Many successful real estate agents and professionals don’t spend more than a few hours a week in their offices. They’re typically on the go- on the way to meetings, property showings, and open houses. In order to get deals closed, much of their time is spent talking to people both in-person and on the phone. With that said, they’re not always able to answer every phone call that comes in.
To reduce the number of calls that get sent to voicemail, many real estate businesses partner with live answering services. A live answering service ensures that your calls will be answered by a real person- even when you’re too busy to pick up.
In this article, we’ll answer and discuss the following questions to help you discover how a real estate answering service works, and how it can help you grow your brokerage.
- What does a real estate answering service do?
- How can a live answering service influence the growth of a real estate business?
- What is the value of using an answering service for real estate businesses?
What does a real estate answering service do?
When you can’t get to the phone, call forwarding technology enables trained live agents to quickly answer your calls from a quiet, secure location. Whether you’re unavailable because you’re on the other line, showing a house or relaxing after hours, a real estate answering service guarantees that great impressions will be made with existing and potential clients.
After quickly answering your inbound phone calls, our live agents can perform the following tasks:
- Take messages
- Route calls to the appropriate extension
- Share important details about available properties
- Answer questions about your business
- Schedule and rearrange appointments
- Monitor your email accounts for important incoming messages
How can a live answering service influence the growth of a real estate business?
With a live answering service, a real estate business doesn’t need a team of in-house receptionists and the costs that come with them. For example, you won’t need to own or lease a building, hire and train receptionists, or buy equipment like office furniture and phone systems. Since real estate answering services include everything in budget-friendly plans, lower related operating costs mean that your business has more money for marketing campaigns, hiring additional realtors and other growth-related activities.
A live answering service that provides top-tier customer service guarantees growth in other ways as well:
- Many answering service companies provide bilingual live agents, which opens up your market to millions of Spanish-speaking customers.
- When callers receive friendly service, they’re more likely to write positive online reviews that result in more interest and revenues.
- During emergencies, your live agents can field calls even if the business is closed.
- Existing and potential clients are less likely to go elsewhere when they know that they can always reach someone who represents your business.
- In today’s pandemic market, many sellers, buyers and others aren’t rushing to meet with real estate agents in person. They’re primarily making phone calls and interacting via text message. With that said, an answering service guarantees that your real estate business can keep up with higher-than-normal contact volume.
What is the value of using an answering service for real estate businesses?
When you partner with a real estate answering service, you will have more time to optimize your schedule and improve customer experiences. You will gain the time needed to give clients, leads, and marketing efforts more attention and focus. Additionally, when a caller hears a caring voice instead of busy signals or automated voicemail, they know that they’re dealing with a true professional who values them and their time.
