Putting the words “normal hours” in the context of real estate sales is laughable. While the typical realtor does work 40 hours per week, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), their hours are often nights or weekends. To mitigate this familiar stressor, some real estate companies turn to a live answering service.
It’s arduous to always be available. Live answering is an efficient, cost-effective solution providing prospects with the necessary details — no matter when they need them.
After all, real estate is not only about housing and commercial property knowledge. It’s also a people industry. Realtors join the business desiring the flexibility to be out interacting with people rather than sitting at a desk all day. A live answering service helps frees up the real estate team to meet with clients, market listings, and better serve buyers and sellers.
One Phone Call Away
Regardless of age 56% home buyers expect to be able to contact their real estate professionals by phone and get a response from one call, according to the NAR.
The live answering service enables this by enabling 24/7 customer service. Potential clients are able to speak to a live person on first contact, and learn more details about a property, get pricing updates, and set up appointments. All this while the agent endures a never-ending close or shows properties to another buyer.
After all, non-stop accessibility is increasingly necessary as younger buyers become more critical to the agent’s success. Contending with the expectations of a generation that grew up with the Internet and will rely heavily on real estate apps, the real estate company needs to work ever harder to keep up.
Some 88% of all buyers used an online website as an information source in their home search, according to the NAR. Yet the real estate agent remains a top information source, used by 87% of all buyers. Real estate professionals need to always have answers on hand — when a prospect is motivated to learn more or make an appointment.
Capture the Motivated Customer
With live answering, a trained professional can provide specific information and help capture prospects’ interest instead of them losing interest in the interim period it might otherwise have taken an agent from the real estate company to return the call.
With live answer, the real estate company can provide scripts and specific instructions for the trained answering service professionals handling the phone calls. This insures that both potential and current customers are treated to accurate, friendly and always available help even after-hours, nights, weekends and holidays.
Real estate agents do a lot more than simply overseeing purchases and sales. The job requires someone who can educate, counsel, multitask, relate to people, negotiate, and think and act quickly. Live answering services can at least take some of the problem-solving stress off the shoulders of the agents. Real estate may be never be an easy job, but live answering can make it a little easier.