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.
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