Why Real Estate Agents Shouldn’t Answer Their Own Phone

Real estate agents are among the busiest professionals on the planet. From updating listings and compiling contracts to organizing open houses and beyond, there’s never a dull moment in the life of a realtor. Because they stay so busy, real estate agents are often tricky to get a hold of – especially by telephone. Agents don’t always have the time or privacy to pick up when their phone rings. Being constantly available can also send the wrong message to callers. After all, a real estate agent who answers every phone call may be perceived as unsuccessful. At the same time, though, missing a call can mean missing out on valuable opportunities. That’s why so many professionals opt to work with a real estate answering service.

Here are just a few of the most common reasons why real estate agents shouldn’t answer their own phones:

You’re Away from Your Desk

Busy real estate agents are rarely at their desks. When you’re out and about at showings and meetings with buyers and sellers, you can’t always pick up the phone when it rings. Even if you have a spare moment to chat, you may not have the tools required to handle new leads properly. It’s difficult to enter data about a new property coming onto the market when you’re behind the wheel driving to a lunch meeting.

Some professionals opt to work with a real estate client relationship manager to handle calls while they are in the field. Others turn to a real estate answering service. Both options leave realtors free to pursue new leads while they are out and about while projecting a professional image to callers. It’s the best of both worlds!

You’re Expected to be Busy

A successful real estate agent is a busy one. Clients expect their realtors to stay busy. Therein lies a paradox: picking up the phone every time might be great customer service, but it sends a clear message to callers that you’re not as busy as other realtors might be. By answering yourself, you may even come across as a rookie without many clients to assist. On the other hand, when an answering service for real estate agents picks up on your behalf, you give off the impression that you’re both busy and successful enough to employ a full-time administrative team.

Work/Life Balance is Crucial

After a long day of showings, closings, and client meetings, it’s nice to head home to dinner with the family or happy hour with friends. Unfortunately, though, traditional business hours don’t often apply to the real estate industry. When buyers are in a bidding war over their dream home, for instance, they want a realtor who is willing to discuss negotiation tactics on their terms. While shutting off your phone might solve the problem in the short term, it can have far-reaching consequences for your professional reputation.

Protect your sacred time off the clock with the help of a 24 hour answering service for real estate professionals. With a highly-trained call center team ready to chat with callers, you’ll gain a greater work/life balance without neglecting your clients. Such a service can help qualify leads, set appointments, and even forward on especially urgent calls to your personal cell phone as requested.

You’re with Other Clients

At any given moment, you might be handling an open house, coordinating a staging, or discussing a home’s prospects with a new seller. A constantly ringing telephone might indicate a successful business, but when you’re busy with other tasks, it’s just annoying. Since so much of the business you conduct is private in nature, it’s often not even feasible to answer your phone and have a conversation in front of others. It infringes on privacy and sends a potentially damaging message to those with whom you do business.

On the other hand, missing calls is never a good idea. One of the main benefits of a real estate answering service is having support during your busiest moments. With a virtual receptionist covering your phone line and working from a customized call script, your callers will feel like they are a priority even when they can’t reach you directly.

You Want to Exude Professionalism

It’s important to be present when you’re showing clients their potential dream home. While you certainly could allow buyers to tour the property themselves while you play phone tag with other clients, it reflects poorly on you as a professional. By staying in the moment and focusing on the clients at hand, however, you potentially lose out on new leads and opportunities via phone.

With a real estate answering service, you don’t have to pick and choose when to answer your phone. Instead, every time your phone rings, it will be answered promptly and professionally by an experienced receptionist. Whether you’re a one-man operation or one of many on staff, you’ll instantly project an image of success when a virtual receptionist handles your calls.

Navigating the real estate world can be both exhilarating and exhausting. Success often lies in finding the resources, tools, and allies to help lighten the load. With the help of a real estate answering service, you’ll eliminate the constant buzzing or ringing of your cell phone, giving you serious freedom to pursue new leads and stay in the moment with clients. What could be better? A free trial, that’s what. See us in action for 7 days for free! Contact us to learn more or get started.

