Answer your phone!!

Is this a trivial move? Not sure!

Today I got a call. When I answered, I had this discussion:

-Caller: You're #7
-Me: Good morning, I'm sorry, I'm #7? I'm not following...
-Caller: Good morning, my name is **** **** and I have called 6 Realtors before you to list my property. I had no answer. Since I want to list it, I want to make sure my Realtor will answer his/her phone right away.
-Me: Oh I see, no answer from the previous 6 of them? waow...
-Caller: Yes, so I'd like to see you this afternoon if it's OK for you and you tell me where to sign.

Etc...

Guys, answer your phone or don't complain business is slow. You make it slow for yourself by yourself alone...

If I may add to this idea...respond to your email queries quickly! As a broker, I took away a lead I had given to an agent one time who had not responded to the request after 24 hours. Of course, the agent blew up, but I was adamant. Respond within 24 hours or lose the lead.

Well you know....there are many LEGITIMATE things that prevent realtors from answering their phones:

1. Poor cell signal
2. Driving (unsafe, and I'll be #$%&#ed before I will wear a bluetooth device on my head. I do NOT need to be THAT connected.)
3. With clients. Very rude to answer the phone when working with clients.
4. In the bank, at a meeting, in a class, at the doctor, etc.
5. Putting gas in the car - signs everywhere warn against using cell phones while refueling your car.
6. On the phone already with another client or agent. Rude to put them on call waiting.
7. At a closing!
8. Eating lunch or dinner.

Nobody should be expected to be on call 24/7. Even during business hours, there are legitimate activities a realtor can be engaged in that prevent immediate answering of the phone. A client who is too impatient to leave a message and give me an hour or so to return the call is a client I will gladly pass on. Sounds like a class "a" jerk to me.

agree w/ neudot re: email
7.

Agreeing with Perky about not necessarily picking up the phone RIGHT NOW. But agents should reply to voice messages as soon as they are able.

Yes - I can understand if half the day goes by and the agent does not return the call (but even then...sometimes I am out in a remote area showing houses all day w/ no signal...)

We are such an impatient society nowadays. And those of us that are "hooked up" to the gills forget that there are areas out there with no signal, some people have bad internet connections, and sometimes, circumstances keep us from being johnny on the spot at the precise moment the demand is made. People need to chill.

Cody,

I don't know if I want that seller. My preferred seller would have conducted their research and likely would have included me among a narrowed list of others for the value they believe we might bring.

I think my response might have been something like..."After all Mr./Mrs. Seller, do you want an agent with business who is likely busy but professional enough to return your call within a respectable time frame or an agent that has time to answer the phone any time it rings?"

Do you think this person would be able to speak directly with an attorney or medical doctor at first call? Not likely.

This person wants to see you this afternoon to sign. Are the two of you in agreement on price or do you just take any listing that comes along?

Finally, if this person is that controlling, what kind of client will they be?


Just my thoughts.

Agents who won't answer the phone are a pet peeve of mine. I can't understand why someone is in this business and avoids contact with customers or other agents. Here are my comments on Perky's list. Of course there are legitimate reasons for not answering, but it seems to me that a lot of Realtors just want callers to leave a message and then decide it they want to talk to that person.

1. Poor cell signal-[i]Try to answer, and tell the caller you will call them back in a few minutes when you have better reception.[/i]

2. Driving (unsafe, and I'll be #$%&#ed before I will wear a bluetooth device on my head. I do NOT need to be THAT connected.)--[i]Bluetooths fit in your ear. They won't mess up your hair. If you never talked when driving in my area, you would be missing a lot of calls (long drive times).[/i]

3. With clients. Very rude to answer the phone when working with clients.--[i]As soon as you have a free moment, call the number back, whether they left a message or not.[/i]

4. In the bank, at a meeting, in a class, at the doctor, etc.--[i]See above.[/i]

5. Putting gas in the car - signs everywhere warn against using cell phones while refueling your car.--[i]Cell phones are not dangerous at gas stations. This is a myth. Check it out on Snopes.[/i]

6. On the phone already with another client or agent. Rude to put them on call waiting.--[i]See #3. I wouldn't hesitate to put another agent on hold to answer a customer call, though.[/i]

7. At a closing!--[i]We don't have to do that in CA. :grin: See #3.[/i]

8. Eating lunch or dinner.--[i]I'll gladly interrupt a meal for some business. If it's an important occasion, I can revert to #3.[/i]

I picked up a buyer not too long ago just by answering the phone. He too was surprised that he finally got through to someone. Being available isn't so hard. I think this is an area where a lot of agents can improve.

