conversation can be the deciding factor in whether or not a prospective client wants to work with you. That means every incoming call offers a new opportunity to create new business or help existing clients. With so much riding on each conversation, it’s important to begin as professionally as possible. Your greeting sets the tone for the entire rest of the call, so think carefully about how you’d like to portray yourself and your business.
It helps to live by the Golden Rule: treat callers the way you’d like to be treated. Thoughtful consideration of this truism can help you create a greeting that is as dynamic as it is useful. Choose whether you’re planning to introduce your business, yourself, or both. While you might be worried about inundating callers with too much information, a greeting pairs well with an introduction. In one fell swoop, you can put a face to your organization while specifying precisely with whom the caller is speaking. Real estate tips like this one don’t need to be overly strategic to be effective.
Craft a Customized Script
The perfect greeting is just the beginning. Phone scripts can be mapped out in advance to design a customer experience that feels rewarding and memorable. Whether you partner with a real estate answering service or create your script all on your own, they can add tremendous value to your brand. While you might expect scripts to make conversation feel stilted, they can actually provide the foundation for meaningful conversation. They allow you to connect with a caller as efficiently as possible, without sacrificing quality or substance. Callers want to chat with professionals who come across as reliable and connected. A phone script can convey that persona easily.
The simple act of creating a customized script for your business can be helpful in unexpected ways. Spend some time reviewing your existing call handling policies – are there gaps in your current customer service strategy? Address them by creating a flowchart for your conversations. Start by determining why a person might dial your number. The answer will create a new conversational path for you or your colleagues to follow. Make a list of common questions and reasons for calling and then answer them as thoroughly and clearly as possible. This provides a skeleton flowchart for you to adapt into a call script.
Answer Your Phone Whenever Possible
Competitive real estate markets demand quick action. Real estate agents can lose out on serious income by not taking every call they receive. When a single missed call means missing out on important opportunities and negotiations, letting a call roll to voicemail just isn’t an option. Instead, realtors must answer the phone every time it rings. You don’t have to search long to find the most important real estate tip of all: when the phone rings, answer it. While it might sound overly simplified, that’s really all there is to it.
This strategy is easier than it sounds – especially if you’re trying to prioritize a healthier work/life balance. As busy professionals know, it can be challenging to remain present during your off hours when the next big sale is just a phone call away. That’s why so many realtors turn to a real estate call answering service for administrative support. This kind of service allows you to prioritize time with friends and family without neglecting the needs of clients. Agents can screen your calls, forwarding on only the most important conversations to your personal device. It’s a win-win for clients and realtors alike!
Forward Office Calls to Your Cell
Real estate professionals are rarely found behind their desks. Instead, they’re constantly in motion, heading from one open house to another, dining with clients, and meeting with lenders. This agility is what makes them so valuable to their clients. Unfortunately, though, it means there’s nobody around to answer the office phone when they’re out and about. Of course ,there are many ways to answer the phone these days, and if you can have those calls forwarded to your cell, you’ll feel free to come and go from the office without neglecting clients.
Call forwarding services can provide a seamless transition from your office calls to the ones you take on the go. The feature allows users to direct incoming calls to a different number or device, with the option to turn off call forwarding as desired. For instance, if you’re working hard in the office all morning but decide to meet a client for coffee at a local cafe, simply turn on call forwarding and – in the eyes of callers – it’s like you’ve never left your desk. You’ll increase your mobility, improve your availability, and reduce the number of voicemails waiting for you when you return to your desk.
Remain Upbeat in the Face of Bad News
The life of a real estate agent is never dull. Even the most successful professionals lose out on important sales now and then. The homebuying process can be an emotional one, and realtors must remain upbeat, even in the face of bad news. When a person’s future hangs in the balance, the stakes are undeniably high. That’s why it’s so crucial that you remain positive, regardless of what updates you have to share. While there’s no single best way to answer the phone in such a scenario, a can-do attitude can really ease the tension and keep hope alive.
Consider the emotions you yourself felt when you were shopping for your first home. Your clients may feel excited, anxious, nervous, eager, or apprehensive at any given moment. As the professional in the dynamic, it’s up to you to remain upbeat no matter what happens with a given sale. By leading with empathy, you set the tone for client interactions and expectations. There’s perhaps no aspect of the job more important than this!
Separate Business Calls from Personal Conversations
Speaking of your cell phone, are you still answering work calls on your personal smartphone? If so, it’s time to take the plunge and invest in a second line. Working in real estate is incredibly fast-paced – you’ve got to be reachable at all hours of the day and night. In a role in which managing client relationships is key, it’s crucial to manage your calls effectively. That starts with keeping business and pleasure separate.
Some real estate professionals opt to carry two phones with them. While this is certainly one strategy to consider, it comes with a lot of drawbacks. Rather than juggling multiple devices, simply add another line to your current phone. A second line can help you separate your personal life from your professional one, helping to foster a healthier work/life balance. A second line can streamline communications while promoting a more professional public appearance. Real estate tips don’t have to be complicated to be impactful!
Offer Bilingual Support to Callers
Each year, America grows more and more diverse. When real estate agents fail to offer their services to Spanish speakers, they leave a lot of potential cash on the table. Thankfully, there are a lot of resources for professionals who don’t speak multiple languages. A real estate brokerage answering service can bridge the gap between the services you currently offer and the kind you’d like to extend.
Hiring a full time Spanish-speaking administrative assistant can be expensive and time-consuming. They’ll need a salary, benefits, and desk space. Even the most helpful professional will need time off at night, on the weekends, and during holidays. When you partner with a real estate call center, you ensure there’s always a friendly voice on the end of the line to help in the caller’s language of choice. Since these agents work around the clock, homebuyers can call at their convenience rather than waiting around for traditional business hours. Our prices are far more affordable than what it would cost to employ a full-time receptionist, too.
Partner with a Real Estate Call Answering Service
If you’re really hoping to transform the way your real estate business handles incoming calls, there’s no substitute for a real estate answering service. It’s like having a personal receptionist without the expensive salary to pay. Whatever your communication style, answering service professionals can mirror your preferred language, carrying your personal brand through every conversation.
When you partner with a real estate answering service, you’ll instantly solve many of your most common administrative challenges. Without having to stop whatever you’re in the middle of each time the phone rings, you’ll be free to go about your day, confident that your calls are handled. Meanwhile, you can focus on the most important tasks at any given moment and ensure you’re never missing an opportunity to close another deal.
Choose MAP Communications for Your Call Answering Needs
The MAP Communications name was built upon stellar customer service. We offer some of the fastest pick-up times in the industry to ensure that your callers never feel neglected or frustrated. Instead, they’re treated to efficient, helpful conversations with highly-trained professionals. Our receptionists can provide the kind of customer experience you would offer yourself – if only you had the time! We can assist in the development of customized call scripts to match your brand voice. Seamless integration means that callers rarely realize they’re speaking with a real estate answering service.
Curious to learn more about how to leverage our real estate phone service for your business? Discover what our satisfied clients have to say about their experiences with MAP. When you’re ready to give us a try, sign up for a free trial to preview what we can do for your real estate business!
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