Source: https://www.mapcommunications.com/blog/real-estate-agents-shouldnt-answer-own-phone/

2021 Buyers Guide

Get Listed

Knowledge Management

 

1.)	3Fiftynine Branches Combines knowledge management with call support as continue improvement. Request More Information

2.)

eGain Corporation eGain Knowledge + AI eGain's knowledge management software, powered with Case-Based Reasoning, an Artificial Intelligence technology, lets you provide intranet or extranet access to the common knowledge base, enabling contact center agents to provide distinctive, productive, and brand-aligned experiences in every interaction, across all channels and touchpoints. Request More Information

3.)

FuzeDigital FuzeDigital offers an affordable yet comprehensive knowledge base to answer your consumers' and staff questions. When assistance is needed, our email management system ensures your timely and accurate delivery of responses. Used by companies large and small that seek to deflect common questions while providing exceptional support. Request More Information

4.)

Happitu Happitu is your customer support team’s personal coach. It guides your team through every interaction with custom workflows, responsive scripting, and dynamic help topics. Documentation in Happitu is automated, detailed, and consistent. Go beyond handle times and service levels with the rich insights of Happitu – from granular interaction data to aggregate data and trends – you get the complete CX journey! We intentionally built the Happitu Workflow Designer with your customer support team in mind. Using our intuitive tools that provide quick and safe iteration, you eliminate the need to involve IT or Development. Yes, you will no longer have to dread submitting a change request to Devin from IT! Try it free for 45 days! Request More Information

5.)	Knowmax Knowmax is a knowledge management software for enterprises. Customer service of any organization can leverage this tool to create, curate & distribute the knowledge at assisted as well as digital channels promoting self service. Request More Information

6.)

livepro Knowledge Management software livepro are experts in Customer Experience Knowledge Management and are passionate about improving customer experience. livepro is feature-rich yet easy to use, delivering answers to agents – not long complex documents to dig through. This makes customer service quicker, easier and more efficient. Staff require next to no training on complex procedures thanks to livepro’s intuitive design, which brings confidence up and training costs down. Request More Information

7.)

ProcedureFlow ProcedureFlow is a step by step visual guide that supports agents as they navigate company processes. With a knowledge management solution that simplifies complex information, employees can spend less time searching and focus on what they do best. ProcedureFlow’s simple and intuitive platform enables contact centers to quickly and easily create, maintain, and update company processes in real time. With ProcedureFlow, teams can work more efficiently, better serve customers, and drive results that matter most to their business. Request More Information

8.)

Synthetix Knowledge is your company's most valuable asset. An intelligent Knowledge Base can harness that asset, supporting your customers and empowering your agents. Purpose-built with your users in mind, the knowledge base stores all information your customers need and search for, from policies to product details. Integral to CX, an intelligent knowledge base allows customers the freedom to self-serve whilst delivering them great results at their convenience. Internally, the centralised knowledge base equips your employees with all the knowledge they require to assist customers, enhancing not only the way agents work, but the impact on CSAT. Knowledge can be seamlessly integrated with your customer service tools to ensure complete coherence of information, even when it's updated. Request More Information

 

View more from MAP Communications

Recent Blog Posts:

Effective Tips for Improving Your Company’s Phone Greeting	September 17, 2020 5:00 AM
5 Must-Haves in Your Business Continuity Plan	August 20, 2020 5:00 AM
Why Real Estate Agents Shouldn’t Answer Their Own Phone	August 6, 2020 5:00 AM
5 Times Dunder Mifflin Could Have Used an Answering Service	July 30, 2020 5:00 AM
Top Reasons To Have a Spanish-Speaking Receptionist for Your Business	July 23, 2020 5:00 AM
How Adding an After-Hours Call Service Can Increase Business Opportunities	July 16, 2020 5:00 AM
5 Must-Have Phone Tips for Medical Receptionists	July 2, 2020 5:00 AM
5 Ways to Utilize Virtual Receptionists for a Remote Workforce	June 25, 2020 5:00 AM
Why Right Now is the Perfect Time to Use a Virtual Receptionist	April 9, 2020 5:00 AM
How Answering Services Help Real Estate Agents Close More Deals	March 5, 2020 5:00 AM