My comments are in bold. Yes, agents need to answer phones and return calls. But customers need to understand that sometimes, they may need to wait their turn.

Reading all these comments reaffirms my decision to work only with bank owned properties. Email only.

"Reading all these comments reaffirms my decision to work only with bank owned properties. Email only."

Of course, you know how much buyers' agents hate you, right? :/

Only half joking. Dealing with REO agents is worse than dealing with a picky buyer.

Perky, it sounds like your personal time is more important to you than your business. Fortunately, you're in a business where you can make that decision, and still get by. But I don't think you understand how frustrating it is to consumers when they can't get a hold of anyone.

However, if you're showing 15 houses a day to buyers, you might want to hone your skills a little bit on pre-qualifying and narrowing the field to only show those houses they will be interested in. It's a big waste of time to show them everything and then hope they like something. If you understand what the buyers want, you shouldn't have to show them more than 5.

I agree with both sides on this. Agents not answering their phone or taking too long (sometimes days sometimes never) to return a call is extremely unprofessional. That being said I am very busy and as a policy will not answer calls when talking with someone else or in the middle of something, even if it is lunch with someone. I would find it extremely rude for someone to interrupt our conversation so that they can pickup a call, unless it was an emergency, so why would I do it to someone else especially a client.

The happy medium I have found involves two steps.

1) Setup a precedent - whenever I meet any client for the first time (or if the phone rings when I am with that client for the first time) I will put it on silent and inform them that I deal with one client at a time and as soon as I am done with them I will be returning that call. I also let them know that in the future if they do call and I don't pickup it is probably because I am in a similar situation with someone else and that I would call them back as soon as I was able to.

The key is to set the precedent and the expectations early on…just like we all don’t expect our lawyer/doctor etc to pickup our calls right away at all times of the day

2) The second part is that on my voicemail I state specific call back times (eg 12, 2, 4, 6, and 8) and I make sure to honor those call back times. That way when someone leaves a message they have realistic expectations of when I will return their call. Now if I am in a seminar all day, out with the family, at an appointment etc. I will update my voicemail accordingly that way anyone leaving me a message will know what to expect and I also provide a number to have me paged in cases of ‘emergencies’!

It is unrealistic to be available 24/7 and anyone that says they are is either not that busy or is sacrificing more of their life than I am willing to. My business and my clients are extremely important to me, but so are my family, our lifestyle, and my commitment to them...after all isn't that why we work so hard?!

Wow, you are presumptuous, aren't you? You do not know ANYTHING about my market - at all - so I suggest you hold off on advising me how to work it. This is a vacation market where many of my buyers drive 3 hours to come here and they want to see as much as they can in one visit. There are often WAY more than 5 homes available that will work for them!

Unless a buyer is looking for lakefront property, or something extremely specific, it is very likely that there will be 20 or 30 homes or MORE available that fit their criteria, in various homeowner communities spread out over two counties, and yes, they want to see them all.

Many times the buyers do not know, until after their initial visit, which community they want to be in. So yeah, the first time I take a buyer out we could very well be out ALL DAY because the 4 most popular home owner communities each have a gazillion homes for sale and thus have a lot to choose from...and some of those communities could be 30 - 50 minutes from each in driving time.

Sometimes I can get them to rule out certain areas because they don't have the amenities they said they wanted but sometimes they say the amenities are not all that important.

Do I show 15 or 20 houses the 2nd time we go out? No, usually not. Often by the 2nd time we go out, they have narrowed their focus down to one community. They now know, after seeing it with their own eyes, that the lower end of their price range is not going to give them what they want. They saw it for themselves - rather than assume I only wanted to show them the "upper end" so I could sell them a more expensive house.

Because I want to eat my meals with my family uninterrupted, my personal time is "more important" than my business? LOL, that's kind of funny, and sad at the same time. You have no idea how many sacrifices my family and I make for my customers. And 90% of my business takes me out of the house all day Saturday and Sunday. I don't think it's too much to say "ENOUGH" when it comes to mealtime with my family.

I appreciate all these comments.
But guys, please, keep eating your lunch, go to the bank more often and put $3 of gas each time...
Thank you!

And I second BK estates, I'd rather go with a picky buyer than a REO listing agent...They are unable to sell anything but still believe "they're all that"...My 2 cents though...

Codythebest, out of curiosity, how many sides have you sold this year?