A modern answering service can provide real estate agents with a dynamic and versatile option for managing their inbound call volume. This is important, since the best real estate agents must be highly accessible to their clients—whether they have questions during business hours or otherwise.
But with so many types of answering services to choose from, how do you find the best real estate answering service on the market? In this blog, we’re going to answer this very question. We’ll explore the reasons to consider using an answering service, how an answering service works, and how to zero in on the right one for your needs.
Why Use an Answering Service for Real Estate?
Using a professional answering service enables real estate agents to provide a higher level of care and attention to their clients—enhancing your ability to provide the all-important “human touch” when working with your clients.
Real estate answering service companies like Answering Service Care will work with you to determine how to handle different types of inquiries, so you can rest assured that your clients aren’t just having their calls answered—they’re having them answered promptly and professionally by someone who will represent your business well.
Timeliness, of course, is vital for real estate agents. The market moves quickly, which can leave many clients feeling flustered or panicked. Whether urgent concerns cross their mind during conventional business hours or during off hours, weekends, or holidays, a live answering service ensures that every call will be answered—Answering Service Care provides live operators who provide 24/7/365 coverage.
It’s worth noting that not every answering service is created equally—or is equally prepared to serve the unique needs of the real estate and property management industries. With Answering Service Care, you can rest assured that the agents answering on behalf of your company will receive industry-specific training, so they’ll be able to do more than just answer very basic questions. This, of course, is a vital consideration for your clients, who deserve (and expect) to have their questions answered by someone knowledgeable and ready to help. Our skilled operators will ensure that no call goes unanswered and that the information they share will be accurate and meaningful.
What Does a Live Answering Service Do for Real Estate Agents?
A live answering service for real estate agents can perform a wide range of important tasks, including:
- Handling inbound calls promptly, without making clients wait too long or forcing them to navigate cumbersome Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menus
- Knowledgeably answering clients’ questions about properties on the market in callers’ area, from single-family homes to commercial properties, condos, and more
- Coordinating client appointments and property showings
- Addressing clients’ concerns about specific properties, including their availability, amenities, and more
Of course, the best answering service will work with you to determine exactly how to handle client communications, including how to screen and route different types of calls, set appointments and showings, and so on.
What Is the Best Live Phone Answering Service for Real Estate Agents?
Finding the best specialty answering service doesn’t have to be complicated. It ultimately comes down to which answering service will offer the most comprehensive features at the fairest price point. Here are the top 3 factors to consider when evaluating professional real estate answering services:
Features & Customization
An answering service should do more than just answer the phone. Answering Service Care’s real estate answering service acts as an extension of your business, ensuring that someone’s always there for your clients, providing 24/7/365 coverage. Once our live operators are up to speed with your preferred workflows, they’ll be equipped to answer questions, schedule appointments, and more.
Several add-on services are also available with our answering service packages, including:
- Automated email marketing features
- Call recordings
- Customizable interactive voice response (IVR) systems
- Live chat
- Spam blocker technology
Our services are also ready to integrate with other software applications, providing seamless connectivity with your existing processes. We offer over 5,000 unique integrations, so you can keep using your preferred calendar, CRM, messaging, payment processing, and other applications. By integrating with your existing, preferred services, we can help streamline your processes and make life easier for you and your staff.
Packages & Pricing
If you think a professional answering service sounds expensive, it really isn’t. Compared with the costs to recruit, onboard, and pay a receptionist’s salary, Answering Service Care performs the same functions for a literal fraction of the cost.
According to Glassdoor, the average real estate receptionist salary makes a salary of around $45,000—which breaks down to just over $3,700 per month. And that figure doesn’t even account for employee benefits! By contrast, Answering Service Care offers packages that range from $25/month to $599/month. You can view our current packages and pricing on our website, which also showcases the features each plan includes.
Reputation & Experience
Finally, it’s important to consider the reputation of different answering service companies, since they tend to vary in quality. Reading real estate or property management answering service reviews is a great starting point, as are customer testimonials. How long an answering service company has been in business is another indicator of a reputable and reliable partner. Our team has been providing industry-leading services since 1974, establishing a proven track record for reliability and professionalism.
Answering Service Care: Don’t Settle for Second-Best
When you started reading this blog, you may have been asking yourself, “do people still use answering services?” We don’t blame you, it’s a more common question than you might think.
But just because they’ve been around for a while doesn’t mean answering services are outdated or ineffective. It’s the opposite, really. Modern answering services are more sophisticated, customizable, and reliable than they’ve ever been. At Answering Service Care, we’ve been in the industry for nearly 50 years, continually updating our offerings to reflect the needs of today’s real estate agents—and their clients.
Learn more about our real estate answering service, or reach out to get started today.
